July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming fiscal…
July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming fiscal…
July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral…
July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half…
July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon…
July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal.…
July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in…
July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok…
Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the…
Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade…
Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank…
The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National…
July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably.…
July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill,…
July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month.…
July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China.…
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NTB officials said that 80 percent of the budget will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to NTB Director Mani Raj Lamichhane, the board is preparing to launch promotional activities to bring back the tourism business that was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic to normalcy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Around 80 percent of the budget for the next fiscal year will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market,” said Lamichhane, adding, “The remaining amount will be spent on domestic tourism promotion and infrastructure development.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, the board will give priority in promotional activities in India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Priorities will also be given to the USA and the UK which have been contributing to the tourism sector of Nepal since a long time,” said Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NTB is also planning to promote tourism in Australia as the country’s flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is planning to start direct flights to Australia in the near future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18207', 'image' => '20230716033046_Nepal-Tourism-Board.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:29:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18477', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest Taking Precautionary Measures against Dengue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an interaction organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Rudra Marasini cautioned all towards increasing cases of dengue and the likelihood of it becoming an epidemic at any time. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Marasini shared that a total of 1,192 people were infected with dengue as of July 8, adding that many of the cases could have gone unrecorded and unreported to the ministry. The statistic does not include those without symptoms and going to private health facility for treatment, he said, estimating higher number of cases in reality than the statistic. Similarly, Dipendra Raman Singh, director general of Department of Health Services, shared that the ministry was working with coordinated efforts with three-tier government for prevention and cure of dengue. He suggested destroying the possible places where the dengue-transmitting mosquitoes could lay eggs, including tyres, utensils or any containers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The mosquito-borne viral infection is transmitted to human from mosquitos of Aedes species. Dengue was first reported in the country in 2004. Last year, 54,784 cases of dengue were reported in the country with 88 fatalities. A majority of the dengue cases (77 per cent) were reported from Bagmati Province. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the rise in mercury level in mountainous region due to climate change, dengue cases have been detected in places where it was never reported before. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Province Health Service Directorate, Surkhet, dengue patients have been detected in Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Dolpa in recent years</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dengue Control Source Person and vector control officer of the directorate, Shyam Lal Acharya said mountainous region is becoming favourable for lifecycle of mosquitoes. Acharya requested all to adopt precaution as dengue-carrying mosquitoes are active till mid-October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">High fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea and rash among others are the symptoms of dengue, said senior consultant Dr Bimal Chalise. Dr Chalise suggested admitting the patients with severe dengue infection in healthcare facilities at the earliest. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18206', 'image' => '20230716033200_20230707014653_dengue-test_650x400_61442241844.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18475', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks to Fix Interest Rates themselves after One and a Half Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half 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">As the liquidity in the financial system has eased, the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) has decided that the banks will be able to set their own interest rates from mid-July.</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 chief executive officer of NBA, Anil Sharma said that since the banks have plenty of liquidity and the demand for loans is low, it has been decided that the banks can determine the interest rate on deposits based on the condition of the bank. </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 association had reached a gentlemen’s agreement in fixing the interest rate after unhealthy competition among banks resulted in exorbitant interest rates in the past. But now, as that the situation has eased, it has been decided that the banks will be able to set the interest rates themselves,” said Sharma. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had issued a verbal instruction to the banks to set the interest rates within a single digit in November 2021 after the interest rate on deposits of commercial banks reached almost 12 percent due to lack of liquidity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Issuing a formal directive, NRB then made arrangements so that the banks could increase or decrease the interest rates only by 10 percent compared to the previous month’s interest rate.</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 NBA had been fixing the maximum interest rate of banks since October 2021.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It has been learnt that the banks are preparing to lower the interest rate on deposits after mid-July. Such a decision was taken as the banks have excess liquidity at present due to high deposit collection and low credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As of last Tuesday, banks and financial institutions had collected deposits of Rs 5736 billion and provided loans of Rs 4854 billion rupees.</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 average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks also fell to 81.69 percent due to non-disbursement of loans compared to deposit collection. As banks can give loans by maintaining up to 90 percent CD ratio, they still have the ability to give more than Rs 4.5 billion as loans. However, due to high interest rates and contraction in economic activity, banks have not been able to expand credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18205', 'image' => '20230716030944_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:08:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18474', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends Non-Essential Helicopter Flights during Monsoon', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The regulator of the aviation sector of Nepal has suspended non-essential flights such as mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flower until September. CAAN, however, clarified that rescue flights will not be hampered during thisperiod.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent notice, CAAN said that it will issue permission for helicopter operations, including rescue flights, to be centralized at Actual Time of Departure (ATD) during this monsoon. Such a rule will remain in force until September with periodic review in a weekly basis for the effectiveness of this provision.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the new provisions, either the point of origin or destination during helicopter flights should be an aerodrome.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CAAN also said that flight crew having share in the company shall not exercise privilege of license for all types of commercial flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The notice further states that CAAN has formed a team for daily control and supervision of helicopter and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The new regulation announced last week comes in the wake of the crash of the Manang Air helicopter with call sign 9N-AMV in Lamjura Pass of Solukhumbu district killing five Mexicans and the pilot on July 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18204', 'image' => '20230716022140_20230711121204_Manang-Air-27-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 14:21:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18473', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Export of Black Cardamom Up by 85 Percent', 'sub_title' => 'Businessmen Insist on Exploring New Markets for Exporting Black Cardamom', 'summary' => 'July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. ', '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"">Pratiksha Kandel</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. Nepal exported black cardamom worth Rs 7.7 billion to different countries of the world from mid-July to mid- May of the current fiscal year, according to the data of the Department of Customs. But since the market of black cardamom produced in Nepal is concentrated only in India, businessmen have been saying that new destinations should be explored for the market expansion of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 department, 9,386 metric tons of black cardamom have been exported from Nepal in the 11 months of the current fiscal year. During the same period last year, 5,500 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 4.55 billion were exported. Compared to last year's exports in 11 months, black cardamom exports have increased by 69 percent in terms of monetary value and 85 percent in volume this 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"">Nepal has been exporting black cardamom to India, Italy, Pakistan, the USA, Germany and other countries. During the 11 months of the current fiscal year, 9,341 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 7.68 billion have been exported to India alone. That is a staggerring 99.52 percent of the total export of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Along with the production of black cardamom in Nepal, the production area is also increasing. According to the National Potato Vegetable and Spice Development Center, 2.5 million metric tons of black cardamom has been produced in Nepal in the last six years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 center, in the fiscal year 2073-74, around 401,000 metric tons of black cardamom were cultivated in 21,562 hectares of land in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the fiscal year 2078-79, the area and output of cardamom production increased to 22,913 hectares and 435,584 metric tons respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Raj Kumar Karki, outgoing president of the Nepal Cardamom Traders Federation, says that India is the main market for black cardamom produced in Nepal and the demand for Nepali black cardamom in India is high. He argues that since the domestic production of black cardamom in India is increasing, Nepal should find a new markets for exporting black cardamom. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After India, Bangladesh is also the next big market for black cardamom produced in Nepal. But due to the compulsion of having to pay 35 percent tax when exporting the products to Bangladesh, black cardamom of Nepal is unable to compete with the black cardamom sent to Bangladesh from other countries, said Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Bhutan is exporting black cardamom to Bangladesh paying zero percent tax. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to facilitate policy on tax and other matters to export Nepal’s black cardamom to Bangladesh,” says Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that Nepal has not been able to increase the export of black cardamom to third countries due to the high cost of air freight.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Karki predicted that the production of black cardamom will decline by 35 to 45 percent this year. According to Karki, the price of cardamom has already reached 1,000 per kg as the production is expected to further decrease in the coming year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18203', 'image' => '20230716010754_BlackCardamom.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 13:07:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18472', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Service to be Extended to Bijalpura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala is scheduled to launch the extension service today (July 16). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The train service currently operates along a 35 km stretch from Jayanagar to Janakpurdham will be extended to Kurtha to cover a total distance of 52 km. The train service is operating regularly for the past 15 months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After the completion of the second phase of physical infrastructure, the train service is going to be extended to Bijalpura, said the General Manager of the Department of Railways Niranjan Jha. However, due to the dispute over land compensation, the construction of the third phase of railway infrastructure from Bijalpura to Bardibas has been stopped. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The broad gauge two-set train was put into operation from April 2, 2022. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18202', 'image' => '20230716115557_Railwayy (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:55:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18471', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Commercial Paragliding Begins in Kavre ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The paragliding flight takes place from Devisthan to Badal village located in ward no 8 of the municipality, covering a distance of about one and a half kilometers from at an altitude of 5,500 feet. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Minister and Member of Parliament Gokul Prasad Banskota launched the commercial paragliding flight on Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal have given permission to Bishwabazar Paragliding Pvt Ltd to conduct recreational aviation flights after meeting the necessary criteria. </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"">Chairman of the company Kiran Karki said that paragliding has been started in Dhulikhel in collaboration with paragliding companies operating in Pokhara.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accidental insurance fund of Rs 3.7 million has been established for the people who take the paragliding flights. One has to pay Rs 7,000 for a one-time flight. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18201', 'image' => '20230716112456_20220821100035_para.