August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh.…
August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh.…
August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday…
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety…
The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal…
August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis…
After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week,…
August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from…
August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of…
August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export…
August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi,…
August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the…
Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them…
The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading…
August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector…
August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. According to government officials, Nepal has defined the deal as 'a preliminary agreement' among Nepal, India and Bangladesh.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that Bangladesh is set to purchase 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal in the initial phase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the stakeholders, while 40MW is not a substantial volume, the decision is significant because of its symbolic value. The agreement to export Nepal's electricity to a third country is itself a significant achievement, according to the stakeholders.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">President of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) Ganesh Karki is among those assessing the agreement as a noteworthy achievement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The transmission of Nepal's power to Bangladesh will be facilitated through India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which has been designated as the nodal agency by the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority's Prabal Adhikari confirmed that the preliminary agreement on the power supply to Bangladesh has been reached by the email exchanges among the three countries. Some pending issues regarding the agreement are expected to be finalized shortly, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been agreed to sign the document in the physical presence of the officials from the respective countries soon. It is expected to take place in the near future.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Bangladesh, in its strategic plan, aims to purchase 9,000 MW of electricity from Nepal by 2040. Bangladesh which is in the pursuit of clean energy, has expressed its interest in investing in some important projects in Nepal as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noted that the fifth meeting of the Nepal-Bangladesh energy secretary-level joint steering committee held in Bangladesh on May 16 decided to establish power trade relations between the two countries. The meeting also agreed to proceed ahead for the execution of the agreement among the NEA, NVVN of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal has proposed to finalize the agreement by the last week of August. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18502', 'image' => '20230818085653_20230817094405_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 08:55:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18772', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Bajhang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, the earthquake took place at 9:13 pm on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, a quake of magnitude 4 in the Richter scale had occurred at Mirsa area of Kaski district on July 19. Earthquakes are occurring frequently in western Nepal of late.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => 'earthquake, Nepal, western, Richter, frequent, Bajhang', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18501', 'image' => '20230818075740_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 07:54:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18771', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Lifts Ban on Flights to Remote Areas', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 18: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision eliminates the previously imposed flight time restrictions on short takeoff and landing (STOL) airstrips located in mountainous regions across the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ban on flights has been lifted with enforcement of comprehensive flight safety standards and implementation of weather appropriate flight operations, according to information officer Gyanendra Bhulaka at the CAAN. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the CAAN had decided that airlines could conduct flights to the airports in remote districts within operation hour only. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision had infuriated locals from Humla and they had been agitated. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the protest, the authority was compelled to remove the ban on flights. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> "Airlines will now be allowed to make flights to remote airfields in the country from 12 noon onwards. However, they will have to implement flight safety standards,” said Bhulaka. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the authority's decision, during each flight, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority will need to ensure full compliance with the "Visibility and Distance from Cloud Minima" as outlined in the Civil Aviation Regulations. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is to ensure complete satisfaction with safety after confirming the cloud visibility and distance before each flight.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For flights from Nepalgunj Airport to short takeoff and landing in airstrips in remote districts and vice versa, the airlines will have to manage a mandatory "Flight Operations Officer" at Nepalgunj Airport. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All flight operations-related activities will be conducted by this officer. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, authority has decided to form a high level committee under Deputy Director-General of the authority to review operation time of all STOL airstrips in hilly districts and study weather availability of air routes to airports in hilly districts. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18500', 'image' => '20230818060852_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 06:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18768', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '820 Kilometers Roads Blacktopped; 222 Bridges Constructed in 2022/23', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, 249 kilometers of road was reconstructed and 243 kilometers of new track was opened during the period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although the Ministry had initially set a target to perform maintenance on 761 kilometers of roads within the last fiscal year, the actual figure that underwent repair was 538 kilometers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Keshav Kumar Sharma, the Secretary at the Ministry, highlighted that despite encountering various challenges, the Department of Roads managed to achieve approximately 69 percent progress.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sushi Babu Dhakal, the Director General of the Department, acknowledged that the anticipated progress in the infrastructure sector was not realized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Department had aimed for an 80 percent progress rate but could not attain it. However, Dhakal stated that the advancement of national pride projects demonstrated satisfactory results. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Work was underway on the Nagdhunga-Naubise road section, and contract management activities for upgrading the Kakadvitta-Laukahi road along the East-West highway were in their final stages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, noteworthy projects were in motion, including the commencement of construction on the Mulghat-Subhangkhola section along the Tamor corridor and the development of a flyover at Gwarko. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Department shared that steps were taken to secure consent for multi-year contracts and resource guarantees for the construction of flyovers at Satdobato and Ekantakuna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road along the Araniko highway was undergoing construction. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18497', 'image' => '20230817053001_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 17:28:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18767', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc Acquires Tiger Palace Resort ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs). The company has acquired Tiger Palace Resort from Australian holding company Silver Heritage Group Limited at a cost of Rs 2 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Organizing a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, the company said that Tiger Palace resort will now be operated under a new management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Earlier, Tiger Palace Resort was being operated by the Australian company Silver Heritage Group Limited. The Australian company has invested almost Rs 10 billion in Nepal to run this resort and casino business. Around 1000 Nepalis are directly employed in the resort and the casino operated by the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Buddhisagar Subedi, president of Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, said that this resort was not fully operational due to internal dispute and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Subedi, the resort was bearing losses worth million since the last few years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The closure of this resort would have given a wrong message that there is not environment for foreign investment in Nepal. Therefore, we decided to take over this resort,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The ownership of Tiger Palace Resort has been transferred to Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc as all the shares of the Australian company have been purchased by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc. Subedi said that it will require additional investment of Rs 4 billion to fully operate this resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Now we are going to operate the Tiger Palace Resort with new management. We Nepalis who have gone abroad have bought the resort realizing our responsibility towards our homeland,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18496', 'image' => '20230817050009_property-facade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:59:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18766', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Makes Minimal Gain; Turnover Amount Shrinks to 1.54 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">August 17: After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In the past two days, the secondary benchmark index was affected by the information that banks and financial institutions were preparing to increase bank interest rates for the next month of mid-August to mid-September(Bhadra). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Some banks have hiked the bank interest rates, while few have reduced the interest rates. Others have kept the rates stable. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Experts and seasoned share investors say that traders, who have booked their profits, are in wait and watch mode. They say that investing money in the stock right at present will give profits in short time as dividend season is fast-approaching.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 271 scrips exchanged their hands through 43,591 transactions. As many as 4,009,263 shares were traded. Amounting to Rs 1.54 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 13.71 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 463.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme - 2 (SIGS2) gained the highest 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Meanwhile, Laxmi Equity Fund (LEMF) lost the highest 7.43% today. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only Mutual Fund Index closed in the red while the remaining closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Trading Index gained the most with a 2.53 percent positive change while the Others Index gained the least 0.01%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif"> Sensitive Index increased by 0.28%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index went up by 0.37% and 0.42% respectively. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18495', 'image' => '20230817044830_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:47:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18765', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Start Increasing Interest Rates as Deposits Drop', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.', '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"">August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.</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"">Banks have increased the interest rate from the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) after the bank deposits started to decrease.</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 government and other stakeholders had held a discussion at with the representatives of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday to reduce the interest rates and increase investment. Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, during the discussion with the bankers, had indicated that the amount in the accumulated funds of the local level will be counted as deposits. The government is yet to make a formal decision to provide this facility. A banker said that the interest rate will be affected if the government provides such a facility.</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 Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Finance Minister said in the discussion with us that he will provide the facility to calculate local level funds as deposits," said the banker, "If that decision is implemented, liquidity may increase and interest rates may decrease."</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"">During the discussion, the finance minister had requested banks to increase credit flow stating that the remittance inflow have been increasing and liquidity situation has eased. He said that the economic activities will not increase unless the banks increase investment.</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 response, the bankers asked for the facility of counting local level funds as deposits to increase investment. With the lack of liquidity in banks and financial institutions, the government had given the facility to deposit up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the accumulated amount of the local level last year. After this facility ended in June, the deposits of the banks decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">00 billion.</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"">Since mid-July, the banks have been determining the interest rates by themselves following the ease in liquidity situation in the banking system. The Nepal Bankers' Association decided after one and a half years that the banks would be allowed to set their own interest rates.</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-July, when five banks increased the interest rate on deposit, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> banks reduced it. Meanwhile, six of them kept it stable. Some banks decided to increase interest from mid-August saying that banks with high interest have started attracting depositors. </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 instructions of the Nepal Rastra Bank regarding interest rate determination, banks are allowed to increase or decrease the interest rate by </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""> percent compared to the previous interest rate every month. </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 is a provision that banks should publish the interest rate applicable from the starting of a new month on the last day of the previous month. </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 of Monday, banks and financial institutions have collected deposits of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5597</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion and extended loans of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4855</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion. Compared to the previous day, bank deposits decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on Monday, while credit flow increased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</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:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks, which was 81 percent at the end of the last fiscal year, has now increased to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83.69 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent.</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 is a provision that banks can give loans by maintaining the CD ration up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">90 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18494', 'image' => '20230817030218_bankkkkkkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 15:01:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18764', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Rainfall in Forecast ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, Ganga Nagarkoti, the weather in the Tarai areas of Koshi and Madhes provinces is fair at present while the remaining provinces are witnessing partly to generally cloudy weather. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rainfall is taking place in the hill regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces as well as one or two places of Lumbini and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, light rainfall with thunder and lightning is now taking place in Lumbini Province. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the division, light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning has been predicted at some places of the hill areas of the country as well as a few places of the rest of the country this afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Koshi and Bagmati provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, few places of Koshi, Madhes and Gandaki provinces as well as a few places of the remaining provinces would witness light to moderate rain with thunderstorm and lightning tonight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Friday, there is a chances of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at few places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Gandaki Province has been predicted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Saturday, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country, according to the division. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18493', 'image' => '20230817023623_rain.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 14:35:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18763', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Seeks 155,000 Tons of Food Grains from India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.', '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"">August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.</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 government has sent a letter to New Delhi asking for 155,000 tons of food. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal confirmed that a letter has been sent to the Government of India through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the supply of 100,000 tons of rice, 50,000 tons of sugar, and 5,000 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"">India had decided on July 21 to stop the export of white rice other than Basmati brand, anticipating that there might be a food crisis in its own country. Although the government has sent a letter to India, it is yet to receive any response from the southern neighbor.</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 an informal conversation, India has said that the ban would not be applicable for Nepal, said the spokesperson for the ministry, Radhika Aryal.</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"">However, the effects of the export ban has already been seen in the Nepali market and therefore the food items were requested after determining the quantity required, said Aryal.</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"">Businessmen say that they have stocks of paddy and rice that will last until October. Domestically produced rice is not enough to meet the internal demand of Nepal. Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of paddy annually. About 3.5 million metric tons of rice is prepared from the paddy produced in the country. Officials say that Nepal needs about 4 million metric tons of rice throughout the 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 this calculation, about 500,000 tons of rice should be imported to meet Nepal's demand for the staple food. Even though paddy and rice are imported into Nepal from more than a dozen countries, government data show that 99 percent of imported rice comes from India. According to the Department of Customs, in the last fiscal year (2022/23), Nepal imported 225,46 tons of rice and 555,869 metric tons of paddy from abroad. </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"">Other countries that supply paddy and rice to Nepal are China, Bhutan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, America, Oman, Thailand among others.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18492', 'image' => '20230817010112_1692229700.1590123751.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 13:00:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18762', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Barahi Group to Operate Five-Star Hotel in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company is investing Rs 6 billion for the establishment and operation of the five-star hotel in the popular tourist city of Nepal. The hotel will be brought into operation by 2026. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Organizing a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the Barahi Group said that the hotel with a capacity to accommodate 1,200 people is being constructed in Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stretched over an area of 63 ropanis of land, the hotel will have 171 rooms. It includes exquisite facilities related to casino, spa and fitness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Barahi Sedi Limited, registered as a public limited company, has also floated a plan to go for initial public offering. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The long experience of Barahi Group in the field of hospitality will be utilized in the expansion of service through well-equipped five-star hotel, informed Director of Barahi Hospitality, Yogendra Thapa. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18491', 'image' => '20230817120458_barahi.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 12:04:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18761', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '432 Companies Obtain License for Exploration of Mines ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Lainchaur-based department, that has been working in the areas of mines and geology since 2033 BS, has granted licenses to the companies to search for potential mines for the promotion of mines-based industries in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Information Officer of the department, Narayan Baskota, said the licenses were granted to explore potential mines such as iron, copper, gold, limestone, ruby, granite, kainite and dolomite. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it had issued licenses to 374 mining companies for the exploration of mines last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Higher number of licenses were granted to explore limestone and copper," said Baskota, adding that the majority of companies approaching for licenses for mine exploration were Chinese companies. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Only 50 percent licensed companies have started excavating mines while the remaining companies are under the process for excavation, Baskota added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department had scrapped the licenses of 121 companies for not being active in exploration and excavation in the fiscal year 2022/23. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18490', 'image' => '20230817112551_Iron.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 11:24:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18760', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Youths Should Lead Entrepreneurship in the Country: Finance Minister Mahat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During his address at the 'Entrepreneurship Motivation Conclave,' organized by the Forum for Nation Building, Nepal, and the Entrepreneurship Youth Creative National Campaign in Kathmandu, the Minister stressed the need for young people to shift their perspective away from the belief that their aspirations can only be realized on foreign shores.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Portraying Nepal as a nation brimming with potential, the Minister highlighted that the government has taken measures such as offering soft loans, grants, and tax discounts to stimulate economic growth within the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Challenging the prevalent notion that prosperity is solely attainable overseas, the Minister asserted that Nepal's tourism sector is flourishing and its IT industry displays promising prospects for further advancement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mahat also noted that the nation's economy is on a trajectory of recovery, underlining the necessity for proactive and positive approaches to achieve economic prosperity targets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event also featured insights from former Finance Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada and CEO of Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kiran Kumar Shrestha. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Both Khatiwada and Shrestha encouraged young individuals to pursue careers within Nepal, leveraging the various schemes and support offered by the government and banks specifically tailored to benefit them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shrestha shared that the banking sector has introduced ten entrepreneurship development schemes, including initiatives aimed at supporting women and students. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18489', 'image' => '20230817055515_collage (20).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 05:53:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18758', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index and All Sub-Indices Land in the Red', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 16: The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index dropped by 1.41%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index slumped by 0.95% and 1.09% respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Wednesday, a total of 4,838,106 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 1.669 billion. As many as 269 companies were traded through 45,167 transactions. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Tuesday, 56,03,798 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 2.115 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Distillery Limited (HDL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 8.41 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 1,969. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, Sunrise Focused Equity Fund (SFEF) gained the highest 4.00% to close at Rs. 8.32.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Mountain Hydro Nepal Limited (MHNL) lost the highest 8.06% today. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All sub-indices closed in the red zone. Hydropower Index lost the most with 1.85 percent while Hotel and Tourism Index lost the least 0.01%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18487', 'image' => '20230816044723_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Launches Social Security Scheme for Informal Sector Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.', '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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Addressing the launch of the social security scheme for workers in the informal sector and self-employed persons organized by the Social Security Fund (SSF), Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the government will integrate the social security structure to eliminate duplication seen in this sector.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Pointing out the need to manage the fund through an integrated manner, Prime Minister Dahal said, "The fund is an important mechanism for the protection of the neglected and oppressed workers of the society." </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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, this mechanism has the ability to increase the overall productivity by activating the internal production cycle. He added that this campaign will help the workers in the informal sector who work as long as they can and return home empty-handed.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He clarified that since the Constitution of Nepal, built on the foundation of the historical struggle for the establishment of an egalitarian and just society, guarantees the right to social security of the working class as a fundamental right, the implementation of the constitution cannot be carried out unless the rights of the workers who have suffered injustice are established and their right to social security is ensured.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The PM added that the government had launched the social security scheme for Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries as part of the campaign to make all the workers join the social security fund.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Under this plan, the government is preparing to gradually make all the laborers in the informal sector, estimated to be more than 4 million, participate in the social security program.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that guaranteeing the rights of workers with social security is an essential condition for the establishment of an egalitarian society and a socialist-oriented political and economic system envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, Prime Minister Dahal said that social security scheme is not just a general concept, but the creation of an environment where citizens can get education, health, employment, opportunities, concessions and respect without discrimination. He said he would.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that the 'Contribution-Based Social Security Act, 2074' should be implemented effectively to make social security sustainable and orderly, he said that the regulatory bodies will be mobilized for the implementation of the Act to ensure that employers and workers who join the fund are not deprived of the benefits of social security based on contributions.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Joint Labor Coordination Committee Chairman Binod Shrestha among others were present during the programme. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18486', 'image' => '20230816044108_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:40:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18756', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Collect Taxes worth Rs 677 Billion Under Seven Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).', '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"">August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24). According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the amount is being collected under the headings of income tax, value added tax, excise duty, property and lease income tax, interest tax, education service fee and health service tax.</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 department is expecting to collect Rs 298.35 billion under the heading of income tax. Similarly, Rs 157.21 billion will be raised under VAT. The department said that around Rs 145.53 billion will be collected under the title of excise duty.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last fiscal year (FY 2022/23), the department collected more than Rs 213 billion under the heading of income tax. According to the details presented by the department in the Revenue Management Seminar held on Tuesday, 100 taxpayers contributed more than 52 percent of the total tax in the last fiscal 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"">Although there are more than 55,54,000 taxpayers in Nepal, just 100 of them pay more than half of the taxes. </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"">An analysis of last year's taxpayers and the structure of revenue collection, it appears that Rs 251.73 billion in revenue. According to the department, this is 52.46 percent of the total collected taxes. </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"">Last year, the department had set a target of collecting Rs 626 billion in revenue, but collected only 76.51 percent of it (Rs 479 billion).</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"">Last year according to the department</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"">Last year, a total of 2,991 taxpayers paid Rs 3.74 billion in taxes. This is 78.14 percent of the total taxes collected in the review year. Last year, the top 10 taxpayers paid Rs 1.8 billion in taxes, which is 22.57 percent of the total taxes collected.</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 revenue officials said that they plan to effectively implement the revenue policies and programs in the current fiscal 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"">The IRD will also implement the budget implementation action plan, complete the investigation of fraud and fake bills, identify taxpayers who are not covered by the tax system and bring them under the ambit of tax.</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 IRD also pledged to bring electronic transactions under the ambit of taxation. The officials said they are working to identify the growing trend of fake bills and take effective action against them.</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"">Similarly, revenue officials consider the decision to bring electronic services provided by non-residents to consumers in Nepal under the scope of tax, levying luxury tax, foreign tourism tax and foreign employment service tax as policy reforms.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18485', 'image' => '20230816040519_IRDD.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:04:37', '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' => '18774', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Prepares to Export 40MW Electricity to Bangladesh in First Phase', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. According to government officials, Nepal has defined the deal as 'a preliminary agreement' among Nepal, India and Bangladesh.