May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and…
May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and…
May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary…
Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size…
May 13: Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023.…
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to…
Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from…
May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired…
May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire.…
May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in…
May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to 7.5…
May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed…
May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade.…
May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese…
May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on…
“The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is currently moving towards the northeast direction and is rising up in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to RSS, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the CNN reported that aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan as the powerful cyclone barrels towards millions of vulnerable people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon, likely across Rakhine state of Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar, host to the world’s largest refugee camp, added CNN</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh as Cyclone Mocha- the region's most powerful cyclone for over a decade- is set to hit the coastal region, reported the Hindustan Times.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The 'Super Cyclone' packed with winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour will be equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, reported Indian media.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The buildup of the cyclone is of particular concern for Nepal as the country gears up for spring expedition of mountain peaks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noteworthy to recall that during the autumn climbing season nine years, Cyclone Hudhud in eastern India had caused a sudden changes in weather and caused avalanches and blizzard in Dhaulagiri and Annapurna regions of Nepal on October 14, 2014 killing dozens of people.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17583', 'image' => '20230514113236_MochaCyclone_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 11:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17851', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ''Third Quarterly Review of Monetary Policy Positive' ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation drew NRB's attention towards the provision that commercial banks need to invest 11 percent of total loan in small, cottage and mid-scale industries. Although some sectors had witnessed positive indicators for investment, the small and cottage industries were still complaining of not getting loan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the wake of complaints that small entrepreneurs were not provided concessional loan, a total of 147,807 persons were provided concessional loan as of mid-April. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation welcomed the provision of restructuring and re-tabulation of loan within mid-July 2023 by analysing cash flow and income of industries and enterprises against the loan up to Rs 20 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation has also appreciated the continuation of refinancing scheme for recovery of the productive sectors such as agriculture, and small and cottage industries which were impacted badly by the COVID crisis.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17582', 'image' => '20230514105953_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 10:58:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Dr Mahat Rules Out Possibility of Expansive and Big Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 14: Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At a programme organized by the Centre for Economic Development and Administration and the National Economic Concern Society Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday, Finance Minister Mahat made it clear that the government was unable to roll out an extensive and big size budget due to limited resources and decreased revenue collection.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We are currently facing a significant challenge in terms of revenue shortfall. There are limitations in presenting an expansive and large-scale budget," Mahat said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister expressed his commitment to making maximum efforts for economic reform and improvement. "After coming to the Finance Ministry, I have observed many problems. There are more problems than what meets the eye. But, I cannot claim to solve all of them. But, honest efforts will be made from my side for reform," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister Mahat has stated that responsibility of principal and interest of the public debt had increased. “The responsibility to repay the loans taken for earthquake reconstruction will increase from next year onwards,” he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, he has emphasized the need for the government to maintain efficiency and implementation in budget management and execution. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We require substantial improvements to our organizational structure and must amplify the impact of our budget. The current issue is that there is a lack of capital flow in the market without investments, and there is also no flow of funds through the banking system," the Minister stated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Minister emphasized the need to improve the tendency to spend capital towards the end of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the event, National Planning Commission's Vice-Chairperson Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha pledged to take suggestions solicited from various sectors into consideration while allocating the budget and formulating policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. He further added that any issues missed out in the upcoming budget would be incorporated into the 16th periodic plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Former Chief Secretary Leelamani Poudyal expressed concern regarding the government's inability to build capital and create employment from investments made in the social security sector. He viewed the current problems in the national economy as a result of consistently having bad policies for nearly three decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Professor Dr Shivaraj Adhikari commented that economic growth was dismal compared to investment, while jobs were not created compared to the economic growth rate. He viewed the economic problems as being a result of increased public debt and investment without any corresponding economic growth.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17580', 'image' => '20230514062755_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 06:24:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Tourism Rebounding with Over 132 Percent Increase in Arrival of Foreign Tourists in 4 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 13: Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 13</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. The figure is 132.67 percent increment as compared to the same period in the previous year, 2022. A total of 140,336 foreign tourists visited the country during the same period in 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The global COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism sector of the country resulting in a sharp drop in the influx of foreign tourists in the past few years. Just before the pandemic, a total of 420,446 foreign tourists had visited the country in the first four months of the year 2019. In the following years after outbreak of the virus, there was a sharp drop in the inflow of tourists. A total of 220,682 tourists arrived in Nepal in 2020. The figure further dropped to 55,447 in 2021.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like a surge in the inflow of tourists and recovering occupancy of hotels have indicated the revival of the tourism sector from the infection. Director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Maniraj Lamichhane said tourism has almost been on track. “Factors like the inflow of foreign tourists, encouraging number of people taking the permit to climb mountains and increasing mobility of tourists at tourism destinations have indicated the revival of the tourism sector. Tourism will soon keep its track by prioritizing one-stop destinations and expediting aggressive marketing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The influx of foreign tourists in the first four months of the year 2023 has almost kept up with the figure during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, which is a positive sign, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There is a need for the rebranding and repositioning of the destination marketing so as to make the tourism sector more dynamic, he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Projection of the World Tourism Organisation</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Tourism Organisation has projected the revival of Nepal’s tourism sector until 2023. The organization had projected global tourism including Nepal’s to recover by up to 95 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like the latest tendency of people visiting accessible and nearest destinations, and China remaining open to tourists have added, it said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of foreign mountaineers taking the permit to scale mountains has also been encouraging. Spring this year has witnessed a record highest number of mountaineers who have taken the permit to climb Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), according to the Department of Tourism. During the season, a total of 467 climbers from 44 groups (98 women and 369 men) took permits to climb mountains as of May 9, said Bigyan Koirala, section officer at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, adding that the number could increase. The number of people who have taken the permit to climb mountains this season was a record high in the 70-year history of the ascent of Mt Everest, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People from 65 countries including from Nepal took the permit. Over Rs 660 million was collected in revenue by issuing the permit to scale Mt Everest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of them have reached the base camp of the world’s highest peak, and they are reported to be waiting for good weather conditions, it has been said. Icefall doctors’ team has cleared the route to Camp 4 or the South Col. The expedition team could not push their way ahead due to bad weather conditions above 7,500 meters on Mt Everest, it has been said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Flights recovering</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Around 300 roundtrip domestic flights have taken place, said Teknath Sitaula, spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Nine airlines and 11 helicopter companies are operating domestic flights. Similarly, 27 airlines companies including three Nepali companies are operating international flights. Of the total 54 airports including three international ones in the country, 36 are operational.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Despite getting into approximately Rs 48 billion debts, the Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag-carrier of the country, is planning to add three more aircraft. Currently, it has two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft for international flights. Similarly, it has two Twin Otter planes for domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In view of the marketing of tourism, the Tourism Board has a plan on the table to expand the market across India, Bangladesh and China. Europe and the United States have recovered in terms of tourism following the infection. Asian countries are on track to achieve tourism revival.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Lately, Chinese tourists have visited Nepal in hordes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before the pandemic, around 170,000 Chinese tourists had arrived in Nepal. Lately after the virus subsided, the influx of Chinese tourists has been encouraging, said Tourism Board’s Director Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the country saw the arrival of around 1,800 Chinese tourists in February, 2023. The number encouragingly surged 30 percent to 2,600 in March, and 81 percent to 4,770 in April. Flights from China to Nepal have also added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Proper marketing has resulted in a significant surge in the influx of tourists from India and Bangladesh as well, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now, the arrival of Chinese tourists would increase as the Nepal-China transit points have reopened, and flights are operating, he expressed the hope.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Mohan Lamsal expressed his hope that enthusiasm for climbing Mt Everest this season, and activities in the run-up to the 70th Anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest would make the country’s tourism more dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hotels and hospitality centers in the country have capacity of accommodating around 3.5 million tourists. There are around 10,000 hotels ranging from five stars to tourist standard hotels in the country.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, there are 18 five star hotels including a deluxe one in the country, according to the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). Around 20 five star hotels will be added in one and a half years. Over two dozen chain hotels are also ready for operation. HAN President Binayak Shah said the affected tourism sector of the country has gradually come back on track.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, there is still a setback for hotels. There is only 30 percent hotel occupancy as of now, said hotel entrepreneurs. It requires at least 38 percent occupancy to cover daily operational expenses of a hotel, they said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Now we can bring packages to attract tourists. Hotels have been hit hard due to a lack of tourists for the past three years after the outbreak of the pandemic. As a result, hotel entrepreneurs have faced such a situation that they are finding it hard to pay off bank loans and interests. Until the previous fiscal year, the government had tried to address our problems through monetary policy. But, this is not the case in the current FY. So, we have put forward our problems with the government,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Returns on investment?</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to data, Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,800 billion have been invested in the hotel sector. The influx of tourists in recent years has not been enough to get hotels surviving the dire situation at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In such a situation, to save the hotel sector, the government should take steps like fully operating Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports, said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will be meaningless to only construct airports without their operation. We are unable to operate other aircraft except for the ones of the NAC. We cannot bring in 3.5 million tourists when airports cannot operate fully. There is a doubt that the government cannot do the marketing substantially. For this, the government should cooperate with the private sector,” he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the Thamel Tourism Development Council, Bhabishwar Sharma backed Lamichhane. The country’s tourism is gradually recovering, and this has encouraged tourism entrepreneurs, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Encouraged by the gradual revival of the tourism sector, tourism entrepreneurs are working with positive vibes. There has been around 80 percent hotel occupancy in the Thamel area. Chinese tourists are increasing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed the need for a partnership between the government and the private sector to revitalize the industry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, President of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nilhari Bastola stressed the need for policy improvements, destination expansion and marketing so as to make the tourism sector dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Also, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Ramesh Thapa emphasized putting forward planned programmes for accelerating the revival of tourism.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> -- </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-13', 'modified' => '2023-05-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17579', 'image' => '20230513065358_Tourist Arrival (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-13 18:52:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Pledges Impartial Investigation Into Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> May 12: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. </p> <p>Receiving the memo submitted by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, PM Dahal asserted that the government was clear that the guilty must not be spared while the innocent ones should not be prosecuted in the scam.</p> <p> Police have been busting the racket sending people to the United States identifying them as the Bhutanese refugee. Over a dozen of people have been arrested in connection to the scam including some high-profile individuals.</p> <p> The PM assured the RPP team that there will not be any influence of pressure in the ongoing investigation into the scam. Stating that the incumbent government was fully committed for the implementation of the good-governance, prosperity and constitution, Dahal said that he will not give into any pressure or influence regarding the scam. </p> <p>RPP Chairperson Lingden, in the memo, demanded an investigation into the property of the political leadership and bureaucrats after the 2046 BS. </p> <p>Talking to media persons after submitting the memo to the PM, RPP Chair Lingden shared that they had drawn the attention of the PM towards impartial investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. </p> <p>The PM acknowledged the memo and assured there will not be any error regarding the investigation into the scam, said Lingden, quoting the PM as saying. ---RSS <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17578', 'image' => '20230512071900_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 19:17:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Starts Regular Flight at Resunga Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">May 12: Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Twin Otter aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation has started operating regular flights. The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC’s aircraft had successfully conducted a test flight at Resunga airport two weeks ago, confirming that people from Gulmi could avail air service. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Akhileshwor Pandey, a resident of Ward No. 1 of Resunga Municipality, who was the first passenger to come in the commercial flight, said that he felt safe, comfortable, and reliable and reached his home district quickly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Furthermore, Parvati Bhusal of the Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-2 said that she could arrive Gulmi from Kathmandu in a short time. “The air connectivity has brought Gulmi and Kathmandu closer,” said Bhusal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> The aircraft that flew from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 6:30 am landed at Resunga Airport at 7:15 AM. According to Captain Manish Bista, the captain of the flight, flight along the Kathmandu- Resunga airport will now be regular every Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> "Looking at the condition of the airport during the test, we conducted the flight in the morning. There will be flights only on Fridays for now, and we have prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well," said Captain Bista.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Khildhowj Panthi, chief of Resunga Municipality, shared that NAC had started its flight to Resunga Airport after prolonged efforts. “The direct flight from TIA to Resunga Airport has made dream of the people of Gulmi to avail air service a reality,” Panthii added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Panthi expressed his happiness for the start of regular air services from the airport. He said that the airport would be a milestone for the development of the municipality and surrounding areas. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On the first commercial flight of the NAC, 14 passengers were on board the plane that landed at the Resunga Airport. The NAC aircraft had departed from the Resunga Airport with 14 passengers on board in its return flight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC is preparing to carry 18 passengers on its next flight as per aircraft’s capacity. The fare has been set at Rs. 6,300 per passenger.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tara Air's plane had conducted a test flight at the Resunga Airport on June 8, 2018 and December 29, 2018. However, the plane's flights were suspended citing expensive fare. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The airport is spread over an area of 156 ropanis and was constructed at a cost of Rs. 35 crores. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17577', 'image' => '20230512050848_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 17:01:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17845', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Struggling to Manage Pension Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees. The burden on the state is increasing with the increase in the average life expectancy and decline in the working age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the Civil Service Act is not up to date, and government employees who want to continue working and are capable of working within the age limit have had to retire, causing an extra burden to the state coffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The average life expectancy of Nepalese was 35.2 years in 1959 and the mandatory retirement age was 60 years. The Civil Service Act, 2049 reduced the retirement age to 58 years as per the recommendation of the High Level Administration Reform Commission formed by the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The retirement age for judges and university professors is higher than this at 66 years and 63 years respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the time when the Act was promulgated, the average life expectancy of a Nepali had reached 56 years and employees who retired at the age of 60 did not need to be given pension for many years. At the time of promulgation of the Civil Service Act, 2049, it appears that the citizens eligible to enter the civil service were born in the year 2031 (when the period of service entry was set at 18 years). In the year 2031, the average life expectancy of Nepali based on birth was 41 years.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Politics in age limit</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the sources, the retirement age was reduced via the Civil Service Act to remove some of the high-ranking employees accustomed to the Panchayat System, who refused to help the new government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, it was thought that it would last only for a short time, but no one took the initiative to change it to 60 years later. The Public Expenditure Review Commission formed under the coordination of Dr Dilliraj Khanal also recommended increasing the retirement age of civil servants to 60 years. As per the report, he said, “In order to reduce the increased liability in pension, the retirement age of all types of public service should be raised to 60 years and only after reaching this age, provision should be made for them to get pension.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The retirement arrangement has not changed, but the average life expectancy will increase, so the state has to give long-term pensions to those who retire at the age of 58. Now the average life expectancy of Nepalis has reached over 71 years. Experts say that the average life expectancy of those who worked in the civil service is more. The government has to pay pension to them for more than 13 years after retirement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of pensioners increasing</span></strong></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 number of pensioners is consistently increasing. As of April 27, 2023, this number stands at 294,000. This is an average increase of 3,039 civil servants in the last 5 years. Similarly, 2,825 policemen, 2,750 teachers, and 4,320 Nepalese Army personnel have been added as well.</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 Bishnu Prasad Kharel, the head of the Pension Management Office, the additional number of employees who come for pension after taking annual leave is 12,935 on an average, including the army, police, and teachers.</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 average growth rate of the last 5 years is 6.45 percent,” he said.</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, last year, the salary of the government employees was increased by almost 15 percent, affecting the pension as well. However, when the budget requested to the government was not provided on time, there was a problem in paying pensions to the retired employees in March and April. </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"">“We did not know that there would be an increase in the salary. Out of the budget of Rs 65 billion requested for pensions, only Rs 52 billion was allocated. As the budget was not enough, we corresponded to allocate more budget. Some amount has been released while some amount is in the process of being released,” said Kharel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17576', 'image' => '20230512025410_1675890384_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17843', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Air Pollution Increasing Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. According to the latest Air Quality Index (AQI), the AQI at Patan, Lalitpur is 176 and it is 163 at Kirtipur, 163 at Ratnapark in Kathmandu, 171 at Narayani and 155 at Dhankuta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">AQI from 0 to 50 is considered normal and above 150 is hazardous. The AQI in Patan, Kirtipur, Ratnapark, Narayani and Dhankuta is above 150. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Health experts have advised wearing mask while going out of the house as air pollution is likely to harm the health. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Govinda Jha said haze is seen at many places including in the Kathmandu Valley since the morning due to the increased air pollution. According to him, air pollution is likely to further increase as there is no immediate likelihood of rainfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is said the air in Bhaktpaur, Madhyapur Thimi and Birendranagar is at risk of pollution. The AQI at these places is less than 150. Experts say that people suffering from chronic diseases, children and the elderly people are at risk. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vehicle emission is also another cause for the increasing level of air pollution. -- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17575', 'image' => '20230512023718_Clipboard09(31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:35:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel Marks Diamond Jubilee Independence Day Celebrations', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.</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"">Issuing a statement on Thursday, the embassy said that the event was attended by Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav who was among the 400 guests from among the government officials, foreign diplomats and media fraternity members.</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"">Welcoming the guests, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Hanan Goder said, “Israel and Nepal share common values and challenges. As both are small countries, we must always build bridges of good relations with similar countries. Nepal and Israel were and will always remain close friends.”</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"">Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu offered his congratulations in a video message saying: “75 years ago, we emerged from the Holocaust… today, Israel is a rising power among the world… We have become the example of how you build something seemingly from nothing. We do more with less… We’ve built this, based on the age-old dream that we never gave up to return to our homeland; to rebuild our national life, to be able to defend ourselves, to be able to create and forge a future of peace.”</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"">In a video message, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen said, “Even when things seem difficult and impossible, think about what we have managed to build and accomplish in just 75 years of independence. Anything is possible, with a little faith.”</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"">Israeli seeds were gifted to the guests as a symbol for growth and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17574', 'image' => '20230512025227_IMG_2741.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17842', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Lowers Bank Rate by 1 Percentage Point', 'sub_title' => 'Interest on Loans and Deposits Likely to Decrease', 'summary' => 'May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to 7.5 percent.', '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"">May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The central bank on Friday released the third quarterly review of the monetary policy for the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">22/23 and reduced the bank rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 this, it is estimated that the interest rate on loans and deposits may likely decrease. Bank rate affects the interest rate of loans and deposits. If the bank rate increases, the interest rate will increase and if it decreases, the interest rate will decrease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that the policy rate has been kept unchanged at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Similarly, the NRB has kept the other rates under the interest rate corridor unchanged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 central bank, the policy rate has been kept unchanged considering the prospects of the foreign exchange reserve to support imports as well as the policy rate of neighboring country and the difference between the inflation rates between the two countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17573', 'image' => '20230512020352_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:01:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17841', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Distribution of New Stock Exchange License Postponed Again', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has decided to halt the license distribution process of the new stock exchange for the time being.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to proceed ahead with the license distribution process only after further study as questions were raised in the parliament regarding the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the information provided by the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Ministers has instructed the concerned bodies to proceed with the process only after further study keeping in mind the interests of the investors. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the instructions of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance said it will write letter to SEBON regarding this issue on Friday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, the license distribution process of the new stock exchange was postponed due to two separate cases filed at the Supreme Court. The process went ahead after the court quashed the petitions. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three companies have applied for the license of the new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of Nepal and Annapurna Stock Exchange Limited have submitted applications to SEBON for the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A dispute had surfaced regarding one of the three companies that applied for the new stock exchange license. The dispute is related to the Himalayan Stock Exchange, which had applied for the license with the board. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai, chief executive officer of Mahalakshmi Life Insurance Limited, has claimed that they have already registered an application for a license in the year 2066 in the name of Himalayan Stock Exchange Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board revised the Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064 last year for the distribution of new stock exchange licenses. According to the new provision, the organized institutions registered following the prevailing law to operate the securities market must submit an application within six months from the date of registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There is a provision that the paid-up capital of the new stock exchange should be at least Rs 3 billion. The company must issue 30 per cent shares of the issued capital to the general public within two years of conducting the business with the approval of the board.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17572', 'image' => '20230512014025_1683867885.Untitled design (11).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 13:38:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17840', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tatopani Transit Point Handling only Limited Cargo Exports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. The transit point was opened more than three years after it was initially closed to control the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, the export through this transit point is not going up as expected. It is seeing partial exports only. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three containers loaded with utensils and handicraft goods ready for export to Shigatse, China are stuck at Tatopani dry port. These goods were destined for Shigatse in response to the demand placed by Chinese traders. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The export is almost non-existent. It has been a week now since the export clearance forms for this consignment were filled up. Instead of the exports picking up pace, even the number of containers carrying imported goods through this transit point is decreasing day by day," said Dayananda KC, chief customs officer at Tatopani Customs Office. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to KC, although the export through the transit point has been opened, it is only partial. With the opening of export, Nepali traders can now take containers carrying goods for export, including herbs and food grain, up to the midpoint of the Nepal-China Friendship Bridge on the border. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Movement of people and normal vehicles is allowed up to Khasa. Only the export of cargo vehicles that has come to a standstill," Chief Customs Officer KC said. His observation is that Nepalis cannot supply adequate goods for export through the transit point like before. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the export of food grains, vegetables as well as herbs up to Khasa used to be a good source of income of Nepalis. Around 500 Nepalis used to reside in Khasa as a permanent residents running different activities including hotels. But there is no people in Khasa now. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepali businesspersons bring apples, garlic and clothes in 6-7 containers up to the Friendship Bridge towards Nepal through Silk Company from Khasa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Manager of Silk Company, Bijay Sherpa said that the Nepali businessmen had requested the Chinese side to allow them to go up to Khasa during a recent meeting but they were not positive about it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had set a target of collecting Rs 4.62 billion in revenue in the current fiscal year from this customs point, but only Rs 2.20 billion has been collected so far. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17571', 'image' => '20230512122723_20211109014016_20210518054607_20190510014655_Clipboard04-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 12:26:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17839', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DPM Shrestha Assures No One will be Spared in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During his meeting with the leaders of CPN (Unified Socialist on Thursday, the home minister said anyone else found guilty in the case would be prosecuted while no innocent will be framed for the incident. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Describing the scam as a crime against the state, he said this is not just a case of corruption but an organised crime involving the people from top to bottom. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This is the crime against the state to make the people statelessness." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that he faced no political pressure for actions against those involved in the scandal, he pledged to conclude the matter substantively. He took time to say that he found Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as his strong back-up support for government action against those involved in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha, he has already directed the police administration to go with the investigations against the case confidently. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Unified Socialist leaders applauded the government's move in the case and expressed their solidarity against the crime. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17570', 'image' => '20230512114342_1683803227.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:41:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17838', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Second International Travel Mart begins in Lumbini ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The three-day travel mart is being organized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travels with the objective of bringing in tourists to Lumbini. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Monk Maittaye (Abadesh Kumar Tripathi) inaugurated the travel mart. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the trust's Vice Chairman Maittaye said that the Buddhist followers should begin their journey from Lumbini itself. He said that Lumbini is a vital site for promoting inspiration, peace and goodwill. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Development Suresh Adhikari stated that the Travel Mart was orgnaised to make the country's tourism industry more vibrant. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dhan Bahadur Oli, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjaya Regmi and Chairman of Hotel Association of Nepal Binayak Shah addressed the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Twenty eight travel and tour companies from India, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries are attending the travel mart. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17569', 'image' => '20230512110739_LumbiniRSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:06:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17837', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'The National Banking Discourse-2023 to Be Held on May 16', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '“The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 12: “The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The discourse will center on several pertinent issues such as the expectations from the new budget in the current economic climate, the status of digitization of the financial service eco-system, and the present and future of remittance-dependent economy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, there will be discussions on the necessity of financial literacy for long-term and sustainable development. The discourse will also delve into the state of banking, including the problem of high-interest rates, liquidity issues, rumors that lower trust in banks and financial institutions, and the pressure placed on banks through monetary policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One of the primary objectives of the discourse is to protect big industries while promoting small, medium, and start-up industries. The program aims to explore productive, employment-oriented, and export-oriented areas for investment and to help solve policy-level problems. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">With the world economy still recovering from the post-COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in petroleum and food prices due to Russia's war on Ukraine, this discourse is of significant importance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Notably, the discourse will feature distinguished guests, including the Finance Minister, the NRB Governor, and other dignitaries. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17568', 'image' => '20230512064702_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 06:43:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is currently moving towards the northeast direction and is rising up in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to RSS, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the CNN reported that aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan as the powerful cyclone barrels towards millions of vulnerable people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon, likely across Rakhine state of Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar, host to the world’s largest refugee camp, added CNN</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh as Cyclone Mocha- the region's most powerful cyclone for over a decade- is set to hit the coastal region, reported the Hindustan Times.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The 'Super Cyclone' packed with winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour will be equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, reported Indian media.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The buildup of the cyclone is of particular concern for Nepal as the country gears up for spring expedition of mountain peaks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noteworthy to recall that during the autumn climbing season nine years, Cyclone Hudhud in eastern India had caused a sudden changes in weather and caused avalanches and blizzard in Dhaulagiri and Annapurna regions of Nepal on October 14, 2014 killing dozens of people.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17583', 'image' => '20230514113236_MochaCyclone_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 11:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17851', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ''Third Quarterly Review of Monetary Policy Positive' ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation drew NRB's attention towards the provision that commercial banks need to invest 11 percent of total loan in small, cottage and mid-scale industries. Although some sectors had witnessed positive indicators for investment, the small and cottage industries were still complaining of not getting loan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the wake of complaints that small entrepreneurs were not provided concessional loan, a total of 147,807 persons were provided concessional loan as of mid-April. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation welcomed the provision of restructuring and re-tabulation of loan within mid-July 2023 by analysing cash flow and income of industries and enterprises against the loan up to Rs 20 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation has also appreciated the continuation of refinancing scheme for recovery of the productive sectors such as agriculture, and small and cottage industries which were impacted badly by the COVID crisis.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17582', 'image' => '20230514105953_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 10:58:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Dr Mahat Rules Out Possibility of Expansive and Big Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 14: Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At a programme organized by the Centre for Economic Development and Administration and the National Economic Concern Society Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday, Finance Minister Mahat made it clear that the government was unable to roll out an extensive and big size budget due to limited resources and decreased revenue collection.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We are currently facing a significant challenge in terms of revenue shortfall. There are limitations in presenting an expansive and large-scale budget," Mahat said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister expressed his commitment to making maximum efforts for economic reform and improvement. "After coming to the Finance Ministry, I have observed many problems. There are more problems than what meets the eye. But, I cannot claim to solve all of them. But, honest efforts will be made from my side for reform," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister Mahat has stated that responsibility of principal and interest of the public debt had increased. “The responsibility to repay the loans taken for earthquake reconstruction will increase from next year onwards,” he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, he has emphasized the need for the government to maintain efficiency and implementation in budget management and execution. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We require substantial improvements to our organizational structure and must amplify the impact of our budget. The current issue is that there is a lack of capital flow in the market without investments, and there is also no flow of funds through the banking system," the Minister stated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Minister emphasized the need to improve the tendency to spend capital towards the end of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the event, National Planning Commission's Vice-Chairperson Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha pledged to take suggestions solicited from various sectors into consideration while allocating the budget and formulating policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. He further added that any issues missed out in the upcoming budget would be incorporated into the 16th periodic plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Former Chief Secretary Leelamani Poudyal expressed concern regarding the government's inability to build capital and create employment from investments made in the social security sector. He viewed the current problems in the national economy as a result of consistently having bad policies for nearly three decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Professor Dr Shivaraj Adhikari commented that economic growth was dismal compared to investment, while jobs were not created compared to the economic growth rate. He viewed the economic problems as being a result of increased public debt and investment without any corresponding economic growth.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17580', 'image' => '20230514062755_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 06:24:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Tourism Rebounding with Over 132 Percent Increase in Arrival of Foreign Tourists in 4 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 13: Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 13</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. The figure is 132.67 percent increment as compared to the same period in the previous year, 2022. A total of 140,336 foreign tourists visited the country during the same period in 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The global COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism sector of the country resulting in a sharp drop in the influx of foreign tourists in the past few years. Just before the pandemic, a total of 420,446 foreign tourists had visited the country in the first four months of the year 2019. In the following years after outbreak of the virus, there was a sharp drop in the inflow of tourists. A total of 220,682 tourists arrived in Nepal in 2020. The figure further dropped to 55,447 in 2021.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like a surge in the inflow of tourists and recovering occupancy of hotels have indicated the revival of the tourism sector from the infection. Director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Maniraj Lamichhane said tourism has almost been on track. “Factors like the inflow of foreign tourists, encouraging number of people taking the permit to climb mountains and increasing mobility of tourists at tourism destinations have indicated the revival of the tourism sector. Tourism will soon keep its track by prioritizing one-stop destinations and expediting aggressive marketing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The influx of foreign tourists in the first four months of the year 2023 has almost kept up with the figure during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, which is a positive sign, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There is a need for the rebranding and repositioning of the destination marketing so as to make the tourism sector more dynamic, he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Projection of the World Tourism Organisation</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Tourism Organisation has projected the revival of Nepal’s tourism sector until 2023. The organization had projected global tourism including Nepal’s to recover by up to 95 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like the latest tendency of people visiting accessible and nearest destinations, and China remaining open to tourists have added, it said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of foreign mountaineers taking the permit to scale mountains has also been encouraging. Spring this year has witnessed a record highest number of mountaineers who have taken the permit to climb Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), according to the Department of Tourism. During the season, a total of 467 climbers from 44 groups (98 women and 369 men) took permits to climb mountains as of May 9, said Bigyan Koirala, section officer at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, adding that the number could increase. The number of people who have taken the permit to climb mountains this season was a record high in the 70-year history of the ascent of Mt Everest, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People from 65 countries including from Nepal took the permit. Over Rs 660 million was collected in revenue by issuing the permit to scale Mt Everest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of them have reached the base camp of the world’s highest peak, and they are reported to be waiting for good weather conditions, it has been said. Icefall doctors’ team has cleared the route to Camp 4 or the South Col. The expedition team could not push their way ahead due to bad weather conditions above 7,500 meters on Mt Everest, it has been said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Flights recovering</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Around 300 roundtrip domestic flights have taken place, said Teknath Sitaula, spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Nine airlines and 11 helicopter companies are operating domestic flights. Similarly, 27 airlines companies including three Nepali companies are operating international flights. Of the total 54 airports including three international ones in the country, 36 are operational.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Despite getting into approximately Rs 48 billion debts, the Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag-carrier of the country, is planning to add three more aircraft. Currently, it has two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft for international flights. Similarly, it has two Twin Otter planes for domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In view of the marketing of tourism, the Tourism Board has a plan on the table to expand the market across India, Bangladesh and China. Europe and the United States have recovered in terms of tourism following the infection. Asian countries are on track to achieve tourism revival.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Lately, Chinese tourists have visited Nepal in hordes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before the pandemic, around 170,000 Chinese tourists had arrived in Nepal. Lately after the virus subsided, the influx of Chinese tourists has been encouraging, said Tourism Board’s Director Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the country saw the arrival of around 1,800 Chinese tourists in February, 2023. The number encouragingly surged 30 percent to 2,600 in March, and 81 percent to 4,770 in April. Flights from China to Nepal have also added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Proper marketing has resulted in a significant surge in the influx of tourists from India and Bangladesh as well, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now, the arrival of Chinese tourists would increase as the Nepal-China transit points have reopened, and flights are operating, he expressed the hope.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Mohan Lamsal expressed his hope that enthusiasm for climbing Mt Everest this season, and activities in the run-up to the 70th Anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest would make the country’s tourism more dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hotels and hospitality centers in the country have capacity of accommodating around 3.5 million tourists. There are around 10,000 hotels ranging from five stars to tourist standard hotels in the country.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, there are 18 five star hotels including a deluxe one in the country, according to the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). Around 20 five star hotels will be added in one and a half years. Over two dozen chain hotels are also ready for operation. HAN President Binayak Shah said the affected tourism sector of the country has gradually come back on track.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, there is still a setback for hotels. There is only 30 percent hotel occupancy as of now, said hotel entrepreneurs. It requires at least 38 percent occupancy to cover daily operational expenses of a hotel, they said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Now we can bring packages to attract tourists. Hotels have been hit hard due to a lack of tourists for the past three years after the outbreak of the pandemic. As a result, hotel entrepreneurs have faced such a situation that they are finding it hard to pay off bank loans and interests. Until the previous fiscal year, the government had tried to address our problems through monetary policy. But, this is not the case in the current FY. So, we have put forward our problems with the government,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Returns on investment?</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to data, Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,800 billion have been invested in the hotel sector. The influx of tourists in recent years has not been enough to get hotels surviving the dire situation at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In such a situation, to save the hotel sector, the government should take steps like fully operating Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports, said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will be meaningless to only construct airports without their operation. We are unable to operate other aircraft except for the ones of the NAC. We cannot bring in 3.5 million tourists when airports cannot operate fully. There is a doubt that the government cannot do the marketing substantially. For this, the government should cooperate with the private sector,” he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the Thamel Tourism Development Council, Bhabishwar Sharma backed Lamichhane. The country’s tourism is gradually recovering, and this has encouraged tourism entrepreneurs, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Encouraged by the gradual revival of the tourism sector, tourism entrepreneurs are working with positive vibes. There has been around 80 percent hotel occupancy in the Thamel area. Chinese tourists are increasing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed the need for a partnership between the government and the private sector to revitalize the industry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, President of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nilhari Bastola stressed the need for policy improvements, destination expansion and marketing so as to make the tourism sector dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Also, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Ramesh Thapa emphasized putting forward planned programmes for accelerating the revival of tourism.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> -- </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-13', 'modified' => '2023-05-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17579', 'image' => '20230513065358_Tourist Arrival (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-13 18:52:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Pledges Impartial Investigation Into Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> May 12: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. </p> <p>Receiving the memo submitted by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, PM Dahal asserted that the government was clear that the guilty must not be spared while the innocent ones should not be prosecuted in the scam.</p> <p> Police have been busting the racket sending people to the United States identifying them as the Bhutanese refugee. Over a dozen of people have been arrested in connection to the scam including some high-profile individuals.</p> <p> The PM assured the RPP team that there will not be any influence of pressure in the ongoing investigation into the scam. Stating that the incumbent government was fully committed for the implementation of the good-governance, prosperity and constitution, Dahal said that he will not give into any pressure or influence regarding the scam. </p> <p>RPP Chairperson Lingden, in the memo, demanded an investigation into the property of the political leadership and bureaucrats after the 2046 BS. </p> <p>Talking to media persons after submitting the memo to the PM, RPP Chair Lingden shared that they had drawn the attention of the PM towards impartial investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. </p> <p>The PM acknowledged the memo and assured there will not be any error regarding the investigation into the scam, said Lingden, quoting the PM as saying. ---RSS <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17578', 'image' => '20230512071900_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 19:17:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Starts Regular Flight at Resunga Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">May 12: Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Twin Otter aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation has started operating regular flights. The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC’s aircraft had successfully conducted a test flight at Resunga airport two weeks ago, confirming that people from Gulmi could avail air service. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Akhileshwor Pandey, a resident of Ward No. 1 of Resunga Municipality, who was the first passenger to come in the commercial flight, said that he felt safe, comfortable, and reliable and reached his home district quickly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Furthermore, Parvati Bhusal of the Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-2 said that she could arrive Gulmi from Kathmandu in a short time. “The air connectivity has brought Gulmi and Kathmandu closer,” said Bhusal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> The aircraft that flew from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 6:30 am landed at Resunga Airport at 7:15 AM. According to Captain Manish Bista, the captain of the flight, flight along the Kathmandu- Resunga airport will now be regular every Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> "Looking at the condition of the airport during the test, we conducted the flight in the morning. There will be flights only on Fridays for now, and we have prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well," said Captain Bista.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Khildhowj Panthi, chief of Resunga Municipality, shared that NAC had started its flight to Resunga Airport after prolonged efforts. “The direct flight from TIA to Resunga Airport has made dream of the people of Gulmi to avail air service a reality,” Panthii added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Panthi expressed his happiness for the start of regular air services from the airport. He said that the airport would be a milestone for the development of the municipality and surrounding areas. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On the first commercial flight of the NAC, 14 passengers were on board the plane that landed at the Resunga Airport. The NAC aircraft had departed from the Resunga Airport with 14 passengers on board in its return flight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC is preparing to carry 18 passengers on its next flight as per aircraft’s capacity. The fare has been set at Rs. 6,300 per passenger.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tara Air's plane had conducted a test flight at the Resunga Airport on June 8, 2018 and December 29, 2018. However, the plane's flights were suspended citing expensive fare. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The airport is spread over an area of 156 ropanis and was constructed at a cost of Rs. 35 crores. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17577', 'image' => '20230512050848_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 17:01:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17845', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Struggling to Manage Pension Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees. The burden on the state is increasing with the increase in the average life expectancy and decline in the working age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the Civil Service Act is not up to date, and government employees who want to continue working and are capable of working within the age limit have had to retire, causing an extra burden to the state coffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The average life expectancy of Nepalese was 35.2 years in 1959 and the mandatory retirement age was 60 years. The Civil Service Act, 2049 reduced the retirement age to 58 years as per the recommendation of the High Level Administration Reform Commission formed by the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The retirement age for judges and university professors is higher than this at 66 years and 63 years respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the time when the Act was promulgated, the average life expectancy of a Nepali had reached 56 years and employees who retired at the age of 60 did not need to be given pension for many years. At the time of promulgation of the Civil Service Act, 2049, it appears that the citizens eligible to enter the civil service were born in the year 2031 (when the period of service entry was set at 18 years). In the year 2031, the average life expectancy of Nepali based on birth was 41 years.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Politics in age limit</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the sources, the retirement age was reduced via the Civil Service Act to remove some of the high-ranking employees accustomed to the Panchayat System, who refused to help the new government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, it was thought that it would last only for a short time, but no one took the initiative to change it to 60 years later. The Public Expenditure Review Commission formed under the coordination of Dr Dilliraj Khanal also recommended increasing the retirement age of civil servants to 60 years. As per the report, he said, “In order to reduce the increased liability in pension, the retirement age of all types of public service should be raised to 60 years and only after reaching this age, provision should be made for them to get pension.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The retirement arrangement has not changed, but the average life expectancy will increase, so the state has to give long-term pensions to those who retire at the age of 58. Now the average life expectancy of Nepalis has reached over 71 years. Experts say that the average life expectancy of those who worked in the civil service is more. The government has to pay pension to them for more than 13 years after retirement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of pensioners increasing</span></strong></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 number of pensioners is consistently increasing. As of April 27, 2023, this number stands at 294,000. This is an average increase of 3,039 civil servants in the last 5 years. Similarly, 2,825 policemen, 2,750 teachers, and 4,320 Nepalese Army personnel have been added as well.</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 Bishnu Prasad Kharel, the head of the Pension Management Office, the additional number of employees who come for pension after taking annual leave is 12,935 on an average, including the army, police, and teachers.</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 average growth rate of the last 5 years is 6.45 percent,” he said.</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, last year, the salary of the government employees was increased by almost 15 percent, affecting the pension as well. However, when the budget requested to the government was not provided on time, there was a problem in paying pensions to the retired employees in March and April. </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"">“We did not know that there would be an increase in the salary. Out of the budget of Rs 65 billion requested for pensions, only Rs 52 billion was allocated. As the budget was not enough, we corresponded to allocate more budget. Some amount has been released while some amount is in the process of being released,” said Kharel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17576', 'image' => '20230512025410_1675890384_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17843', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Air Pollution Increasing Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. According to the latest Air Quality Index (AQI), the AQI at Patan, Lalitpur is 176 and it is 163 at Kirtipur, 163 at Ratnapark in Kathmandu, 171 at Narayani and 155 at Dhankuta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">AQI from 0 to 50 is considered normal and above 150 is hazardous. The AQI in Patan, Kirtipur, Ratnapark, Narayani and Dhankuta is above 150. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Health experts have advised wearing mask while going out of the house as air pollution is likely to harm the health. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Govinda Jha said haze is seen at many places including in the Kathmandu Valley since the morning due to the increased air pollution. According to him, air pollution is likely to further increase as there is no immediate likelihood of rainfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is said the air in Bhaktpaur, Madhyapur Thimi and Birendranagar is at risk of pollution. The AQI at these places is less than 150. Experts say that people suffering from chronic diseases, children and the elderly people are at risk. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vehicle emission is also another cause for the increasing level of air pollution. -- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17575', 'image' => '20230512023718_Clipboard09(31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:35:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel Marks Diamond Jubilee Independence Day Celebrations', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.</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"">Issuing a statement on Thursday, the embassy said that the event was attended by Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav who was among the 400 guests from among the government officials, foreign diplomats and media fraternity members.</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"">Welcoming the guests, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Hanan Goder said, “Israel and Nepal share common values and challenges. As both are small countries, we must always build bridges of good relations with similar countries. Nepal and Israel were and will always remain close friends.”</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"">Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu offered his congratulations in a video message saying: “75 years ago, we emerged from the Holocaust… today, Israel is a rising power among the world… We have become the example of how you build something seemingly from nothing. We do more with less… We’ve built this, based on the age-old dream that we never gave up to return to our homeland; to rebuild our national life, to be able to defend ourselves, to be able to create and forge a future of peace.”</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"">In a video message, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen said, “Even when things seem difficult and impossible, think about what we have managed to build and accomplish in just 75 years of independence. Anything is possible, with a little faith.”</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"">Israeli seeds were gifted to the guests as a symbol for growth and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17574', 'image' => '20230512025227_IMG_2741.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17842', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Lowers Bank Rate by 1 Percentage Point', 'sub_title' => 'Interest on Loans and Deposits Likely to Decrease', 'summary' => 'May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to 7.5 percent.', '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"">May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The central bank on Friday released the third quarterly review of the monetary policy for the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">22/23 and reduced the bank rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 this, it is estimated that the interest rate on loans and deposits may likely decrease. Bank rate affects the interest rate of loans and deposits. If the bank rate increases, the interest rate will increase and if it decreases, the interest rate will decrease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that the policy rate has been kept unchanged at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Similarly, the NRB has kept the other rates under the interest rate corridor unchanged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 central bank, the policy rate has been kept unchanged considering the prospects of the foreign exchange reserve to support imports as well as the policy rate of neighboring country and the difference between the inflation rates between the two countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17573', 'image' => '20230512020352_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:01:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17841', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Distribution of New Stock Exchange License Postponed Again', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has decided to halt the license distribution process of the new stock exchange for the time being.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to proceed ahead with the license distribution process only after further study as questions were raised in the parliament regarding the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the information provided by the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Ministers has instructed the concerned bodies to proceed with the process only after further study keeping in mind the interests of the investors. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the instructions of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance said it will write letter to SEBON regarding this issue on Friday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, the license distribution process of the new stock exchange was postponed due to two separate cases filed at the Supreme Court. The process went ahead after the court quashed the petitions. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three companies have applied for the license of the new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of Nepal and Annapurna Stock Exchange Limited have submitted applications to SEBON for the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A dispute had surfaced regarding one of the three companies that applied for the new stock exchange license. The dispute is related to the Himalayan Stock Exchange, which had applied for the license with the board. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai, chief executive officer of Mahalakshmi Life Insurance Limited, has claimed that they have already registered an application for a license in the year 2066 in the name of Himalayan Stock Exchange Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board revised the Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064 last year for the distribution of new stock exchange licenses. According to the new provision, the organized institutions registered following the prevailing law to operate the securities market must submit an application within six months from the date of registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There is a provision that the paid-up capital of the new stock exchange should be at least Rs 3 billion. The company must issue 30 per cent shares of the issued capital to the general public within two years of conducting the business with the approval of the board.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17572', 'image' => '20230512014025_1683867885.Untitled design (11).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 13:38:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17840', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tatopani Transit Point Handling only Limited Cargo Exports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. The transit point was opened more than three years after it was initially closed to control the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, the export through this transit point is not going up as expected. It is seeing partial exports only. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three containers loaded with utensils and handicraft goods ready for export to Shigatse, China are stuck at Tatopani dry port. These goods were destined for Shigatse in response to the demand placed by Chinese traders. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The export is almost non-existent. It has been a week now since the export clearance forms for this consignment were filled up. Instead of the exports picking up pace, even the number of containers carrying imported goods through this transit point is decreasing day by day," said Dayananda KC, chief customs officer at Tatopani Customs Office. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to KC, although the export through the transit point has been opened, it is only partial. With the opening of export, Nepali traders can now take containers carrying goods for export, including herbs and food grain, up to the midpoint of the Nepal-China Friendship Bridge on the border. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Movement of people and normal vehicles is allowed up to Khasa. Only the export of cargo vehicles that has come to a standstill," Chief Customs Officer KC said. His observation is that Nepalis cannot supply adequate goods for export through the transit point like before. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the export of food grains, vegetables as well as herbs up to Khasa used to be a good source of income of Nepalis. Around 500 Nepalis used to reside in Khasa as a permanent residents running different activities including hotels. But there is no people in Khasa now. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepali businesspersons bring apples, garlic and clothes in 6-7 containers up to the Friendship Bridge towards Nepal through Silk Company from Khasa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Manager of Silk Company, Bijay Sherpa said that the Nepali businessmen had requested the Chinese side to allow them to go up to Khasa during a recent meeting but they were not positive about it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had set a target of collecting Rs 4.62 billion in revenue in the current fiscal year from this customs point, but only Rs 2.20 billion has been collected so far. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17571', 'image' => '20230512122723_20211109014016_20210518054607_20190510014655_Clipboard04-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 12:26:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17839', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DPM Shrestha Assures No One will be Spared in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During his meeting with the leaders of CPN (Unified Socialist on Thursday, the home minister said anyone else found guilty in the case would be prosecuted while no innocent will be framed for the incident. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Describing the scam as a crime against the state, he said this is not just a case of corruption but an organised crime involving the people from top to bottom. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This is the crime against the state to make the people statelessness." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that he faced no political pressure for actions against those involved in the scandal, he pledged to conclude the matter substantively. He took time to say that he found Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as his strong back-up support for government action against those involved in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha, he has already directed the police administration to go with the investigations against the case confidently. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Unified Socialist leaders applauded the government's move in the case and expressed their solidarity against the crime. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17570', 'image' => '20230512114342_1683803227.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:41:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17838', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Second International Travel Mart begins in Lumbini ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The three-day travel mart is being organized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travels with the objective of bringing in tourists to Lumbini. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Monk Maittaye (Abadesh Kumar Tripathi) inaugurated the travel mart. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the trust's Vice Chairman Maittaye said that the Buddhist followers should begin their journey from Lumbini itself. He said that Lumbini is a vital site for promoting inspiration, peace and goodwill. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Development Suresh Adhikari stated that the Travel Mart was orgnaised to make the country's tourism industry more vibrant. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dhan Bahadur Oli, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjaya Regmi and Chairman of Hotel Association of Nepal Binayak Shah addressed the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Twenty eight travel and tour companies from India, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries are attending the travel mart. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17569', 'image' => '20230512110739_LumbiniRSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:06:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17837', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'The National Banking Discourse-2023 to Be Held on May 16', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '“The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 12: “The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The discourse will center on several pertinent issues such as the expectations from the new budget in the current economic climate, the status of digitization of the financial service eco-system, and the present and future of remittance-dependent economy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, there will be discussions on the necessity of financial literacy for long-term and sustainable development. The discourse will also delve into the state of banking, including the problem of high-interest rates, liquidity issues, rumors that lower trust in banks and financial institutions, and the pressure placed on banks through monetary policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One of the primary objectives of the discourse is to protect big industries while promoting small, medium, and start-up industries. The program aims to explore productive, employment-oriented, and export-oriented areas for investment and to help solve policy-level problems. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">With the world economy still recovering from the post-COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in petroleum and food prices due to Russia's war on Ukraine, this discourse is of significant importance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Notably, the discourse will feature distinguished guests, including the Finance Minister, the NRB Governor, and other dignitaries. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17568', 'image' => '20230512064702_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 06:43:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is currently moving towards the northeast direction and is rising up in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to RSS, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the CNN reported that aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan as the powerful cyclone barrels towards millions of vulnerable people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon, likely across Rakhine state of Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar, host to the world’s largest refugee camp, added CNN</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh as Cyclone Mocha- the region's most powerful cyclone for over a decade- is set to hit the coastal region, reported the Hindustan Times.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The 'Super Cyclone' packed with winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour will be equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, reported Indian media.