November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed.…
November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed.…
November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two…
November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing.…
November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday…
November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the…
November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635…
The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week,…
November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival.…
November 2: The price of onion has increased by 66 percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks.…
November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament.…
November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent…
November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of…
November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. Those who submitted the bills for the work completed in the last fiscal year (FY) 2079/80) have not been able to get the payment until the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Ministry of Urban Development to pay the previous year’s dues from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. However, due to the low budget allocated for the current year, the businessmen could not get the payment, according to the officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which has to make the largest number of payments, said that it could not pay due to lack of budget. An official of the ministry said, “The finance ministry gave approval to manage the payment of the last year from the allocated budget for the current year, but due to the low budget for the current year, all the payments are yet to be made.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramhari Pokhrel, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, gave an example and said, “In the current year, a budget of Rs 10 million is allocated for a bridge, and if the payment of Rs 50 million from the previous year is yet to be made, then the department can pay only Rs 10 million. The remaining Rs 40 million will not be received by the entrepreneurs.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Construction entrepreneurs said that they were excited when the government approved the payment, but they were disappointed because of the lack of implementation. Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that the government is backtracking from its decision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said, “The government has pledged to pay the due amount. But the government agencies are facing problems because they do not have enough budget.” He said that if the capital budget is not spent, the economy will not be viable and the construction business as well as other auxiliary industries (such as cement, rods etc.) will also suffer.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19132', 'image' => '20231103024445_20230605035206_fcann.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:43:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19403', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends License of Two Tara Air Pilots for Brawling', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN spokesperson and deputy director general Jagannath Niraula said the license of Senior Captain Santosh Shah and Captain Sanjib Shrestha have been suspended as the two pilots of the Tara Air engaged in a physical assault on the premises of the airport at Manthali, Ramechhap on Friday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The licenses of the two senior captains have been suspended until further notice due to the breach of the national security standard. Their licenses will be revoked or other action will be taken as per the law after detailed investigation," Niraula added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN stated that the reason behind the two pilots belonging to the same company resorting to physical fight is not yet known. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19131', 'image' => '20231103024259_Tara air.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19402', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Increases in Manang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), a total of 9,752 foreign tourists visited the district in the past six months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incoming tourists visited both the Annapurna Circuit and the Larke pass in Narpabhumi, said ACAP chief Dhak Bahadur Bhujel. According to him, 928 tourists, both domestic and foreigners, visited the Annapurna Circuit, and 528 tourists toured the Larke pass. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Until mid-October alone, 4,357 foreign tourists entered the area. According to Bhujel, 3,266 tourists visited the area in the Nepali month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), 661 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 259 in Asar (mid-June to mid-July), 296 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), and 913 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). A total of 1,072 tourists had visited the area in the corresponding period of last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of visitors increased significantly this year compared to last year, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The main income source here is tourism. There is low revenue collection without the arrival of tourists. The tourism sector has helped the local people sustain," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals here are involved in agriculture alongside hotel and tourism business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The people welcome visiting tourists with locally made food items instead of imported goods, said Binod Gurung, president of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association. "This season, the arrival of tourists has been significant. This has encouraged businesspersons. Nowadays, the inflow of tourists has increased." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, has increased significantly, he said. "Foreign tourists have already booked hotel rooms. So, the arrangement for their stay has been ensured. On-arrival hotel booking often creates problems. I want to urge aspiring tourists to inquire about the availability of hotel rooms as they might be already booked online." -- RSS</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19130', 'image' => '20231103014403_20220928123415_Manang.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 13:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19401', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Budget Session Ends ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">HoR Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter received from the Office of the President in this regard on Thursday's HoR meeting. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Started on May 7, this session of the HoR held meetings for 180 days and witnessed 65 meetings in 61 days, the Federal Parliament Secretariat said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, six joint meetings of the HoR and National Assembly (NA) were held during the period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, three question-answer sessions were held with the prime minister on May 18, June 23 and August 29 as per the Rule 56 (5) of the HoR Regulations, 2079 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of nine bills were registered in the HoR during this session and three of them were passed from both Houses of parliament. Likewise, three bills are under consideration in the respective committees and two were just tabled in the HoR while another one was registered. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this session of the HoR, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also addressed the joint meeting of the HoR and NA on October 31. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19129', 'image' => '20231103115010_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 11:49:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19399', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '3,000 Metric Tons of Sugar Supplied in the Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company has a stock of excess sugar available after selling its products to various beverage companies. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has taken the initiative to supply this sugar in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Naresh Khadgi, acting president of Nepal Retail Trade Association, informed the state-owned RSS that 160 sacks of sugar were sent to retail shops in Kshetrapati, Sobhabhagavati, Paknajol and Naradevi for sale on Thursday through Guhveshwari Trade Link. He informed that another 600 sacks full of sugar will be sent to shops in the inner city of Kathmandu on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The sugar provided by the association will be sold at Rs 117 per kg. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have instructed our members to sell sugar at Rs 117 per kg," he said, "The consumer should not pay more than the price fixed by the association."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, businessmen have been asked to put up a notice that sugar provided by the association is available in their shops. More than 1,700 retail traders are affiliated to the association in Kathmandu Valley.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Director General of the Department of Commerce, Tirtharaj Chiluwal, said that the shortage of sugar will gradually disappear. He added that a meeting of stakeholders held at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on Thursday decided to adopt all strategies to prevent shortage of sugar in the market. The meeting concluded that sugar is being illegally imported into the Nepal by evading taxes and is being sent to the market at a high price. The meeting decided to mobilize all state agencies to stop the black marketing of sugar.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General Chiluwal said that the Nepal Police will check the stock of sugar in all industries in Nepal and discuss with the industrialists to send the excess stock of sugar to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19128', 'image' => '20231103105412_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:53:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19398', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank to Provide Concessional Loan of USD 100 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">These agreements were digitally signed on October 27, 2023. This is the first World Bank-financed project in Nepal that was digitally signed, according to a statement released by the World Bank Nepal office on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The agreements for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation were signed by Finance Secretary Dr Krishna Hari Pushkar and the World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, World Bank’s Managing Director for Operations, Anna Bjerde and World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population in coordination with the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and selected provincial and local levels in Koshi and Gandaki provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program emphasizes improving the readiness of the health system for delivery of quality healthcare, enhancing coverage of health insurance, and strengthening health emergency preparedness and response capacity at the selected provincial and local levels, adds the statement. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19126', 'image' => '20231103101247_World-Bank-1024x570-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:11:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19397', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB’s Commitment to Invest in Dudh Koshi Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">November 3: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level team, consisting of the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kul Man Ghising, ADB Director General Ramesh Subramaniam, and ADB-Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud Cauchois, conducted an on-site inspection of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During their visit, the team examined the reservoir area, the power house area and engaged with local representatives in Rabuwa Bazaar, Khotang, where the dam is located. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General Subramaniam said that this on-site visit is one of the final inspections before moving forward with the project and mentioned that financial management plans under ADB's leadership would be established soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He emphasized the importance of commencing the project's construction as soon as possible, taking into account technical, environmental, and social considerations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The estimated total cost of the project, including interest during the construction period, is $2.20 billion. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A total of $1 billion will be invested in the project by various international financial organizations under ADB's leadership, with ADB committing to provide a $550 million loan for the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">ADB Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud stated that they are actively working to expedite decision-making processes and have been engaging in frequent discussions with the Government of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the local community to exercise patience, emphasizing that the Dudh Koshi project is a significant undertaking and the largest dam project in the SAARC region to date. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19125', 'image' => '20231103054657_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 05:45:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19396', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Pardon Granted to Regal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">November 2: The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Banke Police Chief SP Subaschandra Bohara said that Regal was arrested after the apex court’s diktat to annul presidential pardon granted to him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">On the recommendation of the Cabinet, President Ramchandra Paudel on the eve of the 8th Constitution Day on October 19 had pardoned the remaining jail terms of 670 convicts, including Dhakal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In July 2015, Dhakal, a local Congress worker and gangster from Banke, had killed Chetan Manandhar in a broad daylight using domestic weapons. He was convicted of the murder and given a 20-year jail term by the Banke district court in April 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Demanding nullification of the pardon granted to Dhakal, Manandhar’s wife Bharati Sherpa had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court. With Supreme Court’s order, Regal has to serve the remaining sentence of 11 years, 11 months, and 5 days.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19124', 'image' => '20231102054831_collage (33).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:46:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19395', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Plummets 10.86 Points to Close at 1847.70', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">November 2: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Stock market analysts and seasoned investors attributed to the downturn of the market to economic downturn and oversupply of the IPOs and right shares.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">“New demand has not been created while the NEPSE has bene inundated with oversupply of the shares through IPOs and right shares,” said a veteran investor and analyst. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">During today's trading, there were 281 different stocks traded through 45,763 transactions. As many as 3,749,954 units of shares were traded, amounting to Rs 96.44 crore. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd Promoter Share (ALBSLP) had the highest turnover, reaching Rs. 10.10 crores. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills Limited (CGH) experienced the highest gain of 6.04% today.</span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">On the contrary, Sayapatri Hydropower Limited (SPHL) lost the highest 10.00% today.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, indices except "Hotels And Tourism Index" and "Manufacturing And Processing" all other indices closed in the red zone. "Hotels And Tourism Index" gained the highest 4.27% while "Mutual Fund" recorded the most significant loss of 4.63% for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Sensitive Index lost 0.60%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a loss of 0.64% and 0.75% respectively. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19123', 'image' => '20231102051124_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:09:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19394', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chitwan National Park Earns Almost Rs 20 Million during Dashain ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. The park collected the amount from Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, to Purnima (a period of 14 days). During the review period, more than 20,000 tourists visited the national park.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Tiwari, information officer of the national park, said that the CNP collected revenue of Rs 1.98 million from domestic tourists, Rs 12. 9 million from tourists from third countries (excluding SAARC countries), Rs 0.77 million from tourists from SAARC countries and Rs 3.68 million from jeep safari. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the period, 12,558 domestic tourists, 4,543 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 563 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park from Sauraha, the main entrance point, by booking tickets for jeep safari. Likewise, 308 domestic tourists entered the CNP from Kasara, while the number of foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) using this entry point stood at 766 and 104 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park by buying tickets for jeep safari.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, 277 domestic tourists, 505 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 109 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park after buying tickets for jeep safari from Meghauli. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19122', 'image' => '20231102112249_20220403024054_Chitwan-sunset-sauraha-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 11:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19390', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Onion Increases by 66 Percent in Three Weeks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of onion has increased by 66 percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The price of onion has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. According to the daily price list of the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the price of onion has skyrocketed in the last three weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has increased in Nepal due to India’s decision to tighten the export of onions on the pretext that it is difficult to meet the demand in its domestic market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the committee's price list, the wholesale price of onion, which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">73.80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kg on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66.67</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">123</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> on November </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Kalimati vegetable market meets about </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">70</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the demand of Kathmandu Valley. Balkhu, Tukucha, Kalanki, Balaju and other markets meet the remaining </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">30</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent demand.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">155</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kilogram in the wholesale market as well as the retail stores. About </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">99</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of onions imported in Kalimati market are from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, says that India is having trouble to meet the demand for onion in the domestic market for a few weeks now. As a result, India tightened exports which directly impacted the Nepali market, says Shrestha. According to him, the import of onion from India has declined recently.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the data of the committee, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of onions were imported to the Kalimati market on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. By October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the amount of import has dropped by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">24</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons. Shrestha says that it is natural for the price of onion to increase after the decline in import of onions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The domestic production of Nepal cannot meet the market demand. Therefore, large quantities of onions are imported from India. In the last few years, there has been a decline in production of onion in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the National Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crop Development Center, onion cultivation was done on </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20,900</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the years since then, the area of onion cultivation seems to be gradually declined. According to government data, onion was cultivated in only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">400</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076/77</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">which further dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">300</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Stakeholders say that Nepalis have to buy onions at high prices due to over dependence import. The center's crop development officer Sandeep Subedi said that consumers have been forced to buy onions at exorbitant prices since the government could not bring big programs for production and promotion of onion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, one reason why Nepali consumers have to rely on India for onions is the government's inability to bring big programs and the lack of quality seeds for farmers to produce quality onions by themselves. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the aim of making the country self-sufficient in onions, the government had conducted the ‘Mission Onion’ programme in Jhapa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Bara, Parsa, Rupandehi, Banke and other districts with an investment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2064/65. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">However, the programme was not successful. Farmers say that the Mission Onion program failed because the government only made announcements but did not monitor how the program was being run and also did not show any interest in solving the problems that surfaced during the implementation of the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19121', 'image' => '20231102101238_1698892345.1676898665.onion.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:12:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19392', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bill on Money Laundering Gathering Dust in Parliament', 'sub_title' => 'Nepal Risks Landing in Grey List', 'summary' => 'November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. The bill needs to be passed by the parliament in order to avoid Nepal falling in the ‘grey list’ of money laundering.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although Nepal is in imminent risk of falling in the grey list, the policy makers are least bothered about moving the bill forward to amend certain laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first session of the parliament, this bill did not get as much priority as it should have. The expectation that the bill would be passed in the second session did not materialize.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The current session of parliament is scheduled to end from Thursday (today). In the agenda of the parliament meeting for November 2, which was released by the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday evening, nothing has been mentioned about the matter related to money laundering to be discussed in the House. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Matters such as answering questions, receiving letters from the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and submitting the annual report have been put on the agenda as the second session of the parliament draws to a close. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the bill on money laundering has been amended by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, the matter to be discussed on the laws related to money laundering has not been placed on the agenda.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said that the bill was not included in the agenda because political consensus could not be reached. Although the government extended the budget session with the intention to pass the Transitional Justice Bill and the Money Laundering Bill, political parties could not reach a consensus on these issues until the end. As a result, the government is preparing to prorouge the current session of the Federal Parliament on Thursday without passing both the bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the ruling CPN Maoist Center, said that although the government wanted to end the session only after passing the bill related to money laundering and TRC, it could not be fulfilled.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, even if the agenda of money laundering is tabled in the lower house meeting, it will take time to pass the bill because it needs approval from the National Assembly, the upper house of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He claimed that both bills will be moved to the next session and will be passed in the next session. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, the whip of the main opposition party CPN (UML), said that this legislation was not among the priorities of the government. He told New Business Age, "In view of the danger of the country falling into the gray list, this bill was quickly passed by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, but it did not get priority in the House."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has already submitted the revised report on the bill to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill will go to the National Assembly. National Assembly members have </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">72</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hours to amend and pass the bill and return it back to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the National Assembly makes an amendment proposal, the House of Representatives reserves the right to accept or reject it. If it is accepted, it can be directly passed and sent to the president for authentication. But, if it is rejected, the fate of the bill will be decided by a joint meeting of both the houses of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Risk remains</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that regulates money laundering, has repeatedly alerted Nepal about the risk of Nepal falling in the grey list and has also given warnings. FATF has been urging Nepal to enact a strict laws related to money laundering. The Asia Pacific Group (APG) had warned in the preliminary assessment report submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers in the last week of January that Nepal would be subject to international monitoring if a strong anti-money laundering law is not enacted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">FATF has been accusing Nepal that the legal provisions are not sufficient to control organized crime, and that the Government has not paid attention to the provisions in the United Nations Convention on Financial Crimes, Terrorist Activities and Corruption.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Altogether </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">21 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">countries from Syria to the UAE are included in the grey list. Most of the countries are from Africa and the Gulf region. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the countries in the grey list do not make any progress, they might eventually be blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19120', 'image' => '20231102105019_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:49:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19393', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel-Hamas Conflict Could Lead to Oil Price Spike: World Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oil has already risen six percent since the latest round of fighting, sparked when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seized nearly 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Israel has responded with an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 8,000 people, nearly half of them children.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The conflict between Israel and Hamas comes as Russia's war in Ukraine has already put pressure on markets, with that war being "the biggest shock to commodity markets since the 1970s," warned World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"That had disruptive effects on the global economy that persist to this day," Gill said in a statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Policymakers will need to be vigilant. If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades" from both the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Many potential price hikes will depend on what happens to world oil prices and exports, the World Bank said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In an optimistic scenario, oil could rise 3-13 percent, between $93 and $102 per barrel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A median scenario envisages prices rising up to $121, while a worst-case scenario would see oil reach a peak of between $140 and $157 -- potentially exceeding all-time highs not seen since 2008. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19119', 'image' => '20231102105130_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19389', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Crosses 800,000 Mark in 10 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Nepal Tourism Board, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January to October stands at 890,678. A total of 117,000 tourists entered Nepal via air route in October alone. The arrival of tourists was 88,582 in the corresponding month of the previous year, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The highest number of tourists came from India in October. According to the NTB, a total of 18,480 tourists arrived in Nepal from India followed by 14,879 tourists from the USA, 8,217 from the UK, 6,880 from China, 6,075 from Australia, 5,911 from Germany, 5,271 from France, 4,292 from Bangladesh, 2,507 from Sri Lanka and 2,467 from Italy in the review month. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19118', 'image' => '20231102091003_20211211082422_Clipboard18.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 09:09:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19388', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, UK Mark Centenary of the Signing of Friendship Treaty', 'sub_title' => 'Government of Nepal and Private Sector Urge Investors to Invest in Nepal’s Energy Sector', 'summary' => 'November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an investment conference in London on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat assured investors in the UK that the Government of Nepal has created an investment-friendly environment in the country. He told the investors that foreign investment is essential for a country like Nepal where internal resources cannot solely address the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The event was organized by the Nepali embassy at the Mansion House based in the city of London to mark the completion of a centenary of the signing of the friendship treaty between Nepal and the United Kingdom in 1923.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Mahat said that the budget for the current fiscal has introduced various initiatives for reforms and to facilitate investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Necessary legal infrastructure has been readied for capital mobilization through the international financial market," said Mahat, expressing his hope that the UK’s investment in Nepal would further grow in the days to come.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also speaking on the occasion, Nepal's Ambassador to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, said that electricity promotion in Nepal would help realize the climate change goals not only in Nepal but also in South Asia.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Prasad Dhakal urged the private sector and the development partners to invest in the infrastructure development of Nepal, arguing that the country is an attractive investment destination for the foreign investors and development partners.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">City of London's Alderman and Sheriff, Bronec Masojada pledged to support Nepal in achieving sustainable development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Director Ben Mellor said the investment through the British International Investment to various areas in Nepal has been increasing in recent years and the UK has been supporting Nepal to upgrade it to the status of a developing country from the category of least developed country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Birendra Sharma, the president of UK-Nepal Parliamentary Group in the UK Parliament talked about the historic relation of Nepal and the UK, citing abundant potential for investment in various sectors of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK Expert Finance Chief Executive Officer Tim Reid announced their readiness to invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The conference was focused on bringing investment into Nepal particularly in the renewable energy, information technology and education sectors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate panel discussions on these themes were held and Rajan Kandel, chair of the British College, presented a paper on available opportunities in Nepal in the education sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra assured the investors that the NRB was committed to simplify the profit repatriation process of foreign companies investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary of the Investment Board Nepal, Amrit Lamsal made a presentation on the investment opportunities in various sectors of Nepal, stressing that the Board is committed to facilitating the investors throughout the period from the approval of FDI to the implementation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Sandeep Dev talked on the energy sector in Nepal, especially in the hydroelectricity projects under implementation, the agreements on power development and trade agreement reached with India and China and the forthcoming plans of the Government of Nepal on the development of hydropower sector. He pointed out the need for huge capital for these projects and said investors have huge opportunities for investing in these areas. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN)’s president Ganesh Karki provided information on the opportunities for investment in the hydropower and other renewable energy projects in Nepal, and called on the investors to invest in Nepal as the role of the government is positive to that end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Managing Director of British International Investment, Colin Berkley and founder and chief executive officer of Dolma Impact Fund, Tim Gochar said that the investments they have made in Nepal are all fruitful and Nepal is an appropriate country for responsible investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on behalf of the financial institutions investing in Nepal, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal, Bibek Shrestha, made a presentation on investment of development financing organizations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also on the occasion, a memorandum of understanding on facilitating development finance institutions in Nepal was reached between the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance and six development financing institutions – the British International Investment, UK; FMO, the Netherlands; BIO, Belgium; Finnfund, Finland; Proparco, France and Saipem, Switzerland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Mahat held a discussion with the chairman of Hinduja Group of Industries, GP Hinduja, on investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Around 100 people, including British bankers, private investors, insurance companies, representatives of development financing institutions and trade ministries of various European countries, including Britain, the Nepali diaspora and the British companies investing in Nepal, attended the conference. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => 'UK, Nepal, friendship, treaty, investment, energy, renewable, conference', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19117', 'image' => '20231102081817_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Great-Britain_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 08:16:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19404', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction Entrepreneurs yet to Get Payment due to Lack of Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. Those who submitted the bills for the work completed in the last fiscal year (FY) 2079/80) have not been able to get the payment until the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Ministry of Urban Development to pay the previous year’s dues from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. However, due to the low budget allocated for the current year, the businessmen could not get the payment, according to the officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which has to make the largest number of payments, said that it could not pay due to lack of budget. An official of the ministry said, “The finance ministry gave approval to manage the payment of the last year from the allocated budget for the current year, but due to the low budget for the current year, all the payments are yet to be made.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramhari Pokhrel, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, gave an example and said, “In the current year, a budget of Rs 10 million is allocated for a bridge, and if the payment of Rs 50 million from the previous year is yet to be made, then the department can pay only Rs 10 million. The remaining Rs 40 million will not be received by the entrepreneurs.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Construction entrepreneurs said that they were excited when the government approved the payment, but they were disappointed because of the lack of implementation. Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that the government is backtracking from its decision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said, “The government has pledged to pay the due amount. But the government agencies are facing problems because they do not have enough budget.” He said that if the capital budget is not spent, the economy will not be viable and the construction business as well as other auxiliary industries (such as cement, rods etc.) will also suffer.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19132', 'image' => '20231103024445_20230605035206_fcann.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:43:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19403', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends License of Two Tara Air Pilots for Brawling', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN spokesperson and deputy director general Jagannath Niraula said the license of Senior Captain Santosh Shah and Captain Sanjib Shrestha have been suspended as the two pilots of the Tara Air engaged in a physical assault on the premises of the airport at Manthali, Ramechhap on Friday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The licenses of the two senior captains have been suspended until further notice due to the breach of the national security standard. Their licenses will be revoked or other action will be taken as per the law after detailed investigation," Niraula added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN stated that the reason behind the two pilots belonging to the same company resorting to physical fight is not yet known. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19131', 'image' => '20231103024259_Tara air.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19402', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Increases in Manang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), a total of 9,752 foreign tourists visited the district in the past six months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incoming tourists visited both the Annapurna Circuit and the Larke pass in Narpabhumi, said ACAP chief Dhak Bahadur Bhujel. According to him, 928 tourists, both domestic and foreigners, visited the Annapurna Circuit, and 528 tourists toured the Larke pass. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Until mid-October alone, 4,357 foreign tourists entered the area. According to Bhujel, 3,266 tourists visited the area in the Nepali month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), 661 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 259 in Asar (mid-June to mid-July), 296 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), and 913 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). A total of 1,072 tourists had visited the area in the corresponding period of last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of visitors increased significantly this year compared to last year, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The main income source here is tourism. There is low revenue collection without the arrival of tourists. The tourism sector has helped the local people sustain," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals here are involved in agriculture alongside hotel and tourism business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The people welcome visiting tourists with locally made food items instead of imported goods, said Binod Gurung, president of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association. "This season, the arrival of tourists has been significant. This has encouraged businesspersons. Nowadays, the inflow of tourists has increased." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, has increased significantly, he said. "Foreign tourists have already booked hotel rooms. So, the arrangement for their stay has been ensured. On-arrival hotel booking often creates problems. I want to urge aspiring tourists to inquire about the availability of hotel rooms as they might be already booked online." -- RSS</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19130', 'image' => '20231103014403_20220928123415_Manang.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 13:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19401', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Budget Session Ends ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">HoR Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter received from the Office of the President in this regard on Thursday's HoR meeting. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Started on May 7, this session of the HoR held meetings for 180 days and witnessed 65 meetings in 61 days, the Federal Parliament Secretariat said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, six joint meetings of the HoR and National Assembly (NA) were held during the period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, three question-answer sessions were held with the prime minister on May 18, June 23 and August 29 as per the Rule 56 (5) of the HoR Regulations, 2079 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of nine bills were registered in the HoR during this session and three of them were passed from both Houses of parliament. Likewise, three bills are under consideration in the respective committees and two were just tabled in the HoR while another one was registered. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this session of the HoR, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also addressed the joint meeting of the HoR and NA on October 31. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19129', 'image' => '20231103115010_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 11:49:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19399', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '3,000 Metric Tons of Sugar Supplied in the Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company has a stock of excess sugar available after selling its products to various beverage companies. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has taken the initiative to supply this sugar in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Naresh Khadgi, acting president of Nepal Retail Trade Association, informed the state-owned RSS that 160 sacks of sugar were sent to retail shops in Kshetrapati, Sobhabhagavati, Paknajol and Naradevi for sale on Thursday through Guhveshwari Trade Link. He informed that another 600 sacks full of sugar will be sent to shops in the inner city of Kathmandu on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The sugar provided by the association will be sold at Rs 117 per kg. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have instructed our members to sell sugar at Rs 117 per kg," he said, "The consumer should not pay more than the price fixed by the association."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, businessmen have been asked to put up a notice that sugar provided by the association is available in their shops. More than 1,700 retail traders are affiliated to the association in Kathmandu Valley.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Director General of the Department of Commerce, Tirtharaj Chiluwal, said that the shortage of sugar will gradually disappear. He added that a meeting of stakeholders held at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on Thursday decided to adopt all strategies to prevent shortage of sugar in the market. The meeting concluded that sugar is being illegally imported into the Nepal by evading taxes and is being sent to the market at a high price. The meeting decided to mobilize all state agencies to stop the black marketing of sugar.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General Chiluwal said that the Nepal Police will check the stock of sugar in all industries in Nepal and discuss with the industrialists to send the excess stock of sugar to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19128', 'image' => '20231103105412_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:53:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19398', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank to Provide Concessional Loan of USD 100 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">These agreements were digitally signed on October 27, 2023. This is the first World Bank-financed project in Nepal that was digitally signed, according to a statement released by the World Bank Nepal office on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The agreements for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation were signed by Finance Secretary Dr Krishna Hari Pushkar and the World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, World Bank’s Managing Director for Operations, Anna Bjerde and World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population in coordination with the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and selected provincial and local levels in Koshi and Gandaki provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program emphasizes improving the readiness of the health system for delivery of quality healthcare, enhancing coverage of health insurance, and strengthening health emergency preparedness and response capacity at the selected provincial and local levels, adds the statement. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19126', 'image' => '20231103101247_World-Bank-1024x570-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:11:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19397', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB’s Commitment to Invest in Dudh Koshi Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">November 3: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level team, consisting of the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kul Man Ghising, ADB Director General Ramesh Subramaniam, and ADB-Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud Cauchois, conducted an on-site inspection of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During their visit, the team examined the reservoir area, the power house area and engaged with local representatives in Rabuwa Bazaar, Khotang, where the dam is located. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General Subramaniam said that this on-site visit is one of the final inspections before moving forward with the project and mentioned that financial management plans under ADB's leadership would be established soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He emphasized the importance of commencing the project's construction as soon as possible, taking into account technical, environmental, and social considerations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The estimated total cost of the project, including interest during the construction period, is $2.20 billion. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A total of $1 billion will be invested in the project by various international financial organizations under ADB's leadership, with ADB committing to provide a $550 million loan for the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">ADB Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud stated that they are actively working to expedite decision-making processes and have been engaging in frequent discussions with the Government of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the local community to exercise patience, emphasizing that the Dudh Koshi project is a significant undertaking and the largest dam project in the SAARC region to date. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19125', 'image' => '20231103054657_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 05:45:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19396', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Pardon Granted to Regal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">November 2: The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Banke Police Chief SP Subaschandra Bohara said that Regal was arrested after the apex court’s diktat to annul presidential pardon granted to him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">On the recommendation of the Cabinet, President Ramchandra Paudel on the eve of the 8th Constitution Day on October 19 had pardoned the remaining jail terms of 670 convicts, including Dhakal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In July 2015, Dhakal, a local Congress worker and gangster from Banke, had killed Chetan Manandhar in a broad daylight using domestic weapons. He was convicted of the murder and given a 20-year jail term by the Banke district court in April 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Demanding nullification of the pardon granted to Dhakal, Manandhar’s wife Bharati Sherpa had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court. With Supreme Court’s order, Regal has to serve the remaining sentence of 11 years, 11 months, and 5 days.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19124', 'image' => '20231102054831_collage (33).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:46:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19395', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Plummets 10.86 Points to Close at 1847.70', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">November 2: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Stock market analysts and seasoned investors attributed to the downturn of the market to economic downturn and oversupply of the IPOs and right shares.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">“New demand has not been created while the NEPSE has bene inundated with oversupply of the shares through IPOs and right shares,” said a veteran investor and analyst. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">During today's trading, there were 281 different stocks traded through 45,763 transactions. As many as 3,749,954 units of shares were traded, amounting to Rs 96.44 crore. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd Promoter Share (ALBSLP) had the highest turnover, reaching Rs. 10.10 crores. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills Limited (CGH) experienced the highest gain of 6.04% today.</span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">On the contrary, Sayapatri Hydropower Limited (SPHL) lost the highest 10.00% today.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, indices except "Hotels And Tourism Index" and "Manufacturing And Processing" all other indices closed in the red zone. "Hotels And Tourism Index" gained the highest 4.27% while "Mutual Fund" recorded the most significant loss of 4.63% for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Sensitive Index lost 0.60%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a loss of 0.64% and 0.75% respectively. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19123', 'image' => '20231102051124_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:09:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19394', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chitwan National Park Earns Almost Rs 20 Million during Dashain ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. The park collected the amount from Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, to Purnima (a period of 14 days). During the review period, more than 20,000 tourists visited the national park.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Tiwari, information officer of the national park, said that the CNP collected revenue of Rs 1.98 million from domestic tourists, Rs 12. 9 million from tourists from third countries (excluding SAARC countries), Rs 0.77 million from tourists from SAARC countries and Rs 3.68 million from jeep safari. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the period, 12,558 domestic tourists, 4,543 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 563 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park from Sauraha, the main entrance point, by booking tickets for jeep safari. Likewise, 308 domestic tourists entered the CNP from Kasara, while the number of foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) using this entry point stood at 766 and 104 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park by buying tickets for jeep safari.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, 277 domestic tourists, 505 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 109 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park after buying tickets for jeep safari from Meghauli. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19122', 'image' => '20231102112249_20220403024054_Chitwan-sunset-sauraha-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 11:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19390', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Onion Increases by 66 Percent in Three Weeks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of onion has increased by 66 percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The price of onion has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. According to the daily price list of the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the price of onion has skyrocketed in the last three weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has increased in Nepal due to India’s decision to tighten the export of onions on the pretext that it is difficult to meet the demand in its domestic market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the committee's price list, the wholesale price of onion, which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">73.80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kg on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66.67</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">123</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> on November </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Kalimati vegetable market meets about </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">70</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the demand of Kathmandu Valley. Balkhu, Tukucha, Kalanki, Balaju and other markets meet the remaining </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">30</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent demand.