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18470', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2,60,000 Migrant Workers Join Social Security Fund(SSF)', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 16: The enrollment of migrant workers in the Social Security Fund (SSF) has witnessed a significant rise, indicating a positive trend. These are workers who have obtained labor permits and ventured abroad for employment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On March 22, 2023, the government implemented a provision mandating the association of migrant workers with the Social Security Fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to this provision, workers intending to work overseas must register with the Fund before acquiring their work permits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Within the formal sector, 423,092 workers have already been enrolled in the Fund. Additionally, a combined total of 639,174 workers, including those from the formal sector and overseas employment sector, have been associated with the Fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund has disbursed claims amounting to Rs 5 billion to contributors under various social security schemes. Bibek Panthi, the spokesperson for the Fund, reported that 18,000 employers have also registered with the Fund, contributing a total of Rs 36.26 billion to date. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund collects a monthly contribution of 11 percent from workers in the formal sector and 20 percent from employers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">So far, a total of 88,585 contributors have received different entitlements from the Fund, highlighting its active role in providing benefits and support to eligible individuals. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18200', 'image' => '20230716055933_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18469', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Exports Animal Feed to China for the First Time', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company dispatched 10 containers of haylage as the first consignment, and, they plan to send 20 containers of animal feed to China daily. The company aims to export a total of 2000 million tons of animal feed to the city of Shigatse in China within a year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang, the chief executive officer of Horizon International Pvt. Ltd, explained that the company procured maize plants from local farmers in and around Bharatpur and processed them to create high-quality animal feed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As part of their efforts to support the farmers, advanced varieties of seeds, irrigation systems, and technical assistance are being provided to enhance production. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang further revealed that there is a significant demand for 500 containers of haylage in the Shigatse region of China. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is worth noting that Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality and Shigatse city have a sister relationship, which has played a role in facilitating this animal feed export program. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, and the Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality have jointly initiated and supported this venture. (RSS)</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18199', 'image' => '20230716054230_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:34:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18468', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Laxmi Bank and Sunrise Bank Start Integrated Transaction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited". </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The final agreement for the merger between the two banks was reached on May 22.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the merger proposal was approved by the respective general assemblies of both banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of Nepal) had granted its final approval for the merger on July 7.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the merger, the central office of the bank is located in Hattisar, Kathmandu. These two banks had merged with swap ration of 1:1. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Laxmi Bank's paid-up capital has a paid-up capital of Rs 11.55 billion, while Sunrise Bank's capital stands at Rs 10.11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the merger, the combined paid-up capital will be over Rs 21.66 billion.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18198', 'image' => '20230714055122_collage (82).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:49:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18467', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NA Passes Bill to Raise National Debt', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> During Friday’s meeting of the NA, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat presented a proposal to return the bill, which had received suggestions from the House of Representatives (HoR), to the lower house of the Federal Parliament without any amendments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The majority of lawmakers supported this proposal, leading to its passage.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the discussion of the bill's clauses, some legislators raised concerns about the utility of increasing national debt when the percentage of public debt is already rising in comparison to the gross domestic product. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Despite these concerns, the bill proceeded and was ultimately approved.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The National Assembly's next session is scheduled for July 17 at 1:00 pm.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18197', 'image' => '20230714051020_collage (80).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18466', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Paddy through Birgunj Customs Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. Entrepreneurs say that the decrease in the import of rice and increase in the import of its raw material, paddy is a positive indication.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The data of Birgunj Customs Office shows that the import of paddy through this checkpoint increased by 60 percent in 11 months of the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Information Officer of Birgunj Customs, Ram Chandra Dhakal, industries of Bara and Parsa import paddy through this check point. Most of the big rice industries are operating in the same area and are dependent on imported paddy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the review period, 335,000 metric tons of rice worth Rs 12.37 billion were imported from India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs data, 43,325 tons of rice of different brands was imported last year from Birgunj, but this year it was limited to 32,597 tons. Imports of rice have been affected after India, imposed a 20 percent duty on exports. India adopted such a policy to control prices in the domestic market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, India also levied duties on paddy exports, which was lifted after the initiative of local entrepreneurs. India has set an export quota of 600,000 tons of paddy for Nepal this year. This amount is 100,000 tons more than the previous year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Import of wheat through this checkpoint on the other hand decreased by 77 percent. In the previous year, 21,395 metric tons of wheat were imported in 11 months, but this year only 4,902 tons were imported. India has set a quota of 50,000 tons of wheat to be exported to Nepal annually. The data shows that the import of food grains including buckwheat, millet and bran through this check point also decreased. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18196', 'image' => '20230714044016_Paddy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 16:39:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18465', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Assembly Passes Finance Bill, 2080 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat had presented a proposal to return the Bill, which was received from the House of Representatives with suggestions, to the HoR without any amendment. The NA passed the finance minister's proposal with majority. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the NA members had presented a proposal of increasing tax on tobacco related products, it was rejected. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18195', 'image' => '20230714032233_1689320568.Rastriya Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 15:22:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18463', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Implement Budget without a Master plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. Now the government is about to implement the budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2023/24) without a proper 'master plan'.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance, which is mainly responsible for the implementation of the budget, has shown no interest in creating a result-oriented master plan except for making simple guidelines as in the past.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat a few days ago directed the officials of all the ministries to get ready for implementing the budget. The secretaries did not pay much attention to it. After the finance minister's directive, the officials of the Finance Ministry are preparing to issue budget implementation guidelines as the previous year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It is going to be released after adding some points to the previous year's guidance. A separate master plan has not been prepared," said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the guidelines will make clear arrangements for program approval, budget disbursement, budget expenditure, budget transfer, monitoring and intergovernmental financial transfer. Likewise, some other unclear points in the budget will be clarified.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similar guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier too. However, it did not bring significant results in the budget spending system. In this background, it is estimated that the guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year will not be effective.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the past, the Ministry of Finance is preparing to bring ritualistic guidelines.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, the government should make a master plan for budget implementation. Former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushparaj Kandel claimed that the upcoming budget will be stagnant as the government does not have a master plan. According to him, the budget has been brought without ensuring resources.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the system will not improve until a master plan is made and the budget is implemented accordingly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla also said that the government should make a master plan for implementing the budget. He believes that bringing ritualistic guidelines as in the previous years will not make any difference in the implementation of the budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile Finance Minister Mahat reiterated that preparations for the implementation of the budget have already started. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, he did not reveal how the budget will be implemented. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that funds should be kept under various headings to spend on the urgent work of the country, he said that he is fully committed to prohibiting unnecessary spending on work including natural disasters and maintaining discipline. Mahat said that no one can spend any government resources by going beyond the rules and regulations. He said that because the income is low, the budget of the federal and state governments has been reduced.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mahat claimed that he made an honest effort to solve the problems that were being compounded due to the current crisis. The annual estimate (budget) of revenue and expenditure for the year 2023/24 presented by the government has been passed by both houses of the Federal Parliament. In the National Assembly meeting, Finance Minister Mahat presented a proposal to pass the Appropriation Bill, 2080 received with a message from the House of Representatives. Before that, the proposal to reduce the expenditure presented under various headings under the Appropriation Bill, 2080 was rejected by the majority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The budget for the coming year was passed by the House of Representatives on June 27. The government presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at a joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament on May 29. The passage of the budget of Rs 1751 by both the houses of the Federal Parliament has paved the way to implement it from the first day of the new fiscal year (July 17).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18193', 'image' => '20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 14:34:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18462', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still ‘Discussing’ Implementation of BRI Six Years after Signing Pact with China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. Nepal and China signed an agreement on the BRI project in 2017. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Delivering a statement in the National Assembly meeting on Thursday, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud said, "Discussions are being held between the two countries regarding the implementation of the BRI." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though the agreement on BRI was signed back in 2017, no decision has been made so far on the modality of moving ahead the projects. </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"">Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song had claimed during the inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport on January 1 that the airport was constructed under the BRI project. Foreign Minister Saud however said that no project has been moved ahead under the BRI so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu Railway and the Inter-country Power Transmission Line between the two countries is being carried out under this project. These projects were signed during the visit of China's then Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Nepal in March 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the occasion, former Foreign Minister Bimala Paudyal Rai enquired whether Nepal has deviated from its non-aligned foreign policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, Minister Saud mentioned that Nepal has been able to achieve credibility and respect in the world due to the independent, balanced, impartial and objective point of view it has adopted.</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"">He added that Nepal has been strengthening and expanding relations with other countries including neighjbouring countries on the basis of universal equality, mutual respect and benefit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Foreign Minister Saud had participated in the Summit of Non-Aligned Movement held at Baku of Azerbaijan from July 3-6. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I had expressed commitment of the Government of Nepal on collaboration for further highlighting the relevance and significance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the changing international scenario. Therefore, I would like to make it clear that Nepal's commitment towards adopting non-aligned foreign policy is consistent," he shared. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18192', 'image' => '20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 13:29:23', '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' => '18476', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Tourism Board to Spend Around Rs 1 Billion in Promotional Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming 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:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the target of welcoming more than 1 million tourists in Nepal in the fiscal year 2023/24, the NTB is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 1.25 billion next year. NTB officials said that 80 percent of the budget will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to NTB Director Mani Raj Lamichhane, the board is preparing to launch promotional activities to bring back the tourism business that was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic to normalcy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Around 80 percent of the budget for the next fiscal year will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market,” said Lamichhane, adding, “The remaining amount will be spent on domestic tourism promotion and infrastructure development.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, the board will give priority in promotional activities in India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Priorities will also be given to the USA and the UK which have been contributing to the tourism sector of Nepal since a long time,” said Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NTB is also planning to promote tourism in Australia as the country’s flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is planning to start direct flights to Australia in the near future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18207', 'image' => '20230716033046_Nepal-Tourism-Board.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:29:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18477', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest Taking Precautionary Measures against Dengue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an interaction organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Rudra Marasini cautioned all towards increasing cases of dengue and the likelihood of it becoming an epidemic at any time. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Marasini shared that a total of 1,192 people were infected with dengue as of July 8, adding that many of the cases could have gone unrecorded and unreported to the ministry. The statistic does not include those without symptoms and going to private health facility for treatment, he said, estimating higher number of cases in reality than the statistic. Similarly, Dipendra Raman Singh, director general of Department of Health Services, shared that the ministry was working with coordinated efforts with three-tier government for prevention and cure of dengue. He suggested destroying the possible places where the dengue-transmitting mosquitoes could lay eggs, including tyres, utensils or any containers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The mosquito-borne viral infection is transmitted to human from mosquitos of Aedes species. Dengue was first reported in the country in 2004. Last year, 54,784 cases of dengue were reported in the country with 88 fatalities. A majority of the dengue cases (77 per cent) were reported from Bagmati Province. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the rise in mercury level in mountainous region due to climate change, dengue cases have been detected in places where it was never reported before. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Province Health Service Directorate, Surkhet, dengue patients have been detected in Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Dolpa in recent years</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dengue Control Source Person and vector control officer of the directorate, Shyam Lal Acharya said mountainous region is becoming favourable for lifecycle of mosquitoes. Acharya requested all to adopt precaution as dengue-carrying mosquitoes are active till mid-October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">High fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea and rash among others are the symptoms of dengue, said senior consultant Dr Bimal Chalise. Dr Chalise suggested admitting the patients with severe dengue infection in healthcare facilities at the earliest. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18206', 'image' => '20230716033200_20230707014653_dengue-test_650x400_61442241844.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18475', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks to Fix Interest Rates themselves after One and a Half Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half 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">As the liquidity in the financial system has eased, the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) has decided that the banks will be able to set their own interest rates from mid-July.</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 chief executive officer of NBA, Anil Sharma said that since the banks have plenty of liquidity and the demand for loans is low, it has been decided that the banks can determine the interest rate on deposits based on the condition of the bank. </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 association had reached a gentlemen’s agreement in fixing the interest rate after unhealthy competition among banks resulted in exorbitant interest rates in the past. But now, as that the situation has eased, it has been decided that the banks will be able to set the interest rates themselves,” said Sharma. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had issued a verbal instruction to the banks to set the interest rates within a single digit in November 2021 after the interest rate on deposits of commercial banks reached almost 12 percent due to lack of liquidity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Issuing a formal directive, NRB then made arrangements so that the banks could increase or decrease the interest rates only by 10 percent compared to the previous month’s interest rate.</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 NBA had been fixing the maximum interest rate of banks since October 2021.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It has been learnt that the banks are preparing to lower the interest rate on deposits after mid-July. Such a decision was taken as the banks have excess liquidity at present due to high deposit collection and low credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As of last Tuesday, banks and financial institutions had collected deposits of Rs 5736 billion and provided loans of Rs 4854 billion rupees.</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 average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks also fell to 81.69 percent due to non-disbursement of loans compared to deposit collection. As banks can give loans by maintaining up to 90 percent CD ratio, they still have the ability to give more than Rs 4.5 billion as loans. However, due to high interest rates and contraction in economic activity, banks have not been able to expand credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18205', 'image' => '20230716030944_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:08:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18474', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends Non-Essential Helicopter Flights during Monsoon', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The regulator of the aviation sector of Nepal has suspended non-essential flights such as mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flower until September. CAAN, however, clarified that rescue flights will not be hampered during thisperiod.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent notice, CAAN said that it will issue permission for helicopter operations, including rescue flights, to be centralized at Actual Time of Departure (ATD) during this monsoon. Such a rule will remain in force until September with periodic review in a weekly basis for the effectiveness of this provision.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the new provisions, either the point of origin or destination during helicopter flights should be an aerodrome.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CAAN also said that flight crew having share in the company shall not exercise privilege of license for all types of commercial flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The notice further states that CAAN has formed a team for daily control and supervision of helicopter and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The new regulation announced last week comes in the wake of the crash of the Manang Air helicopter with call sign 9N-AMV in Lamjura Pass of Solukhumbu district killing five Mexicans and the pilot on July 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18204', 'image' => '20230716022140_20230711121204_Manang-Air-27-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 14:21:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18473', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Export of Black Cardamom Up by 85 Percent', 'sub_title' => 'Businessmen Insist on Exploring New Markets for Exporting Black Cardamom', 'summary' => 'July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. ', '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"">Pratiksha Kandel</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. Nepal exported black cardamom worth Rs 7.7 billion to different countries of the world from mid-July to mid- May of the current fiscal year, according to the data of the Department of Customs. But since the market of black cardamom produced in Nepal is concentrated only in India, businessmen have been saying that new destinations should be explored for the market expansion of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 department, 9,386 metric tons of black cardamom have been exported from Nepal in the 11 months of the current fiscal year. During the same period last year, 5,500 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 4.55 billion were exported. Compared to last year's exports in 11 months, black cardamom exports have increased by 69 percent in terms of monetary value and 85 percent in volume this 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"">Nepal has been exporting black cardamom to India, Italy, Pakistan, the USA, Germany and other countries. During the 11 months of the current fiscal year, 9,341 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 7.68 billion have been exported to India alone. That is a staggerring 99.52 percent of the total export of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Along with the production of black cardamom in Nepal, the production area is also increasing. According to the National Potato Vegetable and Spice Development Center, 2.5 million metric tons of black cardamom has been produced in Nepal in the last six years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 center, in the fiscal year 2073-74, around 401,000 metric tons of black cardamom were cultivated in 21,562 hectares of land in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the fiscal year 2078-79, the area and output of cardamom production increased to 22,913 hectares and 435,584 metric tons respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Raj Kumar Karki, outgoing president of the Nepal Cardamom Traders Federation, says that India is the main market for black cardamom produced in Nepal and the demand for Nepali black cardamom in India is high. He argues that since the domestic production of black cardamom in India is increasing, Nepal should find a new markets for exporting black cardamom. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After India, Bangladesh is also the next big market for black cardamom produced in Nepal. But due to the compulsion of having to pay 35 percent tax when exporting the products to Bangladesh, black cardamom of Nepal is unable to compete with the black cardamom sent to Bangladesh from other countries, said Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Bhutan is exporting black cardamom to Bangladesh paying zero percent tax. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to facilitate policy on tax and other matters to export Nepal’s black cardamom to Bangladesh,” says Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that Nepal has not been able to increase the export of black cardamom to third countries due to the high cost of air freight.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Karki predicted that the production of black cardamom will decline by 35 to 45 percent this year. According to Karki, the price of cardamom has already reached 1,000 per kg as the production is expected to further decrease in the coming year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18203', 'image' => '20230716010754_BlackCardamom.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 13:07:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18472', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Service to be Extended to Bijalpura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala is scheduled to launch the extension service today (July 16). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The train service currently operates along a 35 km stretch from Jayanagar to Janakpurdham will be extended to Kurtha to cover a total distance of 52 km. The train service is operating regularly for the past 15 months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After the completion of the second phase of physical infrastructure, the train service is going to be extended to Bijalpura, said the General Manager of the Department of Railways Niranjan Jha. However, due to the dispute over land compensation, the construction of the third phase of railway infrastructure from Bijalpura to Bardibas has been stopped. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The broad gauge two-set train was put into operation from April 2, 2022. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18202', 'image' => '20230716115557_Railwayy (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:55:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18471', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Commercial Paragliding Begins in Kavre ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The paragliding flight takes place from Devisthan to Badal village located in ward no 8 of the municipality, covering a distance of about one and a half kilometers from at an altitude of 5,500 feet. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Minister and Member of Parliament Gokul Prasad Banskota launched the commercial paragliding flight on Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal have given permission to Bishwabazar Paragliding Pvt Ltd to conduct recreational aviation flights after meeting the necessary criteria. </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"">Chairman of the company Kiran Karki said that paragliding has been started in Dhulikhel in collaboration with paragliding companies operating in Pokhara.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accidental insurance fund of Rs 3.7 million has been established for the people who take the paragliding flights. One has to pay Rs 7,000 for a one-time flight. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18201', 'image' => '20230716112456_20220821100035_para.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18470', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2,60,000 Migrant Workers Join Social Security Fund(SSF)', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 16: The enrollment of migrant workers in the Social Security Fund (SSF) has witnessed a significant rise, indicating a positive trend. These are workers who have obtained labor permits and ventured abroad for employment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On March 22, 2023, the government implemented a provision mandating the association of migrant workers with the Social Security Fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to this provision, workers intending to work overseas must register with the Fund before acquiring their work permits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Within the formal sector, 423,092 workers have already been enrolled in the Fund. Additionally, a combined total of 639,174 workers, including those from the formal sector and overseas employment sector, have been associated with the Fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund has disbursed claims amounting to Rs 5 billion to contributors under various social security schemes. Bibek Panthi, the spokesperson for the Fund, reported that 18,000 employers have also registered with the Fund, contributing a total of Rs 36.26 billion to date. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund collects a monthly contribution of 11 percent from workers in the formal sector and 20 percent from employers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">So far, a total of 88,585 contributors have received different entitlements from the Fund, highlighting its active role in providing benefits and support to eligible individuals. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18200', 'image' => '20230716055933_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18469', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Exports Animal Feed to China for the First Time', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company dispatched 10 containers of haylage as the first consignment, and, they plan to send 20 containers of animal feed to China daily. The company aims to export a total of 2000 million tons of animal feed to the city of Shigatse in China within a year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang, the chief executive officer of Horizon International Pvt. Ltd, explained that the company procured maize plants from local farmers in and around Bharatpur and processed them to create high-quality animal feed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As part of their efforts to support the farmers, advanced varieties of seeds, irrigation systems, and technical assistance are being provided to enhance production. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang further revealed that there is a significant demand for 500 containers of haylage in the Shigatse region of China. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is worth noting that Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality and Shigatse city have a sister relationship, which has played a role in facilitating this animal feed export program. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, and the Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality have jointly initiated and supported this venture. (RSS)</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18199', 'image' => '20230716054230_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:34:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18468', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Laxmi Bank and Sunrise Bank Start Integrated Transaction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited". </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The final agreement for the merger between the two banks was reached on May 22.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the merger proposal was approved by the respective general assemblies of both banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of Nepal) had granted its final approval for the merger on July 7.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the merger, the central office of the bank is located in Hattisar, Kathmandu. These two banks had merged with swap ration of 1:1. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Laxmi Bank's paid-up capital has a paid-up capital of Rs 11.55 billion, while Sunrise Bank's capital stands at Rs 10.11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the merger, the combined paid-up capital will be over Rs 21.66 billion.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18198', 'image' => '20230714055122_collage (82).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:49:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18467', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NA Passes Bill to Raise National Debt', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> During Friday’s meeting of the NA, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat presented a proposal to return the bill, which had received suggestions from the House of Representatives (HoR), to the lower house of the Federal Parliament without any amendments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The majority of lawmakers supported this proposal, leading to its passage.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the discussion of the bill's clauses, some legislators raised concerns about the utility of increasing national debt when the percentage of public debt is already rising in comparison to the gross domestic product. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Despite these concerns, the bill proceeded and was ultimately approved.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The National Assembly's next session is scheduled for July 17 at 1:00 pm.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18197', 'image' => '20230714051020_collage (80).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18466', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Paddy through Birgunj Customs Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. Entrepreneurs say that the decrease in the import of rice and increase in the import of its raw material, paddy is a positive indication.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The data of Birgunj Customs Office shows that the import of paddy through this checkpoint increased by 60 percent in 11 months of the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Information Officer of Birgunj Customs, Ram Chandra Dhakal, industries of Bara and Parsa import paddy through this check point. Most of the big rice industries are operating in the same area and are dependent on imported paddy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the review period, 335,000 metric tons of rice worth Rs 12.37 billion were imported from India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs data, 43,325 tons of rice of different brands was imported last year from Birgunj, but this year it was limited to 32,597 tons. Imports of rice have been affected after India, imposed a 20 percent duty on exports. India adopted such a policy to control prices in the domestic market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, India also levied duties on paddy exports, which was lifted after the initiative of local entrepreneurs. India has set an export quota of 600,000 tons of paddy for Nepal this year. This amount is 100,000 tons more than the previous year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Import of wheat through this checkpoint on the other hand decreased by 77 percent. In the previous year, 21,395 metric tons of wheat were imported in 11 months, but this year only 4,902 tons were imported. India has set a quota of 50,000 tons of wheat to be exported to Nepal annually. The data shows that the import of food grains including buckwheat, millet and bran through this check point also decreased. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18196', 'image' => '20230714044016_Paddy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 16:39:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18465', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Assembly Passes Finance Bill, 2080 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat had presented a proposal to return the Bill, which was received from the House of Representatives with suggestions, to the HoR without any amendment. The NA passed the finance minister's proposal with majority. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the NA members had presented a proposal of increasing tax on tobacco related products, it was rejected. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18195', 'image' => '20230714032233_1689320568.Rastriya Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 15:22:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18463', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Implement Budget without a Master plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. Now the government is about to implement the budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2023/24) without a proper 'master plan'.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance, which is mainly responsible for the implementation of the budget, has shown no interest in creating a result-oriented master plan except for making simple guidelines as in the past.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat a few days ago directed the officials of all the ministries to get ready for implementing the budget. The secretaries did not pay much attention to it. After the finance minister's directive, the officials of the Finance Ministry are preparing to issue budget implementation guidelines as the previous year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It is going to be released after adding some points to the previous year's guidance. A separate master plan has not been prepared," said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the guidelines will make clear arrangements for program approval, budget disbursement, budget expenditure, budget transfer, monitoring and intergovernmental financial transfer. Likewise, some other unclear points in the budget will be clarified.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similar guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier too. However, it did not bring significant results in the budget spending system. In this background, it is estimated that the guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year will not be effective.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the past, the Ministry of Finance is preparing to bring ritualistic guidelines.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, the government should make a master plan for budget implementation. Former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushparaj Kandel claimed that the upcoming budget will be stagnant as the government does not have a master plan. According to him, the budget has been brought without ensuring resources.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the system will not improve until a master plan is made and the budget is implemented accordingly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla also said that the government should make a master plan for implementing the budget. He believes that bringing ritualistic guidelines as in the previous years will not make any difference in the implementation of the budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile Finance Minister Mahat reiterated that preparations for the implementation of the budget have already started. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, he did not reveal how the budget will be implemented. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that funds should be kept under various headings to spend on the urgent work of the country, he said that he is fully committed to prohibiting unnecessary spending on work including natural disasters and maintaining discipline. Mahat said that no one can spend any government resources by going beyond the rules and regulations. He said that because the income is low, the budget of the federal and state governments has been reduced.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mahat claimed that he made an honest effort to solve the problems that were being compounded due to the current crisis. The annual estimate (budget) of revenue and expenditure for the year 2023/24 presented by the government has been passed by both houses of the Federal Parliament. In the National Assembly meeting, Finance Minister Mahat presented a proposal to pass the Appropriation Bill, 2080 received with a message from the House of Representatives. Before that, the proposal to reduce the expenditure presented under various headings under the Appropriation Bill, 2080 was rejected by the majority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The budget for the coming year was passed by the House of Representatives on June 27. The government presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at a joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament on May 29. The passage of the budget of Rs 1751 by both the houses of the Federal Parliament has paved the way to implement it from the first day of the new fiscal year (July 17).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18193', 'image' => '20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 14:34:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18462', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still ‘Discussing’ Implementation of BRI Six Years after Signing Pact with China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. Nepal and China signed an agreement on the BRI project in 2017. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Delivering a statement in the National Assembly meeting on Thursday, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud said, "Discussions are being held between the two countries regarding the implementation of the BRI." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though the agreement on BRI was signed back in 2017, no decision has been made so far on the modality of moving ahead the projects. </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"">Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song had claimed during the inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport on January 1 that the airport was constructed under the BRI project. Foreign Minister Saud however said that no project has been moved ahead under the BRI so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu Railway and the Inter-country Power Transmission Line between the two countries is being carried out under this project. These projects were signed during the visit of China's then Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Nepal in March 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the occasion, former Foreign Minister Bimala Paudyal Rai enquired whether Nepal has deviated from its non-aligned foreign policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, Minister Saud mentioned that Nepal has been able to achieve credibility and respect in the world due to the independent, balanced, impartial and objective point of view it has adopted.</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"">He added that Nepal has been strengthening and expanding relations with other countries including neighjbouring countries on the basis of universal equality, mutual respect and benefit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Foreign Minister Saud had participated in the Summit of Non-Aligned Movement held at Baku of Azerbaijan from July 3-6. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I had expressed commitment of the Government of Nepal on collaboration for further highlighting the relevance and significance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the changing international scenario. Therefore, I would like to make it clear that Nepal's commitment towards adopting non-aligned foreign policy is consistent," he shared. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18192', 'image' => '20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 13:29:23', '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' => '18476', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Tourism Board to Spend Around Rs 1 Billion in Promotional Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming 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:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the target of welcoming more than 1 million tourists in Nepal in the fiscal year 2023/24, the NTB is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 1.25 billion next year. NTB officials said that 80 percent of the budget will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to NTB Director Mani Raj Lamichhane, the board is preparing to launch promotional activities to bring back the tourism business that was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic to normalcy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Around 80 percent of the budget for the next fiscal year will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market,” said Lamichhane, adding, “The remaining amount will be spent on domestic tourism promotion and infrastructure development.