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The buildup of the cyclone is of particular concern for Nepal as the country gears up for spring expedition of mountain peaks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noteworthy to recall that during the autumn climbing season nine years, Cyclone Hudhud in eastern India had caused a sudden changes in weather and caused avalanches and blizzard in Dhaulagiri and Annapurna regions of Nepal on October 14, 2014 killing dozens of people.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17583', 'image' => '20230514113236_MochaCyclone_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 11:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17851', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ''Third Quarterly Review of Monetary Policy Positive' ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation drew NRB's attention towards the provision that commercial banks need to invest 11 percent of total loan in small, cottage and mid-scale industries. Although some sectors had witnessed positive indicators for investment, the small and cottage industries were still complaining of not getting loan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the wake of complaints that small entrepreneurs were not provided concessional loan, a total of 147,807 persons were provided concessional loan as of mid-April. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation welcomed the provision of restructuring and re-tabulation of loan within mid-July 2023 by analysing cash flow and income of industries and enterprises against the loan up to Rs 20 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation has also appreciated the continuation of refinancing scheme for recovery of the productive sectors such as agriculture, and small and cottage industries which were impacted badly by the COVID crisis.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17582', 'image' => '20230514105953_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 10:58:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Dr Mahat Rules Out Possibility of Expansive and Big Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 14: Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At a programme organized by the Centre for Economic Development and Administration and the National Economic Concern Society Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday, Finance Minister Mahat made it clear that the government was unable to roll out an extensive and big size budget due to limited resources and decreased revenue collection.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We are currently facing a significant challenge in terms of revenue shortfall. There are limitations in presenting an expansive and large-scale budget," Mahat said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister expressed his commitment to making maximum efforts for economic reform and improvement. "After coming to the Finance Ministry, I have observed many problems. There are more problems than what meets the eye. But, I cannot claim to solve all of them. But, honest efforts will be made from my side for reform," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister Mahat has stated that responsibility of principal and interest of the public debt had increased. “The responsibility to repay the loans taken for earthquake reconstruction will increase from next year onwards,” he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, he has emphasized the need for the government to maintain efficiency and implementation in budget management and execution. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We require substantial improvements to our organizational structure and must amplify the impact of our budget. The current issue is that there is a lack of capital flow in the market without investments, and there is also no flow of funds through the banking system," the Minister stated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Minister emphasized the need to improve the tendency to spend capital towards the end of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the event, National Planning Commission's Vice-Chairperson Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha pledged to take suggestions solicited from various sectors into consideration while allocating the budget and formulating policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. He further added that any issues missed out in the upcoming budget would be incorporated into the 16th periodic plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Former Chief Secretary Leelamani Poudyal expressed concern regarding the government's inability to build capital and create employment from investments made in the social security sector. He viewed the current problems in the national economy as a result of consistently having bad policies for nearly three decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Professor Dr Shivaraj Adhikari commented that economic growth was dismal compared to investment, while jobs were not created compared to the economic growth rate. He viewed the economic problems as being a result of increased public debt and investment without any corresponding economic growth.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17580', 'image' => '20230514062755_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 06:24:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Tourism Rebounding with Over 132 Percent Increase in Arrival of Foreign Tourists in 4 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 13: Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 13</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. The figure is 132.67 percent increment as compared to the same period in the previous year, 2022. A total of 140,336 foreign tourists visited the country during the same period in 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The global COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism sector of the country resulting in a sharp drop in the influx of foreign tourists in the past few years. Just before the pandemic, a total of 420,446 foreign tourists had visited the country in the first four months of the year 2019. In the following years after outbreak of the virus, there was a sharp drop in the inflow of tourists. A total of 220,682 tourists arrived in Nepal in 2020. The figure further dropped to 55,447 in 2021.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like a surge in the inflow of tourists and recovering occupancy of hotels have indicated the revival of the tourism sector from the infection. Director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Maniraj Lamichhane said tourism has almost been on track. “Factors like the inflow of foreign tourists, encouraging number of people taking the permit to climb mountains and increasing mobility of tourists at tourism destinations have indicated the revival of the tourism sector. Tourism will soon keep its track by prioritizing one-stop destinations and expediting aggressive marketing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The influx of foreign tourists in the first four months of the year 2023 has almost kept up with the figure during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, which is a positive sign, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There is a need for the rebranding and repositioning of the destination marketing so as to make the tourism sector more dynamic, he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Projection of the World Tourism Organisation</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Tourism Organisation has projected the revival of Nepal’s tourism sector until 2023. The organization had projected global tourism including Nepal’s to recover by up to 95 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like the latest tendency of people visiting accessible and nearest destinations, and China remaining open to tourists have added, it said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of foreign mountaineers taking the permit to scale mountains has also been encouraging. Spring this year has witnessed a record highest number of mountaineers who have taken the permit to climb Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), according to the Department of Tourism. During the season, a total of 467 climbers from 44 groups (98 women and 369 men) took permits to climb mountains as of May 9, said Bigyan Koirala, section officer at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, adding that the number could increase. The number of people who have taken the permit to climb mountains this season was a record high in the 70-year history of the ascent of Mt Everest, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People from 65 countries including from Nepal took the permit. Over Rs 660 million was collected in revenue by issuing the permit to scale Mt Everest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of them have reached the base camp of the world’s highest peak, and they are reported to be waiting for good weather conditions, it has been said. Icefall doctors’ team has cleared the route to Camp 4 or the South Col. The expedition team could not push their way ahead due to bad weather conditions above 7,500 meters on Mt Everest, it has been said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Flights recovering</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Around 300 roundtrip domestic flights have taken place, said Teknath Sitaula, spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Nine airlines and 11 helicopter companies are operating domestic flights. Similarly, 27 airlines companies including three Nepali companies are operating international flights. Of the total 54 airports including three international ones in the country, 36 are operational.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Despite getting into approximately Rs 48 billion debts, the Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag-carrier of the country, is planning to add three more aircraft. Currently, it has two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft for international flights. Similarly, it has two Twin Otter planes for domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In view of the marketing of tourism, the Tourism Board has a plan on the table to expand the market across India, Bangladesh and China. Europe and the United States have recovered in terms of tourism following the infection. Asian countries are on track to achieve tourism revival.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Lately, Chinese tourists have visited Nepal in hordes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before the pandemic, around 170,000 Chinese tourists had arrived in Nepal. Lately after the virus subsided, the influx of Chinese tourists has been encouraging, said Tourism Board’s Director Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the country saw the arrival of around 1,800 Chinese tourists in February, 2023. The number encouragingly surged 30 percent to 2,600 in March, and 81 percent to 4,770 in April. Flights from China to Nepal have also added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Proper marketing has resulted in a significant surge in the influx of tourists from India and Bangladesh as well, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now, the arrival of Chinese tourists would increase as the Nepal-China transit points have reopened, and flights are operating, he expressed the hope.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Mohan Lamsal expressed his hope that enthusiasm for climbing Mt Everest this season, and activities in the run-up to the 70th Anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest would make the country’s tourism more dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hotels and hospitality centers in the country have capacity of accommodating around 3.5 million tourists. There are around 10,000 hotels ranging from five stars to tourist standard hotels in the country.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, there are 18 five star hotels including a deluxe one in the country, according to the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). Around 20 five star hotels will be added in one and a half years. Over two dozen chain hotels are also ready for operation. HAN President Binayak Shah said the affected tourism sector of the country has gradually come back on track.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, there is still a setback for hotels. There is only 30 percent hotel occupancy as of now, said hotel entrepreneurs. It requires at least 38 percent occupancy to cover daily operational expenses of a hotel, they said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Now we can bring packages to attract tourists. Hotels have been hit hard due to a lack of tourists for the past three years after the outbreak of the pandemic. As a result, hotel entrepreneurs have faced such a situation that they are finding it hard to pay off bank loans and interests. Until the previous fiscal year, the government had tried to address our problems through monetary policy. But, this is not the case in the current FY. So, we have put forward our problems with the government,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Returns on investment?</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to data, Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,800 billion have been invested in the hotel sector. The influx of tourists in recent years has not been enough to get hotels surviving the dire situation at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In such a situation, to save the hotel sector, the government should take steps like fully operating Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports, said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will be meaningless to only construct airports without their operation. We are unable to operate other aircraft except for the ones of the NAC. We cannot bring in 3.5 million tourists when airports cannot operate fully. There is a doubt that the government cannot do the marketing substantially. For this, the government should cooperate with the private sector,” he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the Thamel Tourism Development Council, Bhabishwar Sharma backed Lamichhane. The country’s tourism is gradually recovering, and this has encouraged tourism entrepreneurs, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Encouraged by the gradual revival of the tourism sector, tourism entrepreneurs are working with positive vibes. There has been around 80 percent hotel occupancy in the Thamel area. Chinese tourists are increasing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed the need for a partnership between the government and the private sector to revitalize the industry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, President of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nilhari Bastola stressed the need for policy improvements, destination expansion and marketing so as to make the tourism sector dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Also, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Ramesh Thapa emphasized putting forward planned programmes for accelerating the revival of tourism.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> -- </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-13', 'modified' => '2023-05-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17579', 'image' => '20230513065358_Tourist Arrival (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-13 18:52:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Pledges Impartial Investigation Into Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> May 12: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. </p> <p>Receiving the memo submitted by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, PM Dahal asserted that the government was clear that the guilty must not be spared while the innocent ones should not be prosecuted in the scam.</p> <p> Police have been busting the racket sending people to the United States identifying them as the Bhutanese refugee. Over a dozen of people have been arrested in connection to the scam including some high-profile individuals.</p> <p> The PM assured the RPP team that there will not be any influence of pressure in the ongoing investigation into the scam. Stating that the incumbent government was fully committed for the implementation of the good-governance, prosperity and constitution, Dahal said that he will not give into any pressure or influence regarding the scam. </p> <p>RPP Chairperson Lingden, in the memo, demanded an investigation into the property of the political leadership and bureaucrats after the 2046 BS. </p> <p>Talking to media persons after submitting the memo to the PM, RPP Chair Lingden shared that they had drawn the attention of the PM towards impartial investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. </p> <p>The PM acknowledged the memo and assured there will not be any error regarding the investigation into the scam, said Lingden, quoting the PM as saying. ---RSS <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17578', 'image' => '20230512071900_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 19:17:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Starts Regular Flight at Resunga Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">May 12: Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Twin Otter aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation has started operating regular flights. The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC’s aircraft had successfully conducted a test flight at Resunga airport two weeks ago, confirming that people from Gulmi could avail air service. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Akhileshwor Pandey, a resident of Ward No. 1 of Resunga Municipality, who was the first passenger to come in the commercial flight, said that he felt safe, comfortable, and reliable and reached his home district quickly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Furthermore, Parvati Bhusal of the Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-2 said that she could arrive Gulmi from Kathmandu in a short time. “The air connectivity has brought Gulmi and Kathmandu closer,” said Bhusal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> The aircraft that flew from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 6:30 am landed at Resunga Airport at 7:15 AM. According to Captain Manish Bista, the captain of the flight, flight along the Kathmandu- Resunga airport will now be regular every Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> "Looking at the condition of the airport during the test, we conducted the flight in the morning. There will be flights only on Fridays for now, and we have prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well," said Captain Bista.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Khildhowj Panthi, chief of Resunga Municipality, shared that NAC had started its flight to Resunga Airport after prolonged efforts. “The direct flight from TIA to Resunga Airport has made dream of the people of Gulmi to avail air service a reality,” Panthii added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Panthi expressed his happiness for the start of regular air services from the airport. He said that the airport would be a milestone for the development of the municipality and surrounding areas. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On the first commercial flight of the NAC, 14 passengers were on board the plane that landed at the Resunga Airport. The NAC aircraft had departed from the Resunga Airport with 14 passengers on board in its return flight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC is preparing to carry 18 passengers on its next flight as per aircraft’s capacity. The fare has been set at Rs. 6,300 per passenger.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tara Air's plane had conducted a test flight at the Resunga Airport on June 8, 2018 and December 29, 2018. However, the plane's flights were suspended citing expensive fare. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The airport is spread over an area of 156 ropanis and was constructed at a cost of Rs. 35 crores. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17577', 'image' => '20230512050848_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 17:01:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17845', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Struggling to Manage Pension Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees. The burden on the state is increasing with the increase in the average life expectancy and decline in the working age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the Civil Service Act is not up to date, and government employees who want to continue working and are capable of working within the age limit have had to retire, causing an extra burden to the state coffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The average life expectancy of Nepalese was 35.2 years in 1959 and the mandatory retirement age was 60 years. The Civil Service Act, 2049 reduced the retirement age to 58 years as per the recommendation of the High Level Administration Reform Commission formed by the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The retirement age for judges and university professors is higher than this at 66 years and 63 years respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the time when the Act was promulgated, the average life expectancy of a Nepali had reached 56 years and employees who retired at the age of 60 did not need to be given pension for many years. At the time of promulgation of the Civil Service Act, 2049, it appears that the citizens eligible to enter the civil service were born in the year 2031 (when the period of service entry was set at 18 years). In the year 2031, the average life expectancy of Nepali based on birth was 41 years.