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">155</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kilogram in the wholesale market as well as the retail stores. About </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">99</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of onions imported in Kalimati market are from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, says that India is having trouble to meet the demand for onion in the domestic market for a few weeks now. As a result, India tightened exports which directly impacted the Nepali market, says Shrestha. According to him, the import of onion from India has declined recently.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the data of the committee, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of onions were imported to the Kalimati market on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. By October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the amount of import has dropped by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">24</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons. Shrestha says that it is natural for the price of onion to increase after the decline in import of onions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The domestic production of Nepal cannot meet the market demand. Therefore, large quantities of onions are imported from India. In the last few years, there has been a decline in production of onion in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the National Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crop Development Center, onion cultivation was done on </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20,900</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the years since then, the area of onion cultivation seems to be gradually declined. According to government data, onion was cultivated in only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">400</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076/77</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">which further dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">300</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Stakeholders say that Nepalis have to buy onions at high prices due to over dependence import. The center's crop development officer Sandeep Subedi said that consumers have been forced to buy onions at exorbitant prices since the government could not bring big programs for production and promotion of onion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, one reason why Nepali consumers have to rely on India for onions is the government's inability to bring big programs and the lack of quality seeds for farmers to produce quality onions by themselves. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the aim of making the country self-sufficient in onions, the government had conducted the ‘Mission Onion’ programme in Jhapa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Bara, Parsa, Rupandehi, Banke and other districts with an investment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2064/65. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">However, the programme was not successful. Farmers say that the Mission Onion program failed because the government only made announcements but did not monitor how the program was being run and also did not show any interest in solving the problems that surfaced during the implementation of the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19121', 'image' => '20231102101238_1698892345.1676898665.onion.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:12:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19392', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bill on Money Laundering Gathering Dust in Parliament', 'sub_title' => 'Nepal Risks Landing in Grey List', 'summary' => 'November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. The bill needs to be passed by the parliament in order to avoid Nepal falling in the ‘grey list’ of money laundering.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although Nepal is in imminent risk of falling in the grey list, the policy makers are least bothered about moving the bill forward to amend certain laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first session of the parliament, this bill did not get as much priority as it should have. The expectation that the bill would be passed in the second session did not materialize.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The current session of parliament is scheduled to end from Thursday (today). In the agenda of the parliament meeting for November 2, which was released by the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday evening, nothing has been mentioned about the matter related to money laundering to be discussed in the House. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Matters such as answering questions, receiving letters from the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and submitting the annual report have been put on the agenda as the second session of the parliament draws to a close. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the bill on money laundering has been amended by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, the matter to be discussed on the laws related to money laundering has not been placed on the agenda.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said that the bill was not included in the agenda because political consensus could not be reached. Although the government extended the budget session with the intention to pass the Transitional Justice Bill and the Money Laundering Bill, political parties could not reach a consensus on these issues until the end. As a result, the government is preparing to prorouge the current session of the Federal Parliament on Thursday without passing both the bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the ruling CPN Maoist Center, said that although the government wanted to end the session only after passing the bill related to money laundering and TRC, it could not be fulfilled.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, even if the agenda of money laundering is tabled in the lower house meeting, it will take time to pass the bill because it needs approval from the National Assembly, the upper house of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He claimed that both bills will be moved to the next session and will be passed in the next session. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, the whip of the main opposition party CPN (UML), said that this legislation was not among the priorities of the government. He told New Business Age, "In view of the danger of the country falling into the gray list, this bill was quickly passed by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, but it did not get priority in the House."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has already submitted the revised report on the bill to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill will go to the National Assembly. National Assembly members have </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">72</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hours to amend and pass the bill and return it back to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the National Assembly makes an amendment proposal, the House of Representatives reserves the right to accept or reject it. If it is accepted, it can be directly passed and sent to the president for authentication. But, if it is rejected, the fate of the bill will be decided by a joint meeting of both the houses of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Risk remains</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that regulates money laundering, has repeatedly alerted Nepal about the risk of Nepal falling in the grey list and has also given warnings. FATF has been urging Nepal to enact a strict laws related to money laundering. The Asia Pacific Group (APG) had warned in the preliminary assessment report submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers in the last week of January that Nepal would be subject to international monitoring if a strong anti-money laundering law is not enacted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">FATF has been accusing Nepal that the legal provisions are not sufficient to control organized crime, and that the Government has not paid attention to the provisions in the United Nations Convention on Financial Crimes, Terrorist Activities and Corruption.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Altogether </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">21 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">countries from Syria to the UAE are included in the grey list. Most of the countries are from Africa and the Gulf region. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the countries in the grey list do not make any progress, they might eventually be blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19120', 'image' => '20231102105019_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:49:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19393', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel-Hamas Conflict Could Lead to Oil Price Spike: World Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oil has already risen six percent since the latest round of fighting, sparked when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seized nearly 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Israel has responded with an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 8,000 people, nearly half of them children.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The conflict between Israel and Hamas comes as Russia's war in Ukraine has already put pressure on markets, with that war being "the biggest shock to commodity markets since the 1970s," warned World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"That had disruptive effects on the global economy that persist to this day," Gill said in a statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Policymakers will need to be vigilant. If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades" from both the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Many potential price hikes will depend on what happens to world oil prices and exports, the World Bank said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In an optimistic scenario, oil could rise 3-13 percent, between $93 and $102 per barrel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A median scenario envisages prices rising up to $121, while a worst-case scenario would see oil reach a peak of between $140 and $157 -- potentially exceeding all-time highs not seen since 2008. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19119', 'image' => '20231102105130_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19389', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Crosses 800,000 Mark in 10 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Nepal Tourism Board, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January to October stands at 890,678. A total of 117,000 tourists entered Nepal via air route in October alone. The arrival of tourists was 88,582 in the corresponding month of the previous year, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The highest number of tourists came from India in October. According to the NTB, a total of 18,480 tourists arrived in Nepal from India followed by 14,879 tourists from the USA, 8,217 from the UK, 6,880 from China, 6,075 from Australia, 5,911 from Germany, 5,271 from France, 4,292 from Bangladesh, 2,507 from Sri Lanka and 2,467 from Italy in the review month. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19118', 'image' => '20231102091003_20211211082422_Clipboard18.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 09:09:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19388', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, UK Mark Centenary of the Signing of Friendship Treaty', 'sub_title' => 'Government of Nepal and Private Sector Urge Investors to Invest in Nepal’s Energy Sector', 'summary' => 'November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an investment conference in London on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat assured investors in the UK that the Government of Nepal has created an investment-friendly environment in the country. He told the investors that foreign investment is essential for a country like Nepal where internal resources cannot solely address the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The event was organized by the Nepali embassy at the Mansion House based in the city of London to mark the completion of a centenary of the signing of the friendship treaty between Nepal and the United Kingdom in 1923.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Mahat said that the budget for the current fiscal has introduced various initiatives for reforms and to facilitate investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Necessary legal infrastructure has been readied for capital mobilization through the international financial market," said Mahat, expressing his hope that the UK’s investment in Nepal would further grow in the days to come.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also speaking on the occasion, Nepal's Ambassador to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, said that electricity promotion in Nepal would help realize the climate change goals not only in Nepal but also in South Asia.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Prasad Dhakal urged the private sector and the development partners to invest in the infrastructure development of Nepal, arguing that the country is an attractive investment destination for the foreign investors and development partners.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">City of London's Alderman and Sheriff, Bronec Masojada pledged to support Nepal in achieving sustainable development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Director Ben Mellor said the investment through the British International Investment to various areas in Nepal has been increasing in recent years and the UK has been supporting Nepal to upgrade it to the status of a developing country from the category of least developed country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Birendra Sharma, the president of UK-Nepal Parliamentary Group in the UK Parliament talked about the historic relation of Nepal and the UK, citing abundant potential for investment in various sectors of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK Expert Finance Chief Executive Officer Tim Reid announced their readiness to invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The conference was focused on bringing investment into Nepal particularly in the renewable energy, information technology and education sectors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate panel discussions on these themes were held and Rajan Kandel, chair of the British College, presented a paper on available opportunities in Nepal in the education sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra assured the investors that the NRB was committed to simplify the profit repatriation process of foreign companies investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary of the Investment Board Nepal, Amrit Lamsal made a presentation on the investment opportunities in various sectors of Nepal, stressing that the Board is committed to facilitating the investors throughout the period from the approval of FDI to the implementation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Sandeep Dev talked on the energy sector in Nepal, especially in the hydroelectricity projects under implementation, the agreements on power development and trade agreement reached with India and China and the forthcoming plans of the Government of Nepal on the development of hydropower sector. He pointed out the need for huge capital for these projects and said investors have huge opportunities for investing in these areas. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN)’s president Ganesh Karki provided information on the opportunities for investment in the hydropower and other renewable energy projects in Nepal, and called on the investors to invest in Nepal as the role of the government is positive to that end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Managing Director of British International Investment, Colin Berkley and founder and chief executive officer of Dolma Impact Fund, Tim Gochar said that the investments they have made in Nepal are all fruitful and Nepal is an appropriate country for responsible investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on behalf of the financial institutions investing in Nepal, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal, Bibek Shrestha, made a presentation on investment of development financing organizations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also on the occasion, a memorandum of understanding on facilitating development finance institutions in Nepal was reached between the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance and six development financing institutions – the British International Investment, UK; FMO, the Netherlands; BIO, Belgium; Finnfund, Finland; Proparco, France and Saipem, Switzerland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Mahat held a discussion with the chairman of Hinduja Group of Industries, GP Hinduja, on investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Around 100 people, including British bankers, private investors, insurance companies, representatives of development financing institutions and trade ministries of various European countries, including Britain, the Nepali diaspora and the British companies investing in Nepal, attended the conference. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => 'UK, Nepal, friendship, treaty, investment, energy, renewable, conference', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19117', 'image' => '20231102081817_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Great-Britain_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 08:16:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19404', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction Entrepreneurs yet to Get Payment due to Lack of Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. Those who submitted the bills for the work completed in the last fiscal year (FY) 2079/80) have not been able to get the payment until the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Ministry of Urban Development to pay the previous year’s dues from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. However, due to the low budget allocated for the current year, the businessmen could not get the payment, according to the officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which has to make the largest number of payments, said that it could not pay due to lack of budget. An official of the ministry said, “The finance ministry gave approval to manage the payment of the last year from the allocated budget for the current year, but due to the low budget for the current year, all the payments are yet to be made.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramhari Pokhrel, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, gave an example and said, “In the current year, a budget of Rs 10 million is allocated for a bridge, and if the payment of Rs 50 million from the previous year is yet to be made, then the department can pay only Rs 10 million. The remaining Rs 40 million will not be received by the entrepreneurs.