KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on…
KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on…
KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back…
KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-May…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week,…
KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on…
KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget…
KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal…
KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven…
KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed.…
Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal…
KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week,…
KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS.…
RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has…
KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives'…
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It aims to benefit 49,000 women and girls who have experienced violence through better access to quality services.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Addressing gender-based violence is a priority for the government of Nepal. This project will help establish a functioning coordination system to link GBV response mechanisms at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels,” said</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project is financed by a $4.6 million grant from the State and Peacebuilding Trust Fund and will be implemented by the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project will help strengthen institutional frameworks and capacity, pilot innovative GBV service models with a focus on improving service coverage and quality, and promote behavior change among first responders and local stakeholders for improved GBV response, the statement added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This project will help empower women and girls to readily access GBV services, report violence, and seek help, especially in the most remote and hard to reach areas. This is key to supporting Nepal’s development that is green, resilient, and inclusive,</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">” </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed the financing agreements for the project on April 24, 2024.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20774', 'image' => '20240521085600_GOGs7zGbAAADCYP.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 20:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21046', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIB Investigation into Cooperatives Fraud Finds Embezzlement of Billions of Rupees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">BIJAY DAMASE</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Pokharel said that even though he went from pillar to post knocking the doors of the Department of Cooperatives as well as the municipality to get back his money, the cooperative is yet to release the amount. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"The fraudulent operators of the cooperative have political protection, that's why they are not in favor of returning the money," he accused. The deposits of hundreds of other depositors are also trapped in the cooperative. The directors of Deurali have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 2 billion of the depositors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Similarly, Rakesh Murarka said that he worked day and night for five years to earn Rs 8 million and deposited the money in National Development Cooperative Cooperative. He says that he requested all concerned bodies to return his money but was denied justice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"I even visited political party leaders but in vain," he said expressing his pain. According to Murarka, the depositors of the National Cooperative have lodged a police complaint against its director for embezzlement of Rs 332.22 million. However, the cooperative has not returned their savings yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is currently investigating the irregularities in about a dozen cooperatives including these two. CIB's research has shown that most of the cooperatives have collapsed due to indiscriminate and excessive investment in unproductive sectors. It has been found that many co-operatives had given loans without collateral and many such debtors have run away.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police investigation has also revealed that the operators of the problematic cooperatives were found withdrawing money from the cooperatives arbitrarily and investing the money at their whims, which risked billions of rupees deposited by the members. The investigation also found that the cooperatives lacked any kind of regulatory mechanism and auditing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Superintendent of Police at the CIB Hobindra Bogati told New Business Age that billions of rupees of the depositors were trapped in cooperatives and the police had trouble verifying the details. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"During the investigation, it was found that the operators of cooperatives had purchased luxury vehicles with the money deposited in the cooperatives. They also used the money for usury, and bought land in the name of third persons," Bogati said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The investigation of the police has also shown that the family businesses were opened in the name of the parents, sisters, in-laws of the operators of cooperatives while some cooperatives were opened with the motive of embezzling the money of unsuspecting depositors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police concluded that the country's economy has been negatively affected due to the problems in cooperatives. "The problem surfaced due to the dumping of the money in non-productive areas, as a result of which the economy has slumped," said Bogati.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Lalitpur's Deurali Cooperative was found to have embezzled more than Rs 2 billion and the owner of Shiva Shikhar Cooperative, which had a network spread across 35 districts, had embezzled billions of rupees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police data, since mid-July of the current fiscal year, cases have been registered all over the country saying that co-operative operators have cheated Rs 6 billion. A total of 148 people have been arrested in this connection. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">During last fiscal year, the police registered cases related to cooperative fraud worth Rs 7 billion. The cases are sent to the police only after failing to resolve the issue by the local and state governments as well as the Department of Cooperative. The police investigation has shown that by the time all those agencies investigate, the operators of the cooperatives manage to sell their property. As a result, they were unable to return the savings to the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to government data, there are 31,373 cooperatives in operation across the country. They have a collected Rs 478 billion from the depositors and invested Rs 426 billion in loans. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Although the Department of Cooperatives has estimated that around 500 cooperatives are facing problems, it is not known how much money exactly has been embezzled. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police officials involved in investigation, the cooperatives have 73,81,218 depositors. Stakeholders say that thousands of depositors have not been able to get back their money due to political intervention.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">CPN (UML) whip Mahesh Bertaula said that even though his party was serious about the issue of cooperatives, the Nepali Congress has become the obstacle in resolving this issue.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">On the other hand, Chief Whip of Nepali Congress Ramesh Lekhak claims that the ruling parties are busy protecting the co-operative thugs. According to him, the Congress is effortful to ensure justice to the cooperative victims. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Former Secretary Gopinath Mainali sees the need to form a committee to remove the legal obstacles rather than focusing on individuals to solve the problems of cooperatives. "Those with vested interests should not sit in such a committee," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">He said that the state side has not taken any concrete steps to resolve the problems while the main opposition party is linking the issue of cooperatives with the government. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“Why are the political parties not ready to take action by amending the law immediately?" he questioned, adding, "There is no law that allows immediate freezing of the property of directors and officials as soon as cooperatives are declared problematic. The state should make such laws. Legal arrangements should be made to bring those who invest recklessly against the norms of the cooperative to the court.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government has announced the creation of a special regulatory agency to control irregularities in the cooperatives sector. According to Mainali, although the matter of creating such a body was included in the budget many times, the political leadership never implemented it. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"Even though many committees were formed to solve the problem and submitted reports, it was kept in the drawer," said Mainali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20773', 'image' => '20240521071737_20220506015945_Cooperative.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 19:17:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21045', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Dispute Resolution Commission Tells NEA not to Charge Fees after End of Load Shedding', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-May 2018.