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Politics in age limit</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the sources, the retirement age was reduced via the Civil Service Act to remove some of the high-ranking employees accustomed to the Panchayat System, who refused to help the new government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, it was thought that it would last only for a short time, but no one took the initiative to change it to 60 years later. The Public Expenditure Review Commission formed under the coordination of Dr Dilliraj Khanal also recommended increasing the retirement age of civil servants to 60 years. As per the report, he said, “In order to reduce the increased liability in pension, the retirement age of all types of public service should be raised to 60 years and only after reaching this age, provision should be made for them to get pension.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The retirement arrangement has not changed, but the average life expectancy will increase, so the state has to give long-term pensions to those who retire at the age of 58. Now the average life expectancy of Nepalis has reached over 71 years. Experts say that the average life expectancy of those who worked in the civil service is more. The government has to pay pension to them for more than 13 years after retirement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of pensioners increasing</span></strong></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 number of pensioners is consistently increasing. As of April 27, 2023, this number stands at 294,000. This is an average increase of 3,039 civil servants in the last 5 years. Similarly, 2,825 policemen, 2,750 teachers, and 4,320 Nepalese Army personnel have been added as well.</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 Bishnu Prasad Kharel, the head of the Pension Management Office, the additional number of employees who come for pension after taking annual leave is 12,935 on an average, including the army, police, and teachers.</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 average growth rate of the last 5 years is 6.45 percent,” he said.</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, last year, the salary of the government employees was increased by almost 15 percent, affecting the pension as well. However, when the budget requested to the government was not provided on time, there was a problem in paying pensions to the retired employees in March and April. </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"">“We did not know that there would be an increase in the salary. Out of the budget of Rs 65 billion requested for pensions, only Rs 52 billion was allocated. As the budget was not enough, we corresponded to allocate more budget. Some amount has been released while some amount is in the process of being released,” said Kharel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17576', 'image' => '20230512025410_1675890384_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17843', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Air Pollution Increasing Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. According to the latest Air Quality Index (AQI), the AQI at Patan, Lalitpur is 176 and it is 163 at Kirtipur, 163 at Ratnapark in Kathmandu, 171 at Narayani and 155 at Dhankuta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">AQI from 0 to 50 is considered normal and above 150 is hazardous. The AQI in Patan, Kirtipur, Ratnapark, Narayani and Dhankuta is above 150. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Health experts have advised wearing mask while going out of the house as air pollution is likely to harm the health. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Govinda Jha said haze is seen at many places including in the Kathmandu Valley since the morning due to the increased air pollution. According to him, air pollution is likely to further increase as there is no immediate likelihood of rainfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is said the air in Bhaktpaur, Madhyapur Thimi and Birendranagar is at risk of pollution. The AQI at these places is less than 150. Experts say that people suffering from chronic diseases, children and the elderly people are at risk. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vehicle emission is also another cause for the increasing level of air pollution. -- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17575', 'image' => '20230512023718_Clipboard09(31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:35:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel Marks Diamond Jubilee Independence Day Celebrations', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.</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"">Issuing a statement on Thursday, the embassy said that the event was attended by Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav who was among the 400 guests from among the government officials, foreign diplomats and media fraternity members.</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"">Welcoming the guests, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Hanan Goder said, “Israel and Nepal share common values and challenges. As both are small countries, we must always build bridges of good relations with similar countries. Nepal and Israel were and will always remain close friends.”</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"">Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu offered his congratulations in a video message saying: “75 years ago, we emerged from the Holocaust… today, Israel is a rising power among the world… We have become the example of how you build something seemingly from nothing. We do more with less… We’ve built this, based on the age-old dream that we never gave up to return to our homeland; to rebuild our national life, to be able to defend ourselves, to be able to create and forge a future of peace.”</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"">In a video message, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen said, “Even when things seem difficult and impossible, think about what we have managed to build and accomplish in just 75 years of independence. Anything is possible, with a little faith.”</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"">Israeli seeds were gifted to the guests as a symbol for growth and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17574', 'image' => '20230512025227_IMG_2741.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17842', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Lowers Bank Rate by 1 Percentage Point', 'sub_title' => 'Interest on Loans and Deposits Likely to Decrease', 'summary' => 'May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to 7.5 percent.', '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"">May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The central bank on Friday released the third quarterly review of the monetary policy for the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">22/23 and reduced the bank rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 this, it is estimated that the interest rate on loans and deposits may likely decrease. Bank rate affects the interest rate of loans and deposits. If the bank rate increases, the interest rate will increase and if it decreases, the interest rate will decrease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that the policy rate has been kept unchanged at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Similarly, the NRB has kept the other rates under the interest rate corridor unchanged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 central bank, the policy rate has been kept unchanged considering the prospects of the foreign exchange reserve to support imports as well as the policy rate of neighboring country and the difference between the inflation rates between the two countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17573', 'image' => '20230512020352_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:01:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17841', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Distribution of New Stock Exchange License Postponed Again', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has decided to halt the license distribution process of the new stock exchange for the time being.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to proceed ahead with the license distribution process only after further study as questions were raised in the parliament regarding the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the information provided by the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Ministers has instructed the concerned bodies to proceed with the process only after further study keeping in mind the interests of the investors. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the instructions of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance said it will write letter to SEBON regarding this issue on Friday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, the license distribution process of the new stock exchange was postponed due to two separate cases filed at the Supreme Court. The process went ahead after the court quashed the petitions. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three companies have applied for the license of the new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of Nepal and Annapurna Stock Exchange Limited have submitted applications to SEBON for the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A dispute had surfaced regarding one of the three companies that applied for the new stock exchange license. The dispute is related to the Himalayan Stock Exchange, which had applied for the license with the board. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai, chief executive officer of Mahalakshmi Life Insurance Limited, has claimed that they have already registered an application for a license in the year 2066 in the name of Himalayan Stock Exchange Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board revised the Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064 last year for the distribution of new stock exchange licenses. According to the new provision, the organized institutions registered following the prevailing law to operate the securities market must submit an application within six months from the date of registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There is a provision that the paid-up capital of the new stock exchange should be at least Rs 3 billion. The company must issue 30 per cent shares of the issued capital to the general public within two years of conducting the business with the approval of the board.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17572', 'image' => '20230512014025_1683867885.Untitled design (11).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 13:38:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17840', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tatopani Transit Point Handling only Limited Cargo Exports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. The transit point was opened more than three years after it was initially closed to control the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, the export through this transit point is not going up as expected. It is seeing partial exports only. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three containers loaded with utensils and handicraft goods ready for export to Shigatse, China are stuck at Tatopani dry port. These goods were destined for Shigatse in response to the demand placed by Chinese traders. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The export is almost non-existent. It has been a week now since the export clearance forms for this consignment were filled up. Instead of the exports picking up pace, even the number of containers carrying imported goods through this transit point is decreasing day by day," said Dayananda KC, chief customs officer at Tatopani Customs Office. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to KC, although the export through the transit point has been opened, it is only partial. With the opening of export, Nepali traders can now take containers carrying goods for export, including herbs and food grain, up to the midpoint of the Nepal-China Friendship Bridge on the border. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Movement of people and normal vehicles is allowed up to Khasa. Only the export of cargo vehicles that has come to a standstill," Chief Customs Officer KC said. His observation is that Nepalis cannot supply adequate goods for export through the transit point like before. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the export of food grains, vegetables as well as herbs up to Khasa used to be a good source of income of Nepalis. Around 500 Nepalis used to reside in Khasa as a permanent residents running different activities including hotels. But there is no people in Khasa now. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepali businesspersons bring apples, garlic and clothes in 6-7 containers up to the Friendship Bridge towards Nepal through Silk Company from Khasa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Manager of Silk Company, Bijay Sherpa said that the Nepali businessmen had requested the Chinese side to allow them to go up to Khasa during a recent meeting but they were not positive about it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had set a target of collecting Rs 4.62 billion in revenue in the current fiscal year from this customs point, but only Rs 2.20 billion has been collected so far. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17571', 'image' => '20230512122723_20211109014016_20210518054607_20190510014655_Clipboard04-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 12:26:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17839', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DPM Shrestha Assures No One will be Spared in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During his meeting with the leaders of CPN (Unified Socialist on Thursday, the home minister said anyone else found guilty in the case would be prosecuted while no innocent will be framed for the incident. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Describing the scam as a crime against the state, he said this is not just a case of corruption but an organised crime involving the people from top to bottom. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This is the crime against the state to make the people statelessness." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that he faced no political pressure for actions against those involved in the scandal, he pledged to conclude the matter substantively. He took time to say that he found Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as his strong back-up support for government action against those involved in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha, he has already directed the police administration to go with the investigations against the case confidently. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Unified Socialist leaders applauded the government's move in the case and expressed their solidarity against the crime. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17570', 'image' => '20230512114342_1683803227.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:41:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17838', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Second International Travel Mart begins in Lumbini ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The three-day travel mart is being organized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travels with the objective of bringing in tourists to Lumbini. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Monk Maittaye (Abadesh Kumar Tripathi) inaugurated the travel mart. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the trust's Vice Chairman Maittaye said that the Buddhist followers should begin their journey from Lumbini itself. He said that Lumbini is a vital site for promoting inspiration, peace and goodwill. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Development Suresh Adhikari stated that the Travel Mart was orgnaised to make the country's tourism industry more vibrant. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dhan Bahadur Oli, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjaya Regmi and Chairman of Hotel Association of Nepal Binayak Shah addressed the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Twenty eight travel and tour companies from India, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries are attending the travel mart. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17569', 'image' => '20230512110739_LumbiniRSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:06:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17837', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'The National Banking Discourse-2023 to Be Held on May 16', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '“The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 12: “The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The discourse will center on several pertinent issues such as the expectations from the new budget in the current economic climate, the status of digitization of the financial service eco-system, and the present and future of remittance-dependent economy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, there will be discussions on the necessity of financial literacy for long-term and sustainable development. The discourse will also delve into the state of banking, including the problem of high-interest rates, liquidity issues, rumors that lower trust in banks and financial institutions, and the pressure placed on banks through monetary policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One of the primary objectives of the discourse is to protect big industries while promoting small, medium, and start-up industries. The program aims to explore productive, employment-oriented, and export-oriented areas for investment and to help solve policy-level problems. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">With the world economy still recovering from the post-COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in petroleum and food prices due to Russia's war on Ukraine, this discourse is of significant importance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Notably, the discourse will feature distinguished guests, including the Finance Minister, the NRB Governor, and other dignitaries. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17568', 'image' => '20230512064702_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 06:43:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 14: Cyclone Mocha developing in the Bay of Bengal will not have any significant impact on Nepal, according to the Weather Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is currently moving towards the northeast direction and is rising up in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to RSS, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the CNN reported that aid agencies in Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for disaster and have launched a massive emergency plan as the powerful cyclone barrels towards millions of vulnerable people.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon, likely across Rakhine state of Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar, host to the world’s largest refugee camp, added CNN</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh as Cyclone Mocha- the region's most powerful cyclone for over a decade- is set to hit the coastal region, reported the Hindustan Times.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The 'Super Cyclone' packed with winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour will be equivalent to a category 4 hurricane, reported Indian media.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The buildup of the cyclone is of particular concern for Nepal as the country gears up for spring expedition of mountain peaks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It is noteworthy to recall that during the autumn climbing season nine years, Cyclone Hudhud in eastern India had caused a sudden changes in weather and caused avalanches and blizzard in Dhaulagiri and Annapurna regions of Nepal on October 14, 2014 killing dozens of people.