B.P. Koirala India- Nepal Foundation - Translator Written Job Experience

Here's the experience of a candidate who appeared in the Written Examination of B.P. Koirala India- Nepal Foundation for the position of translator. 
 
B.P. Koirala India- Nepal Foundation had advertised vacancy for the position of translator on 16th March  2021. It conducted the written exam for the same on 12th April at Nepal-Bharat Library, NAC Building, New Road Gate. 

In the written examination, candidates were asked to translate a piece of English text to Nepali, Nepali passage (press release) to English, to write essay on the socio-economic situation of Nepal post Covid-19 (in English) and essay on ways to strengthen bilateral relations between Nepal and India (in Nepali). The questions were thoughtfully set to assess the overall command of both Nepali and English languages of the candidates.

The Nepali text that was given to translate to English was taken from current constitution of Nepal (76:-Constitution of Council of Ministers), which was meant to check the candidates' ability to translate legal documents. Here's the Nepali Text that was given and its translated version, taken from the website of Nepal Law Commission.

(Below is the translated text)

1) The President shall appoint the leader of a parliamentary party that commands majority in the House of Representatives as the Prime Minister, and the Council of Ministers shall be constituted under his or her chairpersonship.

(2) In cases where no party has a clear majority in the House of Representatives under clause (1), the President shall appoint as the Prime Minister a member of the House of Representatives who can command majority with the support of two or more parties representing to the House of Representatives.

(3) In cases where Prime Minister cannot be appointed under clause (2) no later than thirty days after the date of declaration of the final results of election to the House of Representatives or the Prime Minister so appointed fails to secure a vote of confidence under clause (4), the President shall appoint as the Prime Minister the parliamentary party leader of the party which has the highest number of members in the House of Representatives.

(4) The Prime Minister appointed under clause (2) or (3) shall obtain a vote of confidence from the House of Representatives no later than thirty days after the date of such appointment.

(5) In cases where the Prime Minister appointed under clause (3) fails to obtain a vote of confidence under clause (4) and any member under clause (2) presents a ground on which he or she can obtain a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives, the President shall appoint such member as the Prime Minister.

(6) The Prime Minister appointed under clause (5) must obtain a vote of confidence under clause (4).

The second question required us to translate a part of the press release of  sixth meeting of the Nepali-India Joint commission, from English to Nepali language.

Here's the part of the text given, taken from the website of Ministry of External Affairs, India.

The sixth meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Commission was co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal H.E. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali in New Delhi on 15 January 2021. The two delegations included Foreign Secretary of India, Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal and other senior officials from both sides.

The Joint Commission comprehensively reviewed all aspects of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries and explored ways to further strengthen the traditionally close and friendly ties. Both sides discussed several areas of cooperation including in the areas of connectivity, economy and trade, power, oil and gas, water resources, political and security issues, border management, development partnership, tourism, culture, education and capacity building. The significant and concrete progress made since the last meeting of the Joint Commission in taking forward several bilateral initiatives was acknowledged.

The close cooperation between the two sides in combating Covid-19 pandemic in the region was noted. Nepal congratulated India on the remarkable success in production of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines in India and requested for early provision of vaccines to Nepal.

And third question asked us to write 150 words essay about the socio-economic situation of Nepal post Covid-19 in English, and final question asked us to write an essay in Nepali,  and the question was नेपाल भारत सम्बन्धलाई थप बलियो गर्न के गर्नुपर्ला आफ्नो बिचारहरु लेख्नुहोस्।

Interview Experience

The same candidate was shortlisted based on the performance of the written exam for the interview. Here's his experience.

 On the interview day first as soon as I got in the NAC Library, I was taken to the computer and my Nepali and English typing skills were tested. I was given 5 minutes to type one paragraph in Nepali and one paragraph in English. Candidates were asked to type as much as they can within the given timeframe. For the Nepali, I used unicode Nepali to type, but the font they happen to use was Preeti. And the paragraphs were the same that were given in the written examination.

After typing the took a printout of the paragraphs and gave the paper to the interviewers. The interviewer then called for for the interview. There was one Nepali interviewer and another Indian. 
First I was asked to tell me about myself...

Then, I was asked if I had related job experience...And then about my family Background. Since, my father was an ex-serviceman of the Indian Military, the Indian interviewer asked a few questions related to it. He also asked about my siblings and what they were doing and how long will I work for them, my salary expectations and so on.

