World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and…
World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and…
October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on…
October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air…
October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due…
October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs 100…
October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division…
October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as…
October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes.…
Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await…
The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week,…
October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market.…
October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October.…
October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own…
October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s…
October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]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' => '19315', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bioethics Day Celebration Concludes in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 21: World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over the past three months, health science students in Nepal participated in a range of activities, including photography, art poster creation, research poster presentations, essay writing, and poetry. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The winners of these contests were Suraja Shakya in photography, Suyog Jha in poetry, Rajani Neupane in art, Dr. Satyam Mandal in essay writing, and the research poster team consisting of Chittakala Pandey, Sahil Ranjan, and Rajiv Shah.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics received the third prize in the Research Poster category for its submission under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Each competition was assessed by separate panels of judges. During the concluding event, Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya, the head of Nepal's unit, congratulated the winners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event featured recitations of poems related to the theme, dramatic performances, displays of photos, posters, and artwork, as well as the publication of essays.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prof. Shakya emphasized that the theme for 2023 calls for the betterment and protection of future generations with a focus on high moral standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Bioethics has been a part of the Global Network of Bioethics since 2014, working to promote bioethical principles and practices.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-21', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19043', 'image' => '20231021072851_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-21 07:26:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19314', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Exports Over 1 Million Tons of non-Basmati Rice to 7 Countries ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notification issued on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), falling under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Export of non-basmati white rice ... to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles is notified," said the notification issued by DGFT. </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"">It notified 95,000 tonnes for Nepal, 190,000 tons for Cameroon, 142,000 tons each for Cote d'Ivore and Guinea, 170,000 tons for Malaysia, 295,000 tons for the Philippines, and 800 tons for Seychelles. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian government in July banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply. However, exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs. -- Xinhua/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19042', 'image' => '20231020022951_rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:28:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19313', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Passengers Heading Home for Festivals Stranded at Nepalgunj Airport due to Shortage of Tickets ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Dhananjaya Jethara complained that he has been stranded for five days as he could not get an air ticket. According to him, he worked as a school teacher in Bhojpur district and is heading to his home to celebrate Dashain, but he was forced to stay in a hotel paying a large sum of money for want of a ticket. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Every morning, I visit the ticket counter of the Nepal Airlines Corporation for air ticket, but return empty handed," 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"">As travelling by land is considered 'unsafe', people from remote hill districts often opt to travel by air. Passengers have been dealing with problems due to irregular flights. Without access to the road network, people of Dolpa, Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Bajura districts have been suffering due to the lack of air tickets, complained the passengers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sangita Bista of Kolti in Bajura district complained that she is worried about how to go home to celebrate Dashain due to the shortage of tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She accused the NAC of distributing tickets to those with access to power, thus depriving general passengers of tickets. "There are 17 seats in one flight. Only seven seats are allocated for the general people. The remaining tickets are distributed to those with access to power," she complained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The problem has worsened due to the fact that the NAC flights are very few in number, and private airlines prioritise charter flights over regular flights, said Jethara. The pressure of passengers is high during Dashain, but the lack of enough flights has added problems, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC has added flights for Dashain to eight flights a week from three. The flights have been added due to the pressure of passengers, said Man Bahadur Chaudhary, station chief of the Nepalgunj regional office of the NAC. "Earlier, there were flights only three days a week. Now, the flights have been added for eight days and it has been made regular," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Saying that efforts were underway to provide convenient services to the passengers, Chaudhary claimed that tickets were being distributed to the sick, children and elderly people on a priority basis. Increasing number of passengers was the cause of passengers not getting tickets, he said. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19041', 'image' => '20231020022612_20230804122813_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:25:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19312', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Clear the Dues of Construction Entrepreneurs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.</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 Finance Ministry on Wednesday decided to release the due amount of the previous year to the construction companies.</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 amount that the contractors will get is Rs 6 billion.</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"">A ministerial-level meeting of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure on Wednesday decided to allow the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Water Supply and Urban Development to make the payment of the previous year. It has been mentioned that the concerned bodies (departments) of these ministries can release the dues that have not been paid in the last 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 finance ministry has instructed the concerned bodies to release the amount through budgetary transfer if the amount is not received from foreign sources by the third quarter under budgetary support.</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"">Although the Ministry of Finance has decided to release the payment, there are doubts that the builders will get the amount. The decision was taken on Wednesday and the festival of Dashain has already started. Therefore, the businessmen are doubtful they will not get the money anytime soon.</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"">Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that they are likely to get the dues cleared by the government bodies that have adequate budget. But since the government offices will remain open till Friday before being closed for Dashain, Singh said this decision will not have an immediate impact.</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"">"Even though we are not in a position to get the money right away, we are hopeful of getting the due amount once the offices open after Dashain," Singh said, "It has given us relief, but if we want to keep the construction sector running, the government needs to extend the deadline and remove other obstructions."</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19040', 'image' => '20231020021232_20210105024513_20200327032654_5003_finance-ministy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:11:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19311', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government’s Monthly Administrative Expenses Cross Rs 100 billion in Mid-September to Mid-October', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs 100 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">122</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion in current expenditure in the Nepali month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government has allocated Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1140</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under the heading of current expenditure to meet the expenses such as employees’ salaries, administrative expenses and subsidies going to the local level. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent relatively more on current expenditure in the review month. During this period, the current expenditure increased because the government provided an additional one month’s salary to the employees and pensioners as Dashain allowance.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government’s current expenditure in the review month was more by </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 compared to the previous two months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Office of the Financial Comptroller General has informed that the current expenditure which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">87</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"">66</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion by mid-September reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">210</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on mid-October</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the other hand, the capital expenditure has been minimal. As of mid-October, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under this heading. For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated more than Rs </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"">billion as capital expenditure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even now, the construction entrepreneurs have not been able to get the amount of the works already completed. According to Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, the government is yet to pay them about Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</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"">3</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion under the heading of financial management in the review month. The amount was used for the repayment of public debt and loan investment in public institutions. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">49</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"">34</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion on financial management. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-October, the budget deficit has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">47</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"">36</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion due to low income of government compared to its expenditure. As of mid-October, the government has collected revenue of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">276</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">What is a budget deficit?</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Budget deficit is usually the expenditure that is more than the income of the government. Foreign grants in Nepal are also considered part of the revenue as they do not have to be returned later. Insufficient resources other than revenue and subsidy causes a budget deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government compensates such losses through foreign and domestic loans. Governments around the world prepare deficit budgets based on the belief that development should be done even by collecting debt. However, economists say that it is not considered good for the economy to have a budget with a deficit of more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the GDP. In the context of Nepal, there is a tradition of preparing a budget with large amounts of deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => 'government, Nepal, administrative, expense, budget, current, expenditure, capital, deficit', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19039', 'image' => '20231020014803_20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:47:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19310', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Shanti Kandel said the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hill region and generally fair in the rest of the country in the afternoon today. She added that although there are chances of light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning in one or two places of the hill regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, the weather will be fair in the rest of the places. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The maximum temperature in Kathmandu will likely remain between 24 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19038', 'image' => '20231020011744_weatherrrr.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:16:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19309', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia Probes Alleged Abuses of Workers at Amazon Warehouses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The human resources and social development ministry of Saudi Arabia said in a recent statement to AFP that the investigation began before Amnesty International last week reported that Nepalese workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia had suffered "appalling" living conditions, on-the-job safety risks and wage theft. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable and is comprehensively investigated by the relevant Saudi authorities," the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The distressing reports outlined in this case are already the subject of an ongoing investigation."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the Amnesty report published last Tuesday drew from the accounts of 22 men who had worked in warehouses in Riyadh or the Red Sea city of Jeddah going back to 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The London-based human rights group accused recruitment agents and two Saudi labour supply companies of deceiving migrant workers who thought they would be employed directly by Amazon and took out steep loans to pay recruitment fees.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia they encountered "dirty and overcrowded accommodation, sometimes infested with bed bugs" as well as "gruelling" working conditions marked by constant monitoring and inadequate rest, sometimes resulting in injury, Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The abuses were so severe they likely amounted to "human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation", Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The kingdom's "kafala" sponsorship system for foreign workers meant the labourers struggled to leave the warehouse jobs and risked possible arrest for "absconding", Amnesty said, adding that "a few contemplated suicide".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi Arabia has a total population of 32.2 million, according to the latest census published in May, some 13.4 million of whom are foreigners, many from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Egypt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign labourers often occupy manual and service jobs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi authorities maintain that they have "taken robust measures to combat any form of human trafficking on an international level", including by ratifying the International Labour Organisation protocol against forced labour.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Amazon told AFP that the company was working with "third-party vendor" to ensure that conditions improve and that workers are repaid "any unpaid wages or worker-paid recruitment fees" and provided with "clean and safe accommodations".</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19037', 'image' => '20231020114338_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 11:42:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19308', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Police Seize 92 Sacks of Sugar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. The police said that a truck (Na 6 Kha 6219) was impounded from Banepa Municipality-7 along with the sugar during a security check on Thursday. </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 sugar was reportedly being supplied by concealing it in the sacks filled with paddy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Kavre Raj Kumar Shrestha told the state-owned RSS that the market value of the sugar confiscated by the police is worth around Rs 600,000. </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"">Likewise, truck driver Raju Timalsina, 27, has also been arrested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The police said that the truck and the goods seized during the security check have been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation at Hariharbhawan in Lalitpur for further investigations. </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"">There has been a shortage of sugar in the market during the festive season when the demand is high and the government has failed to import sugar on time. As a result, the price of sugar has been skyrocketing in the market. The price of sugar, which was Rs 95 per kg, has increased to Rs 140 per kg in the retail market.