Ramdev embroiled in investment row in Nepal

I do not have any investment in Patanjali Ayurved, Nepal. RAMDEV, yoga guru

KATHMANDU: Yoga guru Ramdev and his Patanjali Ayurved group were embroiled in a controversy in Nepal on Monday after the media reported he had invested more than Rs 150 crore in the country without approval from government agencies.

Ramdev and Patanjai Ayurved ignored provisions of a key law, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, and did not seek mandatory approval from the Investment Board Nepal or Industrial Promotion Board, according to Kantipur Daily.

Patanjali Yogpeeth (Nepal) Trust, described as a non-profit, too was registered in Nepal in violation of local laws, the report said. It added Nepal has no provisions for foreign investments by non-profit companies and all such investments were “illegal”.

The report further alleged Ramdev had not taken approval from the department of industry before setting up ventures in Nepal and Patanjali Ayurved was registered in the name of businessman Upendra Mahato, Resident Nepali Association, and his wife, Samata Prasad.

Ramdev, who is very popular in Nepal and whose yoga session last week was attended by the top political leadership, including the president and prime minister, dismissed the allegations and said he had not yet started investing in Nepal. “I do not have any investment in Patanjali Ayurved, Nepal,” he said in a statement. “If I am going to invest in Nepal, I will take approval from the Nepal government. All investments in the Patanjali Arurved, Nepal (were) made by Upendra Mahato and his wife Samata,” he added.

It is mandatory for a foreign national or firm investing or setting up a factory in Nepal to get approval from the Industrial Promotion Board chaired by the industry ministry or the Investment Board Nepal chaired by the prime minister, the