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17583', 'image' => '20230514113236_MochaCyclone_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 11:31:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17851', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ''Third Quarterly Review of Monetary Policy Positive' ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 14: The Federation of Small and Cottage Industries has welcomed the third quarterly review of monetary policy unveiled recently by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). It stressed the objective implementation of the monetary policy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation drew NRB's attention towards the provision that commercial banks need to invest 11 percent of total loan in small, cottage and mid-scale industries. Although some sectors had witnessed positive indicators for investment, the small and cottage industries were still complaining of not getting loan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the wake of complaints that small entrepreneurs were not provided concessional loan, a total of 147,807 persons were provided concessional loan as of mid-April. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation welcomed the provision of restructuring and re-tabulation of loan within mid-July 2023 by analysing cash flow and income of industries and enterprises against the loan up to Rs 20 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The federation has also appreciated the continuation of refinancing scheme for recovery of the productive sectors such as agriculture, and small and cottage industries which were impacted badly by the COVID crisis.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17582', 'image' => '20230514105953_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 10:58:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister Dr Mahat Rules Out Possibility of Expansive and Big Budget', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 14: Minister for Finance Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the government is not able to present expansive and big size budget. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At a programme organized by the Centre for Economic Development and Administration and the National Economic Concern Society Nepal in Kathmandu on Saturday, Finance Minister Mahat made it clear that the government was unable to roll out an extensive and big size budget due to limited resources and decreased revenue collection.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We are currently facing a significant challenge in terms of revenue shortfall. There are limitations in presenting an expansive and large-scale budget," Mahat said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister expressed his commitment to making maximum efforts for economic reform and improvement. "After coming to the Finance Ministry, I have observed many problems. There are more problems than what meets the eye. But, I cannot claim to solve all of them. But, honest efforts will be made from my side for reform," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Finance Minister Mahat has stated that responsibility of principal and interest of the public debt had increased. “The responsibility to repay the loans taken for earthquake reconstruction will increase from next year onwards,” he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Furthermore, he has emphasized the need for the government to maintain efficiency and implementation in budget management and execution. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">"We require substantial improvements to our organizational structure and must amplify the impact of our budget. The current issue is that there is a lack of capital flow in the market without investments, and there is also no flow of funds through the banking system," the Minister stated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the Minister emphasized the need to improve the tendency to spend capital towards the end of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During the event, National Planning Commission's Vice-Chairperson Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha pledged to take suggestions solicited from various sectors into consideration while allocating the budget and formulating policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year. He further added that any issues missed out in the upcoming budget would be incorporated into the 16th periodic plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Former Chief Secretary Leelamani Poudyal expressed concern regarding the government's inability to build capital and create employment from investments made in the social security sector. He viewed the current problems in the national economy as a result of consistently having bad policies for nearly three decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Professor Dr Shivaraj Adhikari commented that economic growth was dismal compared to investment, while jobs were not created compared to the economic growth rate. He viewed the economic problems as being a result of increased public debt and investment without any corresponding economic growth.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-14', 'modified' => '2023-05-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17580', 'image' => '20230514062755_collage (17).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-14 06:24:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Tourism Rebounding with Over 132 Percent Increase in Arrival of Foreign Tourists in 4 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 13: Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 13</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal has witnessed an encouraging arrival of 326,527 foreign tourists in the first four months of 2023. The figure is 132.67 percent increment as compared to the same period in the previous year, 2022. A total of 140,336 foreign tourists visited the country during the same period in 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The global COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism sector of the country resulting in a sharp drop in the influx of foreign tourists in the past few years. Just before the pandemic, a total of 420,446 foreign tourists had visited the country in the first four months of the year 2019. In the following years after outbreak of the virus, there was a sharp drop in the inflow of tourists. A total of 220,682 tourists arrived in Nepal in 2020. The figure further dropped to 55,447 in 2021.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like a surge in the inflow of tourists and recovering occupancy of hotels have indicated the revival of the tourism sector from the infection. Director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Maniraj Lamichhane said tourism has almost been on track. “Factors like the inflow of foreign tourists, encouraging number of people taking the permit to climb mountains and increasing mobility of tourists at tourism destinations have indicated the revival of the tourism sector. Tourism will soon keep its track by prioritizing one-stop destinations and expediting aggressive marketing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The influx of foreign tourists in the first four months of the year 2023 has almost kept up with the figure during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, which is a positive sign, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There is a need for the rebranding and repositioning of the destination marketing so as to make the tourism sector more dynamic, he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Projection of the World Tourism Organisation</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Tourism Organisation has projected the revival of Nepal’s tourism sector until 2023. The organization had projected global tourism including Nepal’s to recover by up to 95 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Factors like the latest tendency of people visiting accessible and nearest destinations, and China remaining open to tourists have added, it said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of foreign mountaineers taking the permit to scale mountains has also been encouraging. Spring this year has witnessed a record highest number of mountaineers who have taken the permit to climb Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), according to the Department of Tourism. During the season, a total of 467 climbers from 44 groups (98 women and 369 men) took permits to climb mountains as of May 9, said Bigyan Koirala, section officer at the mountaineering section of the Department of Tourism, adding that the number could increase. The number of people who have taken the permit to climb mountains this season was a record high in the 70-year history of the ascent of Mt Everest, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People from 65 countries including from Nepal took the permit. Over Rs 660 million was collected in revenue by issuing the permit to scale Mt Everest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of them have reached the base camp of the world’s highest peak, and they are reported to be waiting for good weather conditions, it has been said. Icefall doctors’ team has cleared the route to Camp 4 or the South Col. The expedition team could not push their way ahead due to bad weather conditions above 7,500 meters on Mt Everest, it has been said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Flights recovering</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Around 300 roundtrip domestic flights have taken place, said Teknath Sitaula, spokesperson for the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Nine airlines and 11 helicopter companies are operating domestic flights. Similarly, 27 airlines companies including three Nepali companies are operating international flights. Of the total 54 airports including three international ones in the country, 36 are operational.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Despite getting into approximately Rs 48 billion debts, the Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag-carrier of the country, is planning to add three more aircraft. Currently, it has two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft for international flights. Similarly, it has two Twin Otter planes for domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In view of the marketing of tourism, the Tourism Board has a plan on the table to expand the market across India, Bangladesh and China. Europe and the United States have recovered in terms of tourism following the infection. Asian countries are on track to achieve tourism revival.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Lately, Chinese tourists have visited Nepal in hordes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before the pandemic, around 170,000 Chinese tourists had arrived in Nepal. Lately after the virus subsided, the influx of Chinese tourists has been encouraging, said Tourism Board’s Director Lamichhane.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the country saw the arrival of around 1,800 Chinese tourists in February, 2023. The number encouragingly surged 30 percent to 2,600 in March, and 81 percent to 4,770 in April. Flights from China to Nepal have also added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Proper marketing has resulted in a significant surge in the influx of tourists from India and Bangladesh as well, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now, the arrival of Chinese tourists would increase as the Nepal-China transit points have reopened, and flights are operating, he expressed the hope.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">General Secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association Mohan Lamsal expressed his hope that enthusiasm for climbing Mt Everest this season, and activities in the run-up to the 70th Anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest would make the country’s tourism more dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hotels and hospitality centers in the country have capacity of accommodating around 3.5 million tourists. There are around 10,000 hotels ranging from five stars to tourist standard hotels in the country.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, there are 18 five star hotels including a deluxe one in the country, according to the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). Around 20 five star hotels will be added in one and a half years. Over two dozen chain hotels are also ready for operation. HAN President Binayak Shah said the affected tourism sector of the country has gradually come back on track.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, there is still a setback for hotels. There is only 30 percent hotel occupancy as of now, said hotel entrepreneurs. It requires at least 38 percent occupancy to cover daily operational expenses of a hotel, they said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Now we can bring packages to attract tourists. Hotels have been hit hard due to a lack of tourists for the past three years after the outbreak of the pandemic. As a result, hotel entrepreneurs have faced such a situation that they are finding it hard to pay off bank loans and interests. Until the previous fiscal year, the government had tried to address our problems through monetary policy. But, this is not the case in the current FY. So, we have put forward our problems with the government,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Returns on investment?</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to data, Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,800 billion have been invested in the hotel sector. The influx of tourists in recent years has not been enough to get hotels surviving the dire situation at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In such a situation, to save the hotel sector, the government should take steps like fully operating Pokhara and Bhairahawa international airports, said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will be meaningless to only construct airports without their operation. We are unable to operate other aircraft except for the ones of the NAC. We cannot bring in 3.5 million tourists when airports cannot operate fully. There is a doubt that the government cannot do the marketing substantially. For this, the government should cooperate with the private sector,” he suggested.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the Thamel Tourism Development Council, Bhabishwar Sharma backed Lamichhane. The country’s tourism is gradually recovering, and this has encouraged tourism entrepreneurs, he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Encouraged by the gradual revival of the tourism sector, tourism entrepreneurs are working with positive vibes. There has been around 80 percent hotel occupancy in the Thamel area. Chinese tourists are increasing,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed the need for a partnership between the government and the private sector to revitalize the industry.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, President of the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Nilhari Bastola stressed the need for policy improvements, destination expansion and marketing so as to make the tourism sector dynamic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Also, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents Ramesh Thapa emphasized putting forward planned programmes for accelerating the revival of tourism.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> -- </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-13', 'modified' => '2023-05-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17579', 'image' => '20230513065358_Tourist Arrival (1).jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-13 18:52:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Pledges Impartial Investigation Into Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> May 12: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has pledged to bring anyone involved in the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal to justice. </p> <p>Receiving the memo submitted by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers today, PM Dahal asserted that the government was clear that the guilty must not be spared while the innocent ones should not be prosecuted in the scam.</p> <p> Police have been busting the racket sending people to the United States identifying them as the Bhutanese refugee. Over a dozen of people have been arrested in connection to the scam including some high-profile individuals.</p> <p> The PM assured the RPP team that there will not be any influence of pressure in the ongoing investigation into the scam. Stating that the incumbent government was fully committed for the implementation of the good-governance, prosperity and constitution, Dahal said that he will not give into any pressure or influence regarding the scam. </p> <p>RPP Chairperson Lingden, in the memo, demanded an investigation into the property of the political leadership and bureaucrats after the 2046 BS. </p> <p>Talking to media persons after submitting the memo to the PM, RPP Chair Lingden shared that they had drawn the attention of the PM towards impartial investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. </p> <p>The PM acknowledged the memo and assured there will not be any error regarding the investigation into the scam, said Lingden, quoting the PM as saying. ---RSS <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17578', 'image' => '20230512071900_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 19:17:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Starts Regular Flight at Resunga Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">May 12: Regular flights have started to and from the Resunga Airport in Gulmi from Friday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The Twin Otter aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation has started operating regular flights. The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC’s aircraft had successfully conducted a test flight at Resunga airport two weeks ago, confirming that people from Gulmi could avail air service. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Akhileshwor Pandey, a resident of Ward No. 1 of Resunga Municipality, who was the first passenger to come in the commercial flight, said that he felt safe, comfortable, and reliable and reached his home district quickly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Furthermore, Parvati Bhusal of the Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-2 said that she could arrive Gulmi from Kathmandu in a short time. “The air connectivity has brought Gulmi and Kathmandu closer,” said Bhusal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> The aircraft that flew from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 6:30 am landed at Resunga Airport at 7:15 AM. According to Captain Manish Bista, the captain of the flight, flight along the Kathmandu- Resunga airport will now be regular every Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> "Looking at the condition of the airport during the test, we conducted the flight in the morning. There will be flights only on Fridays for now, and we have prepared to operate flights on Tuesdays as well," said Captain Bista.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Khildhowj Panthi, chief of Resunga Municipality, shared that NAC had started its flight to Resunga Airport after prolonged efforts. “The direct flight from TIA to Resunga Airport has made dream of the people of Gulmi to avail air service a reality,” Panthii added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Panthi expressed his happiness for the start of regular air services from the airport. He said that the airport would be a milestone for the development of the municipality and surrounding areas. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On the first commercial flight of the NAC, 14 passengers were on board the plane that landed at the Resunga Airport. The NAC aircraft had departed from the Resunga Airport with 14 passengers on board in its return flight. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NAC is preparing to carry 18 passengers on its next flight as per aircraft’s capacity. The fare has been set at Rs. 6,300 per passenger.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tara Air's plane had conducted a test flight at the Resunga Airport on June 8, 2018 and December 29, 2018. However, the plane's flights were suspended citing expensive fare. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The airport is spread over an area of 156 ropanis and was constructed at a cost of Rs. 35 crores. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17577', 'image' => '20230512050848_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 17:01:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17845', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Struggling to Manage Pension Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: It has become difficult for the government to pay pension to retired employees. The burden on the state is increasing with the increase in the average life expectancy and decline in the working age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the Civil Service Act is not up to date, and government employees who want to continue working and are capable of working within the age limit have had to retire, causing an extra burden to the state coffers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The average life expectancy of Nepalese was 35.2 years in 1959 and the mandatory retirement age was 60 years. The Civil Service Act, 2049 reduced the retirement age to 58 years as per the recommendation of the High Level Administration Reform Commission formed by the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The retirement age for judges and university professors is higher than this at 66 years and 63 years respectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the time when the Act was promulgated, the average life expectancy of a Nepali had reached 56 years and employees who retired at the age of 60 did not need to be given pension for many years. At the time of promulgation of the Civil Service Act, 2049, it appears that the citizens eligible to enter the civil service were born in the year 2031 (when the period of service entry was set at 18 years). In the year 2031, the average life expectancy of Nepali based on birth was 41 years.