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Construction entrepreneurs said that they were excited when the government approved the payment, but they were disappointed because of the lack of implementation. Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that the government is backtracking from its decision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said, “The government has pledged to pay the due amount. But the government agencies are facing problems because they do not have enough budget.” He said that if the capital budget is not spent, the economy will not be viable and the construction business as well as other auxiliary industries (such as cement, rods etc.) will also suffer.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19132', 'image' => '20231103024445_20230605035206_fcann.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:43:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19403', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends License of Two Tara Air Pilots for Brawling', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN spokesperson and deputy director general Jagannath Niraula said the license of Senior Captain Santosh Shah and Captain Sanjib Shrestha have been suspended as the two pilots of the Tara Air engaged in a physical assault on the premises of the airport at Manthali, Ramechhap on Friday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The licenses of the two senior captains have been suspended until further notice due to the breach of the national security standard. Their licenses will be revoked or other action will be taken as per the law after detailed investigation," Niraula added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN stated that the reason behind the two pilots belonging to the same company resorting to physical fight is not yet known. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19131', 'image' => '20231103024259_Tara air.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19402', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Increases in Manang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), a total of 9,752 foreign tourists visited the district in the past six months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incoming tourists visited both the Annapurna Circuit and the Larke pass in Narpabhumi, said ACAP chief Dhak Bahadur Bhujel. According to him, 928 tourists, both domestic and foreigners, visited the Annapurna Circuit, and 528 tourists toured the Larke pass. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Until mid-October alone, 4,357 foreign tourists entered the area. According to Bhujel, 3,266 tourists visited the area in the Nepali month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), 661 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 259 in Asar (mid-June to mid-July), 296 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), and 913 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). A total of 1,072 tourists had visited the area in the corresponding period of last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of visitors increased significantly this year compared to last year, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The main income source here is tourism. There is low revenue collection without the arrival of tourists. The tourism sector has helped the local people sustain," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals here are involved in agriculture alongside hotel and tourism business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The people welcome visiting tourists with locally made food items instead of imported goods, said Binod Gurung, president of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association. "This season, the arrival of tourists has been significant. This has encouraged businesspersons. Nowadays, the inflow of tourists has increased." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, has increased significantly, he said. "Foreign tourists have already booked hotel rooms. So, the arrangement for their stay has been ensured. On-arrival hotel booking often creates problems. I want to urge aspiring tourists to inquire about the availability of hotel rooms as they might be already booked online." -- RSS</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19130', 'image' => '20231103014403_20220928123415_Manang.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 13:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19401', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Budget Session Ends ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">HoR Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter received from the Office of the President in this regard on Thursday's HoR meeting. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Started on May 7, this session of the HoR held meetings for 180 days and witnessed 65 meetings in 61 days, the Federal Parliament Secretariat said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, six joint meetings of the HoR and National Assembly (NA) were held during the period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, three question-answer sessions were held with the prime minister on May 18, June 23 and August 29 as per the Rule 56 (5) of the HoR Regulations, 2079 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of nine bills were registered in the HoR during this session and three of them were passed from both Houses of parliament. Likewise, three bills are under consideration in the respective committees and two were just tabled in the HoR while another one was registered. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this session of the HoR, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also addressed the joint meeting of the HoR and NA on October 31. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19129', 'image' => '20231103115010_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 11:49:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19399', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '3,000 Metric Tons of Sugar Supplied in the Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company has a stock of excess sugar available after selling its products to various beverage companies. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has taken the initiative to supply this sugar in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Naresh Khadgi, acting president of Nepal Retail Trade Association, informed the state-owned RSS that 160 sacks of sugar were sent to retail shops in Kshetrapati, Sobhabhagavati, Paknajol and Naradevi for sale on Thursday through Guhveshwari Trade Link. He informed that another 600 sacks full of sugar will be sent to shops in the inner city of Kathmandu on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The sugar provided by the association will be sold at Rs 117 per kg. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have instructed our members to sell sugar at Rs 117 per kg," he said, "The consumer should not pay more than the price fixed by the association."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, businessmen have been asked to put up a notice that sugar provided by the association is available in their shops. More than 1,700 retail traders are affiliated to the association in Kathmandu Valley.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Director General of the Department of Commerce, Tirtharaj Chiluwal, said that the shortage of sugar will gradually disappear. He added that a meeting of stakeholders held at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on Thursday decided to adopt all strategies to prevent shortage of sugar in the market. The meeting concluded that sugar is being illegally imported into the Nepal by evading taxes and is being sent to the market at a high price. The meeting decided to mobilize all state agencies to stop the black marketing of sugar.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General Chiluwal said that the Nepal Police will check the stock of sugar in all industries in Nepal and discuss with the industrialists to send the excess stock of sugar to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19128', 'image' => '20231103105412_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:53:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19398', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank to Provide Concessional Loan of USD 100 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">These agreements were digitally signed on October 27, 2023. This is the first World Bank-financed project in Nepal that was digitally signed, according to a statement released by the World Bank Nepal office on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The agreements for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation were signed by Finance Secretary Dr Krishna Hari Pushkar and the World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, World Bank’s Managing Director for Operations, Anna Bjerde and World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population in coordination with the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and selected provincial and local levels in Koshi and Gandaki provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program emphasizes improving the readiness of the health system for delivery of quality healthcare, enhancing coverage of health insurance, and strengthening health emergency preparedness and response capacity at the selected provincial and local levels, adds the statement. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19126', 'image' => '20231103101247_World-Bank-1024x570-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:11:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19397', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB’s Commitment to Invest in Dudh Koshi Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">November 3: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level team, consisting of the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kul Man Ghising, ADB Director General Ramesh Subramaniam, and ADB-Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud Cauchois, conducted an on-site inspection of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During their visit, the team examined the reservoir area, the power house area and engaged with local representatives in Rabuwa Bazaar, Khotang, where the dam is located. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General Subramaniam said that this on-site visit is one of the final inspections before moving forward with the project and mentioned that financial management plans under ADB's leadership would be established soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He emphasized the importance of commencing the project's construction as soon as possible, taking into account technical, environmental, and social considerations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The estimated total cost of the project, including interest during the construction period, is $2.20 billion. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A total of $1 billion will be invested in the project by various international financial organizations under ADB's leadership, with ADB committing to provide a $550 million loan for the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">ADB Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud stated that they are actively working to expedite decision-making processes and have been engaging in frequent discussions with the Government of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the local community to exercise patience, emphasizing that the Dudh Koshi project is a significant undertaking and the largest dam project in the SAARC region to date. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19125', 'image' => '20231103054657_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 05:45:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19396', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Pardon Granted to Regal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">November 2: The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Banke Police Chief SP Subaschandra Bohara said that Regal was arrested after the apex court’s diktat to annul presidential pardon granted to him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">On the recommendation of the Cabinet, President Ramchandra Paudel on the eve of the 8th Constitution Day on October 19 had pardoned the remaining jail terms of 670 convicts, including Dhakal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In July 2015, Dhakal, a local Congress worker and gangster from Banke, had killed Chetan Manandhar in a broad daylight using domestic weapons. He was convicted of the murder and given a 20-year jail term by the Banke district court in April 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Demanding nullification of the pardon granted to Dhakal, Manandhar’s wife Bharati Sherpa had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court. With Supreme Court’s order, Regal has to serve the remaining sentence of 11 years, 11 months, and 5 days.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19124', 'image' => '20231102054831_collage (33).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:46:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19395', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Plummets 10.86 Points to Close at 1847.70', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">November 2: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Stock market analysts and seasoned investors attributed to the downturn of the market to economic downturn and oversupply of the IPOs and right shares.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">“New demand has not been created while the NEPSE has bene inundated with oversupply of the shares through IPOs and right shares,” said a veteran investor and analyst. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">During today's trading, there were 281 different stocks traded through 45,763 transactions. As many as 3,749,954 units of shares were traded, amounting to Rs 96.44 crore. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd Promoter Share (ALBSLP) had the highest turnover, reaching Rs. 10.10 crores. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills Limited (CGH) experienced the highest gain of 6.04% today.</span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">On the contrary, Sayapatri Hydropower Limited (SPHL) lost the highest 10.00% today.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, indices except "Hotels And Tourism Index" and "Manufacturing And Processing" all other indices closed in the red zone. "Hotels And Tourism Index" gained the highest 4.27% while "Mutual Fund" recorded the most significant loss of 4.63% for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Sensitive Index lost 0.60%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a loss of 0.64% and 0.75% respectively. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19123', 'image' => '20231102051124_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:09:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19394', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chitwan National Park Earns Almost Rs 20 Million during Dashain ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. The park collected the amount from Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, to Purnima (a period of 14 days). During the review period, more than 20,000 tourists visited the national park.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Tiwari, information officer of the national park, said that the CNP collected revenue of Rs 1.98 million from domestic tourists, Rs 12. 9 million from tourists from third countries (excluding SAARC countries), Rs 0.77 million from tourists from SAARC countries and Rs 3.68 million from jeep safari. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the period, 12,558 domestic tourists, 4,543 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 563 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park from Sauraha, the main entrance point, by booking tickets for jeep safari. Likewise, 308 domestic tourists entered the CNP from Kasara, while the number of foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) using this entry point stood at 766 and 104 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park by buying tickets for jeep safari.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, 277 domestic tourists, 505 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 109 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park after buying tickets for jeep safari from Meghauli. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19122', 'image' => '20231102112249_20220403024054_Chitwan-sunset-sauraha-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 11:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19390', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Onion Increases by 66 Percent in Three Weeks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of onion has increased by 66 percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The price of onion has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. According to the daily price list of the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the price of onion has skyrocketed in the last three weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has increased in Nepal due to India’s decision to tighten the export of onions on the pretext that it is difficult to meet the demand in its domestic market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the committee's price list, the wholesale price of onion, which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">73.80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kg on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66.67</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">123</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> on November </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Kalimati vegetable market meets about </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">70</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the demand of Kathmandu Valley. Balkhu, Tukucha, Kalanki, Balaju and other markets meet the remaining </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">30</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent demand.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">155</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kilogram in the wholesale market as well as the retail stores. About </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">99</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of onions imported in Kalimati market are from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, says that India is having trouble to meet the demand for onion in the domestic market for a few weeks now. As a result, India tightened exports which directly impacted the Nepali market, says Shrestha. According to him, the import of onion from India has declined recently.