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that Bangladesh is set to purchase 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal in the initial phase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the stakeholders, while 40MW is not a substantial volume, the decision is significant because of its symbolic value. The agreement to export Nepal's electricity to a third country is itself a significant achievement, according to the stakeholders.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">President of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) Ganesh Karki is among those assessing the agreement as a noteworthy achievement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The transmission of Nepal's power to Bangladesh will be facilitated through India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which has been designated as the nodal agency by the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority's Prabal Adhikari confirmed that the preliminary agreement on the power supply to Bangladesh has been reached by the email exchanges among the three countries. Some pending issues regarding the agreement are expected to be finalized shortly, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been agreed to sign the document in the physical presence of the officials from the respective countries soon. It is expected to take place in the near future.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Bangladesh, in its strategic plan, aims to purchase 9,000 MW of electricity from Nepal by 2040. Bangladesh which is in the pursuit of clean energy, has expressed its interest in investing in some important projects in Nepal as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noted that the fifth meeting of the Nepal-Bangladesh energy secretary-level joint steering committee held in Bangladesh on May 16 decided to establish power trade relations between the two countries. The meeting also agreed to proceed ahead for the execution of the agreement among the NEA, NVVN of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal has proposed to finalize the agreement by the last week of August. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18502', 'image' => '20230818085653_20230817094405_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 08:55:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18772', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Bajhang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, the earthquake took place at 9:13 pm on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, a quake of magnitude 4 in the Richter scale had occurred at Mirsa area of Kaski district on July 19. Earthquakes are occurring frequently in western Nepal of late.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => 'earthquake, Nepal, western, Richter, frequent, Bajhang', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18501', 'image' => '20230818075740_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 07:54:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18771', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Lifts Ban on Flights to Remote Areas', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 18: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision eliminates the previously imposed flight time restrictions on short takeoff and landing (STOL) airstrips located in mountainous regions across the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ban on flights has been lifted with enforcement of comprehensive flight safety standards and implementation of weather appropriate flight operations, according to information officer Gyanendra Bhulaka at the CAAN. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the CAAN had decided that airlines could conduct flights to the airports in remote districts within operation hour only. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision had infuriated locals from Humla and they had been agitated. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the protest, the authority was compelled to remove the ban on flights. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> "Airlines will now be allowed to make flights to remote airfields in the country from 12 noon onwards. However, they will have to implement flight safety standards,” said Bhulaka. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the authority's decision, during each flight, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority will need to ensure full compliance with the "Visibility and Distance from Cloud Minima" as outlined in the Civil Aviation Regulations. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is to ensure complete satisfaction with safety after confirming the cloud visibility and distance before each flight.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For flights from Nepalgunj Airport to short takeoff and landing in airstrips in remote districts and vice versa, the airlines will have to manage a mandatory "Flight Operations Officer" at Nepalgunj Airport. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All flight operations-related activities will be conducted by this officer. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, authority has decided to form a high level committee under Deputy Director-General of the authority to review operation time of all STOL airstrips in hilly districts and study weather availability of air routes to airports in hilly districts. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18500', 'image' => '20230818060852_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 06:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18768', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '820 Kilometers Roads Blacktopped; 222 Bridges Constructed in 2022/23', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, 249 kilometers of road was reconstructed and 243 kilometers of new track was opened during the period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although the Ministry had initially set a target to perform maintenance on 761 kilometers of roads within the last fiscal year, the actual figure that underwent repair was 538 kilometers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Keshav Kumar Sharma, the Secretary at the Ministry, highlighted that despite encountering various challenges, the Department of Roads managed to achieve approximately 69 percent progress.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sushi Babu Dhakal, the Director General of the Department, acknowledged that the anticipated progress in the infrastructure sector was not realized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Department had aimed for an 80 percent progress rate but could not attain it. However, Dhakal stated that the advancement of national pride projects demonstrated satisfactory results. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Work was underway on the Nagdhunga-Naubise road section, and contract management activities for upgrading the Kakadvitta-Laukahi road along the East-West highway were in their final stages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, noteworthy projects were in motion, including the commencement of construction on the Mulghat-Subhangkhola section along the Tamor corridor and the development of a flyover at Gwarko. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Department shared that steps were taken to secure consent for multi-year contracts and resource guarantees for the construction of flyovers at Satdobato and Ekantakuna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road along the Araniko highway was undergoing construction. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18497', 'image' => '20230817053001_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 17:28:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18767', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc Acquires Tiger Palace Resort ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs). The company has acquired Tiger Palace Resort from Australian holding company Silver Heritage Group Limited at a cost of Rs 2 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Organizing a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, the company said that Tiger Palace resort will now be operated under a new management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Earlier, Tiger Palace Resort was being operated by the Australian company Silver Heritage Group Limited. The Australian company has invested almost Rs 10 billion in Nepal to run this resort and casino business. Around 1000 Nepalis are directly employed in the resort and the casino operated by the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Buddhisagar Subedi, president of Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, said that this resort was not fully operational due to internal dispute and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Subedi, the resort was bearing losses worth million since the last few years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The closure of this resort would have given a wrong message that there is not environment for foreign investment in Nepal. Therefore, we decided to take over this resort,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The ownership of Tiger Palace Resort has been transferred to Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc as all the shares of the Australian company have been purchased by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc. Subedi said that it will require additional investment of Rs 4 billion to fully operate this resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Now we are going to operate the Tiger Palace Resort with new management. We Nepalis who have gone abroad have bought the resort realizing our responsibility towards our homeland,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18496', 'image' => '20230817050009_property-facade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:59:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18766', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Makes Minimal Gain; Turnover Amount Shrinks to 1.54 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">August 17: After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In the past two days, the secondary benchmark index was affected by the information that banks and financial institutions were preparing to increase bank interest rates for the next month of mid-August to mid-September(Bhadra). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Some banks have hiked the bank interest rates, while few have reduced the interest rates. Others have kept the rates stable. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Experts and seasoned share investors say that traders, who have booked their profits, are in wait and watch mode. They say that investing money in the stock right at present will give profits in short time as dividend season is fast-approaching.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 271 scrips exchanged their hands through 43,591 transactions. As many as 4,009,263 shares were traded. Amounting to Rs 1.54 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 13.71 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 463.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme - 2 (SIGS2) gained the highest 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Meanwhile, Laxmi Equity Fund (LEMF) lost the highest 7.43% today. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only Mutual Fund Index closed in the red while the remaining closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Trading Index gained the most with a 2.53 percent positive change while the Others Index gained the least 0.01%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif"> Sensitive Index increased by 0.28%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index went up by 0.37% and 0.42% respectively. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18495', 'image' => '20230817044830_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:47:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18765', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Start Increasing Interest Rates as Deposits Drop', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.', '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"">August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.</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"">Banks have increased the interest rate from the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) after the bank deposits started to decrease.</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 government and other stakeholders had held a discussion at with the representatives of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday to reduce the interest rates and increase investment. Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, during the discussion with the bankers, had indicated that the amount in the accumulated funds of the local level will be counted as deposits. The government is yet to make a formal decision to provide this facility. A banker said that the interest rate will be affected if the government provides such a facility.</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 Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Finance Minister said in the discussion with us that he will provide the facility to calculate local level funds as deposits," said the banker, "If that decision is implemented, liquidity may increase and interest rates may decrease."</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"">During the discussion, the finance minister had requested banks to increase credit flow stating that the remittance inflow have been increasing and liquidity situation has eased. He said that the economic activities will not increase unless the banks increase investment.</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 response, the bankers asked for the facility of counting local level funds as deposits to increase investment. With the lack of liquidity in banks and financial institutions, the government had given the facility to deposit up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the accumulated amount of the local level last year. After this facility ended in June, the deposits of the banks decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">00 billion.</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"">Since mid-July, the banks have been determining the interest rates by themselves following the ease in liquidity situation in the banking system. The Nepal Bankers' Association decided after one and a half years that the banks would be allowed to set their own interest rates.</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-July, when five banks increased the interest rate on deposit, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> banks reduced it. Meanwhile, six of them kept it stable. Some banks decided to increase interest from mid-August saying that banks with high interest have started attracting depositors. </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 instructions of the Nepal Rastra Bank regarding interest rate determination, banks are allowed to increase or decrease the interest rate by </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""> percent compared to the previous interest rate every month. </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 is a provision that banks should publish the interest rate applicable from the starting of a new month on the last day of the previous month. </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 of Monday, banks and financial institutions have collected deposits of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5597</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion and extended loans of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4855</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion. Compared to the previous day, bank deposits decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on Monday, while credit flow increased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</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:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks, which was 81 percent at the end of the last fiscal year, has now increased to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83.69 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent.</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 is a provision that banks can give loans by maintaining the CD ration up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">90 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18494', 'image' => '20230817030218_bankkkkkkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 15:01:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18764', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Rainfall in Forecast ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, Ganga Nagarkoti, the weather in the Tarai areas of Koshi and Madhes provinces is fair at present while the remaining provinces are witnessing partly to generally cloudy weather. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rainfall is taking place in the hill regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces as well as one or two places of Lumbini and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, light rainfall with thunder and lightning is now taking place in Lumbini Province. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the division, light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning has been predicted at some places of the hill areas of the country as well as a few places of the rest of the country this afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Koshi and Bagmati provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, few places of Koshi, Madhes and Gandaki provinces as well as a few places of the remaining provinces would witness light to moderate rain with thunderstorm and lightning tonight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Friday, there is a chances of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at few places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Gandaki Province has been predicted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Saturday, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country, according to the division. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18493', 'image' => '20230817023623_rain.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 14:35:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18763', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Seeks 155,000 Tons of Food Grains from India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.', '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"">August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.</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 government has sent a letter to New Delhi asking for 155,000 tons of food. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal confirmed that a letter has been sent to the Government of India through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the supply of 100,000 tons of rice, 50,000 tons of sugar, and 5,000 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"">India had decided on July 21 to stop the export of white rice other than Basmati brand, anticipating that there might be a food crisis in its own country. Although the government has sent a letter to India, it is yet to receive any response from the southern neighbor.</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 an informal conversation, India has said that the ban would not be applicable for Nepal, said the spokesperson for the ministry, Radhika Aryal.</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"">However, the effects of the export ban has already been seen in the Nepali market and therefore the food items were requested after determining the quantity required, said Aryal.</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"">Businessmen say that they have stocks of paddy and rice that will last until October. Domestically produced rice is not enough to meet the internal demand of Nepal. Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of paddy annually. About 3.5 million metric tons of rice is prepared from the paddy produced in the country. Officials say that Nepal needs about 4 million metric tons of rice throughout the 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 this calculation, about 500,000 tons of rice should be imported to meet Nepal's demand for the staple food. Even though paddy and rice are imported into Nepal from more than a dozen countries, government data show that 99 percent of imported rice comes from India. According to the Department of Customs, in the last fiscal year (2022/23), Nepal imported 225,46 tons of rice and 555,869 metric tons of paddy from abroad. </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"">Other countries that supply paddy and rice to Nepal are China, Bhutan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, America, Oman, Thailand among others.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18492', 'image' => '20230817010112_1692229700.1590123751.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 13:00:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18762', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Barahi Group to Operate Five-Star Hotel in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company is investing Rs 6 billion for the establishment and operation of the five-star hotel in the popular tourist city of Nepal. The hotel will be brought into operation by 2026. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Organizing a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the Barahi Group said that the hotel with a capacity to accommodate 1,200 people is being constructed in Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stretched over an area of 63 ropanis of land, the hotel will have 171 rooms. It includes exquisite facilities related to casino, spa and fitness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Barahi Sedi Limited, registered as a public limited company, has also floated a plan to go for initial public offering. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The long experience of Barahi Group in the field of hospitality will be utilized in the expansion of service through well-equipped five-star hotel, informed Director of Barahi Hospitality, Yogendra Thapa. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18491', 'image' => '20230817120458_barahi.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 12:04:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18761', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '432 Companies Obtain License for Exploration of Mines ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Lainchaur-based department, that has been working in the areas of mines and geology since 2033 BS, has granted licenses to the companies to search for potential mines for the promotion of mines-based industries in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Information Officer of the department, Narayan Baskota, said the licenses were granted to explore potential mines such as iron, copper, gold, limestone, ruby, granite, kainite and dolomite. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it had issued licenses to 374 mining companies for the exploration of mines last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Higher number of licenses were granted to explore limestone and copper," said Baskota, adding that the majority of companies approaching for licenses for mine exploration were Chinese companies. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Only 50 percent licensed companies have started excavating mines while the remaining companies are under the process for excavation, Baskota added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department had scrapped the licenses of 121 companies for not being active in exploration and excavation in the fiscal year 2022/23. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18490', 'image' => '20230817112551_Iron.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 11:24:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18760', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Youths Should Lead Entrepreneurship in the Country: Finance Minister Mahat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During his address at the 'Entrepreneurship Motivation Conclave,' organized by the Forum for Nation Building, Nepal, and the Entrepreneurship Youth Creative National Campaign in Kathmandu, the Minister stressed the need for young people to shift their perspective away from the belief that their aspirations can only be realized on foreign shores.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Portraying Nepal as a nation brimming with potential, the Minister highlighted that the government has taken measures such as offering soft loans, grants, and tax discounts to stimulate economic growth within the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Challenging the prevalent notion that prosperity is solely attainable overseas, the Minister asserted that Nepal's tourism sector is flourishing and its IT industry displays promising prospects for further advancement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mahat also noted that the nation's economy is on a trajectory of recovery, underlining the necessity for proactive and positive approaches to achieve economic prosperity targets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event also featured insights from former Finance Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada and CEO of Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kiran Kumar Shrestha. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Both Khatiwada and Shrestha encouraged young individuals to pursue careers within Nepal, leveraging the various schemes and support offered by the government and banks specifically tailored to benefit them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shrestha shared that the banking sector has introduced ten entrepreneurship development schemes, including initiatives aimed at supporting women and students. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18489', 'image' => '20230817055515_collage (20).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 05:53:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18758', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index and All Sub-Indices Land in the Red', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 16: The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index dropped by 1.41%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index slumped by 0.95% and 1.09% respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Wednesday, a total of 4,838,106 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 1.669 billion. As many as 269 companies were traded through 45,167 transactions. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Tuesday, 56,03,798 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 2.115 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Distillery Limited (HDL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 8.41 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 1,969. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, Sunrise Focused Equity Fund (SFEF) gained the highest 4.00% to close at Rs. 8.32.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Mountain Hydro Nepal Limited (MHNL) lost the highest 8.06% today. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All sub-indices closed in the red zone. Hydropower Index lost the most with 1.85 percent while Hotel and Tourism Index lost the least 0.01%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18487', 'image' => '20230816044723_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Launches Social Security Scheme for Informal Sector Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.', '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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Addressing the launch of the social security scheme for workers in the informal sector and self-employed persons organized by the Social Security Fund (SSF), Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the government will integrate the social security structure to eliminate duplication seen in this sector.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Pointing out the need to manage the fund through an integrated manner, Prime Minister Dahal said, "The fund is an important mechanism for the protection of the neglected and oppressed workers of the society." </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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, this mechanism has the ability to increase the overall productivity by activating the internal production cycle. He added that this campaign will help the workers in the informal sector who work as long as they can and return home empty-handed.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He clarified that since the Constitution of Nepal, built on the foundation of the historical struggle for the establishment of an egalitarian and just society, guarantees the right to social security of the working class as a fundamental right, the implementation of the constitution cannot be carried out unless the rights of the workers who have suffered injustice are established and their right to social security is ensured.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The PM added that the government had launched the social security scheme for Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries as part of the campaign to make all the workers join the social security fund.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Under this plan, the government is preparing to gradually make all the laborers in the informal sector, estimated to be more than 4 million, participate in the social security program.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that guaranteeing the rights of workers with social security is an essential condition for the establishment of an egalitarian society and a socialist-oriented political and economic system envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, Prime Minister Dahal said that social security scheme is not just a general concept, but the creation of an environment where citizens can get education, health, employment, opportunities, concessions and respect without discrimination. He said he would.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that the 'Contribution-Based Social Security Act, 2074' should be implemented effectively to make social security sustainable and orderly, he said that the regulatory bodies will be mobilized for the implementation of the Act to ensure that employers and workers who join the fund are not deprived of the benefits of social security based on contributions.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Joint Labor Coordination Committee Chairman Binod Shrestha among others were present during the programme. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18486', 'image' => '20230816044108_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:40:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18756', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Collect Taxes worth Rs 677 Billion Under Seven Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).', '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"">August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24). According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the amount is being collected under the headings of income tax, value added tax, excise duty, property and lease income tax, interest tax, education service fee and health service tax.</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 department is expecting to collect Rs 298.35 billion under the heading of income tax. Similarly, Rs 157.21 billion will be raised under VAT. The department said that around Rs 145.53 billion will be collected under the title of excise duty.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last fiscal year (FY 2022/23), the department collected more than Rs 213 billion under the heading of income tax. According to the details presented by the department in the Revenue Management Seminar held on Tuesday, 100 taxpayers contributed more than 52 percent of the total tax in the last fiscal 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"">Although there are more than 55,54,000 taxpayers in Nepal, just 100 of them pay more than half of the taxes. </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"">An analysis of last year's taxpayers and the structure of revenue collection, it appears that Rs 251.73 billion in revenue. According to the department, this is 52.46 percent of the total collected taxes. </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"">Last year, the department had set a target of collecting Rs 626 billion in revenue, but collected only 76.51 percent of it (Rs 479 billion).</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"">Last year according to the department</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"">Last year, a total of 2,991 taxpayers paid Rs 3.74 billion in taxes. This is 78.14 percent of the total taxes collected in the review year. Last year, the top 10 taxpayers paid Rs 1.8 billion in taxes, which is 22.57 percent of the total taxes collected.</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 revenue officials said that they plan to effectively implement the revenue policies and programs in the current fiscal 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"">The IRD will also implement the budget implementation action plan, complete the investigation of fraud and fake bills, identify taxpayers who are not covered by the tax system and bring them under the ambit of tax.</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 IRD also pledged to bring electronic transactions under the ambit of taxation. The officials said they are working to identify the growing trend of fake bills and take effective action against them.</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"">Similarly, revenue officials consider the decision to bring electronic services provided by non-residents to consumers in Nepal under the scope of tax, levying luxury tax, foreign tourism tax and foreign employment service tax as policy reforms.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18485', 'image' => '20230816040519_IRDD.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:04:37', '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' => '18774', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Prepares to Export 40MW Electricity to Bangladesh in First Phase', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. According to government officials, Nepal has defined the deal as 'a preliminary agreement' among Nepal, India and Bangladesh.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that Bangladesh is set to purchase 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal in the initial phase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the stakeholders, while 40MW is not a substantial volume, the decision is significant because of its symbolic value. The agreement to export Nepal's electricity to a third country is itself a significant achievement, according to the stakeholders.