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NEA cannot levy the full tariff it claims the industries a liable to pay after the Council of Ministers decided last week to implement the recommendations made by the commission chaired by former judge Girish Chandra Lal resolve the electricity tariff dispute.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The commission submitted its report to Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet on May 5</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government formed the commission on January 9 with the mandate to study and submit a report on the disputes related to the tariff of electricity supply through dedicated feeder and trunk lines</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Sushil Chandra Tiwari, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that the Council of Ministers has sent a letter to the ministry to implement the report of the 'Electricity Tariff Dispute Resolution Commission, </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">' regarding the electricity tariff dispute of dedicated feeder and trunk line.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to him, after the report was approved by the Council of Ministers, a letter was sent to the ministry for implementation last Friday. As mentioned in the report, the industrialist will have to pay to the electricity dues to the NEA only from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“The report submitted by the commission has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Now the report will be implemented," said Energy Secretary Tiwari told New Business Age. According to him, the outstanding electricity tariff from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">41</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion. The industrialists will have to pay interest and </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> percent penalty to the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to Tiwari, commission's report has suggested that it is not appropriate to collect fees twice from the industrialists, especially after mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2020</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> after the NEA announced an end to loadshedding. The NEA has been demanding an additional Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">44</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion from the industrialists as electricity charge for this period, which the commission report does not allow the state-owned utility to collect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">There has been a dispute between the industrialists and the electricity authority on this issue for a long time. The authority even disconnected the lines of some industries after the industrialists took a stand of not paying the electricity tariff.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20772', 'image' => '20240521041228_20220330051709_c1d0e043-electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 16:11:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21044', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Surges by 23.94 Points to Close at 2115.94', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">May 21: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">During today’s trading, 317 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 73,667 transactions. As many as 13,241,217 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.20 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 24 crores. Janaki Finance Limited (JFL), Nerude Mirmire Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (NMLBBL), and Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SLBSL) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Conversely, Shine Resunga Development Bank (SHINE) faced the highest loss of 4.28%, closing at a market price of Rs 400 per share.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in positive territory except the Development Bank Index and the Trading Index.</span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20771', 'image' => '20240521033434_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:25:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21043', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Promotion Event on Nepal held in Beijing ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday. </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 event aimed to develop network among tour and travel operators of Nepal and China, the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, states a press release issued by the organisers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Ambassador of Nepal to the People's Republic of China, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, highlighted the major tourism attractions of Nepal and encouraged the participants to jointly cooperate to make the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2025 a success, which was jointly declared by Nepal and China. He also urged the participants to build network as to enhance tourism cooperation between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the event, NTB Senior Officer Kundan Sharma Mishra made a presentation promoting Nepal as an attractive tourism destination focusing on Pokhara which was recently declared as the tourism capital of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, NATTA president Hari Ram Adhikari and member Khim Bahadur Nepali delivered statements about Nepal's tourism potentials. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme was followed by an interactive B2B session. The event was attended by approximately 150 participants including Nepali and Chinese tour and travel operators, business persons working in tourism sector as well as media representatives. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20770', 'image' => '20240521031857_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:18:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21042', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Yet to Spend Rs 435 Billion Budget with Two Months Left for Current FY to End', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government announced a budget of Rs 1751 billion for the current year and revised it to Rs 1530 billion in January through the mid-tern review of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Financial Comptroller General Office, the constitutional body that keeps track of government’s expenditure, the government has spent only Rs 1095 billion as of last Sunday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With only two months remaining in the current fiscal year and signs of increasing political instability, questions have arisen about how the government will spend the rest of the budget. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Monday amid the obstruction of parliament by the main opposition Nepali Congress. Three governments have been formed in one year under the leadership of Prime Minister Dahal. Due to political instability, government spending is affected due to lack of timely decisions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As the government has allocated a budget of Rs 1141 billion for the current expenses. After the mid-tern review, the estimate expenditure under this heading has been fixed at Rs 1007 billion. The FCGO has said that the government has already spent Rs 770 billion under the current expenses as of Sunday. According to the FCGO, the government has allocated 302 billion under the heading of capital expenditure for in the current fiscal year, but has spent only Rs 119 billion so far. According to the revised estimate, the government has to spend Rs 254 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In Nepal, the capital expenditure for development works is mostly spent in the months of March, April, May and June. However, even at this period, the capital expenditure has not been much encouraging. According to the revised estimate, the government will have to spend Rs 135 billion under the heading of capital expenditure. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, a the government had allocated a budget of Rs 307 billion for financial management, which was revised to Rs 268 billion through the mid-tern review. According to the data of the FCGO, the government has already spent Rs 205 billion has under this heading as of Sunday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Government officials are blaming each other for the lackluster expenditure. According to the Ministry of Finance, there is no reason to stop the expenditure as the Minister for Finance and the ministry have repeatedly instructed the secretaries of the related ministries and heads of agencies to increase the expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Recently, the Finance Ministry instructed the Department of Roads to send a report on work progress along with recommendations to resolve the problems it faces. However, the department has not yet submitted its report," an official of the budget division of the Ministry of Finance told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, no project and work has been stopped due to lack of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, the expenditure situation is not satisfactory. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Economist Bimal Koirala highlights that the unspent budget is due to errors in the government’s budget formulation process, lack of political will, and structural issues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> “Due to errors in budgeting, there is no capital expenditure and no development. That is what has happened so far," he said. "The size of the budget has become an arbitrary number and the trend of reducing it through the mid-term review is not a good practice. The government should bring a realistic budget."