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the data of the committee, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of onions were imported to the Kalimati market on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. By October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the amount of import has dropped by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">24</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons. Shrestha says that it is natural for the price of onion to increase after the decline in import of onions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The domestic production of Nepal cannot meet the market demand. Therefore, large quantities of onions are imported from India. In the last few years, there has been a decline in production of onion in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the National Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crop Development Center, onion cultivation was done on </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20,900</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the years since then, the area of onion cultivation seems to be gradually declined. According to government data, onion was cultivated in only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">400</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076/77</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">which further dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">300</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Stakeholders say that Nepalis have to buy onions at high prices due to over dependence import. The center's crop development officer Sandeep Subedi said that consumers have been forced to buy onions at exorbitant prices since the government could not bring big programs for production and promotion of onion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, one reason why Nepali consumers have to rely on India for onions is the government's inability to bring big programs and the lack of quality seeds for farmers to produce quality onions by themselves. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the aim of making the country self-sufficient in onions, the government had conducted the ‘Mission Onion’ programme in Jhapa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Bara, Parsa, Rupandehi, Banke and other districts with an investment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2064/65. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">However, the programme was not successful. Farmers say that the Mission Onion program failed because the government only made announcements but did not monitor how the program was being run and also did not show any interest in solving the problems that surfaced during the implementation of the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19121', 'image' => '20231102101238_1698892345.1676898665.onion.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:12:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19392', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bill on Money Laundering Gathering Dust in Parliament', 'sub_title' => 'Nepal Risks Landing in Grey List', 'summary' => 'November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. The bill needs to be passed by the parliament in order to avoid Nepal falling in the ‘grey list’ of money laundering.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although Nepal is in imminent risk of falling in the grey list, the policy makers are least bothered about moving the bill forward to amend certain laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first session of the parliament, this bill did not get as much priority as it should have. The expectation that the bill would be passed in the second session did not materialize.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The current session of parliament is scheduled to end from Thursday (today). In the agenda of the parliament meeting for November 2, which was released by the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday evening, nothing has been mentioned about the matter related to money laundering to be discussed in the House. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Matters such as answering questions, receiving letters from the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and submitting the annual report have been put on the agenda as the second session of the parliament draws to a close. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the bill on money laundering has been amended by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, the matter to be discussed on the laws related to money laundering has not been placed on the agenda.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said that the bill was not included in the agenda because political consensus could not be reached. Although the government extended the budget session with the intention to pass the Transitional Justice Bill and the Money Laundering Bill, political parties could not reach a consensus on these issues until the end. As a result, the government is preparing to prorouge the current session of the Federal Parliament on Thursday without passing both the bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the ruling CPN Maoist Center, said that although the government wanted to end the session only after passing the bill related to money laundering and TRC, it could not be fulfilled.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, even if the agenda of money laundering is tabled in the lower house meeting, it will take time to pass the bill because it needs approval from the National Assembly, the upper house of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He claimed that both bills will be moved to the next session and will be passed in the next session. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, the whip of the main opposition party CPN (UML), said that this legislation was not among the priorities of the government. He told New Business Age, "In view of the danger of the country falling into the gray list, this bill was quickly passed by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, but it did not get priority in the House."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has already submitted the revised report on the bill to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill will go to the National Assembly. National Assembly members have </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">72</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hours to amend and pass the bill and return it back to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the National Assembly makes an amendment proposal, the House of Representatives reserves the right to accept or reject it. If it is accepted, it can be directly passed and sent to the president for authentication. But, if it is rejected, the fate of the bill will be decided by a joint meeting of both the houses of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Risk remains</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that regulates money laundering, has repeatedly alerted Nepal about the risk of Nepal falling in the grey list and has also given warnings. FATF has been urging Nepal to enact a strict laws related to money laundering. The Asia Pacific Group (APG) had warned in the preliminary assessment report submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers in the last week of January that Nepal would be subject to international monitoring if a strong anti-money laundering law is not enacted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">FATF has been accusing Nepal that the legal provisions are not sufficient to control organized crime, and that the Government has not paid attention to the provisions in the United Nations Convention on Financial Crimes, Terrorist Activities and Corruption.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Altogether </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">21 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">countries from Syria to the UAE are included in the grey list. Most of the countries are from Africa and the Gulf region. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the countries in the grey list do not make any progress, they might eventually be blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19120', 'image' => '20231102105019_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:49:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19393', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel-Hamas Conflict Could Lead to Oil Price Spike: World Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oil has already risen six percent since the latest round of fighting, sparked when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seized nearly 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Israel has responded with an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 8,000 people, nearly half of them children.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The conflict between Israel and Hamas comes as Russia's war in Ukraine has already put pressure on markets, with that war being "the biggest shock to commodity markets since the 1970s," warned World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"That had disruptive effects on the global economy that persist to this day," Gill said in a statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Policymakers will need to be vigilant. If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades" from both the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Many potential price hikes will depend on what happens to world oil prices and exports, the World Bank said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In an optimistic scenario, oil could rise 3-13 percent, between $93 and $102 per barrel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A median scenario envisages prices rising up to $121, while a worst-case scenario would see oil reach a peak of between $140 and $157 -- potentially exceeding all-time highs not seen since 2008. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19119', 'image' => '20231102105130_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19389', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Crosses 800,000 Mark in 10 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Nepal Tourism Board, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January to October stands at 890,678. A total of 117,000 tourists entered Nepal via air route in October alone. The arrival of tourists was 88,582 in the corresponding month of the previous year, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The highest number of tourists came from India in October. According to the NTB, a total of 18,480 tourists arrived in Nepal from India followed by 14,879 tourists from the USA, 8,217 from the UK, 6,880 from China, 6,075 from Australia, 5,911 from Germany, 5,271 from France, 4,292 from Bangladesh, 2,507 from Sri Lanka and 2,467 from Italy in the review month. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19118', 'image' => '20231102091003_20211211082422_Clipboard18.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 09:09:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19388', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, UK Mark Centenary of the Signing of Friendship Treaty', 'sub_title' => 'Government of Nepal and Private Sector Urge Investors to Invest in Nepal’s Energy Sector', 'summary' => 'November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an investment conference in London on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat assured investors in the UK that the Government of Nepal has created an investment-friendly environment in the country. He told the investors that foreign investment is essential for a country like Nepal where internal resources cannot solely address the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The event was organized by the Nepali embassy at the Mansion House based in the city of London to mark the completion of a centenary of the signing of the friendship treaty between Nepal and the United Kingdom in 1923.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Mahat said that the budget for the current fiscal has introduced various initiatives for reforms and to facilitate investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Necessary legal infrastructure has been readied for capital mobilization through the international financial market," said Mahat, expressing his hope that the UK’s investment in Nepal would further grow in the days to come.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also speaking on the occasion, Nepal's Ambassador to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, said that electricity promotion in Nepal would help realize the climate change goals not only in Nepal but also in South Asia.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Prasad Dhakal urged the private sector and the development partners to invest in the infrastructure development of Nepal, arguing that the country is an attractive investment destination for the foreign investors and development partners.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">City of London's Alderman and Sheriff, Bronec Masojada pledged to support Nepal in achieving sustainable development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Director Ben Mellor said the investment through the British International Investment to various areas in Nepal has been increasing in recent years and the UK has been supporting Nepal to upgrade it to the status of a developing country from the category of least developed country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Birendra Sharma, the president of UK-Nepal Parliamentary Group in the UK Parliament talked about the historic relation of Nepal and the UK, citing abundant potential for investment in various sectors of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK Expert Finance Chief Executive Officer Tim Reid announced their readiness to invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The conference was focused on bringing investment into Nepal particularly in the renewable energy, information technology and education sectors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate panel discussions on these themes were held and Rajan Kandel, chair of the British College, presented a paper on available opportunities in Nepal in the education sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra assured the investors that the NRB was committed to simplify the profit repatriation process of foreign companies investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary of the Investment Board Nepal, Amrit Lamsal made a presentation on the investment opportunities in various sectors of Nepal, stressing that the Board is committed to facilitating the investors throughout the period from the approval of FDI to the implementation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Sandeep Dev talked on the energy sector in Nepal, especially in the hydroelectricity projects under implementation, the agreements on power development and trade agreement reached with India and China and the forthcoming plans of the Government of Nepal on the development of hydropower sector. He pointed out the need for huge capital for these projects and said investors have huge opportunities for investing in these areas. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN)’s president Ganesh Karki provided information on the opportunities for investment in the hydropower and other renewable energy projects in Nepal, and called on the investors to invest in Nepal as the role of the government is positive to that end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Managing Director of British International Investment, Colin Berkley and founder and chief executive officer of Dolma Impact Fund, Tim Gochar said that the investments they have made in Nepal are all fruitful and Nepal is an appropriate country for responsible investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on behalf of the financial institutions investing in Nepal, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal, Bibek Shrestha, made a presentation on investment of development financing organizations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also on the occasion, a memorandum of understanding on facilitating development finance institutions in Nepal was reached between the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance and six development financing institutions – the British International Investment, UK; FMO, the Netherlands; BIO, Belgium; Finnfund, Finland; Proparco, France and Saipem, Switzerland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Mahat held a discussion with the chairman of Hinduja Group of Industries, GP Hinduja, on investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Around 100 people, including British bankers, private investors, insurance companies, representatives of development financing institutions and trade ministries of various European countries, including Britain, the Nepali diaspora and the British companies investing in Nepal, attended the conference. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => 'UK, Nepal, friendship, treaty, investment, energy, renewable, conference', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19117', 'image' => '20231102081817_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Great-Britain_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 08:16:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 3: Construction entrepreneurs who were excited when the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the concerned ministries to release the due payments for the completed work on October 18, are now disappointed. Those who submitted the bills for the work completed in the last fiscal year (FY) 2079/80) have not been able to get the payment until the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Ministry of Urban Development to pay the previous year’s dues from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year. However, due to the low budget allocated for the current year, the businessmen could not get the payment, according to the officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which has to make the largest number of payments, said that it could not pay due to lack of budget. An official of the ministry said, “The finance ministry gave approval to manage the payment of the last year from the allocated budget for the current year, but due to the low budget for the current year, all the payments are yet to be made.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramhari Pokhrel, deputy director general of the Department of Roads, gave an example and said, “In the current year, a budget of Rs 10 million is allocated for a bridge, and if the payment of Rs 50 million from the previous year is yet to be made, then the department can pay only Rs 10 million. The remaining Rs 40 million will not be received by the entrepreneurs.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Construction entrepreneurs said that they were excited when the government approved the payment, but they were disappointed because of the lack of implementation. Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that the government is backtracking from its decision.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said, “The government has pledged to pay the due amount. But the government agencies are facing problems because they do not have enough budget.” He said that if the capital budget is not spent, the economy will not be viable and the construction business as well as other auxiliary industries (such as cement, rods etc.) will also suffer.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19132', 'image' => '20231103024445_20230605035206_fcann.