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Politics in age limit</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the sources, the retirement age was reduced via the Civil Service Act to remove some of the high-ranking employees accustomed to the Panchayat System, who refused to help the new government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Initially, it was thought that it would last only for a short time, but no one took the initiative to change it to 60 years later. The Public Expenditure Review Commission formed under the coordination of Dr Dilliraj Khanal also recommended increasing the retirement age of civil servants to 60 years. As per the report, he said, “In order to reduce the increased liability in pension, the retirement age of all types of public service should be raised to 60 years and only after reaching this age, provision should be made for them to get pension.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The retirement arrangement has not changed, but the average life expectancy will increase, so the state has to give long-term pensions to those who retire at the age of 58. Now the average life expectancy of Nepalis has reached over 71 years. Experts say that the average life expectancy of those who worked in the civil service is more. The government has to pay pension to them for more than 13 years after retirement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The number of pensioners increasing</span></strong></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 number of pensioners is consistently increasing. As of April 27, 2023, this number stands at 294,000. This is an average increase of 3,039 civil servants in the last 5 years. Similarly, 2,825 policemen, 2,750 teachers, and 4,320 Nepalese Army personnel have been added as well.</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 Bishnu Prasad Kharel, the head of the Pension Management Office, the additional number of employees who come for pension after taking annual leave is 12,935 on an average, including the army, police, and teachers.</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 average growth rate of the last 5 years is 6.45 percent,” he said.</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, last year, the salary of the government employees was increased by almost 15 percent, affecting the pension as well. However, when the budget requested to the government was not provided on time, there was a problem in paying pensions to the retired employees in March and April. </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"">“We did not know that there would be an increase in the salary. Out of the budget of Rs 65 billion requested for pensions, only Rs 52 billion was allocated. As the budget was not enough, we corresponded to allocate more budget. Some amount has been released while some amount is in the process of being released,” said Kharel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17576', 'image' => '20230512025410_1675890384_1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17843', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Air Pollution Increasing Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Air pollution has started to go up again across the country due to lack of rainfall and growing incidents of forest fire. According to the latest Air Quality Index (AQI), the AQI at Patan, Lalitpur is 176 and it is 163 at Kirtipur, 163 at Ratnapark in Kathmandu, 171 at Narayani and 155 at Dhankuta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">AQI from 0 to 50 is considered normal and above 150 is hazardous. The AQI in Patan, Kirtipur, Ratnapark, Narayani and Dhankuta is above 150. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Health experts have advised wearing mask while going out of the house as air pollution is likely to harm the health. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Govinda Jha said haze is seen at many places including in the Kathmandu Valley since the morning due to the increased air pollution. According to him, air pollution is likely to further increase as there is no immediate likelihood of rainfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is said the air in Bhaktpaur, Madhyapur Thimi and Birendranagar is at risk of pollution. The AQI at these places is less than 150. Experts say that people suffering from chronic diseases, children and the elderly people are at risk. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vehicle emission is also another cause for the increasing level of air pollution. -- </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17575', 'image' => '20230512023718_Clipboard09(31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:35:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Israel Marks Diamond Jubilee Independence Day Celebrations', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 12: The Embassy of Israel celebrated 75 years of Israel’s Independence by organizing a special programme in Nepal.</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"">Issuing a statement on Thursday, the embassy said that the event was attended by Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav who was among the 400 guests from among the government officials, foreign diplomats and media fraternity members.</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"">Welcoming the guests, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Hanan Goder said, “Israel and Nepal share common values and challenges. As both are small countries, we must always build bridges of good relations with similar countries. Nepal and Israel were and will always remain close friends.”</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"">Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu offered his congratulations in a video message saying: “75 years ago, we emerged from the Holocaust… today, Israel is a rising power among the world… We have become the example of how you build something seemingly from nothing. We do more with less… We’ve built this, based on the age-old dream that we never gave up to return to our homeland; to rebuild our national life, to be able to defend ourselves, to be able to create and forge a future of peace.”</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"">In a video message, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen said, “Even when things seem difficult and impossible, think about what we have managed to build and accomplish in just 75 years of independence. Anything is possible, with a little faith.”</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"">Israeli seeds were gifted to the guests as a symbol for growth and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17574', 'image' => '20230512025227_IMG_2741.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:50:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17842', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Lowers Bank Rate by 1 Percentage Point', 'sub_title' => 'Interest on Loans and Deposits Likely to Decrease', 'summary' => 'May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to 7.5 percent.', '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"">May 12: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the bank rate by one percentage point to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The central bank on Friday released the third quarterly review of the monetary policy for the fiscal year </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">22/23 and reduced the bank rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 this, it is estimated that the interest rate on loans and deposits may likely decrease. Bank rate affects the interest rate of loans and deposits. If the bank rate increases, the interest rate will increase and if it decreases, the interest rate will decrease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that the policy rate has been kept unchanged at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">7</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Similarly, the NRB has kept the other rates under the interest rate corridor unchanged.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 central bank, the policy rate has been kept unchanged considering the prospects of the foreign exchange reserve to support imports as well as the policy rate of neighboring country and the difference between the inflation rates between the two countries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17573', 'image' => '20230512020352_1683614421.1643946593.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 14:01:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17841', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Distribution of New Stock Exchange License Postponed Again', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 12: The process of distributing new stock exchange license by the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has been postponed again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has decided to halt the license distribution process of the new stock exchange for the time being.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday decided to proceed ahead with the license distribution process only after further study as questions were raised in the parliament regarding the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the information provided by the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Ministers has instructed the concerned bodies to proceed with the process only after further study keeping in mind the interests of the investors. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the instructions of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance said it will write letter to SEBON regarding this issue on Friday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, the license distribution process of the new stock exchange was postponed due to two separate cases filed at the Supreme Court. The process went ahead after the court quashed the petitions. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three companies have applied for the license of the new stock exchange. Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange of Nepal and Annapurna Stock Exchange Limited have submitted applications to SEBON for the license of the new stock exchange.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A dispute had surfaced regarding one of the three companies that applied for the new stock exchange license. The dispute is related to the Himalayan Stock Exchange, which had applied for the license with the board. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai, chief executive officer of Mahalakshmi Life Insurance Limited, has claimed that they have already registered an application for a license in the year 2066 in the name of Himalayan Stock Exchange Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board revised the Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064 last year for the distribution of new stock exchange licenses. According to the new provision, the organized institutions registered following the prevailing law to operate the securities market must submit an application within six months from the date of registration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There is a provision that the paid-up capital of the new stock exchange should be at least Rs 3 billion. The company must issue 30 per cent shares of the issued capital to the general public within two years of conducting the business with the approval of the board.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17572', 'image' => '20230512014025_1683867885.Untitled design (11).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 13:38:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17840', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tatopani Transit Point Handling only Limited Cargo Exports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Tatopani transit point on the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchok district had opened for full-fledged operation on May 1, raising high hopes of increased trade. The transit point was opened more than three years after it was initially closed to control the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">However, the export through this transit point is not going up as expected. It is seeing partial exports only. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three containers loaded with utensils and handicraft goods ready for export to Shigatse, China are stuck at Tatopani dry port. These goods were destined for Shigatse in response to the demand placed by Chinese traders. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The export is almost non-existent. It has been a week now since the export clearance forms for this consignment were filled up. Instead of the exports picking up pace, even the number of containers carrying imported goods through this transit point is decreasing day by day," said Dayananda KC, chief customs officer at Tatopani Customs Office. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to KC, although the export through the transit point has been opened, it is only partial. With the opening of export, Nepali traders can now take containers carrying goods for export, including herbs and food grain, up to the midpoint of the Nepal-China Friendship Bridge on the border. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Movement of people and normal vehicles is allowed up to Khasa. Only the export of cargo vehicles that has come to a standstill," Chief Customs Officer KC said. His observation is that Nepalis cannot supply adequate goods for export through the transit point like before. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the export of food grains, vegetables as well as herbs up to Khasa used to be a good source of income of Nepalis. Around 500 Nepalis used to reside in Khasa as a permanent residents running different activities including hotels. But there is no people in Khasa now. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepali businesspersons bring apples, garlic and clothes in 6-7 containers up to the Friendship Bridge towards Nepal through Silk Company from Khasa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Manager of Silk Company, Bijay Sherpa said that the Nepali businessmen had requested the Chinese side to allow them to go up to Khasa during a recent meeting but they were not positive about it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had set a target of collecting Rs 4.62 billion in revenue in the current fiscal year from this customs point, but only Rs 2.20 billion has been collected so far. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17571', 'image' => '20230512122723_20211109014016_20210518054607_20190510014655_Clipboard04-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 12:26:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17839', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DPM Shrestha Assures No One will be Spared in Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, has said the government will crack down the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During his meeting with the leaders of CPN (Unified Socialist on Thursday, the home minister said anyone else found guilty in the case would be prosecuted while no innocent will be framed for the incident. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Describing the scam as a crime against the state, he said this is not just a case of corruption but an organised crime involving the people from top to bottom. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This is the crime against the state to make the people statelessness." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating that he faced no political pressure for actions against those involved in the scandal, he pledged to conclude the matter substantively. He took time to say that he found Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as his strong back-up support for government action against those involved in the fake Bhutanese refugees scam. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha, he has already directed the police administration to go with the investigations against the case confidently. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Unified Socialist leaders applauded the government's move in the case and expressed their solidarity against the crime. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17570', 'image' => '20230512114342_1683803227.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:41:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17838', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Second International Travel Mart begins in Lumbini ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 12: The Second International Travel Mart 2023 kicked off in Lumbini on Thursday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The three-day travel mart is being organized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travels with the objective of bringing in tourists to Lumbini. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust Monk Maittaye (Abadesh Kumar Tripathi) inaugurated the travel mart. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the trust's Vice Chairman Maittaye said that the Buddhist followers should begin their journey from Lumbini itself. He said that Lumbini is a vital site for promoting inspiration, peace and goodwill. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism Development Suresh Adhikari stated that the Travel Mart was orgnaised to make the country's tourism industry more vibrant. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dhan Bahadur Oli, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Dr Dhananjaya Regmi and Chairman of Hotel Association of Nepal Binayak Shah addressed the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Twenty eight travel and tour companies from India, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries are attending the travel mart. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17569', 'image' => '20230512110739_LumbiniRSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 11:06:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17837', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'The National Banking Discourse-2023 to Be Held on May 16', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '“The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">May 12: “The National Banking Discourse- 2023” is scheduled to be held at Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 16. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The aim of the discourse is to explore solutions to the financial challenges currently faced by the country. Organized by Bankingsamachar.com and sponsored by Nabil Bank Limited, this event promises to provide insightful discussions on various key topics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The discourse will center on several pertinent issues such as the expectations from the new budget in the current economic climate, the status of digitization of the financial service eco-system, and the present and future of remittance-dependent economy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, there will be discussions on the necessity of financial literacy for long-term and sustainable development. The discourse will also delve into the state of banking, including the problem of high-interest rates, liquidity issues, rumors that lower trust in banks and financial institutions, and the pressure placed on banks through monetary policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">One of the primary objectives of the discourse is to protect big industries while promoting small, medium, and start-up industries. The program aims to explore productive, employment-oriented, and export-oriented areas for investment and to help solve policy-level problems. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">With the world economy still recovering from the post-COVID-19 pandemic and the recent increase in petroleum and food prices due to Russia's war on Ukraine, this discourse is of significant importance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Notably, the discourse will feature distinguished guests, including the Finance Minister, the NRB Governor, and other dignitaries. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-05-12', 'modified' => '2023-05-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17568', 'image' => '20230512064702_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-05-12 06:43:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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