</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"">People in the Terai areas have been relying on smuggled sugar, which costs much less than the current price of sugar available in the market. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19036', 'image' => '20231020101843_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 10:17:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19307', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales Decline in Birgunj as Customers Choose India for Dashain Shopping', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 20: Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary reason behind this downturn is the increasing number of customers crossing the border to Raxaul, a city in India, where they can find goods at lower prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Customers are drawn to Raxaul due to the more affordable prices, which stands in stark contrast to Birgunj where shopkeepers are burdened with customs duties that drive up the prices of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This trend has raised concerns among Nepali retailers, particularly those dealing with clothing, food items, electronic, and electrical goods. Individual customers are now effortlessly importing these products from Raxaul, bypassing the higher customs costs they'd face in Birgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dipak Sharraf, a retailer, has expressed his concerns about the significant decline in transactions in Birgunj due to the high customs duties. He even cautioned that if this trend persists, many shops in Birgunj might be forced to close their doors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pankaj Rauniyar, a clothing trader, has noted a stark difference between this Dashain and the previous one, describing the current season as rather lackluster. Transaction activity has witnessed a sharp decline, leaving traders worried.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bikash Kumar Agrawal, another retailer, revealed that purchases of appliances like refrigerators, TVs, and washing machines have plummeted by 70% compared to the previous festival season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He suggested that the government should consider reforms in economic policies to revitalize the dwindling retail sector, which has been struggling.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Traders in Birgunj, a vital trade hub in the country, are calling for the government's urgent intervention to rejuvenate the economy, which has already suffered significant setbacks due to the impact of COVID-19. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19035', 'image' => '20231020065009_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 06:48:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19306', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sheds 4.05 Points to Settle at 1903.84', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index experienced a slight decline today following a significant gain of 43.27 points yesterday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experienced investors and analysts are confident that the market is unlikely to fall any further since it appears to be at a stable bottom. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One investor attributed the decrease in turnover to the Dashain festival, which has momentarily subdued market momentum.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> A total of 284 scrips were traded through 25,520 transactions. As many as 3,766,153 units of shares exchanged their hands, amounting to Rs 97 crores. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nabil Bank Promoter Share(NABILP) had the highest turnover of 5.90 crores, closing at a market price of Rs 312. Likewise, Citizens Mutual Fund 2(CMF2) gained the highest 0.42%, closing at a market price of 7.57 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upper Solu Hydro Electric Company Limited (USHEC) lost the highest 8.25%, closing at a market price of Rs 247 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, nine sectors landed in the red territory, while four sectors closed in the green zone. Hydropower Index Lost the highest 0.96%, while Trading Index and Manufacturing and Processing Index each lost the least 0.00%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sensitive Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a gain of 0.03% and 0.02% respectively, while Float Index lost 0.24%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19034', 'image' => '20231019033231_collage (27).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 15:30:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19304', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cement Industry on the Brink of Collapse due to Low Construction Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. According to industrialists, the income of majority of the 63 cement industries that are operating in the country has slumped due to the lack of market. </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"">Dhruba Thapa, president of the Nepal Cement Producers Association, said that the cement industries are now on the brink of collapse. </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"">"Due to the lack of market, industries have reached a state of collapsing. More than 20 per cent of the industries are not even running," he said.</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"">Vice President of Nepal Cement Producers Association and Managing Director of Agni Cement Tara Prasad Pokharel said that the cement industry has been affected due to the lack of construction of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and irrigation in the country.</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"">"New construction works have not started, the builders have not been paid their dues, and therefore sufficient construction work has not been done. It has had a direct impact on the cement industry," he said.</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"">Pokharel said that since Indian cement is cheaper than the cement produced in Nepal, they cannot compete with the Indian products.</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 government of Nepal has given up to 8 percent cash subsidy to encourage cement export," said Pokharel, "If we want to protect the cement industry and promote exports, it is necessary to give 20 percent subsidy on export," he said.</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"">According to the report of 10 cement companies published by various rating companies, the company's operating income of Rs 34 billion in 2020 increased by 23 percent to Rs 41.92 billion in 2021. However, compared to 2021, the income of cement industries increased by only 5 percent in 2022. Industrialist said that the income is affected due to lack of market.</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, in the year 2022, 10 cement industries, which earned an operating profit of Rs 44.28 billion, have been rated for a loan of Rs 57.14 billion. This loan is 29 percent more than their operating profit.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19033', 'image' => '20231019014714_20210116080717_Clipboard40.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:46:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19303', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Sells Electricity worth Rs 11 Billion to India in Five Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. The NEA has been selling surplus electricity in the rainy season to India.</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"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year (from mid-July to mid-October), NEA exported electricity worth Rs 9.645 billion to India. Last month alone (mid-September to mid-October), NEA sold electricity worth Rs 4.235 billion in the Indian market. </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 average rate of electricity exported to India in three months was Rs 10.27 per unit. </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, electricity worth Rs 405 million were exported in five days of May and Rs 1.75 billion in June to India. The average selling price of electricity exported to India in May and June was Rs 9.67 per unit.</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 NEA has been selling 522 megawatts of electricity through competition in the day-ahead market of IEX and about 110 megawatts of electricity to the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) as per the power agreement between Nepal and India. NVVN is selling the electricity purchased from NEA in the state of Haryana.</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"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of NEA, said that it is possible to export electricity worth Rs 16 billion this 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"">“We have submitted a proposal to the Central Electricity Authority of India seeking for permission to export about 100 megawatts of electricity, but as we did not get the approval, we sent the proposal again some time ago,” said Ghising, adding, “The festive season has already started. During this period, the factories are closed and Kathmandu is deserted. The heat has subsided in the Terai and the domestic demand for electricity will decrease. If we do not get approval to export more electricity to India, we may have to close the power plants. We are confident that we will get approval for more electricity export soon.”</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"">NEA received approval for the export of 522 MW of electricity in the competitive market and 110 MW to NVVN. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV international transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'NEA, electricity, Nepal, India', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19031', 'image' => '20231019012323_20230716115331_eee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:22:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19302', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC to Add Three Small Aircraft with its Own Resources', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources.', '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"">October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources. Stating that the business expansion and income of NAC have been better than in the previous year, the state-owned airline company said it is in the final stage of preparation to purchase the aircraft for domestic flights. The NAC said it will purchase the aircraft on installments basis.</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 flag carrier of Nepal had taken loans from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizens' Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase aircraft for international flights.</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 NAC had purchased two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft with the loans. It paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.9</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million to the EPF and CIT on Tuesday.</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 NAC, it has already paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion to these organizations between mid-June </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to mid-June 2023</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that the company's business expansion and income have improved compared to the previous year.</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, the NAC has cleared all its dues and is also managing expenses for regular and emergency maintenance of engine and aircraft on its own after improvement in cash flow.</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 said that the NAC plans to buy new aircraft to fly to remote areas (STOL) based on the current needs. </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 added that the new aircraft will serve passengers in the remote areas and it will also promote tourism and also maintain the price of airfare.</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"">Likewise, the NAC issued a notice on Wednesday and informed that it has resumed operation of aircraft that were grounded due to technical problems for a few days.</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 NAC’s aircraft were grounded for some time due to technical problems, recently. The NAC mentioned that all the aircraft are operating regular flights since Monday after necessary repairs.</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"">NAC currently has four Airbus for international flights and only one Twin Otter for domestic flights. Six NAC aircraft manufactured in China are currently grounded due to high operating cost and expensive spare parts.</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 the NAC’s presence in domestic market is weak, private companies are charging exorbitant fares taking advantage of the festive season at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19030', 'image' => '20231019125846_20230428123538_nac twin.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:58:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19301', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India to Supply 95,000 Metric Tons of Rice to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.', '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"">October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.</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"">India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notice on Wednesday informing that the quota of rice export to Nepal has been set at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">95</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"">000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons.</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 notice mentions that India has agreed to supply non-Basmati rice to seven countries including Nepal. The export of rice under quota system will be carried out by the National Cooperative Export Limited of 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"">In mid-June, Nepal had written a letter to India demanding </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of rice, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of sugar and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of paddy.</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"">Gajendra Thakur, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, confirmed that India has agreed to supply rice nearly three months after Nepal's request. </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 rice in the domestic market had increased recently after India banned the export of rice and paddy.</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"">There was also a fear of increasing risk of food insecurity in Nepal. According to spokesperson Thakur, there is no need to worry now as the new lot of rice will arrive in Nepal soon.</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 notice, India has set a quota to export </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</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"">34</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"">800 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons of rice to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles along with Nepal. Among these countries, the Philippines will received the maximum </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">295</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice followed by Cameroon, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">190</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons and then, Malaysia, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">170</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19029', 'image' => '20231019120729_1697678163.1688637526.rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:06:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19300', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China's Xi Announces Over $100 Billion in New Belt and Road Funding ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. </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 Belt and Road is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas, with Beijing saying it has now inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world. </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"">Proponents hail it for bringing resources and economic growth to the Global South. But the initiative has also been slammed for saddling poor countries with enormous debt. Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional $100 billion in loans. </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"">Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) for BRI projects, he said. An additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the project's official lending institution, the Silk Road fund, Xi 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"">This week's forum, attended by representatives of 130 countries, is the third major summit of its kind to be hosted by Beijing since the Belt and Road's launch in 2013. </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"">Critics have long pointed to opaque pricing for BRI projects built by Chinese companies, with countries including Malaysia and Myanmar renegotiating deals to bring down costs. </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"">Beijing has been forced to hand out billions of dollars in bailout loans to BRI countries in recent years to allow the countries to extend their loans and remain solvent, according to a joint report this year by the World Bank and other institutions. </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"">And China said this month that BRI participants owe more than $300 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China. </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 initiative has also drawn scrutiny for its massive carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by massive infrastructure projects. </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 development of megaports, pipelines, railways and highways could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, researchers from China, the United States and the United Kingdom warned in 2019. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'China, Xi, Jinping, Belt, Road, Initiative, BRI', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19028', 'image' => '20231019104715_XxjpbeE007019_20231018_PEPFN1A001.