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:43:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19403', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends License of Two Tara Air Pilots for Brawling', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended the licenses of two pilots. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN spokesperson and deputy director general Jagannath Niraula said the license of Senior Captain Santosh Shah and Captain Sanjib Shrestha have been suspended as the two pilots of the Tara Air engaged in a physical assault on the premises of the airport at Manthali, Ramechhap on Friday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The licenses of the two senior captains have been suspended until further notice due to the breach of the national security standard. Their licenses will be revoked or other action will be taken as per the law after detailed investigation," Niraula added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CAAN stated that the reason behind the two pilots belonging to the same company resorting to physical fight is not yet known. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19131', 'image' => '20231103024259_Tara air.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19402', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Increases in Manang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: As the present weather is considered favourable to visit the mountainous district of Manang, the number of tourists visiting this picturesque region has started increasing. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), a total of 9,752 foreign tourists visited the district in the past six months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incoming tourists visited both the Annapurna Circuit and the Larke pass in Narpabhumi, said ACAP chief Dhak Bahadur Bhujel. According to him, 928 tourists, both domestic and foreigners, visited the Annapurna Circuit, and 528 tourists toured the Larke pass. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Until mid-October alone, 4,357 foreign tourists entered the area. According to Bhujel, 3,266 tourists visited the area in the Nepali month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), 661 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 259 in Asar (mid-June to mid-July), 296 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), and 913 in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September). A total of 1,072 tourists had visited the area in the corresponding period of last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of visitors increased significantly this year compared to last year, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The main income source here is tourism. There is low revenue collection without the arrival of tourists. The tourism sector has helped the local people sustain," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals here are involved in agriculture alongside hotel and tourism business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The people welcome visiting tourists with locally made food items instead of imported goods, said Binod Gurung, president of the Tourism Entrepreneur Association. "This season, the arrival of tourists has been significant. This has encouraged businesspersons. Nowadays, the inflow of tourists has increased." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, has increased significantly, he said. "Foreign tourists have already booked hotel rooms. So, the arrangement for their stay has been ensured. On-arrival hotel booking often creates problems. I want to urge aspiring tourists to inquire about the availability of hotel rooms as they might be already booked online." -- RSS</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19130', 'image' => '20231103014403_20220928123415_Manang.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 13:43:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19401', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Budget Session Ends ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The budget session of the House of Representatives (HoR) has ended from Thursday midnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">HoR Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter received from the Office of the President in this regard on Thursday's HoR meeting. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Started on May 7, this session of the HoR held meetings for 180 days and witnessed 65 meetings in 61 days, the Federal Parliament Secretariat said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, six joint meetings of the HoR and National Assembly (NA) were held during the period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, three question-answer sessions were held with the prime minister on May 18, June 23 and August 29 as per the Rule 56 (5) of the HoR Regulations, 2079 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of nine bills were registered in the HoR during this session and three of them were passed from both Houses of parliament. Likewise, three bills are under consideration in the respective committees and two were just tabled in the HoR while another one was registered. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this session of the HoR, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also addressed the joint meeting of the HoR and NA on October 31. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19129', 'image' => '20231103115010_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 11:49:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19399', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '3,000 Metric Tons of Sugar Supplied in the Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: In order to avoid shortage of sugar during Tihar, the government has taken the initiative to supply a stock of 3000 metric tons of sugar kept by Everest Sugar Mill to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company has a stock of excess sugar available after selling its products to various beverage companies. The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has taken the initiative to supply this sugar in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Naresh Khadgi, acting president of Nepal Retail Trade Association, informed the state-owned RSS that 160 sacks of sugar were sent to retail shops in Kshetrapati, Sobhabhagavati, Paknajol and Naradevi for sale on Thursday through Guhveshwari Trade Link. He informed that another 600 sacks full of sugar will be sent to shops in the inner city of Kathmandu on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The sugar provided by the association will be sold at Rs 117 per kg. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have instructed our members to sell sugar at Rs 117 per kg," he said, "The consumer should not pay more than the price fixed by the association."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, businessmen have been asked to put up a notice that sugar provided by the association is available in their shops. More than 1,700 retail traders are affiliated to the association in Kathmandu Valley.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Director General of the Department of Commerce, Tirtharaj Chiluwal, said that the shortage of sugar will gradually disappear. He added that a meeting of stakeholders held at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on Thursday decided to adopt all strategies to prevent shortage of sugar in the market. The meeting concluded that sugar is being illegally imported into the Nepal by evading taxes and is being sent to the market at a high price. The meeting decided to mobilize all state agencies to stop the black marketing of sugar.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General Chiluwal said that the Nepal Police will check the stock of sugar in all industries in Nepal and discuss with the industrialists to send the excess stock of sugar to the market.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19128', 'image' => '20231103105412_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:53:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19398', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank to Provide Concessional Loan of USD 100 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 3: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank on Thursday exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a concessional loan worth USD 100 million from the International Development Association and a USD 3.84 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">These agreements were digitally signed on October 27, 2023. This is the first World Bank-financed project in Nepal that was digitally signed, according to a statement released by the World Bank Nepal office on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The agreements for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation were signed by Finance Secretary Dr Krishna Hari Pushkar and the World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Minister for Finance Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, World Bank’s Managing Director for Operations, Anna Bjerde and World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population in coordination with the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and selected provincial and local levels in Koshi and Gandaki provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program emphasizes improving the readiness of the health system for delivery of quality healthcare, enhancing coverage of health insurance, and strengthening health emergency preparedness and response capacity at the selected provincial and local levels, adds the statement. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19126', 'image' => '20231103101247_World-Bank-1024x570-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 10:11:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19397', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB’s Commitment to Invest in Dudh Koshi Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">November 3: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its commitment to invest in the Dudh Koshi reservoir-type hydropower project, which has a capacity of 635 megawatts. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A high-level team, consisting of the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kul Man Ghising, ADB Director General Ramesh Subramaniam, and ADB-Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud Cauchois, conducted an on-site inspection of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During their visit, the team examined the reservoir area, the power house area and engaged with local representatives in Rabuwa Bazaar, Khotang, where the dam is located. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Director General Subramaniam said that this on-site visit is one of the final inspections before moving forward with the project and mentioned that financial management plans under ADB's leadership would be established soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He emphasized the importance of commencing the project's construction as soon as possible, taking into account technical, environmental, and social considerations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The estimated total cost of the project, including interest during the construction period, is $2.20 billion. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A total of $1 billion will be invested in the project by various international financial organizations under ADB's leadership, with ADB committing to provide a $550 million loan for the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">ADB Nepal Resident Mission Director Arnaud stated that they are actively working to expedite decision-making processes and have been engaging in frequent discussions with the Government of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He also urged the local community to exercise patience, emphasizing that the Dudh Koshi project is a significant undertaking and the largest dam project in the SAARC region to date. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-03', 'modified' => '2023-11-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19125', 'image' => '20231103054657_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-03 05:45:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19396', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Pardon Granted to Regal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">November 2: The police have arrested Yogaraj Dhakal aka Regal from Nepalgunj today. Following the Supreme Court’s mandamus order that nullified the presidential pardon to murder-convict Dhakal, the police nabbed Regal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Banke Police Chief SP Subaschandra Bohara said that Regal was arrested after the apex court’s diktat to annul presidential pardon granted to him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">On the recommendation of the Cabinet, President Ramchandra Paudel on the eve of the 8th Constitution Day on October 19 had pardoned the remaining jail terms of 670 convicts, including Dhakal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In July 2015, Dhakal, a local Congress worker and gangster from Banke, had killed Chetan Manandhar in a broad daylight using domestic weapons. He was convicted of the murder and given a 20-year jail term by the Banke district court in April 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Demanding nullification of the pardon granted to Dhakal, Manandhar’s wife Bharati Sherpa had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court. With Supreme Court’s order, Regal has to serve the remaining sentence of 11 years, 11 months, and 5 days.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19124', 'image' => '20231102054831_collage (33).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:46:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19395', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Plummets 10.86 Points to Close at 1847.70', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">November 2: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a minor loss of10.86 points or 0.58% and closed at 1,847.70 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Stock market analysts and seasoned investors attributed to the downturn of the market to economic downturn and oversupply of the IPOs and right shares.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">“New demand has not been created while the NEPSE has bene inundated with oversupply of the shares through IPOs and right shares,” said a veteran investor and analyst. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">During today's trading, there were 281 different stocks traded through 45,763 transactions. As many as 3,749,954 units of shares were traded, amounting to Rs 96.44 crore. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd Promoter Share (ALBSLP) had the highest turnover, reaching Rs. 10.10 crores. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Chandragiri Hills Limited (CGH) experienced the highest gain of 6.04% today.</span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">On the contrary, Sayapatri Hydropower Limited (SPHL) lost the highest 10.00% today.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, indices except "Hotels And Tourism Index" and "Manufacturing And Processing" all other indices closed in the red zone. "Hotels And Tourism Index" gained the highest 4.27% while "Mutual Fund" recorded the most significant loss of 4.63% for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Sensitive Index lost 0.60%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a loss of 0.64% and 0.75% respectively. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19123', 'image' => '20231102051124_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 17:09:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19394', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chitwan National Park Earns Almost Rs 20 Million during Dashain ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November 2: Chitwan National Park has earned Rs 18.5 million from tourist entry fees during the Dashain festival. The park collected the amount from Ghatasthapana, the first day of Dashain, to Purnima (a period of 14 days). During the review period, more than 20,000 tourists visited the national park.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Tiwari, information officer of the national park, said that the CNP collected revenue of Rs 1.98 million from domestic tourists, Rs 12. 9 million from tourists from third countries (excluding SAARC countries), Rs 0.77 million from tourists from SAARC countries and Rs 3.68 million from jeep safari. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the period, 12,558 domestic tourists, 4,543 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 563 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park from Sauraha, the main entrance point, by booking tickets for jeep safari. Likewise, 308 domestic tourists entered the CNP from Kasara, while the number of foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) using this entry point stood at 766 and 104 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park by buying tickets for jeep safari.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, 277 domestic tourists, 505 foreign tourists (except from SAARC countries) and 109 tourists from SAARC countries entered the park after buying tickets for jeep safari from Meghauli. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19122', 'image' => '20231102112249_20220403024054_Chitwan-sunset-sauraha-nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 11:18:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19390', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Onion Increases by 66 Percent in Three Weeks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of onion has increased by 66 percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The price of onion has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the market of Kathmandu within a period of three weeks. According to the daily price list of the Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market Development Committee, the price of onion has skyrocketed in the last three weeks.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has increased in Nepal due to India’s decision to tighten the export of onions on the pretext that it is difficult to meet the demand in its domestic market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the committee's price list, the wholesale price of onion, which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">73.80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kg on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">66.67</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">123</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> on November </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Kalimati vegetable market meets about </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">70</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the demand of Kathmandu Valley. Balkhu, Tukucha, Kalanki, Balaju and other markets meet the remaining </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">30</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent demand.