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">President of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) Ganesh Karki is among those assessing the agreement as a noteworthy achievement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The transmission of Nepal's power to Bangladesh will be facilitated through India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which has been designated as the nodal agency by the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority's Prabal Adhikari confirmed that the preliminary agreement on the power supply to Bangladesh has been reached by the email exchanges among the three countries. Some pending issues regarding the agreement are expected to be finalized shortly, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been agreed to sign the document in the physical presence of the officials from the respective countries soon. It is expected to take place in the near future.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Bangladesh, in its strategic plan, aims to purchase 9,000 MW of electricity from Nepal by 2040. Bangladesh which is in the pursuit of clean energy, has expressed its interest in investing in some important projects in Nepal as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noted that the fifth meeting of the Nepal-Bangladesh energy secretary-level joint steering committee held in Bangladesh on May 16 decided to establish power trade relations between the two countries. The meeting also agreed to proceed ahead for the execution of the agreement among the NEA, NVVN of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal has proposed to finalize the agreement by the last week of August. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18502', 'image' => '20230818085653_20230817094405_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 08:55:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18772', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Bajhang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, the earthquake took place at 9:13 pm on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, a quake of magnitude 4 in the Richter scale had occurred at Mirsa area of Kaski district on July 19. Earthquakes are occurring frequently in western Nepal of late.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => 'earthquake, Nepal, western, Richter, frequent, Bajhang', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18501', 'image' => '20230818075740_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 07:54:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18771', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Lifts Ban on Flights to Remote Areas', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 18: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision eliminates the previously imposed flight time restrictions on short takeoff and landing (STOL) airstrips located in mountainous regions across the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ban on flights has been lifted with enforcement of comprehensive flight safety standards and implementation of weather appropriate flight operations, according to information officer Gyanendra Bhulaka at the CAAN. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the CAAN had decided that airlines could conduct flights to the airports in remote districts within operation hour only. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision had infuriated locals from Humla and they had been agitated. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the protest, the authority was compelled to remove the ban on flights. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> "Airlines will now be allowed to make flights to remote airfields in the country from 12 noon onwards. However, they will have to implement flight safety standards,” said Bhulaka. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the authority's decision, during each flight, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority will need to ensure full compliance with the "Visibility and Distance from Cloud Minima" as outlined in the Civil Aviation Regulations. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is to ensure complete satisfaction with safety after confirming the cloud visibility and distance before each flight.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For flights from Nepalgunj Airport to short takeoff and landing in airstrips in remote districts and vice versa, the airlines will have to manage a mandatory "Flight Operations Officer" at Nepalgunj Airport. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All flight operations-related activities will be conducted by this officer. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, authority has decided to form a high level committee under Deputy Director-General of the authority to review operation time of all STOL airstrips in hilly districts and study weather availability of air routes to airports in hilly districts. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18500', 'image' => '20230818060852_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 06:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18768', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '820 Kilometers Roads Blacktopped; 222 Bridges Constructed in 2022/23', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, 249 kilometers of road was reconstructed and 243 kilometers of new track was opened during the period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although the Ministry had initially set a target to perform maintenance on 761 kilometers of roads within the last fiscal year, the actual figure that underwent repair was 538 kilometers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Keshav Kumar Sharma, the Secretary at the Ministry, highlighted that despite encountering various challenges, the Department of Roads managed to achieve approximately 69 percent progress.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sushi Babu Dhakal, the Director General of the Department, acknowledged that the anticipated progress in the infrastructure sector was not realized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Department had aimed for an 80 percent progress rate but could not attain it. However, Dhakal stated that the advancement of national pride projects demonstrated satisfactory results. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Work was underway on the Nagdhunga-Naubise road section, and contract management activities for upgrading the Kakadvitta-Laukahi road along the East-West highway were in their final stages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, noteworthy projects were in motion, including the commencement of construction on the Mulghat-Subhangkhola section along the Tamor corridor and the development of a flyover at Gwarko. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Department shared that steps were taken to secure consent for multi-year contracts and resource guarantees for the construction of flyovers at Satdobato and Ekantakuna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road along the Araniko highway was undergoing construction. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18497', 'image' => '20230817053001_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 17:28:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18767', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc Acquires Tiger Palace Resort ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs). The company has acquired Tiger Palace Resort from Australian holding company Silver Heritage Group Limited at a cost of Rs 2 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Organizing a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, the company said that Tiger Palace resort will now be operated under a new management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Earlier, Tiger Palace Resort was being operated by the Australian company Silver Heritage Group Limited. The Australian company has invested almost Rs 10 billion in Nepal to run this resort and casino business. Around 1000 Nepalis are directly employed in the resort and the casino operated by the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Buddhisagar Subedi, president of Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, said that this resort was not fully operational due to internal dispute and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Subedi, the resort was bearing losses worth million since the last few years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The closure of this resort would have given a wrong message that there is not environment for foreign investment in Nepal. Therefore, we decided to take over this resort,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The ownership of Tiger Palace Resort has been transferred to Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc as all the shares of the Australian company have been purchased by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc. Subedi said that it will require additional investment of Rs 4 billion to fully operate this resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Now we are going to operate the Tiger Palace Resort with new management. We Nepalis who have gone abroad have bought the resort realizing our responsibility towards our homeland,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18496', 'image' => '20230817050009_property-facade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:59:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18766', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Makes Minimal Gain; Turnover Amount Shrinks to 1.54 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">August 17: After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In the past two days, the secondary benchmark index was affected by the information that banks and financial institutions were preparing to increase bank interest rates for the next month of mid-August to mid-September(Bhadra). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Some banks have hiked the bank interest rates, while few have reduced the interest rates. Others have kept the rates stable. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Experts and seasoned share investors say that traders, who have booked their profits, are in wait and watch mode. They say that investing money in the stock right at present will give profits in short time as dividend season is fast-approaching.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 271 scrips exchanged their hands through 43,591 transactions. As many as 4,009,263 shares were traded. Amounting to Rs 1.54 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 13.71 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 463.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme - 2 (SIGS2) gained the highest 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Meanwhile, Laxmi Equity Fund (LEMF) lost the highest 7.43% today. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only Mutual Fund Index closed in the red while the remaining closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Trading Index gained the most with a 2.53 percent positive change while the Others Index gained the least 0.01%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif"> Sensitive Index increased by 0.28%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index went up by 0.37% and 0.42% respectively. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18495', 'image' => '20230817044830_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:47:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18765', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Start Increasing Interest Rates as Deposits Drop', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.', '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"">August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.</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"">Banks have increased the interest rate from the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) after the bank deposits started to decrease.</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 government and other stakeholders had held a discussion at with the representatives of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday to reduce the interest rates and increase investment. Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, during the discussion with the bankers, had indicated that the amount in the accumulated funds of the local level will be counted as deposits. The government is yet to make a formal decision to provide this facility. A banker said that the interest rate will be affected if the government provides such a facility.</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 Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Finance Minister said in the discussion with us that he will provide the facility to calculate local level funds as deposits," said the banker, "If that decision is implemented, liquidity may increase and interest rates may decrease."</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"">During the discussion, the finance minister had requested banks to increase credit flow stating that the remittance inflow have been increasing and liquidity situation has eased. He said that the economic activities will not increase unless the banks increase investment.</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 response, the bankers asked for the facility of counting local level funds as deposits to increase investment. With the lack of liquidity in banks and financial institutions, the government had given the facility to deposit up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the accumulated amount of the local level last year. After this facility ended in June, the deposits of the banks decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">00 billion.</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"">Since mid-July, the banks have been determining the interest rates by themselves following the ease in liquidity situation in the banking system. The Nepal Bankers' Association decided after one and a half years that the banks would be allowed to set their own interest rates.</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-July, when five banks increased the interest rate on deposit, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> banks reduced it. Meanwhile, six of them kept it stable. Some banks decided to increase interest from mid-August saying that banks with high interest have started attracting depositors. </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 instructions of the Nepal Rastra Bank regarding interest rate determination, banks are allowed to increase or decrease the interest rate by </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""> percent compared to the previous interest rate every month. </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 is a provision that banks should publish the interest rate applicable from the starting of a new month on the last day of the previous month. </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 of Monday, banks and financial institutions have collected deposits of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5597</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion and extended loans of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4855</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion. Compared to the previous day, bank deposits decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on Monday, while credit flow increased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</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:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks, which was 81 percent at the end of the last fiscal year, has now increased to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83.69 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent.</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 is a provision that banks can give loans by maintaining the CD ration up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">90 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18494', 'image' => '20230817030218_bankkkkkkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 15:01:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18764', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Rainfall in Forecast ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, Ganga Nagarkoti, the weather in the Tarai areas of Koshi and Madhes provinces is fair at present while the remaining provinces are witnessing partly to generally cloudy weather. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rainfall is taking place in the hill regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces as well as one or two places of Lumbini and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, light rainfall with thunder and lightning is now taking place in Lumbini Province. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the division, light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning has been predicted at some places of the hill areas of the country as well as a few places of the rest of the country this afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Koshi and Bagmati provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, few places of Koshi, Madhes and Gandaki provinces as well as a few places of the remaining provinces would witness light to moderate rain with thunderstorm and lightning tonight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Friday, there is a chances of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at few places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Gandaki Province has been predicted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Saturday, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country, according to the division. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18493', 'image' => '20230817023623_rain.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 14:35:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18763', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Seeks 155,000 Tons of Food Grains from India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.', '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"">August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.</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 government has sent a letter to New Delhi asking for 155,000 tons of food. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal confirmed that a letter has been sent to the Government of India through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the supply of 100,000 tons of rice, 50,000 tons of sugar, and 5,000 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"">India had decided on July 21 to stop the export of white rice other than Basmati brand, anticipating that there might be a food crisis in its own country. Although the government has sent a letter to India, it is yet to receive any response from the southern neighbor.</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 an informal conversation, India has said that the ban would not be applicable for Nepal, said the spokesperson for the ministry, Radhika Aryal.</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"">However, the effects of the export ban has already been seen in the Nepali market and therefore the food items were requested after determining the quantity required, said Aryal.</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"">Businessmen say that they have stocks of paddy and rice that will last until October. Domestically produced rice is not enough to meet the internal demand of Nepal. Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of paddy annually. About 3.5 million metric tons of rice is prepared from the paddy produced in the country. Officials say that Nepal needs about 4 million metric tons of rice throughout the 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 this calculation, about 500,000 tons of rice should be imported to meet Nepal's demand for the staple food. Even though paddy and rice are imported into Nepal from more than a dozen countries, government data show that 99 percent of imported rice comes from India. According to the Department of Customs, in the last fiscal year (2022/23), Nepal imported 225,46 tons of rice and 555,869 metric tons of paddy from abroad. </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"">Other countries that supply paddy and rice to Nepal are China, Bhutan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, America, Oman, Thailand among others.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18492', 'image' => '20230817010112_1692229700.1590123751.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 13:00:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18762', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Barahi Group to Operate Five-Star Hotel in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company is investing Rs 6 billion for the establishment and operation of the five-star hotel in the popular tourist city of Nepal. The hotel will be brought into operation by 2026. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Organizing a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the Barahi Group said that the hotel with a capacity to accommodate 1,200 people is being constructed in Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stretched over an area of 63 ropanis of land, the hotel will have 171 rooms. It includes exquisite facilities related to casino, spa and fitness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Barahi Sedi Limited, registered as a public limited company, has also floated a plan to go for initial public offering. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The long experience of Barahi Group in the field of hospitality will be utilized in the expansion of service through well-equipped five-star hotel, informed Director of Barahi Hospitality, Yogendra Thapa. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18491', 'image' => '20230817120458_barahi.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 12:04:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18761', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '432 Companies Obtain License for Exploration of Mines ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Lainchaur-based department, that has been working in the areas of mines and geology since 2033 BS, has granted licenses to the companies to search for potential mines for the promotion of mines-based industries in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Information Officer of the department, Narayan Baskota, said the licenses were granted to explore potential mines such as iron, copper, gold, limestone, ruby, granite, kainite and dolomite. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it had issued licenses to 374 mining companies for the exploration of mines last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Higher number of licenses were granted to explore limestone and copper," said Baskota, adding that the majority of companies approaching for licenses for mine exploration were Chinese companies. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Only 50 percent licensed companies have started excavating mines while the remaining companies are under the process for excavation, Baskota added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department had scrapped the licenses of 121 companies for not being active in exploration and excavation in the fiscal year 2022/23. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18490', 'image' => '20230817112551_Iron.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 11:24:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18760', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Youths Should Lead Entrepreneurship in the Country: Finance Minister Mahat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During his address at the 'Entrepreneurship Motivation Conclave,' organized by the Forum for Nation Building, Nepal, and the Entrepreneurship Youth Creative National Campaign in Kathmandu, the Minister stressed the need for young people to shift their perspective away from the belief that their aspirations can only be realized on foreign shores.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Portraying Nepal as a nation brimming with potential, the Minister highlighted that the government has taken measures such as offering soft loans, grants, and tax discounts to stimulate economic growth within the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Challenging the prevalent notion that prosperity is solely attainable overseas, the Minister asserted that Nepal's tourism sector is flourishing and its IT industry displays promising prospects for further advancement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mahat also noted that the nation's economy is on a trajectory of recovery, underlining the necessity for proactive and positive approaches to achieve economic prosperity targets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event also featured insights from former Finance Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada and CEO of Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kiran Kumar Shrestha. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Both Khatiwada and Shrestha encouraged young individuals to pursue careers within Nepal, leveraging the various schemes and support offered by the government and banks specifically tailored to benefit them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shrestha shared that the banking sector has introduced ten entrepreneurship development schemes, including initiatives aimed at supporting women and students. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18489', 'image' => '20230817055515_collage (20).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 05:53:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18758', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index and All Sub-Indices Land in the Red', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 16: The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index dropped by 1.41%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index slumped by 0.95% and 1.09% respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Wednesday, a total of 4,838,106 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 1.669 billion. As many as 269 companies were traded through 45,167 transactions. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Tuesday, 56,03,798 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 2.115 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Distillery Limited (HDL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 8.41 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 1,969. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, Sunrise Focused Equity Fund (SFEF) gained the highest 4.00% to close at Rs. 8.32.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Mountain Hydro Nepal Limited (MHNL) lost the highest 8.06% today. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All sub-indices closed in the red zone. Hydropower Index lost the most with 1.85 percent while Hotel and Tourism Index lost the least 0.01%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18487', 'image' => '20230816044723_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Launches Social Security Scheme for Informal Sector Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.', '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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Addressing the launch of the social security scheme for workers in the informal sector and self-employed persons organized by the Social Security Fund (SSF), Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the government will integrate the social security structure to eliminate duplication seen in this sector.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Pointing out the need to manage the fund through an integrated manner, Prime Minister Dahal said, "The fund is an important mechanism for the protection of the neglected and oppressed workers of the society." </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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, this mechanism has the ability to increase the overall productivity by activating the internal production cycle. He added that this campaign will help the workers in the informal sector who work as long as they can and return home empty-handed.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He clarified that since the Constitution of Nepal, built on the foundation of the historical struggle for the establishment of an egalitarian and just society, guarantees the right to social security of the working class as a fundamental right, the implementation of the constitution cannot be carried out unless the rights of the workers who have suffered injustice are established and their right to social security is ensured.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The PM added that the government had launched the social security scheme for Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries as part of the campaign to make all the workers join the social security fund.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Under this plan, the government is preparing to gradually make all the laborers in the informal sector, estimated to be more than 4 million, participate in the social security program.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that guaranteeing the rights of workers with social security is an essential condition for the establishment of an egalitarian society and a socialist-oriented political and economic system envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, Prime Minister Dahal said that social security scheme is not just a general concept, but the creation of an environment where citizens can get education, health, employment, opportunities, concessions and respect without discrimination. He said he would.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that the 'Contribution-Based Social Security Act, 2074' should be implemented effectively to make social security sustainable and orderly, he said that the regulatory bodies will be mobilized for the implementation of the Act to ensure that employers and workers who join the fund are not deprived of the benefits of social security based on contributions.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Joint Labor Coordination Committee Chairman Binod Shrestha among others were present during the programme. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18486', 'image' => '20230816044108_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:40:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18756', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Collect Taxes worth Rs 677 Billion Under Seven Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).', '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"">August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24). According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the amount is being collected under the headings of income tax, value added tax, excise duty, property and lease income tax, interest tax, education service fee and health service tax.</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 department is expecting to collect Rs 298.35 billion under the heading of income tax. Similarly, Rs 157.21 billion will be raised under VAT. The department said that around Rs 145.53 billion will be collected under the title of excise duty.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last fiscal year (FY 2022/23), the department collected more than Rs 213 billion under the heading of income tax. According to the details presented by the department in the Revenue Management Seminar held on Tuesday, 100 taxpayers contributed more than 52 percent of the total tax in the last fiscal 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"">Although there are more than 55,54,000 taxpayers in Nepal, just 100 of them pay more than half of the taxes. </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"">An analysis of last year's taxpayers and the structure of revenue collection, it appears that Rs 251.73 billion in revenue. According to the department, this is 52.46 percent of the total collected taxes. </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"">Last year, the department had set a target of collecting Rs 626 billion in revenue, but collected only 76.51 percent of it (Rs 479 billion).</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"">Last year according to the department</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"">Last year, a total of 2,991 taxpayers paid Rs 3.74 billion in taxes. This is 78.14 percent of the total taxes collected in the review year. Last year, the top 10 taxpayers paid Rs 1.8 billion in taxes, which is 22.57 percent of the total taxes collected.</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 revenue officials said that they plan to effectively implement the revenue policies and programs in the current fiscal 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"">The IRD will also implement the budget implementation action plan, complete the investigation of fraud and fake bills, identify taxpayers who are not covered by the tax system and bring them under the ambit of tax.</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 IRD also pledged to bring electronic transactions under the ambit of taxation. The officials said they are working to identify the growing trend of fake bills and take effective action against them.</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"">Similarly, revenue officials consider the decision to bring electronic services provided by non-residents to consumers in Nepal under the scope of tax, levying luxury tax, foreign tourism tax and foreign employment service tax as policy reforms.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18485', 'image' => '20230816040519_IRDD.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:04:37', '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