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 10:46:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, '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' => '19315', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bioethics Day Celebration Concludes in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 21: World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over the past three months, health science students in Nepal participated in a range of activities, including photography, art poster creation, research poster presentations, essay writing, and poetry. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The winners of these contests were Suraja Shakya in photography, Suyog Jha in poetry, Rajani Neupane in art, Dr. Satyam Mandal in essay writing, and the research poster team consisting of Chittakala Pandey, Sahil Ranjan, and Rajiv Shah.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics received the third prize in the Research Poster category for its submission under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Each competition was assessed by separate panels of judges. During the concluding event, Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya, the head of Nepal's unit, congratulated the winners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event featured recitations of poems related to the theme, dramatic performances, displays of photos, posters, and artwork, as well as the publication of essays.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prof. Shakya emphasized that the theme for 2023 calls for the betterment and protection of future generations with a focus on high moral standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Bioethics has been a part of the Global Network of Bioethics since 2014, working to promote bioethical principles and practices.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-21', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19043', 'image' => '20231021072851_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-21 07:26:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19314', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Exports Over 1 Million Tons of non-Basmati Rice to 7 Countries ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notification issued on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), falling under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Export of non-basmati white rice ... to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles is notified," said the notification issued by DGFT. </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"">It notified 95,000 tonnes for Nepal, 190,000 tons for Cameroon, 142,000 tons each for Cote d'Ivore and Guinea, 170,000 tons for Malaysia, 295,000 tons for the Philippines, and 800 tons for Seychelles. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian government in July banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply. However, exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs. -- Xinhua/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19042', 'image' => '20231020022951_rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:28:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19313', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Passengers Heading Home for Festivals Stranded at Nepalgunj Airport due to Shortage of Tickets ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Dhananjaya Jethara complained that he has been stranded for five days as he could not get an air ticket. According to him, he worked as a school teacher in Bhojpur district and is heading to his home to celebrate Dashain, but he was forced to stay in a hotel paying a large sum of money for want of a ticket. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Every morning, I visit the ticket counter of the Nepal Airlines Corporation for air ticket, but return empty handed," 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"">As travelling by land is considered 'unsafe', people from remote hill districts often opt to travel by air. Passengers have been dealing with problems due to irregular flights. Without access to the road network, people of Dolpa, Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Bajura districts have been suffering due to the lack of air tickets, complained the passengers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sangita Bista of Kolti in Bajura district complained that she is worried about how to go home to celebrate Dashain due to the shortage of tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She accused the NAC of distributing tickets to those with access to power, thus depriving general passengers of tickets. "There are 17 seats in one flight. Only seven seats are allocated for the general people. The remaining tickets are distributed to those with access to power," she complained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The problem has worsened due to the fact that the NAC flights are very few in number, and private airlines prioritise charter flights over regular flights, said Jethara. The pressure of passengers is high during Dashain, but the lack of enough flights has added problems, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC has added flights for Dashain to eight flights a week from three. The flights have been added due to the pressure of passengers, said Man Bahadur Chaudhary, station chief of the Nepalgunj regional office of the NAC. "Earlier, there were flights only three days a week. Now, the flights have been added for eight days and it has been made regular," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Saying that efforts were underway to provide convenient services to the passengers, Chaudhary claimed that tickets were being distributed to the sick, children and elderly people on a priority basis. Increasing number of passengers was the cause of passengers not getting tickets, he said. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19041', 'image' => '20231020022612_20230804122813_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:25:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19312', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Clear the Dues of Construction Entrepreneurs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.</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 Finance Ministry on Wednesday decided to release the due amount of the previous year to the construction companies.</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 amount that the contractors will get is Rs 6 billion.</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"">A ministerial-level meeting of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure on Wednesday decided to allow the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Water Supply and Urban Development to make the payment of the previous year. It has been mentioned that the concerned bodies (departments) of these ministries can release the dues that have not been paid in the last 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 finance ministry has instructed the concerned bodies to release the amount through budgetary transfer if the amount is not received from foreign sources by the third quarter under budgetary support.</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"">Although the Ministry of Finance has decided to release the payment, there are doubts that the builders will get the amount. The decision was taken on Wednesday and the festival of Dashain has already started. Therefore, the businessmen are doubtful they will not get the money anytime soon.</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"">Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that they are likely to get the dues cleared by the government bodies that have adequate budget. But since the government offices will remain open till Friday before being closed for Dashain, Singh said this decision will not have an immediate impact.</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"">"Even though we are not in a position to get the money right away, we are hopeful of getting the due amount once the offices open after Dashain," Singh said, "It has given us relief, but if we want to keep the construction sector running, the government needs to extend the deadline and remove other obstructions."</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19040', 'image' => '20231020021232_20210105024513_20200327032654_5003_finance-ministy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:11:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19311', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government’s Monthly Administrative Expenses Cross Rs 100 billion in Mid-September to Mid-October', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs 100 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">122</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion in current expenditure in the Nepali month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government has allocated Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1140</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under the heading of current expenditure to meet the expenses such as employees’ salaries, administrative expenses and subsidies going to the local level. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent relatively more on current expenditure in the review month. During this period, the current expenditure increased because the government provided an additional one month’s salary to the employees and pensioners as Dashain allowance.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government’s current expenditure in the review month was more by </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 compared to the previous two months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Office of the Financial Comptroller General has informed that the current expenditure which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">87</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"">66</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion by mid-September reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">210</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on mid-October</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the other hand, the capital expenditure has been minimal. As of mid-October, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under this heading. For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated more than Rs </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"">billion as capital expenditure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even now, the construction entrepreneurs have not been able to get the amount of the works already completed. According to Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, the government is yet to pay them about Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</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"">3</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion under the heading of financial management in the review month. The amount was used for the repayment of public debt and loan investment in public institutions. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">49</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"">34</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion on financial management. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-October, the budget deficit has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">47</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"">36</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion due to low income of government compared to its expenditure. As of mid-October, the government has collected revenue of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">276</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">What is a budget deficit?</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Budget deficit is usually the expenditure that is more than the income of the government. Foreign grants in Nepal are also considered part of the revenue as they do not have to be returned later. Insufficient resources other than revenue and subsidy causes a budget deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government compensates such losses through foreign and domestic loans. Governments around the world prepare deficit budgets based on the belief that development should be done even by collecting debt. However, economists say that it is not considered good for the economy to have a budget with a deficit of more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the GDP. In the context of Nepal, there is a tradition of preparing a budget with large amounts of deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => 'government, Nepal, administrative, expense, budget, current, expenditure, capital, deficit', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19039', 'image' => '20231020014803_20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:47:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19310', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Shanti Kandel said the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hill region and generally fair in the rest of the country in the afternoon today. She added that although there are chances of light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning in one or two places of the hill regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, the weather will be fair in the rest of the places. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The maximum temperature in Kathmandu will likely remain between 24 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19038', 'image' => '20231020011744_weatherrrr.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:16:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19309', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia Probes Alleged Abuses of Workers at Amazon Warehouses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The human resources and social development ministry of Saudi Arabia said in a recent statement to AFP that the investigation began before Amnesty International last week reported that Nepalese workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia had suffered "appalling" living conditions, on-the-job safety risks and wage theft. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable and is comprehensively investigated by the relevant Saudi authorities," the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The distressing reports outlined in this case are already the subject of an ongoing investigation."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the Amnesty report published last Tuesday drew from the accounts of 22 men who had worked in warehouses in Riyadh or the Red Sea city of Jeddah going back to 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The London-based human rights group accused recruitment agents and two Saudi labour supply companies of deceiving migrant workers who thought they would be employed directly by Amazon and took out steep loans to pay recruitment fees.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia they encountered "dirty and overcrowded accommodation, sometimes infested with bed bugs" as well as "gruelling" working conditions marked by constant monitoring and inadequate rest, sometimes resulting in injury, Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The abuses were so severe they likely amounted to "human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation", Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The kingdom's "kafala" sponsorship system for foreign workers meant the labourers struggled to leave the warehouse jobs and risked possible arrest for "absconding", Amnesty said, adding that "a few contemplated suicide".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi Arabia has a total population of 32.2 million, according to the latest census published in May, some 13.4 million of whom are foreigners, many from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Egypt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign labourers often occupy manual and service jobs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi authorities maintain that they have "taken robust measures to combat any form of human trafficking on an international level", including by ratifying the International Labour Organisation protocol against forced labour.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Amazon told AFP that the company was working with "third-party vendor" to ensure that conditions improve and that workers are repaid "any unpaid wages or worker-paid recruitment fees" and provided with "clean and safe accommodations".</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19037', 'image' => '20231020114338_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 11:42:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19308', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Police Seize 92 Sacks of Sugar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. The police said that a truck (Na 6 Kha 6219) was impounded from Banepa Municipality-7 along with the sugar during a security check on Thursday. </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 sugar was reportedly being supplied by concealing it in the sacks filled with paddy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Kavre Raj Kumar Shrestha told the state-owned RSS that the market value of the sugar confiscated by the police is worth around Rs 600,000. </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"">Likewise, truck driver Raju Timalsina, 27, has also been arrested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The police said that the truck and the goods seized during the security check have been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation at Hariharbhawan in Lalitpur for further investigations. </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"">There has been a shortage of sugar in the market during the festive season when the demand is high and the government has failed to import sugar on time. As a result, the price of sugar has been skyrocketing in the market. The price of sugar, which was Rs 95 per kg, has increased to Rs 140 per kg in the retail market.</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"">People in the Terai areas have been relying on smuggled sugar, which costs much less than the current price of sugar available in the market. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19036', 'image' => '20231020101843_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 10:17:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19307', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales Decline in Birgunj as Customers Choose India for Dashain Shopping', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 20: Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary reason behind this downturn is the increasing number of customers crossing the border to Raxaul, a city in India, where they can find goods at lower prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Customers are drawn to Raxaul due to the more affordable prices, which stands in stark contrast to Birgunj where shopkeepers are burdened with customs duties that drive up the prices of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This trend has raised concerns among Nepali retailers, particularly those dealing with clothing, food items, electronic, and electrical goods. Individual customers are now effortlessly importing these products from Raxaul, bypassing the higher customs costs they'd face in Birgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dipak Sharraf, a retailer, has expressed his concerns about the significant decline in transactions in Birgunj due to the high customs duties. He even cautioned that if this trend persists, many shops in Birgunj might be forced to close their doors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pankaj Rauniyar, a clothing trader, has noted a stark difference between this Dashain and the previous one, describing the current season as rather lackluster. Transaction activity has witnessed a sharp decline, leaving traders worried.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bikash Kumar Agrawal, another retailer, revealed that purchases of appliances like refrigerators, TVs, and washing machines have plummeted by 70% compared to the previous festival season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He suggested that the government should consider reforms in economic policies to revitalize the dwindling retail sector, which has been struggling.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Traders in Birgunj, a vital trade hub in the country, are calling for the government's urgent intervention to rejuvenate the economy, which has already suffered significant setbacks due to the impact of COVID-19. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19035', 'image' => '20231020065009_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 06:48:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19306', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sheds 4.05 Points to Settle at 1903.84', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index experienced a slight decline today following a significant gain of 43.27 points yesterday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experienced investors and analysts are confident that the market is unlikely to fall any further since it appears to be at a stable bottom. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One investor attributed the decrease in turnover to the Dashain festival, which has momentarily subdued market momentum.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> A total of 284 scrips were traded through 25,520 transactions. As many as 3,766,153 units of shares exchanged their hands, amounting to Rs 97 crores. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nabil Bank Promoter Share(NABILP) had the highest turnover of 5.90 crores, closing at a market price of Rs 312. Likewise, Citizens Mutual Fund 2(CMF2) gained the highest 0.42%, closing at a market price of 7.57 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upper Solu Hydro Electric Company Limited (USHEC) lost the highest 8.25%, closing at a market price of Rs 247 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, nine sectors landed in the red territory, while four sectors closed in the green zone. Hydropower Index Lost the highest 0.96%, while Trading Index and Manufacturing and Processing Index each lost the least 0.00%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sensitive Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a gain of 0.03% and 0.02% respectively, while Float Index lost 0.24%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19034', 'image' => '20231019033231_collage (27).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 15:30:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19304', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cement Industry on the Brink of Collapse due to Low Construction Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. According to industrialists, the income of majority of the 63 cement industries that are operating in the country has slumped due to the lack of market. </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"">Dhruba Thapa, president of the Nepal Cement Producers Association, said that the cement industries are now on the brink of collapse. </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"">"Due to the lack of market, industries have reached a state of collapsing. More than 20 per cent of the industries are not even running," he said.</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"">Vice President of Nepal Cement Producers Association and Managing Director of Agni Cement Tara Prasad Pokharel said that the cement industry has been affected due to the lack of construction of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and irrigation in the country.</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"">"New construction works have not started, the builders have not been paid their dues, and therefore sufficient construction work has not been done. It has had a direct impact on the cement industry," he said.</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"">Pokharel said that since Indian cement is cheaper than the cement produced in Nepal, they cannot compete with the Indian products.</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 government of Nepal has given up to 8 percent cash subsidy to encourage cement export," said Pokharel, "If we want to protect the cement industry and promote exports, it is necessary to give 20 percent subsidy on export," he said.</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"">According to the report of 10 cement companies published by various rating companies, the company's operating income of Rs 34 billion in 2020 increased by 23 percent to Rs 41.92 billion in 2021. However, compared to 2021, the income of cement industries increased by only 5 percent in 2022. Industrialist said that the income is affected due to lack of market.</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, in the year 2022, 10 cement industries, which earned an operating profit of Rs 44.28 billion, have been rated for a loan of Rs 57.14 billion. This loan is 29 percent more than their operating profit.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19033', 'image' => '20231019014714_20210116080717_Clipboard40.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:46:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19303', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Sells Electricity worth Rs 11 Billion to India in Five Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. The NEA has been selling surplus electricity in the rainy season to India.</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"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year (from mid-July to mid-October), NEA exported electricity worth Rs 9.645 billion to India. Last month alone (mid-September to mid-October), NEA sold electricity worth Rs 4.235 billion in the Indian market. </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 average rate of electricity exported to India in three months was Rs 10.27 per unit. </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, electricity worth Rs 405 million were exported in five days of May and Rs 1.75 billion in June to India. The average selling price of electricity exported to India in May and June was Rs 9.67 per unit.</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 NEA has been selling 522 megawatts of electricity through competition in the day-ahead market of IEX and about 110 megawatts of electricity to the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) as per the power agreement between Nepal and India. NVVN is selling the electricity purchased from NEA in the state of Haryana.</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"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of NEA, said that it is possible to export electricity worth Rs 16 billion this 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"">“We have submitted a proposal to the Central Electricity Authority of India seeking for permission to export about 100 megawatts of electricity, but as we did not get the approval, we sent the proposal again some time ago,” said Ghising, adding, “The festive season has already started. During this period, the factories are closed and Kathmandu is deserted. The heat has subsided in the Terai and the domestic demand for electricity will decrease. If we do not get approval to export more electricity to India, we may have to close the power plants. We are confident that we will get approval for more electricity export soon.”</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"">NEA received approval for the export of 522 MW of electricity in the competitive market and 110 MW to NVVN. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV international transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'NEA, electricity, Nepal, India', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19031', 'image' => '20231019012323_20230716115331_eee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:22:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19302', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC to Add Three Small Aircraft with its Own Resources', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources.', '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"">October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources. Stating that the business expansion and income of NAC have been better than in the previous year, the state-owned airline company said it is in the final stage of preparation to purchase the aircraft for domestic flights. The NAC said it will purchase the aircraft on installments basis.</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 flag carrier of Nepal had taken loans from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizens' Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase aircraft for international flights.</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 NAC had purchased two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft with the loans. It paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.9</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million to the EPF and CIT on Tuesday.</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 NAC, it has already paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion to these organizations between mid-June </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to mid-June 2023</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that the company's business expansion and income have improved compared to the previous year.</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, the NAC has cleared all its dues and is also managing expenses for regular and emergency maintenance of engine and aircraft on its own after improvement in cash flow.</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 said that the NAC plans to buy new aircraft to fly to remote areas (STOL) based on the current needs. </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 added that the new aircraft will serve passengers in the remote areas and it will also promote tourism and also maintain the price of airfare.</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"">Likewise, the NAC issued a notice on Wednesday and informed that it has resumed operation of aircraft that were grounded due to technical problems for a few days.</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 NAC’s aircraft were grounded for some time due to technical problems, recently. The NAC mentioned that all the aircraft are operating regular flights since Monday after necessary repairs.</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"">NAC currently has four Airbus for international flights and only one Twin Otter for domestic flights. Six NAC aircraft manufactured in China are currently grounded due to high operating cost and expensive spare parts.</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 the NAC’s presence in domestic market is weak, private companies are charging exorbitant fares taking advantage of the festive season at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19030', 'image' => '20231019125846_20230428123538_nac twin.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:58:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19301', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India to Supply 95,000 Metric Tons of Rice to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.', '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"">October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.</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"">India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notice on Wednesday informing that the quota of rice export to Nepal has been set at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">95</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"">000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons.</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 notice mentions that India has agreed to supply non-Basmati rice to seven countries including Nepal. The export of rice under quota system will be carried out by the National Cooperative Export Limited of 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"">In mid-June, Nepal had written a letter to India demanding </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of rice, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of sugar and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of paddy.</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"">Gajendra Thakur, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, confirmed that India has agreed to supply rice nearly three months after Nepal's request. </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 rice in the domestic market had increased recently after India banned the export of rice and paddy.</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"">There was also a fear of increasing risk of food insecurity in Nepal. According to spokesperson Thakur, there is no need to worry now as the new lot of rice will arrive in Nepal soon.</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 notice, India has set a quota to export </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</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"">34</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"">800 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons of rice to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles along with Nepal. Among these countries, the Philippines will received the maximum </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">295</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice followed by Cameroon, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">190</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons and then, Malaysia, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">170</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19029', 'image' => '20231019120729_1697678163.1688637526.rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:06:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19300', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China's Xi Announces Over $100 Billion in New Belt and Road Funding ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. </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 Belt and Road is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas, with Beijing saying it has now inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world. </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"">Proponents hail it for bringing resources and economic growth to the Global South. But the initiative has also been slammed for saddling poor countries with enormous debt. Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional $100 billion in loans. </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"">Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) for BRI projects, he said. An additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the project's official lending institution, the Silk Road fund, Xi 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"">This week's forum, attended by representatives of 130 countries, is the third major summit of its kind to be hosted by Beijing since the Belt and Road's launch in 2013. </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"">Critics have long pointed to opaque pricing for BRI projects built by Chinese companies, with countries including Malaysia and Myanmar renegotiating deals to bring down costs. </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"">Beijing has been forced to hand out billions of dollars in bailout loans to BRI countries in recent years to allow the countries to extend their loans and remain solvent, according to a joint report this year by the World Bank and other institutions. </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"">And China said this month that BRI participants owe more than $300 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China. </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 initiative has also drawn scrutiny for its massive carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by massive infrastructure projects. </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 development of megaports, pipelines, railways and highways could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, researchers from China, the United States and the United Kingdom warned in 2019. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'China, Xi, Jinping, Belt, Road, Initiative, BRI', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19028', 'image' => '20231019104715_XxjpbeE007019_20231018_PEPFN1A001.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 10:46:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, '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' => '19315', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bioethics Day Celebration Concludes in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 21: World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over the past three months, health science students in Nepal participated in a range of activities, including photography, art poster creation, research poster presentations, essay writing, and poetry. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The winners of these contests were Suraja Shakya in photography, Suyog Jha in poetry, Rajani Neupane in art, Dr. Satyam Mandal in essay writing, and the research poster team consisting of Chittakala Pandey, Sahil Ranjan, and Rajiv Shah.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics received the third prize in the Research Poster category for its submission under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Each competition was assessed by separate panels of judges. During the concluding event, Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya, the head of Nepal's unit, congratulated the winners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event featured recitations of poems related to the theme, dramatic performances, displays of photos, posters, and artwork, as well as the publication of essays.