He also asked questions such as what kind of political course of action would be good for Nepal? How do you see the recent future of Nepal? This job requires working early sometimes are you flexible?

And the Nepali interviewer asked if I read Nepali newspapers regularly and Name of 3 major political parties of Nepal. In the end he also asked about the difference between two Nepali words Amantran and Mantrana.

  

Working conditions of Nepali workers in Poland and Romania - The Kathmandu Post stories

Now many Nepali youths are going to Poland and Romania for work. I found two pieces on The Kathmandu Post's website exclusively on Poland and Romania which could help prospective workers to know more about these countries. Things are way different in reality from what recruiters tell you here. So, it's always advisable to do your own homework and see if the country is really appropriate for you. Click the links below to know about the working conditions in the respective countries. 

Poland

Nepali migrant workers find themselves entangled in Poland’s red tape

Romania

The road to Romania is bumpy and once there, workers are exploited too

The stories reveal that, It is very difficult to save up and send money back home from Poland. Living condition is also poor with 4 workers sharing the same room. Agents are charging workers up to NPR 5 to 13 lakhs carrying out informal transactions thereby making it difficult to prove fraud.

The article also mentions that, the the case of Poland the salary is way less than what recruiters in Nepal tell NPR 60,000 (vs NPR 275,800, amount manpower agents say that workers will get in Poland). Actually, workers get PLN 2,000 and agents in Nepal, in order to trick workers into applying, say that they would get 2,000 Euros in Poland, which is very misleading.

Moreover, the article also mentions that red tape is a major challenge for Nepali workers in Poland. If you want to change your job, you need to apply for a new work permit, and that, in Poland's case take months.

As for Romania, the TKP story suggests that workers are exploited with them having to work many hours more than what is mentioned in the contract. Although, Romanian hiring companies pay commissions to agents and airfare for the workers, deceptive manpower agents make workers pay a large sum (almost NPR 5 lakhs) of additional money as well. In Romania Nepali workers are working as much as 12-hours, without even taking toilet breaks and after pandemic, some workers have not been paid for four months. There's no labour agreement between Nepal and Romania. Some agencies also give false promises of PR  and provisions to bring families to Romania to workers. Read the full story clicking the link above.

How much money a Nepali student loses if his/her Canadian student visa gets rejected?

Photo by
Karolina Grabowska
 from Pexels

 Now there's a fad for applying abroad without weighing in the pros and cons of it and possible financial damages it can cause. For most consultancies and agents students are milch cows and they only care about the money. There are some consultancies/agents, who genuinely care about students and provide genuine and expert guidance and only take applications that have good odds of succeeding, tell students clearly about everything beforehand and let students make an informed decision. Clearly, such consultancies/agents deserve respect.

It is important that students know how much money they will lose in the processing if their student visa to Canada is denied. Here's the tentative amount, given by a student. It might vary, and be even more depending on your case.

1. Consultancy Charge (if you use one) - NPR 25,000 (Twenty-five thousand).
2. Offer Letter Charge - NPR 5,000 (Five thousand)
3. Certificates from Ward Office: NPR 11,000 (Eleven thousand : varies from one ward to another)
4. No Objection Letter: NPR 2,000 (Two thousand)
5. Translation (of Lalpurja and other income related documents that are in Nepali) and notary costs : NPR 5,000 -NPR 10,000 (Five to Ten Thousand)
6. CA Audit Report cost: NPR 2,500 (Two thousand five hundred).
7. Bank Balance Certificate with income source : NPR 50,000 (Fifty Thousand) (If you intend to take a loan, add interest for the loan).
8. VFS Charges
   DEMAND DRAFT 
   Student visa: INR 7,890 = NPR 12,624
   Biometric Fees: INR 4,470 = NPR 7152
   VFS Processing Charges = NPR 1000 (learn about the current charges from VFS)
9. Nepal Government Tax (2%) + Bank Charges while sending fees of 6 months to Canada: NPR 15,500
10. Administration Charges deduction by university while reimbursing (refunding) tuition fees including money transfer costs: Almost NPR-60,000-70,000 (Sixty to seventy thousand) 
    
    There will be a lot of hidden charges as well like travel expenses and other. So altogether, an applicant will lose around NPR 2 Lakhs 50 thousand to 3 lakhs, if his/her visa gets rejected. It's a huge sum and applicant needs to be prepared for it. 
    