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Koirala says that due to the fact that the government has not properly implemented the report of the Expenditure Review Commission, the problems have been persisting for years. "This situation will continue until the government identifies the problems in the budget spending system and takes initiatives to solve them," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20769', 'image' => '20240521010943_budget.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 13:09:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21041', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Manaslu Conservation Area Collects over Rs 25 Million in Revenue ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year. The office collected the amount as entry fee from tourists visiting the area from July 17, 2023 to April 12, 2024. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 8,302 foreign tourists visited the area during the review period, according to the office. It collected Rs 24.9 million from them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 152 foreign tourists of SAARC countries had visited the Manaslu Conservation Area during this period. A total of Rs 152,000 in revenue was collected from them, said MCAP Chief Santosh Sherchan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The office has determined Rs 1,000 as entry fee for a tourist of SAARC countries visiting the area while tourists from other countries have to pay Rs 3,000 per person. It has already collected more revenue in nine months this year as compared to previous year as number of tourists visiting Manaslu conservation area has increased this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sherchan shared that more than 12,000 foreign tourists have been expected at Manaslu conservation area this year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20768', 'image' => '20240521121934_20221101102053_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 12:19:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21040', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Hits Record High as Iran Shock Triggers Safe Haven Investment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">According to AFP, copper also struck an all-time peak and silver jumped to the highest level in more than 11 years -- with markets generally gaining from a brighter economic outlook.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold had already hit a series of record highs this year and Nepal was not an exception.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The country also witnessed a record-high price of gold on Monday with the precious yellow metal traded at Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">141,800 per tola</span> (11.66 grams) before shedding Rs 1200 per tola on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Asian and European stock markets began the week higher, having recently struck all-time peaks along with indices on Wall Street.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The metals are priced in the dollar, which has come under pressure recently from expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon start to cut interest rates as inflation cools.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold struck a record $2,450.07 an ounce in the international market on Monday, while copper's all-time high stood at $11,104 per tonne.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic, AFP added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Foreign countries had been closely following the search at a time of high regional tensions over the Gaza war raging between Israel and Hamas since October 7.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"Gold and copper have hit record highs, (and) silver jumped to an 11-year high... after the death of Iran's president in a helicopter crash," AFP quoted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto trading group, as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"There is a clear geopolitical premium since October 7th," he said, adding that "expectations the Fed will cut rates soon is helping".</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Analysts said market sentiment was boosted additionally by China's plan to support its struggling property sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The positive start to the week for equities came after Wall Street's Dow index ended above 40,000 points for the first time on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Oil prices dipped after initially jumping on the Iran news, added the news agency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Investors are looking to the release Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's May policy decision, hoping for some insight into the thinking of decision-makers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The release comes after data last week showed US inflation easing in April, reviving hopes the central bank would cut interest rates twice this year.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20767', 'image' => '20240521114649_20240310065333_20240307024448_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:45:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21039', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Country's 14% of Health Equipment Remains Unused ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. The survey of biomedical equipment in Nepal's public health institutions conducted by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with Lifeline Enterprises showed that 2,645 health equipment in the country are still not installed in the health institutions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of Lifeline Enterprises Anjali Tiwariwal said that data were collected from 11 hospitals of Bagmati, Koshi, Madhesh, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces adding that 1,823 health equipment are dysfunctional. The study carried out from October 2023 to April 2024 surveyed the status of 19,174 hospitals. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bhaskar Rijal, a biomedical engineer involved in the study team, said that 1,174 sets of equipment are unused despite being in proper condition. </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"">"Those equipment imported during the time of COVID-19 are left unused for lack of Covid-19 patients," Rijal added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rijal further stated that the CT scan machines of Bir Hospital, APF Hospital and Koshi Hospital have turned dysfunctional with severe complaints about the charger board and battery. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of Bir Hospital Dr Santosh Poudel shared that the hospital lacks biomedical engineers to repair and run such equipment. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20766', 'image' => '20240521111257_20200224061638_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:12:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </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"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </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"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </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"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21047', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government of Nepal and World Bank Launch $4.6 Million Project to Strengthen Response to GBV', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal (GoN) and the World Bank (WB) together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on Tuesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a joint statement, the GoN and the WB said that the project was jointly launched by Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, Bhagbati Chaudhary and World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the three-year project will help increase women’s and girls’ access to multisectoral gender-based violence (GBV) response services such as legal aid, psychosocial counseling, and medical support in six municipalities in Koshi and Lumbini provinces. It aims to benefit 49,000 women and girls who have experienced violence through better access to quality services.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Addressing gender-based violence is a priority for the government of Nepal. This project will help establish a functioning coordination system to link GBV response mechanisms at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels,” said</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project is financed by a $4.6 million grant from the State and Peacebuilding Trust Fund and will be implemented by the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project will help strengthen institutional frameworks and capacity, pilot innovative GBV service models with a focus on improving service coverage and quality, and promote behavior change among first responders and local stakeholders for improved GBV response, the statement added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This project will help empower women and girls to readily access GBV services, report violence, and seek help, especially in the most remote and hard to reach areas. This is key to supporting Nepal’s development that is green, resilient, and inclusive,</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">” </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed the financing agreements for the project on April 24, 2024.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20774', 'image' => '20240521085600_GOGs7zGbAAADCYP.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 20:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21046', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIB Investigation into Cooperatives Fraud Finds Embezzlement of Billions of Rupees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">BIJAY DAMASE</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Pokharel said that even though he went from pillar to post knocking the doors of the Department of Cooperatives as well as the municipality to get back his money, the cooperative is yet to release the amount. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"The fraudulent operators of the cooperative have political protection, that's why they are not in favor of returning the money," he accused. The deposits of hundreds of other depositors are also trapped in the cooperative. The directors of Deurali have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 2 billion of the depositors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Similarly, Rakesh Murarka said that he worked day and night for five years to earn Rs 8 million and deposited the money in National Development Cooperative Cooperative. He says that he requested all concerned bodies to return his money but was denied justice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"I even visited political party leaders but in vain," he said expressing his pain. According to Murarka, the depositors of the National Cooperative have lodged a police complaint against its director for embezzlement of Rs 332.22 million. However, the cooperative has not returned their savings yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is currently investigating the irregularities in about a dozen cooperatives including these two. CIB's research has shown that most of the cooperatives have collapsed due to indiscriminate and excessive investment in unproductive sectors. It has been found that many co-operatives had given loans without collateral and many such debtors have run away.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police investigation has also revealed that the operators of the problematic cooperatives were found withdrawing money from the cooperatives arbitrarily and investing the money at their whims, which risked billions of rupees deposited by the members. The investigation also found that the cooperatives lacked any kind of regulatory mechanism and auditing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Superintendent of Police at the CIB Hobindra Bogati told New Business Age that billions of rupees of the depositors were trapped in cooperatives and the police had trouble verifying the details. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"During the investigation, it was found that the operators of cooperatives had purchased luxury vehicles with the money deposited in the cooperatives. They also used the money for usury, and bought land in the name of third persons," Bogati said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The investigation of the police has also shown that the family businesses were opened in the name of the parents, sisters, in-laws of the operators of cooperatives while some cooperatives were opened with the motive of embezzling the money of unsuspecting depositors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police concluded that the country's economy has been negatively affected due to the problems in cooperatives. "The problem surfaced due to the dumping of the money in non-productive areas, as a result of which the economy has slumped," said Bogati.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Lalitpur's Deurali Cooperative was found to have embezzled more than Rs 2 billion and the owner of Shiva Shikhar Cooperative, which had a network spread across 35 districts, had embezzled billions of rupees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police data, since mid-July of the current fiscal year, cases have been registered all over the country saying that co-operative operators have cheated Rs 6 billion. A total of 148 people have been arrested in this connection. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">During last fiscal year, the police registered cases related to cooperative fraud worth Rs 7 billion. The cases are sent to the police only after failing to resolve the issue by the local and state governments as well as the Department of Cooperative. The police investigation has shown that by the time all those agencies investigate, the operators of the cooperatives manage to sell their property. As a result, they were unable to return the savings to the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to government data, there are 31,373 cooperatives in operation across the country. They have a collected Rs 478 billion from the depositors and invested Rs 426 billion in loans. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Although the Department of Cooperatives has estimated that around 500 cooperatives are facing problems, it is not known how much money exactly has been embezzled. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police officials involved in investigation, the cooperatives have 73,81,218 depositors. Stakeholders say that thousands of depositors have not been able to get back their money due to political intervention.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">CPN (UML) whip Mahesh Bertaula said that even though his party was serious about the issue of cooperatives, the Nepali Congress has become the obstacle in resolving this issue.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">On the other hand, Chief Whip of Nepali Congress Ramesh Lekhak claims that the ruling parties are busy protecting the co-operative thugs. According to him, the Congress is effortful to ensure justice to the cooperative victims. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Former Secretary Gopinath Mainali sees the need to form a committee to remove the legal obstacles rather than focusing on individuals to solve the problems of cooperatives. "Those with vested interests should not sit in such a committee," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">He said that the state side has not taken any concrete steps to resolve the problems while the main opposition party is linking the issue of cooperatives with the government. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“Why are the political parties not ready to take action by amending the law immediately?" he questioned, adding, "There is no law that allows immediate freezing of the property of directors and officials as soon as cooperatives are declared problematic. The state should make such laws. Legal arrangements should be made to bring those who invest recklessly against the norms of the cooperative to the court.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government has announced the creation of a special regulatory agency to control irregularities in the cooperatives sector. According to Mainali, although the matter of creating such a body was included in the budget many times, the political leadership never implemented it. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"Even though many committees were formed to solve the problem and submitted reports, it was kept in the drawer," said Mainali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20773', 'image' => '20240521071737_20220506015945_Cooperative.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 19:17:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21045', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Dispute Resolution Commission Tells NEA not to Charge Fees after End of Load Shedding', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-May 2018.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NEA cannot levy the full tariff it claims the industries a liable to pay after the Council of Ministers decided last week to implement the recommendations made by the commission chaired by former judge Girish Chandra Lal resolve the electricity tariff dispute.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The commission submitted its report to Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet on May 5</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government formed the commission on January 9 with the mandate to study and submit a report on the disputes related to the tariff of electricity supply through dedicated feeder and trunk lines</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Sushil Chandra Tiwari, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that the Council of Ministers has sent a letter to the ministry to implement the report of the 'Electricity Tariff Dispute Resolution Commission, </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">' regarding the electricity tariff dispute of dedicated feeder and trunk line.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to him, after the report was approved by the Council of Ministers, a letter was sent to the ministry for implementation last Friday. As mentioned in the report, the industrialist will have to pay to the electricity dues to the NEA only from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“The report submitted by the commission has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Now the report will be implemented," said Energy Secretary Tiwari told New Business Age. According to him, the outstanding electricity tariff from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">41</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion. The industrialists will have to pay interest and </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> percent penalty to the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to Tiwari, commission's report has suggested that it is not appropriate to collect fees twice from the industrialists, especially after mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2020</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> after the NEA announced an end to loadshedding. The NEA has been demanding an additional Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">44</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion from the industrialists as electricity charge for this period, which the commission report does not allow the state-owned utility to collect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">There has been a dispute between the industrialists and the electricity authority on this issue for a long time. The authority even disconnected the lines of some industries after the industrialists took a stand of not paying the electricity tariff.