STARS Report Decline In Requests

Support to the Amateur Radio Service (STARS) have reported to IARU Region 3 (Asia/Pacific) that only Nepal has requested assistance in the past 3 years 

The objective of STARS is to defend, protect, extend, develop and promote the amateur radio service. The work of STARS is specifically directed to those areas of the Region where amateur radio activity is low or non existent. 

The STARS paper submitted for the 2015 IARU Region 3 Conference, October 12-16, says that only the Nepal Amateur Radio League (NARL) responded to a 2013 STARS Questionnaire sent to Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iran, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal. They had a requirement for handheld radios, but it was not realized due to the high import custom duty of 43%

However, later in 2014, another request for assistance was received from the Nepal Amateur Radio Operator Society (NAROS) who said they could negotiate for a reduced import custom duty for handheld radios. They had a requirement for several tens of 144/430 MHz dual-band handheld radios........

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