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The price of onion has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">155</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> per kilogram in the wholesale market as well as the retail stores. About </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">99</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of onions imported in Kalimati market are from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Binay Shrestha, information officer of the committee, says that India is having trouble to meet the demand for onion in the domestic market for a few weeks now. As a result, India tightened exports which directly impacted the Nepali market, says Shrestha. According to him, the import of onion from India has declined recently.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the data of the committee, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of onions were imported to the Kalimati market on October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. By October </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the amount of import has dropped by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">24</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons. Shrestha says that it is natural for the price of onion to increase after the decline in import of onions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The domestic production of Nepal cannot meet the market demand. Therefore, large quantities of onions are imported from India. In the last few years, there has been a decline in production of onion in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the National Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crop Development Center, onion cultivation was done on </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20,900</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the years since then, the area of onion cultivation seems to be gradually declined. According to government data, onion was cultivated in only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">400</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares of land in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076/77</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">which further dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">300</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hectares in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Stakeholders say that Nepalis have to buy onions at high prices due to over dependence import. The center's crop development officer Sandeep Subedi said that consumers have been forced to buy onions at exorbitant prices since the government could not bring big programs for production and promotion of onion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, one reason why Nepali consumers have to rely on India for onions is the government's inability to bring big programs and the lack of quality seeds for farmers to produce quality onions by themselves. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the aim of making the country self-sufficient in onions, the government had conducted the ‘Mission Onion’ programme in Jhapa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Bara, Parsa, Rupandehi, Banke and other districts with an investment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million in FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2064/65. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">However, the programme was not successful. Farmers say that the Mission Onion program failed because the government only made announcements but did not monitor how the program was being run and also did not show any interest in solving the problems that surfaced during the implementation of the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19121', 'image' => '20231102101238_1698892345.1676898665.onion.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:12:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19392', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bill on Money Laundering Gathering Dust in Parliament', 'sub_title' => 'Nepal Risks Landing in Grey List', 'summary' => 'November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">November 2: The bill related to money laundering is gathering dust in parliament. The bill needs to be passed by the parliament in order to avoid Nepal falling in the ‘grey list’ of money laundering.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although Nepal is in imminent risk of falling in the grey list, the policy makers are least bothered about moving the bill forward to amend certain laws related to prevention of money laundering and promotion of business environment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first session of the parliament, this bill did not get as much priority as it should have. The expectation that the bill would be passed in the second session did not materialize.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The current session of parliament is scheduled to end from Thursday (today). In the agenda of the parliament meeting for November 2, which was released by the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday evening, nothing has been mentioned about the matter related to money laundering to be discussed in the House. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Matters such as answering questions, receiving letters from the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and submitting the annual report have been put on the agenda as the second session of the parliament draws to a close. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the bill on money laundering has been amended by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, the matter to be discussed on the laws related to money laundering has not been placed on the agenda.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources at the Parliament Secretariat said that the bill was not included in the agenda because political consensus could not be reached. Although the government extended the budget session with the intention to pass the Transitional Justice Bill and the Money Laundering Bill, political parties could not reach a consensus on these issues until the end. As a result, the government is preparing to prorouge the current session of the Federal Parliament on Thursday without passing both the bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hitraj Pandey, chief whip of the ruling CPN Maoist Center, said that although the government wanted to end the session only after passing the bill related to money laundering and TRC, it could not be fulfilled.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, even if the agenda of money laundering is tabled in the lower house meeting, it will take time to pass the bill because it needs approval from the National Assembly, the upper house of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He claimed that both bills will be moved to the next session and will be passed in the next session. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Mahesh Kumar Bartaula, the whip of the main opposition party CPN (UML), said that this legislation was not among the priorities of the government. He told New Business Age, "In view of the danger of the country falling into the gray list, this bill was quickly passed by the parliamentary committee and sent to the full House, but it did not get priority in the House."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives has already submitted the revised report on the bill to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If passed by the House of Representatives, the bill will go to the National Assembly. National Assembly members have </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">72</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> hours to amend and pass the bill and return it back to the House of Representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the National Assembly makes an amendment proposal, the House of Representatives reserves the right to accept or reject it. If it is accepted, it can be directly passed and sent to the president for authentication. But, if it is rejected, the fate of the bill will be decided by a joint meeting of both the houses of parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Risk remains</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that regulates money laundering, has repeatedly alerted Nepal about the risk of Nepal falling in the grey list and has also given warnings. FATF has been urging Nepal to enact a strict laws related to money laundering. The Asia Pacific Group (APG) had warned in the preliminary assessment report submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers in the last week of January that Nepal would be subject to international monitoring if a strong anti-money laundering law is not enacted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">FATF has been accusing Nepal that the legal provisions are not sufficient to control organized crime, and that the Government has not paid attention to the provisions in the United Nations Convention on Financial Crimes, Terrorist Activities and Corruption.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Altogether </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">21 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">countries from Syria to the UAE are included in the grey list. Most of the countries are from Africa and the Gulf region. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If the countries in the grey list do not make any progress, they might eventually be blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19120', 'image' => '20231102105019_1698891708.1663413681.Pratinidhi Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:49:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19393', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel-Hamas Conflict Could Lead to Oil Price Spike: World Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">November 2: The war between Israel and Hamas could trigger price shocks for raw materials such as oil and agriculture products if the conflict escalates across the Middle East, the World Bank warned in a recent report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Oil has already risen six percent since the latest round of fighting, sparked when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seized nearly 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Israel has responded with an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 8,000 people, nearly half of them children.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The conflict between Israel and Hamas comes as Russia's war in Ukraine has already put pressure on markets, with that war being "the biggest shock to commodity markets since the 1970s," warned World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"That had disruptive effects on the global economy that persist to this day," Gill said in a statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Policymakers will need to be vigilant. If the conflict were to escalate, the global economy would face a dual energy shock for the first time in decades" from both the war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Many potential price hikes will depend on what happens to world oil prices and exports, the World Bank said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In an optimistic scenario, oil could rise 3-13 percent, between $93 and $102 per barrel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A median scenario envisages prices rising up to $121, while a worst-case scenario would see oil reach a peak of between $140 and $157 -- potentially exceeding all-time highs not seen since 2008. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19119', 'image' => '20231102105130_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 10:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19389', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Arrival of Tourists Crosses 800,000 Mark in 10 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">November 2: More than 800,000 tourists arrived in Nepal in 10 months of 2023. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Nepal Tourism Board, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January to October stands at 890,678. A total of 117,000 tourists entered Nepal via air route in October alone. The arrival of tourists was 88,582 in the corresponding month of the previous year, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The highest number of tourists came from India in October. According to the NTB, a total of 18,480 tourists arrived in Nepal from India followed by 14,879 tourists from the USA, 8,217 from the UK, 6,880 from China, 6,075 from Australia, 5,911 from Germany, 5,271 from France, 4,292 from Bangladesh, 2,507 from Sri Lanka and 2,467 from Italy in the review month. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19118', 'image' => '20231102091003_20211211082422_Clipboard18.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 09:09:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19388', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, UK Mark Centenary of the Signing of Friendship Treaty', 'sub_title' => 'Government of Nepal and Private Sector Urge Investors to Invest in Nepal’s Energy Sector', 'summary' => 'November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">November 2: The Government of Nepal and the country’s private sector have urged British investors to invest in the energy sector of Nepal, highlighting the good prospects of return in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an investment conference in London on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat assured investors in the UK that the Government of Nepal has created an investment-friendly environment in the country. He told the investors that foreign investment is essential for a country like Nepal where internal resources cannot solely address the issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The event was organized by the Nepali embassy at the Mansion House based in the city of London to mark the completion of a centenary of the signing of the friendship treaty between Nepal and the United Kingdom in 1923.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Mahat said that the budget for the current fiscal has introduced various initiatives for reforms and to facilitate investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Necessary legal infrastructure has been readied for capital mobilization through the international financial market," said Mahat, expressing his hope that the UK’s investment in Nepal would further grow in the days to come.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also speaking on the occasion, Nepal's Ambassador to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, said that electricity promotion in Nepal would help realize the climate change goals not only in Nepal but also in South Asia.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Prasad Dhakal urged the private sector and the development partners to invest in the infrastructure development of Nepal, arguing that the country is an attractive investment destination for the foreign investors and development partners.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">City of London's Alderman and Sheriff, Bronec Masojada pledged to support Nepal in achieving sustainable development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Director Ben Mellor said the investment through the British International Investment to various areas in Nepal has been increasing in recent years and the UK has been supporting Nepal to upgrade it to the status of a developing country from the category of least developed country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Birendra Sharma, the president of UK-Nepal Parliamentary Group in the UK Parliament talked about the historic relation of Nepal and the UK, citing abundant potential for investment in various sectors of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">UK Expert Finance Chief Executive Officer Tim Reid announced their readiness to invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The conference was focused on bringing investment into Nepal particularly in the renewable energy, information technology and education sectors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate panel discussions on these themes were held and Rajan Kandel, chair of the British College, presented a paper on available opportunities in Nepal in the education sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra assured the investors that the NRB was committed to simplify the profit repatriation process of foreign companies investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary of the Investment Board Nepal, Amrit Lamsal made a presentation on the investment opportunities in various sectors of Nepal, stressing that the Board is committed to facilitating the investors throughout the period from the approval of FDI to the implementation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Sandeep Dev talked on the energy sector in Nepal, especially in the hydroelectricity projects under implementation, the agreements on power development and trade agreement reached with India and China and the forthcoming plans of the Government of Nepal on the development of hydropower sector. He pointed out the need for huge capital for these projects and said investors have huge opportunities for investing in these areas. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN)’s president Ganesh Karki provided information on the opportunities for investment in the hydropower and other renewable energy projects in Nepal, and called on the investors to invest in Nepal as the role of the government is positive to that end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Managing Director of British International Investment, Colin Berkley and founder and chief executive officer of Dolma Impact Fund, Tim Gochar said that the investments they have made in Nepal are all fruitful and Nepal is an appropriate country for responsible investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on behalf of the financial institutions investing in Nepal, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal, Bibek Shrestha, made a presentation on investment of development financing organizations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Also on the occasion, a memorandum of understanding on facilitating development finance institutions in Nepal was reached between the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Finance and six development financing institutions – the British International Investment, UK; FMO, the Netherlands; BIO, Belgium; Finnfund, Finland; Proparco, France and Saipem, Switzerland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Mahat held a discussion with the chairman of Hinduja Group of Industries, GP Hinduja, on investing in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Around 100 people, including British bankers, private investors, insurance companies, representatives of development financing institutions and trade ministries of various European countries, including Britain, the Nepali diaspora and the British companies investing in Nepal, attended the conference. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-11-02', 'modified' => '2023-11-02', 'keywords' => 'UK, Nepal, friendship, treaty, investment, energy, renewable, conference', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19117', 'image' => '20231102081817_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Great-Britain_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-11-02 08:16:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