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, the board will give priority in promotional activities in India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Priorities will also be given to the USA and the UK which have been contributing to the tourism sector of Nepal since a long time,” said Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NTB is also planning to promote tourism in Australia as the country’s flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is planning to start direct flights to Australia in the near future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18207', 'image' => '20230716033046_Nepal-Tourism-Board.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:29:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18477', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest Taking Precautionary Measures against Dengue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an interaction organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Rudra Marasini cautioned all towards increasing cases of dengue and the likelihood of it becoming an epidemic at any time. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Marasini shared that a total of 1,192 people were infected with dengue as of July 8, adding that many of the cases could have gone unrecorded and unreported to the ministry. The statistic does not include those without symptoms and going to private health facility for treatment, he said, estimating higher number of cases in reality than the statistic. Similarly, Dipendra Raman Singh, director general of Department of Health Services, shared that the ministry was working with coordinated efforts with three-tier government for prevention and cure of dengue. He suggested destroying the possible places where the dengue-transmitting mosquitoes could lay eggs, including tyres, utensils or any containers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The mosquito-borne viral infection is transmitted to human from mosquitos of Aedes species. Dengue was first reported in the country in 2004. Last year, 54,784 cases of dengue were reported in the country with 88 fatalities. A majority of the dengue cases (77 per cent) were reported from Bagmati Province. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the rise in mercury level in mountainous region due to climate change, dengue cases have been detected in places where it was never reported before. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Province Health Service Directorate, Surkhet, dengue patients have been detected in Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Dolpa in recent years</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dengue Control Source Person and vector control officer of the directorate, Shyam Lal Acharya said mountainous region is becoming favourable for lifecycle of mosquitoes. Acharya requested all to adopt precaution as dengue-carrying mosquitoes are active till mid-October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">High fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea and rash among others are the symptoms of dengue, said senior consultant Dr Bimal Chalise. Dr Chalise suggested admitting the patients with severe dengue infection in healthcare facilities at the earliest. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18206', 'image' => '20230716033200_20230707014653_dengue-test_650x400_61442241844.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18475', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks to Fix Interest Rates themselves after One and a Half Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half 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">As the liquidity in the financial system has eased, the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) has decided that the banks will be able to set their own interest rates from mid-July.</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 chief executive officer of NBA, Anil Sharma said that since the banks have plenty of liquidity and the demand for loans is low, it has been decided that the banks can determine the interest rate on deposits based on the condition of the bank. </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 association had reached a gentlemen’s agreement in fixing the interest rate after unhealthy competition among banks resulted in exorbitant interest rates in the past. But now, as that the situation has eased, it has been decided that the banks will be able to set the interest rates themselves,” said Sharma. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had issued a verbal instruction to the banks to set the interest rates within a single digit in November 2021 after the interest rate on deposits of commercial banks reached almost 12 percent due to lack of liquidity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Issuing a formal directive, NRB then made arrangements so that the banks could increase or decrease the interest rates only by 10 percent compared to the previous month’s interest rate.</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 NBA had been fixing the maximum interest rate of banks since October 2021.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It has been learnt that the banks are preparing to lower the interest rate on deposits after mid-July. Such a decision was taken as the banks have excess liquidity at present due to high deposit collection and low credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As of last Tuesday, banks and financial institutions had collected deposits of Rs 5736 billion and provided loans of Rs 4854 billion rupees.</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 average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks also fell to 81.69 percent due to non-disbursement of loans compared to deposit collection. As banks can give loans by maintaining up to 90 percent CD ratio, they still have the ability to give more than Rs 4.5 billion as loans. However, due to high interest rates and contraction in economic activity, banks have not been able to expand credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18205', 'image' => '20230716030944_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:08:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18474', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends Non-Essential Helicopter Flights during Monsoon', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The regulator of the aviation sector of Nepal has suspended non-essential flights such as mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flower until September. CAAN, however, clarified that rescue flights will not be hampered during thisperiod.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent notice, CAAN said that it will issue permission for helicopter operations, including rescue flights, to be centralized at Actual Time of Departure (ATD) during this monsoon. Such a rule will remain in force until September with periodic review in a weekly basis for the effectiveness of this provision.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the new provisions, either the point of origin or destination during helicopter flights should be an aerodrome.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CAAN also said that flight crew having share in the company shall not exercise privilege of license for all types of commercial flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The notice further states that CAAN has formed a team for daily control and supervision of helicopter and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The new regulation announced last week comes in the wake of the crash of the Manang Air helicopter with call sign 9N-AMV in Lamjura Pass of Solukhumbu district killing five Mexicans and the pilot on July 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18204', 'image' => '20230716022140_20230711121204_Manang-Air-27-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 14:21:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18473', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Export of Black Cardamom Up by 85 Percent', 'sub_title' => 'Businessmen Insist on Exploring New Markets for Exporting Black Cardamom', 'summary' => 'July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. ', '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"">Pratiksha Kandel</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. Nepal exported black cardamom worth Rs 7.7 billion to different countries of the world from mid-July to mid- May of the current fiscal year, according to the data of the Department of Customs. But since the market of black cardamom produced in Nepal is concentrated only in India, businessmen have been saying that new destinations should be explored for the market expansion of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 department, 9,386 metric tons of black cardamom have been exported from Nepal in the 11 months of the current fiscal year. During the same period last year, 5,500 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 4.55 billion were exported. Compared to last year's exports in 11 months, black cardamom exports have increased by 69 percent in terms of monetary value and 85 percent in volume this 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"">Nepal has been exporting black cardamom to India, Italy, Pakistan, the USA, Germany and other countries. During the 11 months of the current fiscal year, 9,341 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 7.68 billion have been exported to India alone. That is a staggerring 99.52 percent of the total export of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Along with the production of black cardamom in Nepal, the production area is also increasing. According to the National Potato Vegetable and Spice Development Center, 2.5 million metric tons of black cardamom has been produced in Nepal in the last six years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 center, in the fiscal year 2073-74, around 401,000 metric tons of black cardamom were cultivated in 21,562 hectares of land in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the fiscal year 2078-79, the area and output of cardamom production increased to 22,913 hectares and 435,584 metric tons respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Raj Kumar Karki, outgoing president of the Nepal Cardamom Traders Federation, says that India is the main market for black cardamom produced in Nepal and the demand for Nepali black cardamom in India is high. He argues that since the domestic production of black cardamom in India is increasing, Nepal should find a new markets for exporting black cardamom. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After India, Bangladesh is also the next big market for black cardamom produced in Nepal. But due to the compulsion of having to pay 35 percent tax when exporting the products to Bangladesh, black cardamom of Nepal is unable to compete with the black cardamom sent to Bangladesh from other countries, said Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Bhutan is exporting black cardamom to Bangladesh paying zero percent tax. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to facilitate policy on tax and other matters to export Nepal’s black cardamom to Bangladesh,” says Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that Nepal has not been able to increase the export of black cardamom to third countries due to the high cost of air freight.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Karki predicted that the production of black cardamom will decline by 35 to 45 percent this year. According to Karki, the price of cardamom has already reached 1,000 per kg as the production is expected to further decrease in the coming year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18203', 'image' => '20230716010754_BlackCardamom.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 13:07:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18472', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Service to be Extended to Bijalpura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala is scheduled to launch the extension service today (July 16). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The train service currently operates along a 35 km stretch from Jayanagar to Janakpurdham will be extended to Kurtha to cover a total distance of 52 km. The train service is operating regularly for the past 15 months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After the completion of the second phase of physical infrastructure, the train service is going to be extended to Bijalpura, said the General Manager of the Department of Railways Niranjan Jha. However, due to the dispute over land compensation, the construction of the third phase of railway infrastructure from Bijalpura to Bardibas has been stopped. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The broad gauge two-set train was put into operation from April 2, 2022. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18202', 'image' => '20230716115557_Railwayy (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:55:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18471', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Commercial Paragliding Begins in Kavre ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The paragliding flight takes place from Devisthan to Badal village located in ward no 8 of the municipality, covering a distance of about one and a half kilometers from at an altitude of 5,500 feet. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Minister and Member of Parliament Gokul Prasad Banskota launched the commercial paragliding flight on Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal have given permission to Bishwabazar Paragliding Pvt Ltd to conduct recreational aviation flights after meeting the necessary criteria. </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"">Chairman of the company Kiran Karki said that paragliding has been started in Dhulikhel in collaboration with paragliding companies operating in Pokhara.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accidental insurance fund of Rs 3.7 million has been established for the people who take the paragliding flights. One has to pay Rs 7,000 for a one-time flight. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18201', 'image' => '20230716112456_20220821100035_para.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18470', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2,60,000 Migrant Workers Join Social Security Fund(SSF)', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 16: The enrollment of migrant workers in the Social Security Fund (SSF) has witnessed a significant rise, indicating a positive trend. These are workers who have obtained labor permits and ventured abroad for employment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On March 22, 2023, the government implemented a provision mandating the association of migrant workers with the Social Security Fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to this provision, workers intending to work overseas must register with the Fund before acquiring their work permits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Within the formal sector, 423,092 workers have already been enrolled in the Fund. Additionally, a combined total of 639,174 workers, including those from the formal sector and overseas employment sector, have been associated with the Fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund has disbursed claims amounting to Rs 5 billion to contributors under various social security schemes. Bibek Panthi, the spokesperson for the Fund, reported that 18,000 employers have also registered with the Fund, contributing a total of Rs 36.26 billion to date. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund collects a monthly contribution of 11 percent from workers in the formal sector and 20 percent from employers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">So far, a total of 88,585 contributors have received different entitlements from the Fund, highlighting its active role in providing benefits and support to eligible individuals. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18200', 'image' => '20230716055933_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18469', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Exports Animal Feed to China for the First Time', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company dispatched 10 containers of haylage as the first consignment, and, they plan to send 20 containers of animal feed to China daily. The company aims to export a total of 2000 million tons of animal feed to the city of Shigatse in China within a year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang, the chief executive officer of Horizon International Pvt. Ltd, explained that the company procured maize plants from local farmers in and around Bharatpur and processed them to create high-quality animal feed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As part of their efforts to support the farmers, advanced varieties of seeds, irrigation systems, and technical assistance are being provided to enhance production. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang further revealed that there is a significant demand for 500 containers of haylage in the Shigatse region of China. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is worth noting that Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality and Shigatse city have a sister relationship, which has played a role in facilitating this animal feed export program. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, and the Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality have jointly initiated and supported this venture. (RSS)</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18199', 'image' => '20230716054230_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:34:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18468', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Laxmi Bank and Sunrise Bank Start Integrated Transaction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited". </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The final agreement for the merger between the two banks was reached on May 22.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the merger proposal was approved by the respective general assemblies of both banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of Nepal) had granted its final approval for the merger on July 7.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the merger, the central office of the bank is located in Hattisar, Kathmandu. These two banks had merged with swap ration of 1:1. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Laxmi Bank's paid-up capital has a paid-up capital of Rs 11.55 billion, while Sunrise Bank's capital stands at Rs 10.11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the merger, the combined paid-up capital will be over Rs 21.66 billion.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18198', 'image' => '20230714055122_collage (82).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:49:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18467', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NA Passes Bill to Raise National Debt', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> During Friday’s meeting of the NA, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat presented a proposal to return the bill, which had received suggestions from the House of Representatives (HoR), to the lower house of the Federal Parliament without any amendments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The majority of lawmakers supported this proposal, leading to its passage.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the discussion of the bill's clauses, some legislators raised concerns about the utility of increasing national debt when the percentage of public debt is already rising in comparison to the gross domestic product. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Despite these concerns, the bill proceeded and was ultimately approved.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The National Assembly's next session is scheduled for July 17 at 1:00 pm.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18197', 'image' => '20230714051020_collage (80).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18466', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Paddy through Birgunj Customs Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. Entrepreneurs say that the decrease in the import of rice and increase in the import of its raw material, paddy is a positive indication.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The data of Birgunj Customs Office shows that the import of paddy through this checkpoint increased by 60 percent in 11 months of the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Information Officer of Birgunj Customs, Ram Chandra Dhakal, industries of Bara and Parsa import paddy through this check point. Most of the big rice industries are operating in the same area and are dependent on imported paddy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the review period, 335,000 metric tons of rice worth Rs 12.37 billion were imported from India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs data, 43,325 tons of rice of different brands was imported last year from Birgunj, but this year it was limited to 32,597 tons. Imports of rice have been affected after India, imposed a 20 percent duty on exports. India adopted such a policy to control prices in the domestic market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, India also levied duties on paddy exports, which was lifted after the initiative of local entrepreneurs. India has set an export quota of 600,000 tons of paddy for Nepal this year. This amount is 100,000 tons more than the previous year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Import of wheat through this checkpoint on the other hand decreased by 77 percent. In the previous year, 21,395 metric tons of wheat were imported in 11 months, but this year only 4,902 tons were imported. India has set a quota of 50,000 tons of wheat to be exported to Nepal annually. The data shows that the import of food grains including buckwheat, millet and bran through this check point also decreased. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18196', 'image' => '20230714044016_Paddy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 16:39:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18465', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Assembly Passes Finance Bill, 2080 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat had presented a proposal to return the Bill, which was received from the House of Representatives with suggestions, to the HoR without any amendment. The NA passed the finance minister's proposal with majority. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the NA members had presented a proposal of increasing tax on tobacco related products, it was rejected. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18195', 'image' => '20230714032233_1689320568.Rastriya Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 15:22:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18463', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Implement Budget without a Master plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. Now the government is about to implement the budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2023/24) without a proper 'master plan'.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance, which is mainly responsible for the implementation of the budget, has shown no interest in creating a result-oriented master plan except for making simple guidelines as in the past.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat a few days ago directed the officials of all the ministries to get ready for implementing the budget. The secretaries did not pay much attention to it. After the finance minister's directive, the officials of the Finance Ministry are preparing to issue budget implementation guidelines as the previous year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It is going to be released after adding some points to the previous year's guidance. A separate master plan has not been prepared," said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the guidelines will make clear arrangements for program approval, budget disbursement, budget expenditure, budget transfer, monitoring and intergovernmental financial transfer. Likewise, some other unclear points in the budget will be clarified.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similar guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier too. However, it did not bring significant results in the budget spending system. In this background, it is estimated that the guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year will not be effective.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the past, the Ministry of Finance is preparing to bring ritualistic guidelines.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, the government should make a master plan for budget implementation. Former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushparaj Kandel claimed that the upcoming budget will be stagnant as the government does not have a master plan. According to him, the budget has been brought without ensuring resources.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the system will not improve until a master plan is made and the budget is implemented accordingly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla also said that the government should make a master plan for implementing the budget. He believes that bringing ritualistic guidelines as in the previous years will not make any difference in the implementation of the budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile Finance Minister Mahat reiterated that preparations for the implementation of the budget have already started. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, he did not reveal how the budget will be implemented. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that funds should be kept under various headings to spend on the urgent work of the country, he said that he is fully committed to prohibiting unnecessary spending on work including natural disasters and maintaining discipline. Mahat said that no one can spend any government resources by going beyond the rules and regulations. He said that because the income is low, the budget of the federal and state governments has been reduced.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mahat claimed that he made an honest effort to solve the problems that were being compounded due to the current crisis. The annual estimate (budget) of revenue and expenditure for the year 2023/24 presented by the government has been passed by both houses of the Federal Parliament. In the National Assembly meeting, Finance Minister Mahat presented a proposal to pass the Appropriation Bill, 2080 received with a message from the House of Representatives. Before that, the proposal to reduce the expenditure presented under various headings under the Appropriation Bill, 2080 was rejected by the majority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The budget for the coming year was passed by the House of Representatives on June 27. The government presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at a joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament on May 29. The passage of the budget of Rs 1751 by both the houses of the Federal Parliament has paved the way to implement it from the first day of the new fiscal year (July 17).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18193', 'image' => '20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 14:34:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18462', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still ‘Discussing’ Implementation of BRI Six Years after Signing Pact with China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. Nepal and China signed an agreement on the BRI project in 2017. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Delivering a statement in the National Assembly meeting on Thursday, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud said, "Discussions are being held between the two countries regarding the implementation of the BRI." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though the agreement on BRI was signed back in 2017, no decision has been made so far on the modality of moving ahead the projects. </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"">Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song had claimed during the inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport on January 1 that the airport was constructed under the BRI project. Foreign Minister Saud however said that no project has been moved ahead under the BRI so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu Railway and the Inter-country Power Transmission Line between the two countries is being carried out under this project. These projects were signed during the visit of China's then Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Nepal in March 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the occasion, former Foreign Minister Bimala Paudyal Rai enquired whether Nepal has deviated from its non-aligned foreign policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, Minister Saud mentioned that Nepal has been able to achieve credibility and respect in the world due to the independent, balanced, impartial and objective point of view it has adopted.</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"">He added that Nepal has been strengthening and expanding relations with other countries including neighjbouring countries on the basis of universal equality, mutual respect and benefit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Foreign Minister Saud had participated in the Summit of Non-Aligned Movement held at Baku of Azerbaijan from July 3-6. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I had expressed commitment of the Government of Nepal on collaboration for further highlighting the relevance and significance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the changing international scenario. Therefore, I would like to make it clear that Nepal's commitment towards adopting non-aligned foreign policy is consistent," he shared. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18192', 'image' => '20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 13:29:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18476', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Tourism Board to Spend Around Rs 1 Billion in Promotional Activities', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is preparing to spend a budget of Rs 1 billion for overseas promotional activities in the upcoming 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:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the target of welcoming more than 1 million tourists in Nepal in the fiscal year 2023/24, the NTB is preparing to announce a budget of Rs 1.25 billion next year. NTB officials said that 80 percent of the budget will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to NTB Director Mani Raj Lamichhane, the board is preparing to launch promotional activities to bring back the tourism business that was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic to normalcy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Around 80 percent of the budget for the next fiscal year will be spent on tourism promotion in the international market,” said Lamichhane, adding, “The remaining amount will be spent on domestic tourism promotion and infrastructure development.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, the board will give priority in promotional activities in India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Priorities will also be given to the USA and the UK which have been contributing to the tourism sector of Nepal since a long time,” said Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NTB is also planning to promote tourism in Australia as the country’s flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is planning to start direct flights to Australia in the near future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18207', 'image' => '20230716033046_Nepal-Tourism-Board.