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prof. Shakya emphasized that the theme for 2023 calls for the betterment and protection of future generations with a focus on high moral standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Bioethics has been a part of the Global Network of Bioethics since 2014, working to promote bioethical principles and practices.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-21', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19043', 'image' => '20231021072851_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-21 07:26:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19314', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Exports Over 1 Million Tons of non-Basmati Rice to 7 Countries ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notification issued on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), falling under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Export of non-basmati white rice ... to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles is notified," said the notification issued by DGFT. </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"">It notified 95,000 tonnes for Nepal, 190,000 tons for Cameroon, 142,000 tons each for Cote d'Ivore and Guinea, 170,000 tons for Malaysia, 295,000 tons for the Philippines, and 800 tons for Seychelles. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian government in July banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply. However, exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs. -- Xinhua/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19042', 'image' => '20231020022951_rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:28:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19313', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Passengers Heading Home for Festivals Stranded at Nepalgunj Airport due to Shortage of Tickets ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Dhananjaya Jethara complained that he has been stranded for five days as he could not get an air ticket. According to him, he worked as a school teacher in Bhojpur district and is heading to his home to celebrate Dashain, but he was forced to stay in a hotel paying a large sum of money for want of a ticket. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Every morning, I visit the ticket counter of the Nepal Airlines Corporation for air ticket, but return empty handed," 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"">As travelling by land is considered 'unsafe', people from remote hill districts often opt to travel by air. Passengers have been dealing with problems due to irregular flights. Without access to the road network, people of Dolpa, Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Bajura districts have been suffering due to the lack of air tickets, complained the passengers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sangita Bista of Kolti in Bajura district complained that she is worried about how to go home to celebrate Dashain due to the shortage of tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She accused the NAC of distributing tickets to those with access to power, thus depriving general passengers of tickets. "There are 17 seats in one flight. Only seven seats are allocated for the general people. The remaining tickets are distributed to those with access to power," she complained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The problem has worsened due to the fact that the NAC flights are very few in number, and private airlines prioritise charter flights over regular flights, said Jethara. The pressure of passengers is high during Dashain, but the lack of enough flights has added problems, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC has added flights for Dashain to eight flights a week from three. The flights have been added due to the pressure of passengers, said Man Bahadur Chaudhary, station chief of the Nepalgunj regional office of the NAC. "Earlier, there were flights only three days a week. Now, the flights have been added for eight days and it has been made regular," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Saying that efforts were underway to provide convenient services to the passengers, Chaudhary claimed that tickets were being distributed to the sick, children and elderly people on a priority basis. Increasing number of passengers was the cause of passengers not getting tickets, he said. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19041', 'image' => '20231020022612_20230804122813_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:25:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19312', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Clear the Dues of Construction Entrepreneurs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.</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 Finance Ministry on Wednesday decided to release the due amount of the previous year to the construction companies.</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 amount that the contractors will get is Rs 6 billion.</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"">A ministerial-level meeting of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure on Wednesday decided to allow the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Water Supply and Urban Development to make the payment of the previous year. It has been mentioned that the concerned bodies (departments) of these ministries can release the dues that have not been paid in the last 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 finance ministry has instructed the concerned bodies to release the amount through budgetary transfer if the amount is not received from foreign sources by the third quarter under budgetary support.</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"">Although the Ministry of Finance has decided to release the payment, there are doubts that the builders will get the amount. The decision was taken on Wednesday and the festival of Dashain has already started. Therefore, the businessmen are doubtful they will not get the money anytime soon.</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"">Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that they are likely to get the dues cleared by the government bodies that have adequate budget. But since the government offices will remain open till Friday before being closed for Dashain, Singh said this decision will not have an immediate impact.</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"">"Even though we are not in a position to get the money right away, we are hopeful of getting the due amount once the offices open after Dashain," Singh said, "It has given us relief, but if we want to keep the construction sector running, the government needs to extend the deadline and remove other obstructions."</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19040', 'image' => '20231020021232_20210105024513_20200327032654_5003_finance-ministy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:11:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19311', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government’s Monthly Administrative Expenses Cross Rs 100 billion in Mid-September to Mid-October', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs 100 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">122</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion in current expenditure in the Nepali month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government has allocated Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1140</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under the heading of current expenditure to meet the expenses such as employees’ salaries, administrative expenses and subsidies going to the local level. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent relatively more on current expenditure in the review month. During this period, the current expenditure increased because the government provided an additional one month’s salary to the employees and pensioners as Dashain allowance.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government’s current expenditure in the review month was more by </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 compared to the previous two months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Office of the Financial Comptroller General has informed that the current expenditure which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">87</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"">66</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion by mid-September reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">210</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on mid-October</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the other hand, the capital expenditure has been minimal. As of mid-October, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under this heading. For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated more than Rs </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"">billion as capital expenditure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even now, the construction entrepreneurs have not been able to get the amount of the works already completed. According to Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, the government is yet to pay them about Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</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"">3</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion under the heading of financial management in the review month. The amount was used for the repayment of public debt and loan investment in public institutions. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">49</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"">34</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion on financial management. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-October, the budget deficit has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">47</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"">36</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion due to low income of government compared to its expenditure. As of mid-October, the government has collected revenue of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">276</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">What is a budget deficit?</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Budget deficit is usually the expenditure that is more than the income of the government. Foreign grants in Nepal are also considered part of the revenue as they do not have to be returned later. Insufficient resources other than revenue and subsidy causes a budget deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government compensates such losses through foreign and domestic loans. Governments around the world prepare deficit budgets based on the belief that development should be done even by collecting debt. However, economists say that it is not considered good for the economy to have a budget with a deficit of more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the GDP. In the context of Nepal, there is a tradition of preparing a budget with large amounts of deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => 'government, Nepal, administrative, expense, budget, current, expenditure, capital, deficit', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19039', 'image' => '20231020014803_20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:47:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19310', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Shanti Kandel said the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hill region and generally fair in the rest of the country in the afternoon today. She added that although there are chances of light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning in one or two places of the hill regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, the weather will be fair in the rest of the places. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The maximum temperature in Kathmandu will likely remain between 24 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19038', 'image' => '20231020011744_weatherrrr.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:16:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19309', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia Probes Alleged Abuses of Workers at Amazon Warehouses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The human resources and social development ministry of Saudi Arabia said in a recent statement to AFP that the investigation began before Amnesty International last week reported that Nepalese workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia had suffered "appalling" living conditions, on-the-job safety risks and wage theft. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable and is comprehensively investigated by the relevant Saudi authorities," the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The distressing reports outlined in this case are already the subject of an ongoing investigation."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the Amnesty report published last Tuesday drew from the accounts of 22 men who had worked in warehouses in Riyadh or the Red Sea city of Jeddah going back to 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The London-based human rights group accused recruitment agents and two Saudi labour supply companies of deceiving migrant workers who thought they would be employed directly by Amazon and took out steep loans to pay recruitment fees.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia they encountered "dirty and overcrowded accommodation, sometimes infested with bed bugs" as well as "gruelling" working conditions marked by constant monitoring and inadequate rest, sometimes resulting in injury, Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The abuses were so severe they likely amounted to "human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation", Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The kingdom's "kafala" sponsorship system for foreign workers meant the labourers struggled to leave the warehouse jobs and risked possible arrest for "absconding", Amnesty said, adding that "a few contemplated suicide".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi Arabia has a total population of 32.2 million, according to the latest census published in May, some 13.4 million of whom are foreigners, many from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Egypt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign labourers often occupy manual and service jobs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi authorities maintain that they have "taken robust measures to combat any form of human trafficking on an international level", including by ratifying the International Labour Organisation protocol against forced labour.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Amazon told AFP that the company was working with "third-party vendor" to ensure that conditions improve and that workers are repaid "any unpaid wages or worker-paid recruitment fees" and provided with "clean and safe accommodations".</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19037', 'image' => '20231020114338_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 11:42:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19308', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Police Seize 92 Sacks of Sugar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. The police said that a truck (Na 6 Kha 6219) was impounded from Banepa Municipality-7 along with the sugar during a security check on Thursday. </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 sugar was reportedly being supplied by concealing it in the sacks filled with paddy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Kavre Raj Kumar Shrestha told the state-owned RSS that the market value of the sugar confiscated by the police is worth around Rs 600,000. </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"">Likewise, truck driver Raju Timalsina, 27, has also been arrested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The police said that the truck and the goods seized during the security check have been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation at Hariharbhawan in Lalitpur for further investigations. </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"">There has been a shortage of sugar in the market during the festive season when the demand is high and the government has failed to import sugar on time. As a result, the price of sugar has been skyrocketing in the market. The price of sugar, which was Rs 95 per kg, has increased to Rs 140 per kg in the retail market.</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"">People in the Terai areas have been relying on smuggled sugar, which costs much less than the current price of sugar available in the market. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19036', 'image' => '20231020101843_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 10:17:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19307', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales Decline in Birgunj as Customers Choose India for Dashain Shopping', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 20: Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary reason behind this downturn is the increasing number of customers crossing the border to Raxaul, a city in India, where they can find goods at lower prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Customers are drawn to Raxaul due to the more affordable prices, which stands in stark contrast to Birgunj where shopkeepers are burdened with customs duties that drive up the prices of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This trend has raised concerns among Nepali retailers, particularly those dealing with clothing, food items, electronic, and electrical goods. Individual customers are now effortlessly importing these products from Raxaul, bypassing the higher customs costs they'd face in Birgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dipak Sharraf, a retailer, has expressed his concerns about the significant decline in transactions in Birgunj due to the high customs duties. He even cautioned that if this trend persists, many shops in Birgunj might be forced to close their doors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pankaj Rauniyar, a clothing trader, has noted a stark difference between this Dashain and the previous one, describing the current season as rather lackluster. Transaction activity has witnessed a sharp decline, leaving traders worried.