The Finance Minister is now accepting direct suggestions from the public for this year's budget via his email address bhattaraibaburam(at)gmail.com or website www.baburambhattarai.com. The Ministry is planning to come up with the budget before June.

Web access
Nepal now has a travel-booking portal www.kathmanduhotel-link.com, through a partnership between Outdoor Himalayan Treks and whl.travel Global Grassroots. The portal, which is the first of two currently planned for Nepal, will launch smaller tourism operators into the global e-marketplace.

The real one
Real Fruit Juice is hosting a weekly lucky draw, with an all expense paid trip to eight destinations in Malaysia and Thailand and a Sony Bravia 32" LCD featuring among the top prizes.

Soap up
Mahashakti Soap is launching an improved version of Puja washing soap, manufactured with an added ingredient that increases foaming. The company is also upping the size of the packet and offering a free sachet of Dabur Vatika Shampoo with each purchase.