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20772', 'image' => '20240521041228_20220330051709_c1d0e043-electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 16:11:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21044', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Surges by 23.94 Points to Close at 2115.94', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">May 21: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">During today’s trading, 317 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 73,667 transactions. As many as 13,241,217 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.20 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 24 crores. Janaki Finance Limited (JFL), Nerude Mirmire Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (NMLBBL), and Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SLBSL) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Conversely, Shine Resunga Development Bank (SHINE) faced the highest loss of 4.28%, closing at a market price of Rs 400 per share.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in positive territory except the Development Bank Index and the Trading Index.</span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20771', 'image' => '20240521033434_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:25:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21043', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Promotion Event on Nepal held in Beijing ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday. </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 event aimed to develop network among tour and travel operators of Nepal and China, the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, states a press release issued by the organisers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Ambassador of Nepal to the People's Republic of China, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, highlighted the major tourism attractions of Nepal and encouraged the participants to jointly cooperate to make the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2025 a success, which was jointly declared by Nepal and China. He also urged the participants to build network as to enhance tourism cooperation between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the event, NTB Senior Officer Kundan Sharma Mishra made a presentation promoting Nepal as an attractive tourism destination focusing on Pokhara which was recently declared as the tourism capital of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, NATTA president Hari Ram Adhikari and member Khim Bahadur Nepali delivered statements about Nepal's tourism potentials. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme was followed by an interactive B2B session. The event was attended by approximately 150 participants including Nepali and Chinese tour and travel operators, business persons working in tourism sector as well as media representatives. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20770', 'image' => '20240521031857_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:18:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21042', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Yet to Spend Rs 435 Billion Budget with Two Months Left for Current FY to End', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government announced a budget of Rs 1751 billion for the current year and revised it to Rs 1530 billion in January through the mid-tern review of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Financial Comptroller General Office, the constitutional body that keeps track of government’s expenditure, the government has spent only Rs 1095 billion as of last Sunday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With only two months remaining in the current fiscal year and signs of increasing political instability, questions have arisen about how the government will spend the rest of the budget. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Monday amid the obstruction of parliament by the main opposition Nepali Congress. Three governments have been formed in one year under the leadership of Prime Minister Dahal. Due to political instability, government spending is affected due to lack of timely decisions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As the government has allocated a budget of Rs 1141 billion for the current expenses. After the mid-tern review, the estimate expenditure under this heading has been fixed at Rs 1007 billion. The FCGO has said that the government has already spent Rs 770 billion under the current expenses as of Sunday. According to the FCGO, the government has allocated 302 billion under the heading of capital expenditure for in the current fiscal year, but has spent only Rs 119 billion so far. According to the revised estimate, the government has to spend Rs 254 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In Nepal, the capital expenditure for development works is mostly spent in the months of March, April, May and June. However, even at this period, the capital expenditure has not been much encouraging. According to the revised estimate, the government will have to spend Rs 135 billion under the heading of capital expenditure. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, a the government had allocated a budget of Rs 307 billion for financial management, which was revised to Rs 268 billion through the mid-tern review. According to the data of the FCGO, the government has already spent Rs 205 billion has under this heading as of Sunday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Government officials are blaming each other for the lackluster expenditure. According to the Ministry of Finance, there is no reason to stop the expenditure as the Minister for Finance and the ministry have repeatedly instructed the secretaries of the related ministries and heads of agencies to increase the expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Recently, the Finance Ministry instructed the Department of Roads to send a report on work progress along with recommendations to resolve the problems it faces. However, the department has not yet submitted its report," an official of the budget division of the Ministry of Finance told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, no project and work has been stopped due to lack of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, the expenditure situation is not satisfactory. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Economist Bimal Koirala highlights that the unspent budget is due to errors in the government’s budget formulation process, lack of political will, and structural issues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> “Due to errors in budgeting, there is no capital expenditure and no development. That is what has happened so far," he said. "The size of the budget has become an arbitrary number and the trend of reducing it through the mid-term review is not a good practice. The government should bring a realistic budget."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Koirala says that due to the fact that the government has not properly implemented the report of the Expenditure Review Commission, the problems have been persisting for years. "This situation will continue until the government identifies the problems in the budget spending system and takes initiatives to solve them," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20769', 'image' => '20240521010943_budget.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 13:09:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21041', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Manaslu Conservation Area Collects over Rs 25 Million in Revenue ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year. The office collected the amount as entry fee from tourists visiting the area from July 17, 2023 to April 12, 2024. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 8,302 foreign tourists visited the area during the review period, according to the office. It collected Rs 24.9 million from them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 152 foreign tourists of SAARC countries had visited the Manaslu Conservation Area during this period. A total of Rs 152,000 in revenue was collected from them, said MCAP Chief Santosh Sherchan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The office has determined Rs 1,000 as entry fee for a tourist of SAARC countries visiting the area while tourists from other countries have to pay Rs 3,000 per person. It has already collected more revenue in nine months this year as compared to previous year as number of tourists visiting Manaslu conservation area has increased this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sherchan shared that more than 12,000 foreign tourists have been expected at Manaslu conservation area this year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20768', 'image' => '20240521121934_20221101102053_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 12:19:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21040', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Hits Record High as Iran Shock Triggers Safe Haven Investment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">According to AFP, copper also struck an all-time peak and silver jumped to the highest level in more than 11 years -- with markets generally gaining from a brighter economic outlook.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold had already hit a series of record highs this year and Nepal was not an exception.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The country also witnessed a record-high price of gold on Monday with the precious yellow metal traded at Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">141,800 per tola</span> (11.66 grams) before shedding Rs 1200 per tola on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Asian and European stock markets began the week higher, having recently struck all-time peaks along with indices on Wall Street.