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bikash Kumar Agrawal, another retailer, revealed that purchases of appliances like refrigerators, TVs, and washing machines have plummeted by 70% compared to the previous festival season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He suggested that the government should consider reforms in economic policies to revitalize the dwindling retail sector, which has been struggling.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Traders in Birgunj, a vital trade hub in the country, are calling for the government's urgent intervention to rejuvenate the economy, which has already suffered significant setbacks due to the impact of COVID-19. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19035', 'image' => '20231020065009_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 06:48:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19306', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sheds 4.05 Points to Settle at 1903.84', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index experienced a slight decline today following a significant gain of 43.27 points yesterday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experienced investors and analysts are confident that the market is unlikely to fall any further since it appears to be at a stable bottom. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One investor attributed the decrease in turnover to the Dashain festival, which has momentarily subdued market momentum.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> A total of 284 scrips were traded through 25,520 transactions. As many as 3,766,153 units of shares exchanged their hands, amounting to Rs 97 crores. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nabil Bank Promoter Share(NABILP) had the highest turnover of 5.90 crores, closing at a market price of Rs 312. Likewise, Citizens Mutual Fund 2(CMF2) gained the highest 0.42%, closing at a market price of 7.57 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upper Solu Hydro Electric Company Limited (USHEC) lost the highest 8.25%, closing at a market price of Rs 247 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, nine sectors landed in the red territory, while four sectors closed in the green zone. Hydropower Index Lost the highest 0.96%, while Trading Index and Manufacturing and Processing Index each lost the least 0.00%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sensitive Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a gain of 0.03% and 0.02% respectively, while Float Index lost 0.24%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19034', 'image' => '20231019033231_collage (27).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 15:30:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19304', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cement Industry on the Brink of Collapse due to Low Construction Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. According to industrialists, the income of majority of the 63 cement industries that are operating in the country has slumped due to the lack of market. </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"">Dhruba Thapa, president of the Nepal Cement Producers Association, said that the cement industries are now on the brink of collapse. </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"">"Due to the lack of market, industries have reached a state of collapsing. More than 20 per cent of the industries are not even running," he said.</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"">Vice President of Nepal Cement Producers Association and Managing Director of Agni Cement Tara Prasad Pokharel said that the cement industry has been affected due to the lack of construction of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and irrigation in the country.</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"">"New construction works have not started, the builders have not been paid their dues, and therefore sufficient construction work has not been done. It has had a direct impact on the cement industry," he said.</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"">Pokharel said that since Indian cement is cheaper than the cement produced in Nepal, they cannot compete with the Indian products.</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 government of Nepal has given up to 8 percent cash subsidy to encourage cement export," said Pokharel, "If we want to protect the cement industry and promote exports, it is necessary to give 20 percent subsidy on export," he said.</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"">According to the report of 10 cement companies published by various rating companies, the company's operating income of Rs 34 billion in 2020 increased by 23 percent to Rs 41.92 billion in 2021. However, compared to 2021, the income of cement industries increased by only 5 percent in 2022. Industrialist said that the income is affected due to lack of market.</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, in the year 2022, 10 cement industries, which earned an operating profit of Rs 44.28 billion, have been rated for a loan of Rs 57.14 billion. This loan is 29 percent more than their operating profit.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19033', 'image' => '20231019014714_20210116080717_Clipboard40.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:46:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19303', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Sells Electricity worth Rs 11 Billion to India in Five Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. The NEA has been selling surplus electricity in the rainy season to India.</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"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year (from mid-July to mid-October), NEA exported electricity worth Rs 9.645 billion to India. Last month alone (mid-September to mid-October), NEA sold electricity worth Rs 4.235 billion in the Indian market. </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 average rate of electricity exported to India in three months was Rs 10.27 per unit. </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, electricity worth Rs 405 million were exported in five days of May and Rs 1.75 billion in June to India. The average selling price of electricity exported to India in May and June was Rs 9.67 per unit.</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 NEA has been selling 522 megawatts of electricity through competition in the day-ahead market of IEX and about 110 megawatts of electricity to the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) as per the power agreement between Nepal and India. NVVN is selling the electricity purchased from NEA in the state of Haryana.</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"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of NEA, said that it is possible to export electricity worth Rs 16 billion this 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"">“We have submitted a proposal to the Central Electricity Authority of India seeking for permission to export about 100 megawatts of electricity, but as we did not get the approval, we sent the proposal again some time ago,” said Ghising, adding, “The festive season has already started. During this period, the factories are closed and Kathmandu is deserted. The heat has subsided in the Terai and the domestic demand for electricity will decrease. If we do not get approval to export more electricity to India, we may have to close the power plants. We are confident that we will get approval for more electricity export soon.”</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"">NEA received approval for the export of 522 MW of electricity in the competitive market and 110 MW to NVVN. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV international transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'NEA, electricity, Nepal, India', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19031', 'image' => '20231019012323_20230716115331_eee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:22:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19302', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC to Add Three Small Aircraft with its Own Resources', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources.', '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"">October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources. Stating that the business expansion and income of NAC have been better than in the previous year, the state-owned airline company said it is in the final stage of preparation to purchase the aircraft for domestic flights. The NAC said it will purchase the aircraft on installments basis.</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 flag carrier of Nepal had taken loans from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizens' Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase aircraft for international flights.</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 NAC had purchased two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft with the loans. It paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.9</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million to the EPF and CIT on Tuesday.</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 NAC, it has already paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion to these organizations between mid-June </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to mid-June 2023</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that the company's business expansion and income have improved compared to the previous year.</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, the NAC has cleared all its dues and is also managing expenses for regular and emergency maintenance of engine and aircraft on its own after improvement in cash flow.</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 said that the NAC plans to buy new aircraft to fly to remote areas (STOL) based on the current needs. </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 added that the new aircraft will serve passengers in the remote areas and it will also promote tourism and also maintain the price of airfare.</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"">Likewise, the NAC issued a notice on Wednesday and informed that it has resumed operation of aircraft that were grounded due to technical problems for a few days.</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 NAC’s aircraft were grounded for some time due to technical problems, recently. The NAC mentioned that all the aircraft are operating regular flights since Monday after necessary repairs.</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"">NAC currently has four Airbus for international flights and only one Twin Otter for domestic flights. Six NAC aircraft manufactured in China are currently grounded due to high operating cost and expensive spare parts.</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 the NAC’s presence in domestic market is weak, private companies are charging exorbitant fares taking advantage of the festive season at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19030', 'image' => '20231019125846_20230428123538_nac twin.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:58:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19301', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India to Supply 95,000 Metric Tons of Rice to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.', '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"">October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.</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"">India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notice on Wednesday informing that the quota of rice export to Nepal has been set at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">95</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"">000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons.</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 notice mentions that India has agreed to supply non-Basmati rice to seven countries including Nepal. The export of rice under quota system will be carried out by the National Cooperative Export Limited of 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"">In mid-June, Nepal had written a letter to India demanding </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of rice, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of sugar and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of paddy.</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"">Gajendra Thakur, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, confirmed that India has agreed to supply rice nearly three months after Nepal's request. </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 rice in the domestic market had increased recently after India banned the export of rice and paddy.</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"">There was also a fear of increasing risk of food insecurity in Nepal. According to spokesperson Thakur, there is no need to worry now as the new lot of rice will arrive in Nepal soon.</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 notice, India has set a quota to export </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</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"">34</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"">800 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons of rice to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles along with Nepal. Among these countries, the Philippines will received the maximum </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">295</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice followed by Cameroon, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">190</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons and then, Malaysia, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">170</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19029', 'image' => '20231019120729_1697678163.1688637526.rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:06:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19300', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China's Xi Announces Over $100 Billion in New Belt and Road Funding ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. </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 Belt and Road is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas, with Beijing saying it has now inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world. </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"">Proponents hail it for bringing resources and economic growth to the Global South. But the initiative has also been slammed for saddling poor countries with enormous debt. Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional $100 billion in loans. </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"">Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) for BRI projects, he said. An additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the project's official lending institution, the Silk Road fund, Xi 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"">This week's forum, attended by representatives of 130 countries, is the third major summit of its kind to be hosted by Beijing since the Belt and Road's launch in 2013. </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"">Critics have long pointed to opaque pricing for BRI projects built by Chinese companies, with countries including Malaysia and Myanmar renegotiating deals to bring down costs. </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"">Beijing has been forced to hand out billions of dollars in bailout loans to BRI countries in recent years to allow the countries to extend their loans and remain solvent, according to a joint report this year by the World Bank and other institutions. </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"">And China said this month that BRI participants owe more than $300 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China. </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 initiative has also drawn scrutiny for its massive carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by massive infrastructure projects. </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 development of megaports, pipelines, railways and highways could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, researchers from China, the United States and the United Kingdom warned in 2019. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'China, Xi, Jinping, Belt, Road, Initiative, BRI', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19028', 'image' => '20231019104715_XxjpbeE007019_20231018_PEPFN1A001.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 10:46:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, '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
