Nepal glossary: terms explained

A ropani is a traditional unit of land area used in the hills of Nepal, including the Kathmandu Valley. One ropani equal…

An aana is a sub-unit of the ropani used to measure land in hill Nepal. 16 aana make 1 ropani, so one aana equals 342.25…

A bigha is the main land unit of Nepal's Terai (plains). One bigha equals 72,900 square feet (about 6,772.6 m² or 0.677 …

A kattha is a Terai land unit equal to 1/20 of a bigha — 3,645 square feet (about 338.6 m²). It is divided into 20 dhur.…

A dhur is the smallest common Terai land unit, equal to 1/20 of a kattha — about 182.25 square feet (16.93 m²). 400 dhur…

A lakh is one hundred thousand (100,000), written 1,00,000 in the South-Asian digit grouping. It is the standard large-n…

A crore is ten million (10,000,000), written 1,00,00,000. It equals 100 lakh. In Nepal, large budgets, property prices a…

Arba is the Nepali word for one billion (1,000,000,000) — equal to 100 crore or 10,000 lakh. National budget figures in …

Kharba is the Nepali term for one hundred billion (100,000,000,000) — equal to 100 arba or 10,000 crore. Nepal's annual …

A PAN is a Permanent Account Number — a unique taxpayer ID issued by Nepal's Inland Revenue Department (IRD). Individual…

VAT is Nepal's value added tax, charged at a single standard rate of 13% on most goods and services. It is collected at …

TDS is Tax Deducted at Source — income tax withheld by the payer at the moment of payment and deposited with the IRD. In…

The Social Security Fund (SSF) is Nepal's contribution-based social-security scheme. The employee contributes 11% of bas…

A provident fund is a retirement-savings scheme where the employee contributes 10% of basic salary and the employer matc…

Nepal taxes personal income progressively: the first slab of annual income is taxed at 1% (social security tax), then su…

NEPSE is the Nepal Stock Exchange — the country's only secondary share market, based in Kathmandu. It lists banks, hydro…

A gaunpalika is a rural municipality and a nagarpalika is an (urban) municipality — both are local-government units in N…

A local level (palika) is the third tier of Nepal's federal structure, below the federal and provincial governments. The…

Loksewa refers to the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Nepal, the constitutional body that recruits civil servants thr…

The bluebook (nilo kitab) is a vehicle's official registration certificate in Nepal, issued by the Transport Management …

Nagarikta is Nepali citizenship, certified by a citizenship certificate issued by the District Administration Office (DA…

Bikram Sambat (BS) is Nepal's official calendar, a lunisolar Hindu calendar about 56.7 years ahead of the Gregorian (AD)…

Nepal's fiscal year runs from 1 Shrawan to the end of Ashadh in the Bikram Sambat calendar — roughly mid-July to mid-Jul…

A tithi is a lunar day in the Hindu calendar — the time it takes the Moon to gain 12° on the Sun. Nepali festivals and r…

Terai, Pahad and Himal are Nepal's three ecological belts running east-west. Terai is the flat southern plains (about 17…

A GLOF, or Glacial Lake Outburst Flood, is a sudden release of water from a glacial lake when its natural dam fails. As …

A CFUG is a Community Forest User Group — a local body that manages a patch of national forest handed over by the govern…

Adivasi Janajati are Nepal's indigenous nationalities — distinct ethnic communities with their own languages, cultures a…

Madhesi refers to communities of Nepal's southern Terai plains (Madhesh) with close cultural and linguistic ties across …

Remittance is the money Nepali migrant workers abroad send home. It is the single largest source of foreign currency for…