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The metals are priced in the dollar, which has come under pressure recently from expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon start to cut interest rates as inflation cools.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold struck a record $2,450.07 an ounce in the international market on Monday, while copper's all-time high stood at $11,104 per tonne.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic, AFP added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Foreign countries had been closely following the search at a time of high regional tensions over the Gaza war raging between Israel and Hamas since October 7.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"Gold and copper have hit record highs, (and) silver jumped to an 11-year high... after the death of Iran's president in a helicopter crash," AFP quoted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto trading group, as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"There is a clear geopolitical premium since October 7th," he said, adding that "expectations the Fed will cut rates soon is helping".</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Analysts said market sentiment was boosted additionally by China's plan to support its struggling property sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The positive start to the week for equities came after Wall Street's Dow index ended above 40,000 points for the first time on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Oil prices dipped after initially jumping on the Iran news, added the news agency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Investors are looking to the release Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's May policy decision, hoping for some insight into the thinking of decision-makers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The release comes after data last week showed US inflation easing in April, reviving hopes the central bank would cut interest rates twice this year.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20767', 'image' => '20240521114649_20240310065333_20240307024448_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:45:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21039', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Country's 14% of Health Equipment Remains Unused ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. The survey of biomedical equipment in Nepal's public health institutions conducted by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with Lifeline Enterprises showed that 2,645 health equipment in the country are still not installed in the health institutions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of Lifeline Enterprises Anjali Tiwariwal said that data were collected from 11 hospitals of Bagmati, Koshi, Madhesh, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces adding that 1,823 health equipment are dysfunctional. The study carried out from October 2023 to April 2024 surveyed the status of 19,174 hospitals. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bhaskar Rijal, a biomedical engineer involved in the study team, said that 1,174 sets of equipment are unused despite being in proper condition. </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"">"Those equipment imported during the time of COVID-19 are left unused for lack of Covid-19 patients," Rijal added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rijal further stated that the CT scan machines of Bir Hospital, APF Hospital and Koshi Hospital have turned dysfunctional with severe complaints about the charger board and battery. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of Bir Hospital Dr Santosh Poudel shared that the hospital lacks biomedical engineers to repair and run such equipment. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20766', 'image' => '20240521111257_20200224061638_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:12:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </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"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </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"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </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"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21047', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government of Nepal and World Bank Launch $4.6 Million Project to Strengthen Response to GBV', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal (GoN) and the World Bank (WB) together launched the Institutionalizing Gender-Based Violence Response in Federal Nepal Project on Tuesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a joint statement, the GoN and the WB said that the project was jointly launched by Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, Bhagbati Chaudhary and World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the three-year project will help increase women’s and girls’ access to multisectoral gender-based violence (GBV) response services such as legal aid, psychosocial counseling, and medical support in six municipalities in Koshi and Lumbini provinces. It aims to benefit 49,000 women and girls who have experienced violence through better access to quality services.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Addressing gender-based violence is a priority for the government of Nepal. This project will help establish a functioning coordination system to link GBV response mechanisms at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels,” said</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project is financed by a $4.6 million grant from the State and Peacebuilding Trust Fund and will be implemented by the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project will help strengthen institutional frameworks and capacity, pilot innovative GBV service models with a focus on improving service coverage and quality, and promote behavior change among first responders and local stakeholders for improved GBV response, the statement added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This project will help empower women and girls to readily access GBV services, report violence, and seek help, especially in the most remote and hard to reach areas. This is key to supporting Nepal’s development that is green, resilient, and inclusive,</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">” </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed the financing agreements for the project on April 24, 2024.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20774', 'image' => '20240521085600_GOGs7zGbAAADCYP.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 20:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21046', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIB Investigation into Cooperatives Fraud Finds Embezzlement of Billions of Rupees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">BIJAY DAMASE</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Pokharel said that even though he went from pillar to post knocking the doors of the Department of Cooperatives as well as the municipality to get back his money, the cooperative is yet to release the amount. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"The fraudulent operators of the cooperative have political protection, that's why they are not in favor of returning the money," he accused. The deposits of hundreds of other depositors are also trapped in the cooperative. The directors of Deurali have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 2 billion of the depositors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Similarly, Rakesh Murarka said that he worked day and night for five years to earn Rs 8 million and deposited the money in National Development Cooperative Cooperative. He says that he requested all concerned bodies to return his money but was denied justice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"I even visited political party leaders but in vain," he said expressing his pain. According to Murarka, the depositors of the National Cooperative have lodged a police complaint against its director for embezzlement of Rs 332.22 million. However, the cooperative has not returned their savings yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is currently investigating the irregularities in about a dozen cooperatives including these two. CIB's research has shown that most of the cooperatives have collapsed due to indiscriminate and excessive investment in unproductive sectors. It has been found that many co-operatives had given loans without collateral and many such debtors have run away.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police investigation has also revealed that the operators of the problematic cooperatives were found withdrawing money from the cooperatives arbitrarily and investing the money at their whims, which risked billions of rupees deposited by the members. The investigation also found that the cooperatives lacked any kind of regulatory mechanism and auditing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Superintendent of Police at the CIB Hobindra Bogati told New Business Age that billions of rupees of the depositors were trapped in cooperatives and the police had trouble verifying the details. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"During the investigation, it was found that the operators of cooperatives had purchased luxury vehicles with the money deposited in the cooperatives. They also used the money for usury, and bought land in the name of third persons," Bogati said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The investigation of the police has also shown that the family businesses were opened in the name of the parents, sisters, in-laws of the operators of cooperatives while some cooperatives were opened with the motive of embezzling the money of unsuspecting depositors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police concluded that the country's economy has been negatively affected due to the problems in cooperatives. "The problem surfaced due to the dumping of the money in non-productive areas, as a result of which the economy has slumped," said Bogati.