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 133]file not found!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' => '19315', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bioethics Day Celebration Concludes in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 21: World Bioethics Day, celebrated globally on October 19, concluded at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan, Nepal. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event with theme "Protecting Future Generations," featured various programs and competitions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over the past three months, health science students in Nepal participated in a range of activities, including photography, art poster creation, research poster presentations, essay writing, and poetry. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The winners of these contests were Suraja Shakya in photography, Suyog Jha in poetry, Rajani Neupane in art, Dr. Satyam Mandal in essay writing, and the research poster team consisting of Chittakala Pandey, Sahil Ranjan, and Rajiv Shah.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics received the third prize in the Research Poster category for its submission under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Each competition was assessed by separate panels of judges. During the concluding event, Prof. Dr. Dhana Ratna Shakya, the head of Nepal's unit, congratulated the winners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event featured recitations of poems related to the theme, dramatic performances, displays of photos, posters, and artwork, as well as the publication of essays.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prof. Shakya emphasized that the theme for 2023 calls for the betterment and protection of future generations with a focus on high moral standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nepal Unit of the International Bioethics has been a part of the Global Network of Bioethics since 2014, working to promote bioethical principles and practices.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-21', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19043', 'image' => '20231021072851_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-21 07:26:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19314', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India Exports Over 1 Million Tons of non-Basmati Rice to 7 Countries ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Indian government has permitted exports of over 1 million tons of non-basmati white rice to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles, officials said on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notification issued on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), falling under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Export of non-basmati white rice ... to Nepal, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivore, Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Seychelles is notified," said the notification issued by DGFT. </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"">It notified 95,000 tonnes for Nepal, 190,000 tons for Cameroon, 142,000 tons each for Cote d'Ivore and Guinea, 170,000 tons for Malaysia, 295,000 tons for the Philippines, and 800 tons for Seychelles. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian government in July banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply. However, exports are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs. -- Xinhua/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19042', 'image' => '20231020022951_rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:28:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19313', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Passengers Heading Home for Festivals Stranded at Nepalgunj Airport due to Shortage of Tickets ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: People heading home to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath festivals have been stranded at the Nepalgunj Airport in Banke district due to the shortage of air tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Dhananjaya Jethara complained that he has been stranded for five days as he could not get an air ticket. According to him, he worked as a school teacher in Bhojpur district and is heading to his home to celebrate Dashain, but he was forced to stay in a hotel paying a large sum of money for want of a ticket. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Every morning, I visit the ticket counter of the Nepal Airlines Corporation for air ticket, but return empty handed," 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"">As travelling by land is considered 'unsafe', people from remote hill districts often opt to travel by air. Passengers have been dealing with problems due to irregular flights. Without access to the road network, people of Dolpa, Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Bajura districts have been suffering due to the lack of air tickets, complained the passengers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sangita Bista of Kolti in Bajura district complained that she is worried about how to go home to celebrate Dashain due to the shortage of tickets. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She accused the NAC of distributing tickets to those with access to power, thus depriving general passengers of tickets. "There are 17 seats in one flight. Only seven seats are allocated for the general people. The remaining tickets are distributed to those with access to power," she complained. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The problem has worsened due to the fact that the NAC flights are very few in number, and private airlines prioritise charter flights over regular flights, said Jethara. The pressure of passengers is high during Dashain, but the lack of enough flights has added problems, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC has added flights for Dashain to eight flights a week from three. The flights have been added due to the pressure of passengers, said Man Bahadur Chaudhary, station chief of the Nepalgunj regional office of the NAC. "Earlier, there were flights only three days a week. Now, the flights have been added for eight days and it has been made regular," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Saying that efforts were underway to provide convenient services to the passengers, Chaudhary claimed that tickets were being distributed to the sick, children and elderly people on a priority basis. Increasing number of passengers was the cause of passengers not getting tickets, he said. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19041', 'image' => '20231020022612_20230804122813_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:25:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19312', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Clear the Dues of Construction Entrepreneurs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 20: The construction companies entitled to receive due amount from the government for undertaking development projects funded by the government will finally receive their due amount.</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 Finance Ministry on Wednesday decided to release the due amount of the previous year to the construction companies.</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 amount that the contractors will get is Rs 6 billion.</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"">A ministerial-level meeting of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure on Wednesday decided to allow the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Water Supply and Urban Development to make the payment of the previous year. It has been mentioned that the concerned bodies (departments) of these ministries can release the dues that have not been paid in the last 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 finance ministry has instructed the concerned bodies to release the amount through budgetary transfer if the amount is not received from foreign sources by the third quarter under budgetary support.</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"">Although the Ministry of Finance has decided to release the payment, there are doubts that the builders will get the amount. The decision was taken on Wednesday and the festival of Dashain has already started. Therefore, the businessmen are doubtful they will not get the money anytime soon.</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"">Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, said that they are likely to get the dues cleared by the government bodies that have adequate budget. But since the government offices will remain open till Friday before being closed for Dashain, Singh said this decision will not have an immediate impact.</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"">"Even though we are not in a position to get the money right away, we are hopeful of getting the due amount once the offices open after Dashain," Singh said, "It has given us relief, but if we want to keep the construction sector running, the government needs to extend the deadline and remove other obstructions."</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19040', 'image' => '20231020021232_20210105024513_20200327032654_5003_finance-ministy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 14:11:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19311', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government’s Monthly Administrative Expenses Cross Rs 100 billion in Mid-September to Mid-October', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs 100 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 20: The government's monthly administrative expenses have crossed over Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">122</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion in current expenditure in the Nepali month of Asoj (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government has allocated Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1140</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under the heading of current expenditure to meet the expenses such as employees’ salaries, administrative expenses and subsidies going to the local level. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government spent relatively more on current expenditure in the review month. During this period, the current expenditure increased because the government provided an additional one month’s salary to the employees and pensioners as Dashain allowance.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government’s current expenditure in the review month was more by </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 compared to the previous two months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Office of the Financial Comptroller General has informed that the current expenditure which was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">87</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"">66</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion by mid-September reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">210</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on mid-October</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the other hand, the capital expenditure has been minimal. As of mid-October, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion under this heading. For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated more than Rs </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"">billion as capital expenditure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even now, the construction entrepreneurs have not been able to get the amount of the works already completed. According to Ravi Singh, the president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal, the government is yet to pay them about Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</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"">3</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion under the heading of financial management in the review month. The amount was used for the repayment of public debt and loan investment in public institutions. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year, the government has spent Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">49</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"">34</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion on financial management. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-October, the budget deficit has reached Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">47</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"">36</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion due to low income of government compared to its expenditure. As of mid-October, the government has collected revenue of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">276</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">What is a budget deficit?</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Budget deficit is usually the expenditure that is more than the income of the government. Foreign grants in Nepal are also considered part of the revenue as they do not have to be returned later. Insufficient resources other than revenue and subsidy causes a budget deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government compensates such losses through foreign and domestic loans. Governments around the world prepare deficit budgets based on the belief that development should be done even by collecting debt. However, economists say that it is not considered good for the economy to have a budget with a deficit of more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the GDP. In the context of Nepal, there is a tradition of preparing a budget with large amounts of deficit.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => 'government, Nepal, administrative, expense, budget, current, expenditure, capital, deficit', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19039', 'image' => '20231020014803_20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:47:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19310', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Westerly wind is having partial influence in Nepal at present and the weather is partly cloudy in the hill regions and generally fair in the rest of the country, the Meteorological Forecasting Division said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Shanti Kandel said the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hill region and generally fair in the rest of the country in the afternoon today. She added that although there are chances of light rain accompanied by thunder and lightning in one or two places of the hill regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, the weather will be fair in the rest of the places. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The maximum temperature in Kathmandu will likely remain between 24 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19038', 'image' => '20231020011744_weatherrrr.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 13:16:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19309', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia Probes Alleged Abuses of Workers at Amazon Warehouses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">October 20: Saudi Arabia has been investigating reports of grim conditions for migrant workers at Amazon warehouses in the kingdom, denouncing all labour abuse and exploitation as "unacceptable".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The human resources and social development ministry of Saudi Arabia said in a recent statement to AFP that the investigation began before Amnesty International last week reported that Nepalese workers at Amazon in Saudi Arabia had suffered "appalling" living conditions, on-the-job safety risks and wage theft. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable and is comprehensively investigated by the relevant Saudi authorities," the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The distressing reports outlined in this case are already the subject of an ongoing investigation."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the Amnesty report published last Tuesday drew from the accounts of 22 men who had worked in warehouses in Riyadh or the Red Sea city of Jeddah going back to 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The London-based human rights group accused recruitment agents and two Saudi labour supply companies of deceiving migrant workers who thought they would be employed directly by Amazon and took out steep loans to pay recruitment fees.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia they encountered "dirty and overcrowded accommodation, sometimes infested with bed bugs" as well as "gruelling" working conditions marked by constant monitoring and inadequate rest, sometimes resulting in injury, Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The abuses were so severe they likely amounted to "human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation", Amnesty said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The kingdom's "kafala" sponsorship system for foreign workers meant the labourers struggled to leave the warehouse jobs and risked possible arrest for "absconding", Amnesty said, adding that "a few contemplated suicide".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi Arabia has a total population of 32.2 million, according to the latest census published in May, some 13.4 million of whom are foreigners, many from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Yemen and Egypt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign labourers often occupy manual and service jobs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Saudi authorities maintain that they have "taken robust measures to combat any form of human trafficking on an international level", including by ratifying the International Labour Organisation protocol against forced labour.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Amazon told AFP that the company was working with "third-party vendor" to ensure that conditions improve and that workers are repaid "any unpaid wages or worker-paid recruitment fees" and provided with "clean and safe accommodations".</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19037', 'image' => '20231020114338_foreign emp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 11:42:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19308', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Police Seize 92 Sacks of Sugar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: The Area Police Office, Banepa, has seized a total of 92 sacks of sugar brought by evading taxes. The police said that a truck (Na 6 Kha 6219) was impounded from Banepa Municipality-7 along with the sugar during a security check on Thursday. </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 sugar was reportedly being supplied by concealing it in the sacks filled with paddy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Kavre Raj Kumar Shrestha told the state-owned RSS that the market value of the sugar confiscated by the police is worth around Rs 600,000. </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"">Likewise, truck driver Raju Timalsina, 27, has also been arrested. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The police said that the truck and the goods seized during the security check have been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation at Hariharbhawan in Lalitpur for further investigations. </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"">There has been a shortage of sugar in the market during the festive season when the demand is high and the government has failed to import sugar on time. As a result, the price of sugar has been skyrocketing in the market. The price of sugar, which was Rs 95 per kg, has increased to Rs 140 per kg in the retail market.</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"">People in the Terai areas have been relying on smuggled sugar, which costs much less than the current price of sugar available in the market. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19036', 'image' => '20231020101843_sugar.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 10:17:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19307', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sales Decline in Birgunj as Customers Choose India for Dashain Shopping', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 20: Despite the festive season of Dashain, Birgunj city is experiencing an unusual lack of hustle and bustle. Traders in the city are currently facing a challenging situation, as they eagerly await customers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary reason behind this downturn is the increasing number of customers crossing the border to Raxaul, a city in India, where they can find goods at lower prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Customers are drawn to Raxaul due to the more affordable prices, which stands in stark contrast to Birgunj where shopkeepers are burdened with customs duties that drive up the prices of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This trend has raised concerns among Nepali retailers, particularly those dealing with clothing, food items, electronic, and electrical goods. Individual customers are now effortlessly importing these products from Raxaul, bypassing the higher customs costs they'd face in Birgunj.