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:29:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18477', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest Taking Precautionary Measures against Dengue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 16: With at least 1,192 cases of dengue and one fatality from the viral infection recorded in the past four months, experts have suggested one and all to remain safe from it and prevent further spread of the viral infection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking at an interaction organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Rudra Marasini cautioned all towards increasing cases of dengue and the likelihood of it becoming an epidemic at any time. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Marasini shared that a total of 1,192 people were infected with dengue as of July 8, adding that many of the cases could have gone unrecorded and unreported to the ministry. The statistic does not include those without symptoms and going to private health facility for treatment, he said, estimating higher number of cases in reality than the statistic. Similarly, Dipendra Raman Singh, director general of Department of Health Services, shared that the ministry was working with coordinated efforts with three-tier government for prevention and cure of dengue. He suggested destroying the possible places where the dengue-transmitting mosquitoes could lay eggs, including tyres, utensils or any containers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The mosquito-borne viral infection is transmitted to human from mosquitos of Aedes species. Dengue was first reported in the country in 2004. Last year, 54,784 cases of dengue were reported in the country with 88 fatalities. A majority of the dengue cases (77 per cent) were reported from Bagmati Province. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the rise in mercury level in mountainous region due to climate change, dengue cases have been detected in places where it was never reported before. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Province Health Service Directorate, Surkhet, dengue patients have been detected in Humla, Jumla, Mugu and Dolpa in recent years</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dengue Control Source Person and vector control officer of the directorate, Shyam Lal Acharya said mountainous region is becoming favourable for lifecycle of mosquitoes. Acharya requested all to adopt precaution as dengue-carrying mosquitoes are active till mid-October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">High fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea and rash among others are the symptoms of dengue, said senior consultant Dr Bimal Chalise. Dr Chalise suggested admitting the patients with severe dengue infection in healthcare facilities at the earliest. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18206', 'image' => '20230716033200_20230707014653_dengue-test_650x400_61442241844.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18475', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks to Fix Interest Rates themselves after One and a Half Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Commercial banks have been given the responsibility of determining the interest rate on deposits on their own after one and a half 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">As the liquidity in the financial system has eased, the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) has decided that the banks will be able to set their own interest rates from mid-July.</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 chief executive officer of NBA, Anil Sharma said that since the banks have plenty of liquidity and the demand for loans is low, it has been decided that the banks can determine the interest rate on deposits based on the condition of the bank. </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 association had reached a gentlemen’s agreement in fixing the interest rate after unhealthy competition among banks resulted in exorbitant interest rates in the past. But now, as that the situation has eased, it has been decided that the banks will be able to set the interest rates themselves,” said Sharma. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had issued a verbal instruction to the banks to set the interest rates within a single digit in November 2021 after the interest rate on deposits of commercial banks reached almost 12 percent due to lack of liquidity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Issuing a formal directive, NRB then made arrangements so that the banks could increase or decrease the interest rates only by 10 percent compared to the previous month’s interest rate.</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 NBA had been fixing the maximum interest rate of banks since October 2021.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It has been learnt that the banks are preparing to lower the interest rate on deposits after mid-July. Such a decision was taken as the banks have excess liquidity at present due to high deposit collection and low credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As of last Tuesday, banks and financial institutions had collected deposits of Rs 5736 billion and provided loans of Rs 4854 billion rupees.</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 average credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) of banks also fell to 81.69 percent due to non-disbursement of loans compared to deposit collection. As banks can give loans by maintaining up to 90 percent CD ratio, they still have the ability to give more than Rs 4.5 billion as loans. However, due to high interest rates and contraction in economic activity, banks have not been able to expand credit flow.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18205', 'image' => '20230716030944_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 15:08:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18474', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Suspends Non-Essential Helicopter Flights during Monsoon', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Following the crash of a Manang Air helicopter last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has enforced new rules to ensure safety of helicopter flights, especially during the monsoon period.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The regulator of the aviation sector of Nepal has suspended non-essential flights such as mountain flights, external load operations (sling flights) and showering of flower until September. CAAN, however, clarified that rescue flights will not be hampered during thisperiod.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent notice, CAAN said that it will issue permission for helicopter operations, including rescue flights, to be centralized at Actual Time of Departure (ATD) during this monsoon. Such a rule will remain in force until September with periodic review in a weekly basis for the effectiveness of this provision.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the new provisions, either the point of origin or destination during helicopter flights should be an aerodrome.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CAAN also said that flight crew having share in the company shall not exercise privilege of license for all types of commercial flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The notice further states that CAAN has formed a team for daily control and supervision of helicopter and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The new regulation announced last week comes in the wake of the crash of the Manang Air helicopter with call sign 9N-AMV in Lamjura Pass of Solukhumbu district killing five Mexicans and the pilot on July 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18204', 'image' => '20230716022140_20230711121204_Manang-Air-27-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 14:21:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18473', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Export of Black Cardamom Up by 85 Percent', 'sub_title' => 'Businessmen Insist on Exploring New Markets for Exporting Black Cardamom', 'summary' => 'July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. ', '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"">Pratiksha Kandel</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 16: Black cardamom is one of the top exported items of Nepal. Nepal exported black cardamom worth Rs 7.7 billion to different countries of the world from mid-July to mid- May of the current fiscal year, according to the data of the Department of Customs. But since the market of black cardamom produced in Nepal is concentrated only in India, businessmen have been saying that new destinations should be explored for the market expansion of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 department, 9,386 metric tons of black cardamom have been exported from Nepal in the 11 months of the current fiscal year. During the same period last year, 5,500 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 4.55 billion were exported. Compared to last year's exports in 11 months, black cardamom exports have increased by 69 percent in terms of monetary value and 85 percent in volume this 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"">Nepal has been exporting black cardamom to India, Italy, Pakistan, the USA, Germany and other countries. During the 11 months of the current fiscal year, 9,341 metric tons of black cardamom worth Rs 7.68 billion have been exported to India alone. That is a staggerring 99.52 percent of the total export of black cardamom.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Along with the production of black cardamom in Nepal, the production area is also increasing. According to the National Potato Vegetable and Spice Development Center, 2.5 million metric tons of black cardamom has been produced in Nepal in the last six years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 center, in the fiscal year 2073-74, around 401,000 metric tons of black cardamom were cultivated in 21,562 hectares of land in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the fiscal year 2078-79, the area and output of cardamom production increased to 22,913 hectares and 435,584 metric tons respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Raj Kumar Karki, outgoing president of the Nepal Cardamom Traders Federation, says that India is the main market for black cardamom produced in Nepal and the demand for Nepali black cardamom in India is high. He argues that since the domestic production of black cardamom in India is increasing, Nepal should find a new markets for exporting black cardamom. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After India, Bangladesh is also the next big market for black cardamom produced in Nepal. But due to the compulsion of having to pay 35 percent tax when exporting the products to Bangladesh, black cardamom of Nepal is unable to compete with the black cardamom sent to Bangladesh from other countries, said Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Bhutan is exporting black cardamom to Bangladesh paying zero percent tax. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to facilitate policy on tax and other matters to export Nepal’s black cardamom to Bangladesh,” says Karki.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that Nepal has not been able to increase the export of black cardamom to third countries due to the high cost of air freight.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Karki predicted that the production of black cardamom will decline by 35 to 45 percent this year. According to Karki, the price of cardamom has already reached 1,000 per kg as the production is expected to further decrease in the coming year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18203', 'image' => '20230716010754_BlackCardamom.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 13:07:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18472', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Service to be Extended to Bijalpura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: The train service in operation from Jayanagar in India to Janakpurdham, Nepal is going to be expanded to Bhangaha Bijalpura in Mahottari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala is scheduled to launch the extension service today (July 16). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The train service currently operates along a 35 km stretch from Jayanagar to Janakpurdham will be extended to Kurtha to cover a total distance of 52 km. The train service is operating regularly for the past 15 months. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After the completion of the second phase of physical infrastructure, the train service is going to be extended to Bijalpura, said the General Manager of the Department of Railways Niranjan Jha. However, due to the dispute over land compensation, the construction of the third phase of railway infrastructure from Bijalpura to Bardibas has been stopped. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The broad gauge two-set train was put into operation from April 2, 2022. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18202', 'image' => '20230716115557_Railwayy (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:55:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18471', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Commercial Paragliding Begins in Kavre ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 16: Commercial paragliding is now available from Devisthan danda, a tourist spot located in Dhulikhel municipality-9 of Kavrepalanchok district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The paragliding flight takes place from Devisthan to Badal village located in ward no 8 of the municipality, covering a distance of about one and a half kilometers from at an altitude of 5,500 feet. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Minister and Member of Parliament Gokul Prasad Banskota launched the commercial paragliding flight on Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal have given permission to Bishwabazar Paragliding Pvt Ltd to conduct recreational aviation flights after meeting the necessary criteria. </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"">Chairman of the company Kiran Karki said that paragliding has been started in Dhulikhel in collaboration with paragliding companies operating in Pokhara.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accidental insurance fund of Rs 3.7 million has been established for the people who take the paragliding flights. One has to pay Rs 7,000 for a one-time flight. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18201', 'image' => '20230716112456_20220821100035_para.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18470', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2,60,000 Migrant Workers Join Social Security Fund(SSF)', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 16: The enrollment of migrant workers in the Social Security Fund (SSF) has witnessed a significant rise, indicating a positive trend. These are workers who have obtained labor permits and ventured abroad for employment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Currently, a total of 260,082 migrant workers have joined the social security scheme administered by the SSF.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On March 22, 2023, the government implemented a provision mandating the association of migrant workers with the Social Security Fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to this provision, workers intending to work overseas must register with the Fund before acquiring their work permits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Within the formal sector, 423,092 workers have already been enrolled in the Fund. Additionally, a combined total of 639,174 workers, including those from the formal sector and overseas employment sector, have been associated with the Fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund has disbursed claims amounting to Rs 5 billion to contributors under various social security schemes. Bibek Panthi, the spokesperson for the Fund, reported that 18,000 employers have also registered with the Fund, contributing a total of Rs 36.26 billion to date. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Fund collects a monthly contribution of 11 percent from workers in the formal sector and 20 percent from employers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">So far, a total of 88,585 contributors have received different entitlements from the Fund, highlighting its active role in providing benefits and support to eligible individuals. (RSS)</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18200', 'image' => '20230716055933_collage (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18469', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Exports Animal Feed to China for the First Time', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">July 16: Nepal has exported animal feed, specifically haylage, to China for the first time. The initial shipment of haylage, produced by Horizon International Pvt. Ltd in Bharatpur, was sent to China, marking the beginning of this new trade relationship.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company dispatched 10 containers of haylage as the first consignment, and, they plan to send 20 containers of animal feed to China daily. The company aims to export a total of 2000 million tons of animal feed to the city of Shigatse in China within a year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang, the chief executive officer of Horizon International Pvt. Ltd, explained that the company procured maize plants from local farmers in and around Bharatpur and processed them to create high-quality animal feed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As part of their efforts to support the farmers, advanced varieties of seeds, irrigation systems, and technical assistance are being provided to enhance production. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chang further revealed that there is a significant demand for 500 containers of haylage in the Shigatse region of China. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is worth noting that Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality and Shigatse city have a sister relationship, which has played a role in facilitating this animal feed export program. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, and the Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality have jointly initiated and supported this venture. (RSS)</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-16', 'modified' => '2023-07-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18199', 'image' => '20230716054230_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-16 05:34:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18468', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Laxmi Bank and Sunrise Bank Start Integrated Transaction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited".', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: Laxmi Bank Limited and Sunrise Bank Limited have started joint transaction from Friday. Following their merger, the two banks have started operating under the name "Laxmi Sunrise Bank Limited". </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The final agreement for the merger between the two banks was reached on May 22.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Earlier, the merger proposal was approved by the respective general assemblies of both banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Nepal Rastra Bank (the central bank of Nepal) had granted its final approval for the merger on July 7.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Following the merger, the central office of the bank is located in Hattisar, Kathmandu. These two banks had merged with swap ration of 1:1. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Laxmi Bank's paid-up capital has a paid-up capital of Rs 11.55 billion, while Sunrise Bank's capital stands at Rs 10.11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">After the merger, the combined paid-up capital will be over Rs 21.66 billion.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18198', 'image' => '20230714055122_collage (82).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:49:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18467', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NA Passes Bill to Raise National Debt', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 14: The upper house of the parliament, The National Assembly, has passed the Bill to Raise National Debt.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> During Friday’s meeting of the NA, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat presented a proposal to return the bill, which had received suggestions from the House of Representatives (HoR), to the lower house of the Federal Parliament without any amendments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The majority of lawmakers supported this proposal, leading to its passage.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the discussion of the bill's clauses, some legislators raised concerns about the utility of increasing national debt when the percentage of public debt is already rising in comparison to the gross domestic product. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Despite these concerns, the bill proceeded and was ultimately approved.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The National Assembly's next session is scheduled for July 17 at 1:00 pm.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18197', 'image' => '20230714051020_collage (80).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 17:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18466', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Paddy through Birgunj Customs Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: The import of paddy from Birgunj, the country's main trading port, has increased considerably. Entrepreneurs say that the decrease in the import of rice and increase in the import of its raw material, paddy is a positive indication.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The data of Birgunj Customs Office shows that the import of paddy through this checkpoint increased by 60 percent in 11 months of the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Information Officer of Birgunj Customs, Ram Chandra Dhakal, industries of Bara and Parsa import paddy through this check point. Most of the big rice industries are operating in the same area and are dependent on imported paddy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the review period, 335,000 metric tons of rice worth Rs 12.37 billion were imported from India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs data, 43,325 tons of rice of different brands was imported last year from Birgunj, but this year it was limited to 32,597 tons. Imports of rice have been affected after India, imposed a 20 percent duty on exports. India adopted such a policy to control prices in the domestic market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, India also levied duties on paddy exports, which was lifted after the initiative of local entrepreneurs. India has set an export quota of 600,000 tons of paddy for Nepal this year. This amount is 100,000 tons more than the previous year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Import of wheat through this checkpoint on the other hand decreased by 77 percent. In the previous year, 21,395 metric tons of wheat were imported in 11 months, but this year only 4,902 tons were imported. India has set a quota of 50,000 tons of wheat to be exported to Nepal annually. The data shows that the import of food grains including buckwheat, millet and bran through this check point also decreased. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18196', 'image' => '20230714044016_Paddy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 16:39:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18465', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Assembly Passes Finance Bill, 2080 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: A meeting of the National Assembly on Friday passed the Finance Bill, 2080. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat had presented a proposal to return the Bill, which was received from the House of Representatives with suggestions, to the HoR without any amendment. The NA passed the finance minister's proposal with majority. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the NA members had presented a proposal of increasing tax on tobacco related products, it was rejected. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18195', 'image' => '20230714032233_1689320568.Rastriya Shabha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 15:22:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18463', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Implement Budget without a Master plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">July 14: As in the previous years, the government during this fiscal year spent billions of rupees in the last month. Now the government is about to implement the budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2023/24) without a proper 'master plan'.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Finance, which is mainly responsible for the implementation of the budget, has shown no interest in creating a result-oriented master plan except for making simple guidelines as in the past.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat a few days ago directed the officials of all the ministries to get ready for implementing the budget. The secretaries did not pay much attention to it. After the finance minister's directive, the officials of the Finance Ministry are preparing to issue budget implementation guidelines as the previous year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It is going to be released after adding some points to the previous year's guidance. A separate master plan has not been prepared," said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the guidelines will make clear arrangements for program approval, budget disbursement, budget expenditure, budget transfer, monitoring and intergovernmental financial transfer. Likewise, some other unclear points in the budget will be clarified.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similar guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Finance earlier too. However, it did not bring significant results in the budget spending system. In this background, it is estimated that the guidelines for the upcoming fiscal year will not be effective.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the past, the Ministry of Finance is preparing to bring ritualistic guidelines.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, the government should make a master plan for budget implementation. Former Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushparaj Kandel claimed that the upcoming budget will be stagnant as the government does not have a master plan. According to him, the budget has been brought without ensuring resources.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the system will not improve until a master plan is made and the budget is implemented accordingly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla also said that the government should make a master plan for implementing the budget. He believes that bringing ritualistic guidelines as in the previous years will not make any difference in the implementation of the budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile Finance Minister Mahat reiterated that preparations for the implementation of the budget have already started. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, he did not reveal how the budget will be implemented. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that funds should be kept under various headings to spend on the urgent work of the country, he said that he is fully committed to prohibiting unnecessary spending on work including natural disasters and maintaining discipline. Mahat said that no one can spend any government resources by going beyond the rules and regulations. He said that because the income is low, the budget of the federal and state governments has been reduced.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mahat claimed that he made an honest effort to solve the problems that were being compounded due to the current crisis. The annual estimate (budget) of revenue and expenditure for the year 2023/24 presented by the government has been passed by both houses of the Federal Parliament. In the National Assembly meeting, Finance Minister Mahat presented a proposal to pass the Appropriation Bill, 2080 received with a message from the House of Representatives. Before that, the proposal to reduce the expenditure presented under various headings under the Appropriation Bill, 2080 was rejected by the majority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The budget for the coming year was passed by the House of Representatives on June 27. The government presented the budget for the upcoming fiscal year at a joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament on May 29. The passage of the budget of Rs 1751 by both the houses of the Federal Parliament has paved the way to implement it from the first day of the new fiscal year (July 17).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18193', 'image' => '20230714023452_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 14:34:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18462', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Still ‘Discussing’ Implementation of BRI Six Years after Signing Pact with China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">July 14: The Government of Nepal has said that it is currently discussing the issue of implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project of China. Nepal and China signed an agreement on the BRI project in 2017. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Delivering a statement in the National Assembly meeting on Thursday, Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Saud said, "Discussions are being held between the two countries regarding the implementation of the BRI." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though the agreement on BRI was signed back in 2017, no decision has been made so far on the modality of moving ahead the projects. </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"">Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song had claimed during the inauguration of the Pokhara Regional International Airport on January 1 that the airport was constructed under the BRI project. Foreign Minister Saud however said that no project has been moved ahead under the BRI so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu Railway and the Inter-country Power Transmission Line between the two countries is being carried out under this project. These projects were signed during the visit of China's then Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Nepal in March 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the occasion, former Foreign Minister Bimala Paudyal Rai enquired whether Nepal has deviated from its non-aligned foreign policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, Minister Saud mentioned that Nepal has been able to achieve credibility and respect in the world due to the independent, balanced, impartial and objective point of view it has adopted.</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"">He added that Nepal has been strengthening and expanding relations with other countries including neighjbouring countries on the basis of universal equality, mutual respect and benefit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Foreign Minister Saud had participated in the Summit of Non-Aligned Movement held at Baku of Azerbaijan from July 3-6. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I had expressed commitment of the Government of Nepal on collaboration for further highlighting the relevance and significance of the Non-Aligned Movement in the changing international scenario. Therefore, I would like to make it clear that Nepal's commitment towards adopting non-aligned foreign policy is consistent," he shared. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-07-14', 'modified' => '2023-07-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18192', 'image' => '20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-07-14 13:29:23', '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