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">August 18: The Government of Nepal has reached a multi-party agreement with neighbouring countries to facilitate the supply of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh. According to government officials, Nepal has defined the deal as 'a preliminary agreement' among Nepal, India and Bangladesh.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that Bangladesh is set to purchase 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal in the initial phase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the stakeholders, while 40MW is not a substantial volume, the decision is significant because of its symbolic value. The agreement to export Nepal's electricity to a third country is itself a significant achievement, according to the stakeholders.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">President of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) Ganesh Karki is among those assessing the agreement as a noteworthy achievement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The transmission of Nepal's power to Bangladesh will be facilitated through India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), which has been designated as the nodal agency by the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority's Prabal Adhikari confirmed that the preliminary agreement on the power supply to Bangladesh has been reached by the email exchanges among the three countries. Some pending issues regarding the agreement are expected to be finalized shortly, he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been agreed to sign the document in the physical presence of the officials from the respective countries soon. It is expected to take place in the near future.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Bangladesh, in its strategic plan, aims to purchase 9,000 MW of electricity from Nepal by 2040. Bangladesh which is in the pursuit of clean energy, has expressed its interest in investing in some important projects in Nepal as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noted that the fifth meeting of the Nepal-Bangladesh energy secretary-level joint steering committee held in Bangladesh on May 16 decided to establish power trade relations between the two countries. The meeting also agreed to proceed ahead for the execution of the agreement among the NEA, NVVN of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal has proposed to finalize the agreement by the last week of August. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18502', 'image' => '20230818085653_20230817094405_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 08:55:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18772', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Bajhang ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 18: An earthquake measuring 3.9 in the Richter scale occurred at Khiratadi area of Bajhang district on Thursday night. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, the earthquake took place at 9:13 pm on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, a quake of magnitude 4 in the Richter scale had occurred at Mirsa area of Kaski district on July 19. Earthquakes are occurring frequently in western Nepal of late.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => 'earthquake, Nepal, western, Richter, frequent, Bajhang', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18501', 'image' => '20230818075740_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 07:54:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18771', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Lifts Ban on Flights to Remote Areas', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 18: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) has lifted the ban on flights to remote areas. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN has removed the restriction on flights to difficult terrains by implementing stringent flight safety standards. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision eliminates the previously imposed flight time restrictions on short takeoff and landing (STOL) airstrips located in mountainous regions across the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ban on flights has been lifted with enforcement of comprehensive flight safety standards and implementation of weather appropriate flight operations, according to information officer Gyanendra Bhulaka at the CAAN. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the CAAN had decided that airlines could conduct flights to the airports in remote districts within operation hour only. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The decision had infuriated locals from Humla and they had been agitated. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the protest, the authority was compelled to remove the ban on flights. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> "Airlines will now be allowed to make flights to remote airfields in the country from 12 noon onwards. However, they will have to implement flight safety standards,” said Bhulaka. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the authority's decision, during each flight, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority will need to ensure full compliance with the "Visibility and Distance from Cloud Minima" as outlined in the Civil Aviation Regulations. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is to ensure complete satisfaction with safety after confirming the cloud visibility and distance before each flight.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For flights from Nepalgunj Airport to short takeoff and landing in airstrips in remote districts and vice versa, the airlines will have to manage a mandatory "Flight Operations Officer" at Nepalgunj Airport. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All flight operations-related activities will be conducted by this officer. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, authority has decided to form a high level committee under Deputy Director-General of the authority to review operation time of all STOL airstrips in hilly districts and study weather availability of air routes to airports in hilly districts. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-18', 'modified' => '2023-08-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18500', 'image' => '20230818060852_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-18 06:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18768', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '820 Kilometers Roads Blacktopped; 222 Bridges Constructed in 2022/23', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: The government has blacktopped 820 kilometers of road and constructed 222 bridges across the country in the last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, 249 kilometers of road was reconstructed and 243 kilometers of new track was opened during the period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although the Ministry had initially set a target to perform maintenance on 761 kilometers of roads within the last fiscal year, the actual figure that underwent repair was 538 kilometers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Keshav Kumar Sharma, the Secretary at the Ministry, highlighted that despite encountering various challenges, the Department of Roads managed to achieve approximately 69 percent progress.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sushi Babu Dhakal, the Director General of the Department, acknowledged that the anticipated progress in the infrastructure sector was not realized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Department had aimed for an 80 percent progress rate but could not attain it. However, Dhakal stated that the advancement of national pride projects demonstrated satisfactory results. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Work was underway on the Nagdhunga-Naubise road section, and contract management activities for upgrading the Kakadvitta-Laukahi road along the East-West highway were in their final stages.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, noteworthy projects were in motion, including the commencement of construction on the Mulghat-Subhangkhola section along the Tamor corridor and the development of a flyover at Gwarko. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Department shared that steps were taken to secure consent for multi-year contracts and resource guarantees for the construction of flyovers at Satdobato and Ekantakuna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel road along the Araniko highway was undergoing construction. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18497', 'image' => '20230817053001_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 17:28:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18767', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc Acquires Tiger Palace Resort ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">August 17: Tiger Palace Resort in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is now going to be operated by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, which is owned by Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs). The company has acquired Tiger Palace Resort from Australian holding company Silver Heritage Group Limited at a cost of Rs 2 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Organizing a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, the company said that Tiger Palace resort will now be operated under a new management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Earlier, Tiger Palace Resort was being operated by the Australian company Silver Heritage Group Limited. The Australian company has invested almost Rs 10 billion in Nepal to run this resort and casino business. Around 1000 Nepalis are directly employed in the resort and the casino operated by the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Buddhisagar Subedi, president of Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc, said that this resort was not fully operational due to internal dispute and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Subedi, the resort was bearing losses worth million since the last few years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The closure of this resort would have given a wrong message that there is not environment for foreign investment in Nepal. Therefore, we decided to take over this resort,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The ownership of Tiger Palace Resort has been transferred to Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc as all the shares of the Australian company have been purchased by Himalayan Tiger Investment Inc. Subedi said that it will require additional investment of Rs 4 billion to fully operate this resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Now we are going to operate the Tiger Palace Resort with new management. We Nepalis who have gone abroad have bought the resort realizing our responsibility towards our homeland,” said Subedi.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18496', 'image' => '20230817050009_property-facade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:59:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18766', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Makes Minimal Gain; Turnover Amount Shrinks to 1.54 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">August 17: After three days’ consecutive fall, the Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index gained 8.01 points or 0.39% and closed at 2033.13 points on the last trading day of the week, Thursday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">In the past two days, the secondary benchmark index was affected by the information that banks and financial institutions were preparing to increase bank interest rates for the next month of mid-August to mid-September(Bhadra). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Some banks have hiked the bank interest rates, while few have reduced the interest rates. Others have kept the rates stable. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Experts and seasoned share investors say that traders, who have booked their profits, are in wait and watch mode. They say that investing money in the stock right at present will give profits in short time as dividend season is fast-approaching.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 271 scrips exchanged their hands through 43,591 transactions. As many as 4,009,263 shares were traded. Amounting to Rs 1.54 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 13.71 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 463.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Similarly, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme - 2 (SIGS2) gained the highest 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Meanwhile, Laxmi Equity Fund (LEMF) lost the highest 7.43% today. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only Mutual Fund Index closed in the red while the remaining closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Trading Index gained the most with a 2.53 percent positive change while the Others Index gained the least 0.01%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif"> Sensitive Index increased by 0.28%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index went up by 0.37% and 0.42% respectively. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18495', 'image' => '20230817044830_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 16:47:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18765', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Start Increasing Interest Rates as Deposits Drop', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.', '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"">August 17: Commercial banks have started increasing the interest rates after the bankers decided to fix such rates on the basis of competition from mid-July.</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"">Banks have increased the interest rate from the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) after the bank deposits started to decrease.</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 government and other stakeholders had held a discussion at with the representatives of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday to reduce the interest rates and increase investment. Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, during the discussion with the bankers, had indicated that the amount in the accumulated funds of the local level will be counted as deposits. The government is yet to make a formal decision to provide this facility. A banker said that the interest rate will be affected if the government provides such a facility.</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 Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Finance Minister said in the discussion with us that he will provide the facility to calculate local level funds as deposits," said the banker, "If that decision is implemented, liquidity may increase and interest rates may decrease."</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"">During the discussion, the finance minister had requested banks to increase credit flow stating that the remittance inflow have been increasing and liquidity situation has eased. He said that the economic activities will not increase unless the banks increase investment.</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 response, the bankers asked for the facility of counting local level funds as deposits to increase investment. With the lack of liquidity in banks and financial institutions, the government had given the facility to deposit up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the accumulated amount of the local level last year. After this facility ended in June, the deposits of the banks decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">00 billion.</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"">Since mid-July, the banks have been determining the interest rates by themselves following the ease in liquidity situation in the banking system. The Nepal Bankers' Association decided after one and a half years that the banks would be allowed to set their own interest rates.</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-July, when five banks increased the interest rate on deposit, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> banks reduced it. Meanwhile, six of them kept it stable. Some banks decided to increase interest from mid-August saying that banks with high interest have started attracting depositors. </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 instructions of the Nepal Rastra Bank regarding interest rate determination, banks are allowed to increase or decrease the interest rate by </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""> percent compared to the previous interest rate every month. </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 is a provision that banks should publish the interest rate applicable from the starting of a new month on the last day of the previous month. </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 of Monday, banks and financial institutions have collected deposits of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5597</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion and extended loans of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4855</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion. Compared to the previous day, bank deposits decreased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion on Monday, while credit flow increased by Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</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:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks, which was 81 percent at the end of the last fiscal year, has now increased to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83.69 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent.</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 is a provision that banks can give loans by maintaining the CD ration up to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">90 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18494', 'image' => '20230817030218_bankkkkkkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 15:01:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18764', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Rainfall in Forecast ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: There is a possibility of rain for few more days throughout the country as the axis of Monsoon trough is now located close to the northern part of country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, Ganga Nagarkoti, the weather in the Tarai areas of Koshi and Madhes provinces is fair at present while the remaining provinces are witnessing partly to generally cloudy weather. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rainfall is taking place in the hill regions of Koshi and Gandaki provinces as well as one or two places of Lumbini and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, light rainfall with thunder and lightning is now taking place in Lumbini Province. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the division, light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning has been predicted at some places of the hill areas of the country as well as a few places of the rest of the country this afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Koshi and Bagmati provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, few places of Koshi, Madhes and Gandaki provinces as well as a few places of the remaining provinces would witness light to moderate rain with thunderstorm and lightning tonight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Friday, there is a chances of light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning at few places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning at one or two places of Gandaki Province has been predicted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On Saturday, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hill areas and a few places in the rest of the country, according to the division. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18493', 'image' => '20230817023623_rain.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 14:35:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18763', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Seeks 155,000 Tons of Food Grains from India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.', '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"">August 17: The Government of Nepal has requested for 155,000 tons of food grains from India after assessing that the supply of food items like paddy, rice and sugar in the market might be affected due to India's export ban.</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 government has sent a letter to New Delhi asking for 155,000 tons of food. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal confirmed that a letter has been sent to the Government of India through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting the supply of 100,000 tons of rice, 50,000 tons of sugar, and 5,000 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"">India had decided on July 21 to stop the export of white rice other than Basmati brand, anticipating that there might be a food crisis in its own country. Although the government has sent a letter to India, it is yet to receive any response from the southern neighbor.</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 an informal conversation, India has said that the ban would not be applicable for Nepal, said the spokesperson for the ministry, Radhika Aryal.</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"">However, the effects of the export ban has already been seen in the Nepali market and therefore the food items were requested after determining the quantity required, said Aryal.</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"">Businessmen say that they have stocks of paddy and rice that will last until October. Domestically produced rice is not enough to meet the internal demand of Nepal. Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of paddy annually. About 3.5 million metric tons of rice is prepared from the paddy produced in the country. Officials say that Nepal needs about 4 million metric tons of rice throughout the 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 this calculation, about 500,000 tons of rice should be imported to meet Nepal's demand for the staple food. Even though paddy and rice are imported into Nepal from more than a dozen countries, government data show that 99 percent of imported rice comes from India. According to the Department of Customs, in the last fiscal year (2022/23), Nepal imported 225,46 tons of rice and 555,869 metric tons of paddy from abroad. </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"">Other countries that supply paddy and rice to Nepal are China, Bhutan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, America, Oman, Thailand among others.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18492', 'image' => '20230817010112_1692229700.1590123751.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 13:00:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18762', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Barahi Group to Operate Five-Star Hotel in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Barahi Group, which has been involved in the hospitality business for four decades, has intensified its preparation to operate a five-star hotel in Sedi, Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company is investing Rs 6 billion for the establishment and operation of the five-star hotel in the popular tourist city of Nepal. The hotel will be brought into operation by 2026. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Organizing a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the Barahi Group said that the hotel with a capacity to accommodate 1,200 people is being constructed in Pokhara. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stretched over an area of 63 ropanis of land, the hotel will have 171 rooms. It includes exquisite facilities related to casino, spa and fitness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Barahi Sedi Limited, registered as a public limited company, has also floated a plan to go for initial public offering. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The long experience of Barahi Group in the field of hospitality will be utilized in the expansion of service through well-equipped five-star hotel, informed Director of Barahi Hospitality, Yogendra Thapa. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18491', 'image' => '20230817120458_barahi.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 12:04:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18761', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '432 Companies Obtain License for Exploration of Mines ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">August 17: The Department of Mines and Geology has granted licenses to 432 companies for exploring mines in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Lainchaur-based department, that has been working in the areas of mines and geology since 2033 BS, has granted licenses to the companies to search for potential mines for the promotion of mines-based industries in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Information Officer of the department, Narayan Baskota, said the licenses were granted to explore potential mines such as iron, copper, gold, limestone, ruby, granite, kainite and dolomite. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it had issued licenses to 374 mining companies for the exploration of mines last year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Higher number of licenses were granted to explore limestone and copper," said Baskota, adding that the majority of companies approaching for licenses for mine exploration were Chinese companies. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Only 50 percent licensed companies have started excavating mines while the remaining companies are under the process for excavation, Baskota added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department had scrapped the licenses of 121 companies for not being active in exploration and excavation in the fiscal year 2022/23. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18490', 'image' => '20230817112551_Iron.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 11:24:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18760', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Youths Should Lead Entrepreneurship in the Country: Finance Minister Mahat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 17: Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said the country has the abundance of untapped entrepreneurial prospects and urged young individuals to lead the way in exploring and seizing these opportunities, rather than seeking them abroad.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During his address at the 'Entrepreneurship Motivation Conclave,' organized by the Forum for Nation Building, Nepal, and the Entrepreneurship Youth Creative National Campaign in Kathmandu, the Minister stressed the need for young people to shift their perspective away from the belief that their aspirations can only be realized on foreign shores.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Portraying Nepal as a nation brimming with potential, the Minister highlighted that the government has taken measures such as offering soft loans, grants, and tax discounts to stimulate economic growth within the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Challenging the prevalent notion that prosperity is solely attainable overseas, the Minister asserted that Nepal's tourism sector is flourishing and its IT industry displays promising prospects for further advancement. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Mahat also noted that the nation's economy is on a trajectory of recovery, underlining the necessity for proactive and positive approaches to achieve economic prosperity targets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The event also featured insights from former Finance Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada and CEO of Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kiran Kumar Shrestha. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Both Khatiwada and Shrestha encouraged young individuals to pursue careers within Nepal, leveraging the various schemes and support offered by the government and banks specifically tailored to benefit them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shrestha shared that the banking sector has introduced ten entrepreneurship development schemes, including initiatives aimed at supporting women and students. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-17', 'modified' => '2023-08-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18489', 'image' => '20230817055515_collage (20).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-17 05:53:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18758', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index and All Sub-Indices Land in the Red', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">August 16: The Nepalese Stock Exchange(NEPSE) index plunged by 20.31 percent and closed at 2025.12 points on the fourth trading day of the week, Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The secondary benchmark index has fallen for the last three consecutive trading days. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index dropped by 1.41%, while Float Index and Sensitive Float Index slumped by 0.95% and 1.09% respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Wednesday, a total of 4,838,106 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 1.669 billion. As many as 269 companies were traded through 45,167 transactions. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Tuesday, 56,03,798 shares were traded, amounting to Rs 2.115 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Distillery Limited (HDL) recorded the highest turnover of Rs. 8.41 crores and closed at a market price of Rs. 1,969. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Similarly, Sunrise Focused Equity Fund (SFEF) gained the highest 4.00% to close at Rs. 8.32.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, Mountain Hydro Nepal Limited (MHNL) lost the highest 8.06% today. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All sub-indices closed in the red zone. Hydropower Index lost the most with 1.85 percent while Hotel and Tourism Index lost the least 0.01%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18487', 'image' => '20230816044723_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18757', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Launches Social Security Scheme for Informal Sector Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.', '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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">August 16: The government on Wednesday launched social security scheme for informal sector workers.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Addressing the launch of the social security scheme for workers in the informal sector and self-employed persons organized by the Social Security Fund (SSF), Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the government will integrate the social security structure to eliminate duplication seen in this sector.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Pointing out the need to manage the fund through an integrated manner, Prime Minister Dahal said, "The fund is an important mechanism for the protection of the neglected and oppressed workers of the society." </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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, this mechanism has the ability to increase the overall productivity by activating the internal production cycle. He added that this campaign will help the workers in the informal sector who work as long as they can and return home empty-handed.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He clarified that since the Constitution of Nepal, built on the foundation of the historical struggle for the establishment of an egalitarian and just society, guarantees the right to social security of the working class as a fundamental right, the implementation of the constitution cannot be carried out unless the rights of the workers who have suffered injustice are established and their right to social security is ensured.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The PM added that the government had launched the social security scheme for Nepali migrant workers in foreign countries as part of the campaign to make all the workers join the social security fund.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Under this plan, the government is preparing to gradually make all the laborers in the informal sector, estimated to be more than 4 million, participate in the social security program.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that guaranteeing the rights of workers with social security is an essential condition for the establishment of an egalitarian society and a socialist-oriented political and economic system envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, Prime Minister Dahal said that social security scheme is not just a general concept, but the creation of an environment where citizens can get education, health, employment, opportunities, concessions and respect without discrimination. He said he would.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Stating that the 'Contribution-Based Social Security Act, 2074' should be implemented effectively to make social security sustainable and orderly, he said that the regulatory bodies will be mobilized for the implementation of the Act to ensure that employers and workers who join the fund are not deprived of the benefits of social security based on contributions.</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:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Joint Labor Coordination Committee Chairman Binod Shrestha among others were present during the programme. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18486', 'image' => '20230816044108_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:40:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18756', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Collect Taxes worth Rs 677 Billion Under Seven Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).', '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"">August 16: The government is preparing to collect Rs 677 billion revenue under seven different headings in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24). According to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the amount is being collected under the headings of income tax, value added tax, excise duty, property and lease income tax, interest tax, education service fee and health service tax.</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 department is expecting to collect Rs 298.35 billion under the heading of income tax. Similarly, Rs 157.21 billion will be raised under VAT. The department said that around Rs 145.53 billion will be collected under the title of excise duty.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last fiscal year (FY 2022/23), the department collected more than Rs 213 billion under the heading of income tax. According to the details presented by the department in the Revenue Management Seminar held on Tuesday, 100 taxpayers contributed more than 52 percent of the total tax in the last fiscal 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"">Although there are more than 55,54,000 taxpayers in Nepal, just 100 of them pay more than half of the taxes. </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"">An analysis of last year's taxpayers and the structure of revenue collection, it appears that Rs 251.73 billion in revenue. According to the department, this is 52.46 percent of the total collected taxes. </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"">Last year, the department had set a target of collecting Rs 626 billion in revenue, but collected only 76.51 percent of it (Rs 479 billion).</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"">Last year according to the department</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"">Last year, a total of 2,991 taxpayers paid Rs 3.74 billion in taxes. This is 78.14 percent of the total taxes collected in the review year. Last year, the top 10 taxpayers paid Rs 1.8 billion in taxes, which is 22.57 percent of the total taxes collected.</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 revenue officials said that they plan to effectively implement the revenue policies and programs in the current fiscal 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"">The IRD will also implement the budget implementation action plan, complete the investigation of fraud and fake bills, identify taxpayers who are not covered by the tax system and bring them under the ambit of tax.</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 IRD also pledged to bring electronic transactions under the ambit of taxation. The officials said they are working to identify the growing trend of fake bills and take effective action against them.</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"">Similarly, revenue officials consider the decision to bring electronic services provided by non-residents to consumers in Nepal under the scope of tax, levying luxury tax, foreign tourism tax and foreign employment service tax as policy reforms.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-08-16', 'modified' => '2023-08-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18485', 'image' => '20230816040519_IRDD.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-08-16 16:04:37', '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