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Dipak Sharraf, a retailer, has expressed his concerns about the significant decline in transactions in Birgunj due to the high customs duties. He even cautioned that if this trend persists, many shops in Birgunj might be forced to close their doors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pankaj Rauniyar, a clothing trader, has noted a stark difference between this Dashain and the previous one, describing the current season as rather lackluster. Transaction activity has witnessed a sharp decline, leaving traders worried.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Bikash Kumar Agrawal, another retailer, revealed that purchases of appliances like refrigerators, TVs, and washing machines have plummeted by 70% compared to the previous festival season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He suggested that the government should consider reforms in economic policies to revitalize the dwindling retail sector, which has been struggling.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Traders in Birgunj, a vital trade hub in the country, are calling for the government's urgent intervention to rejuvenate the economy, which has already suffered significant setbacks due to the impact of COVID-19. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-20', 'modified' => '2023-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19035', 'image' => '20231020065009_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-20 06:48:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19306', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sheds 4.05 Points to Settle at 1903.84', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index shed 4.04 points or 0.215 and closed at 1903.84 points on the fifth trading day of the week, Thursday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index experienced a slight decline today following a significant gain of 43.27 points yesterday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experienced investors and analysts are confident that the market is unlikely to fall any further since it appears to be at a stable bottom. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One investor attributed the decrease in turnover to the Dashain festival, which has momentarily subdued market momentum.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> A total of 284 scrips were traded through 25,520 transactions. As many as 3,766,153 units of shares exchanged their hands, amounting to Rs 97 crores. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nabil Bank Promoter Share(NABILP) had the highest turnover of 5.90 crores, closing at a market price of Rs 312. Likewise, Citizens Mutual Fund 2(CMF2) gained the highest 0.42%, closing at a market price of 7.57 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upper Solu Hydro Electric Company Limited (USHEC) lost the highest 8.25%, closing at a market price of Rs 247 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, nine sectors landed in the red territory, while four sectors closed in the green zone. Hydropower Index Lost the highest 0.96%, while Trading Index and Manufacturing and Processing Index each lost the least 0.00%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sensitive Index and Sensitive Float Index experienced a gain of 0.03% and 0.02% respectively, while Float Index lost 0.24%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19034', 'image' => '20231019033231_collage (27).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 15:30:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19304', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cement Industry on the Brink of Collapse due to Low Construction Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The cement industries operating in the country are at risk due to the lack of market. According to industrialists, the income of majority of the 63 cement industries that are operating in the country has slumped due to the lack of market. </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"">Dhruba Thapa, president of the Nepal Cement Producers Association, said that the cement industries are now on the brink of collapse. </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"">"Due to the lack of market, industries have reached a state of collapsing. More than 20 per cent of the industries are not even running," he said.</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"">Vice President of Nepal Cement Producers Association and Managing Director of Agni Cement Tara Prasad Pokharel said that the cement industry has been affected due to the lack of construction of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and irrigation in the country.</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"">"New construction works have not started, the builders have not been paid their dues, and therefore sufficient construction work has not been done. It has had a direct impact on the cement industry," he said.</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"">Pokharel said that since Indian cement is cheaper than the cement produced in Nepal, they cannot compete with the Indian products.</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 government of Nepal has given up to 8 percent cash subsidy to encourage cement export," said Pokharel, "If we want to protect the cement industry and promote exports, it is necessary to give 20 percent subsidy on export," he said.</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"">According to the report of 10 cement companies published by various rating companies, the company's operating income of Rs 34 billion in 2020 increased by 23 percent to Rs 41.92 billion in 2021. However, compared to 2021, the income of cement industries increased by only 5 percent in 2022. Industrialist said that the income is affected due to lack of market.</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, in the year 2022, 10 cement industries, which earned an operating profit of Rs 44.28 billion, have been rated for a loan of Rs 57.14 billion. This loan is 29 percent more than their operating profit.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19033', 'image' => '20231019014714_20210116080717_Clipboard40.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:46:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19303', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Sells Electricity worth Rs 11 Billion to India in Five Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: India purchased electricity worth Rs 11.80 billion from the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in the last five months; from mid-May to mid-October. The NEA has been selling surplus electricity in the rainy season to India.</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"">In the first three months of the current fiscal year (from mid-July to mid-October), NEA exported electricity worth Rs 9.645 billion to India. Last month alone (mid-September to mid-October), NEA sold electricity worth Rs 4.235 billion in the Indian market. </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 average rate of electricity exported to India in three months was Rs 10.27 per unit. </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, electricity worth Rs 405 million were exported in five days of May and Rs 1.75 billion in June to India. The average selling price of electricity exported to India in May and June was Rs 9.67 per unit.</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 NEA has been selling 522 megawatts of electricity through competition in the day-ahead market of IEX and about 110 megawatts of electricity to the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) as per the power agreement between Nepal and India. NVVN is selling the electricity purchased from NEA in the state of Haryana.</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"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of NEA, said that it is possible to export electricity worth Rs 16 billion this 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"">“We have submitted a proposal to the Central Electricity Authority of India seeking for permission to export about 100 megawatts of electricity, but as we did not get the approval, we sent the proposal again some time ago,” said Ghising, adding, “The festive season has already started. During this period, the factories are closed and Kathmandu is deserted. The heat has subsided in the Terai and the domestic demand for electricity will decrease. If we do not get approval to export more electricity to India, we may have to close the power plants. We are confident that we will get approval for more electricity export soon.”</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"">NEA received approval for the export of 522 MW of electricity in the competitive market and 110 MW to NVVN. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV international transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'NEA, electricity, Nepal, India', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19031', 'image' => '20231019012323_20230716115331_eee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 13:22:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19302', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC to Add Three Small Aircraft with its Own Resources', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources.', '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"">October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources. Stating that the business expansion and income of NAC have been better than in the previous year, the state-owned airline company said it is in the final stage of preparation to purchase the aircraft for domestic flights. The NAC said it will purchase the aircraft on installments basis.</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 flag carrier of Nepal had taken loans from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizens' Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase aircraft for international flights.</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 NAC had purchased two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft with the loans. It paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.9</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million to the EPF and CIT on Tuesday.</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 NAC, it has already paid installments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion to these organizations between mid-June </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to mid-June 2023</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that the company's business expansion and income have improved compared to the previous year.</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, the NAC has cleared all its dues and is also managing expenses for regular and emergency maintenance of engine and aircraft on its own after improvement in cash flow.</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 said that the NAC plans to buy new aircraft to fly to remote areas (STOL) based on the current needs. </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 added that the new aircraft will serve passengers in the remote areas and it will also promote tourism and also maintain the price of airfare.</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"">Likewise, the NAC issued a notice on Wednesday and informed that it has resumed operation of aircraft that were grounded due to technical problems for a few days.</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 NAC’s aircraft were grounded for some time due to technical problems, recently. The NAC mentioned that all the aircraft are operating regular flights since Monday after necessary repairs.</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"">NAC currently has four Airbus for international flights and only one Twin Otter for domestic flights. Six NAC aircraft manufactured in China are currently grounded due to high operating cost and expensive spare parts.</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 the NAC’s presence in domestic market is weak, private companies are charging exorbitant fares taking advantage of the festive season at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19030', 'image' => '20231019125846_20230428123538_nac twin.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:58:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19301', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'India to Supply 95,000 Metric Tons of Rice to Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.', '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"">October 19: Three months after Nepal wrote a letter to India seeking for supply of rice, the southern neighbor has responded positively to Nepal’s request.</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"">India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notice on Wednesday informing that the quota of rice export to Nepal has been set at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">95</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"">000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons.</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 notice mentions that India has agreed to supply non-Basmati rice to seven countries including Nepal. The export of rice under quota system will be carried out by the National Cooperative Export Limited of 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"">In mid-June, Nepal had written a letter to India demanding </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">100,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of rice, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">50,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of sugar and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> metric tons of paddy.</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"">Gajendra Thakur, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, confirmed that India has agreed to supply rice nearly three months after Nepal's request. </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 rice in the domestic market had increased recently after India banned the export of rice and paddy.</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"">There was also a fear of increasing risk of food insecurity in Nepal. According to spokesperson Thakur, there is no need to worry now as the new lot of rice will arrive in Nepal soon.</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 notice, India has set a quota to export </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</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"">34</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"">800 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">metric tons of rice to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Seychelles along with Nepal. Among these countries, the Philippines will received the maximum </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">295</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice followed by Cameroon, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">190</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons and then, Malaysia, which will get </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">170</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"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">tons of rice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19029', 'image' => '20231019120729_1697678163.1688637526.rice.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 12:06:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19300', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China's Xi Announces Over $100 Billion in New Belt and Road Funding ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Beijing will inject over $100 billion of new funding into its Belt and Road initiative, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday at a summit marking the vast infrastructure project's tenth anniversary. </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 Belt and Road is a central pillar of Xi's bid to expand China's clout overseas, with Beijing saying it has now inked over two trillion dollars in contracts around the world. </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"">Proponents hail it for bringing resources and economic growth to the Global South. But the initiative has also been slammed for saddling poor countries with enormous debt. Xi announced on Wednesday that key Belt and Road lenders the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank will now offer an additional $100 billion in loans. </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"">Both will set up financing opportunities of 350 billion yuan ($47.9 billion) for BRI projects, he said. An additional 80 billion yuan will be injected into the project's official lending institution, the Silk Road fund, Xi 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"">This week's forum, attended by representatives of 130 countries, is the third major summit of its kind to be hosted by Beijing since the Belt and Road's launch in 2013. </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"">Critics have long pointed to opaque pricing for BRI projects built by Chinese companies, with countries including Malaysia and Myanmar renegotiating deals to bring down costs. </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"">Beijing has been forced to hand out billions of dollars in bailout loans to BRI countries in recent years to allow the countries to extend their loans and remain solvent, according to a joint report this year by the World Bank and other institutions. </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"">And China said this month that BRI participants owe more than $300 billion to the Export-Import Bank of China. </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 initiative has also drawn scrutiny for its massive carbon footprint and the environmental degradation caused by massive infrastructure projects. </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 development of megaports, pipelines, railways and highways could render the Paris climate goals unreachable, researchers from China, the United States and the United Kingdom warned in 2019. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-10-19', 'modified' => '2023-10-19', 'keywords' => 'China, Xi, Jinping, Belt, Road, Initiative, BRI', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19028', 'image' => '20231019104715_XxjpbeE007019_20231018_PEPFN1A001.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-10-19 10:46:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, '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