    I have not taken into account the IELTS fee charged by British Council Nepal which is NPR 23,000 for Paper-Based test and NPR 21,500 for Computer-delivered test and Passport charge for first passport NPR 10,000 if taken from Department of Passports in 3 days because you can use those documents later as well. However please note that IELTS Test Score has a 2-year validity, and you need to retake the test if you decided to apply after 2 years.
    
    Please write a comment below if I am missing any and to update the new changes in the fees and others.
    
    Check this out too if you have not yet. (Document Checklist for Canada). 
    https://nepalihal.blogspot.com/2021/04/list-of-documents-required-for-nepali.html
    

Indian Embassy Kathmandu - Assistant Post - Written Examination Experience of a candidate

I had applied for the position of an assistant in the Indian Embassy by Email. Because that time due to pandemic situation, Embassy of India, which would normally ask for paper application, had entertained online applications. I sent my Cover Letter, CV, academic documents and a passport size photograph to the email provided. Normally, vacancies are published on national newspapers and Embassy of India, Kathmandu's official website. I hope my experience helps you get a general idea of how the exam is conducted in Embassy of India, Kathmandu, Nepal. 

I had applied in January, and I got called for the written exam regarding that job in April. Hence it can be  understood that hiring process is rather long.

I received a call from an individual from the Embassy. He told me to come at Kendriya Vidhyalaya for the exam with my Citizenship card at 10:30 am.

Until that point, I did not know anything about the format of the exam. I did not even know whether to dress formally or casually.

Hence, I decided to dress semi-formally and went for the exam. There was airport-like security check-up in the main entrance of Kendriya Vidhyala. I was required to enter my name in the ledger and then I was told to go to the main exam building inside the main gate.

When I went there there were invigilators to receive us. They directed me to the exam room. There were already some examinees seated. The vacancy announcement was for two positions of Assistant and there were almost 20-30 examinees.

Before the exam started, they checked my ID card to verify I am the genuine applicant.

The exam lasted for like 30-45 minutes. And all the questions were multiple choice questions covering subject matters such as English, Mathematics, IQ, Computer and GK. For every correct answer we would get 3 points and 1 point penalty for every incorrect answer. 

For the English section first question was, if I remember correctly, changing from active voice to passive voice and the sentence given was

We must endure what we cannot change

There were four options given, I do not remember them all but I circled the box
What cannot be cured must be endured.

Second question was on synonym. I was asked the synonym of ‘dubious’ to which I answered ‘doubtful’.

Third question was on antonym of the word 'Futile' and my answer was fruitful. Also, there were 2 questions based on English Idioms and their meanings. First idiom was “In high spirits” and its meaning and I forgot the second idiom, I couldn’t answer its meaning as well.

Then IQ questions were asked. From what I remember there was one question about finding how is A related to B is A is C’s mother and so on.

Here’s the sample question I copied from the internet so that you get an idea. For more such questions visit this site. Logical Question.

A is B’s brother. C is D’s father. E is B’s mother. A and D are brothers. How is E related to C?
a) Sister b)Sister-in-law c)Niece d)Wife

I suppose there were two questions on relations.

And there was also a question on direction like the following question.

A man walks 5Km towards north and then turn to the right. After walking 3Km he turns to the left. Now in which direction is he facing?
A. North B. South C. West D. East


Another question was like this 9 * 12 = 36
9* 15 = 15 and we needed to find out an unknown value. And one was about number sequence. Visit this site to learn similar problems HERE.

As for mathematics, there were questions covering various topics like Area and volume of a cylinder, Equations and inequalities, proportion.

And 2 questions were like x men can finish work in 10 days and y women can finish the same work in 20 days..
Example 2 men and 3 women can do a piece of work in 10 days while 3 men and 2 women can do the same work in 8 days. Then, 2 men and 1 women can do the same work in ……

And I guess there was also a mathematical / Physics related question about angle of observation or something, which I don’t remember clearly.

From computer section, the questions covered the basic knowledge about computer. Like who is the founder of WWW, and another question read

The process of transferring files from a computer on the Internet to your computer is called

A) Downloading, B) Uploading C)FTP d)downsizing

And the last one question was from GK, which was, what’s the name of the only novel written by Laxmi Prasad Devkota?, and the Correct answer was Champa.