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Following the 2015 earthquake, Nepal embarked on an ambitious post-disaster housing reconstruction programme, constructing approximately 700,000 houses through the owner-driven private housing reconstruction (ODR) approach. This programme is considered as the largest owner-driven initiative globally. Inclusive policies in as the Socio-Technical Assistance programmes along with ODR approach was targeted to meet the unique needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals who were disproportionately affected by disaster and encountered significant obstacles during the recovery process.

The primary objective of this mixed method study is to conduct a critical analysis of the satisfaction of the ODR-Socio-Technical Assistance for private housing reconstruction support program after eight years, for which a set of parameters were identified. Data were collected through a 304-questionnaire survey, interviews, and field observation. Detailed analysis of survey data was done through IBM SPSS 27.

The findings from the survey and interviews revealed that the satisfaction level of ODR-Socio-technical assistance (ODR-STA) led reconstruction efforts were equally distributed, consistent and unbiassed among the beneficiaries based on socio-economic indicators such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, education, and vulnerability. In summary, only 2% respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the reconstruction programme. STA component is evidenced to have been tailored to the needs of vulnerable beneficiaries for the reconstruction and recovery endeavours.

Keywords: Gorkha earthquake 2015, Owner-driven reconstruction, Private housing reconstruction, Satisfaction, Vulnerable earthquake beneficiaries.

This work examined the causal impact of types of government spending on bank-based financial development among selected African Economies. A sample included 37 African economies between 1980-2018. Both the short –run and long –run effects are assessed using either Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), Mean Group (MG), Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and Dynamic Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (DCCEMG) estimators. Evidences support the hypotheses that both productive and non-productive government spending contribute positively to bank-based financial development. Also, confirm the supportive roles of trade openness and GDP per capita, and illustrate the detriment of inflation to bank-based financial development.

The paper appraises the relevance of the skill education scheme, mode of implementation, achievement since launch of the scheme, current status and future challenges to achieve the target of the Skilled India Mission. No doubt it is tough to achieve the mission due to the long period backlog of the unskilled population, unemployment and increasing population pressure, but based on the last few year's results (since 2014-15), the target seems achievable. The government has marked a path for skill education mission with version 1.0 to 4.0 which is aligned with industry version 1.0 to 4.0. The data revealed that the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikash Yojana (PMKVY) scheme has achieved the target up to the second edition period of PMKVY scheme. The enrollment, training, and certification ratios are lower but satisfactory up to the third edition. The candidate placed during the second edition of the skill mission was better than the previous and next editions. The uneven results may be due to the lack of adequate trainers, qualitative training, poor physical infrastructures for training, insufficient control on training-certification processes, and availability of fewer job opportunities from the market side. The accumulated unemployment & population pressure of previous decades and the estimated future population pressure of the next few decades will reduce the availability of per capita resources for skilling and employment facilities to potential persons and job seekers, which will also create a gap between skilled people and job opportunities. Thus, the regulator’s constant watch on implementing agencies for qualitative training on one side and coordination between state and union governments for the creation of more job opportunities on the other side will ensure the accomplishment of the mission.

Keywords: PMKVY, Skill Education Mission, MoSDE, NSDC, NSDA, Secor Skill Councils.