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Lalitpur's Deurali Cooperative was found to have embezzled more than Rs 2 billion and the owner of Shiva Shikhar Cooperative, which had a network spread across 35 districts, had embezzled billions of rupees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police data, since mid-July of the current fiscal year, cases have been registered all over the country saying that co-operative operators have cheated Rs 6 billion. A total of 148 people have been arrested in this connection. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">During last fiscal year, the police registered cases related to cooperative fraud worth Rs 7 billion. The cases are sent to the police only after failing to resolve the issue by the local and state governments as well as the Department of Cooperative. The police investigation has shown that by the time all those agencies investigate, the operators of the cooperatives manage to sell their property. As a result, they were unable to return the savings to the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to government data, there are 31,373 cooperatives in operation across the country. They have a collected Rs 478 billion from the depositors and invested Rs 426 billion in loans. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Although the Department of Cooperatives has estimated that around 500 cooperatives are facing problems, it is not known how much money exactly has been embezzled. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police officials involved in investigation, the cooperatives have 73,81,218 depositors. Stakeholders say that thousands of depositors have not been able to get back their money due to political intervention.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">CPN (UML) whip Mahesh Bertaula said that even though his party was serious about the issue of cooperatives, the Nepali Congress has become the obstacle in resolving this issue.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">On the other hand, Chief Whip of Nepali Congress Ramesh Lekhak claims that the ruling parties are busy protecting the co-operative thugs. According to him, the Congress is effortful to ensure justice to the cooperative victims. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Former Secretary Gopinath Mainali sees the need to form a committee to remove the legal obstacles rather than focusing on individuals to solve the problems of cooperatives. "Those with vested interests should not sit in such a committee," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">He said that the state side has not taken any concrete steps to resolve the problems while the main opposition party is linking the issue of cooperatives with the government. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“Why are the political parties not ready to take action by amending the law immediately?" he questioned, adding, "There is no law that allows immediate freezing of the property of directors and officials as soon as cooperatives are declared problematic. The state should make such laws. Legal arrangements should be made to bring those who invest recklessly against the norms of the cooperative to the court.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government has announced the creation of a special regulatory agency to control irregularities in the cooperatives sector. According to Mainali, although the matter of creating such a body was included in the budget many times, the political leadership never implemented it. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"Even though many committees were formed to solve the problem and submitted reports, it was kept in the drawer," said Mainali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20773', 'image' => '20240521071737_20220506015945_Cooperative.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 19:17:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21045', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Dispute Resolution Commission Tells NEA not to Charge Fees after End of Load Shedding', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-May 2018.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NEA cannot levy the full tariff it claims the industries a liable to pay after the Council of Ministers decided last week to implement the recommendations made by the commission chaired by former judge Girish Chandra Lal resolve the electricity tariff dispute.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The commission submitted its report to Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet on May 5</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government formed the commission on January 9 with the mandate to study and submit a report on the disputes related to the tariff of electricity supply through dedicated feeder and trunk lines</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Sushil Chandra Tiwari, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that the Council of Ministers has sent a letter to the ministry to implement the report of the 'Electricity Tariff Dispute Resolution Commission, </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">' regarding the electricity tariff dispute of dedicated feeder and trunk line.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to him, after the report was approved by the Council of Ministers, a letter was sent to the ministry for implementation last Friday. As mentioned in the report, the industrialist will have to pay to the electricity dues to the NEA only from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“The report submitted by the commission has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Now the report will be implemented," said Energy Secretary Tiwari told New Business Age. According to him, the outstanding electricity tariff from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">41</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion. The industrialists will have to pay interest and </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> percent penalty to the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to Tiwari, commission's report has suggested that it is not appropriate to collect fees twice from the industrialists, especially after mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2020</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> after the NEA announced an end to loadshedding. The NEA has been demanding an additional Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">44</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion from the industrialists as electricity charge for this period, which the commission report does not allow the state-owned utility to collect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">There has been a dispute between the industrialists and the electricity authority on this issue for a long time. The authority even disconnected the lines of some industries after the industrialists took a stand of not paying the electricity tariff.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20772', 'image' => '20240521041228_20220330051709_c1d0e043-electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 16:11:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21044', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Surges by 23.94 Points to Close at 2115.94', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">May 21: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">During today’s trading, 317 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 73,667 transactions. As many as 13,241,217 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.20 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 24 crores. Janaki Finance Limited (JFL), Nerude Mirmire Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (NMLBBL), and Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SLBSL) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Conversely, Shine Resunga Development Bank (SHINE) faced the highest loss of 4.28%, closing at a market price of Rs 400 per share.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in positive territory except the Development Bank Index and the Trading Index.</span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20771', 'image' => '20240521033434_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:25:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21043', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Promotion Event on Nepal held in Beijing ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday. </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 event aimed to develop network among tour and travel operators of Nepal and China, the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, states a press release issued by the organisers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Ambassador of Nepal to the People's Republic of China, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, highlighted the major tourism attractions of Nepal and encouraged the participants to jointly cooperate to make the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2025 a success, which was jointly declared by Nepal and China. He also urged the participants to build network as to enhance tourism cooperation between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the event, NTB Senior Officer Kundan Sharma Mishra made a presentation promoting Nepal as an attractive tourism destination focusing on Pokhara which was recently declared as the tourism capital of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, NATTA president Hari Ram Adhikari and member Khim Bahadur Nepali delivered statements about Nepal's tourism potentials. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme was followed by an interactive B2B session. The event was attended by approximately 150 participants including Nepali and Chinese tour and travel operators, business persons working in tourism sector as well as media representatives. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20770', 'image' => '20240521031857_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:18:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21042', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Yet to Spend Rs 435 Billion Budget with Two Months Left for Current FY to End', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government announced a budget of Rs 1751 billion for the current year and revised it to Rs 1530 billion in January through the mid-tern review of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Financial Comptroller General Office, the constitutional body that keeps track of government’s expenditure, the government has spent only Rs 1095 billion as of last Sunday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With only two months remaining in the current fiscal year and signs of increasing political instability, questions have arisen about how the government will spend the rest of the budget. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Monday amid the obstruction of parliament by the main opposition Nepali Congress. Three governments have been formed in one year under the leadership of Prime Minister Dahal. Due to political instability, government spending is affected due to lack of timely decisions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As the government has allocated a budget of Rs 1141 billion for the current expenses. After the mid-tern review, the estimate expenditure under this heading has been fixed at Rs 1007 billion. The FCGO has said that the government has already spent Rs 770 billion under the current expenses as of Sunday. According to the FCGO, the government has allocated 302 billion under the heading of capital expenditure for in the current fiscal year, but has spent only Rs 119 billion so far. According to the revised estimate, the government has to spend Rs 254 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In Nepal, the capital expenditure for development works is mostly spent in the months of March, April, May and June. However, even at this period, the capital expenditure has not been much encouraging. According to the revised estimate, the government will have to spend Rs 135 billion under the heading of capital expenditure. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, a the government had allocated a budget of Rs 307 billion for financial management, which was revised to Rs 268 billion through the mid-tern review. According to the data of the FCGO, the government has already spent Rs 205 billion has under this heading as of Sunday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Government officials are blaming each other for the lackluster expenditure. According to the Ministry of Finance, there is no reason to stop the expenditure as the Minister for Finance and the ministry have repeatedly instructed the secretaries of the related ministries and heads of agencies to increase the expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Recently, the Finance Ministry instructed the Department of Roads to send a report on work progress along with recommendations to resolve the problems it faces. However, the department has not yet submitted its report," an official of the budget division of the Ministry of Finance told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, no project and work has been stopped due to lack of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, the expenditure situation is not satisfactory. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Economist Bimal Koirala highlights that the unspent budget is due to errors in the government’s budget formulation process, lack of political will, and structural issues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> “Due to errors in budgeting, there is no capital expenditure and no development. That is what has happened so far," he said. "The size of the budget has become an arbitrary number and the trend of reducing it through the mid-term review is not a good practice. The government should bring a realistic budget."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Koirala says that due to the fact that the government has not properly implemented the report of the Expenditure Review Commission, the problems have been persisting for years. "This situation will continue until the government identifies the problems in the budget spending system and takes initiatives to solve them," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20769', 'image' => '20240521010943_budget.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 13:09:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21041', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Manaslu Conservation Area Collects over Rs 25 Million in Revenue ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year. The office collected the amount as entry fee from tourists visiting the area from July 17, 2023 to April 12, 2024. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 8,302 foreign tourists visited the area during the review period, according to the office. It collected Rs 24.9 million from them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 152 foreign tourists of SAARC countries had visited the Manaslu Conservation Area during this period. A total of Rs 152,000 in revenue was collected from them, said MCAP Chief Santosh Sherchan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The office has determined Rs 1,000 as entry fee for a tourist of SAARC countries visiting the area while tourists from other countries have to pay Rs 3,000 per person. It has already collected more revenue in nine months this year as compared to previous year as number of tourists visiting Manaslu conservation area has increased this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sherchan shared that more than 12,000 foreign tourists have been expected at Manaslu conservation area this year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20768', 'image' => '20240521121934_20221101102053_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 12:19:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21040', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Hits Record High as Iran Shock Triggers Safe Haven Investment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">According to AFP, copper also struck an all-time peak and silver jumped to the highest level in more than 11 years -- with markets generally gaining from a brighter economic outlook.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold had already hit a series of record highs this year and Nepal was not an exception.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The country also witnessed a record-high price of gold on Monday with the precious yellow metal traded at Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">141,800 per tola</span> (11.66 grams) before shedding Rs 1200 per tola on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Asian and European stock markets began the week higher, having recently struck all-time peaks along with indices on Wall Street.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The metals are priced in the dollar, which has come under pressure recently from expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon start to cut interest rates as inflation cools.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold struck a record $2,450.07 an ounce in the international market on Monday, while copper's all-time high stood at $11,104 per tonne.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic, AFP added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Foreign countries had been closely following the search at a time of high regional tensions over the Gaza war raging between Israel and Hamas since October 7.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"Gold and copper have hit record highs, (and) silver jumped to an 11-year high... after the death of Iran's president in a helicopter crash," AFP quoted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto trading group, as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"There is a clear geopolitical premium since October 7th," he said, adding that "expectations the Fed will cut rates soon is helping".</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Analysts said market sentiment was boosted additionally by China's plan to support its struggling property sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The positive start to the week for equities came after Wall Street's Dow index ended above 40,000 points for the first time on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Oil prices dipped after initially jumping on the Iran news, added the news agency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Investors are looking to the release Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's May policy decision, hoping for some insight into the thinking of decision-makers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The release comes after data last week showed US inflation easing in April, reviving hopes the central bank would cut interest rates twice this year.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20767', 'image' => '20240521114649_20240310065333_20240307024448_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:45:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21039', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Country's 14% of Health Equipment Remains Unused ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. The survey of biomedical equipment in Nepal's public health institutions conducted by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with Lifeline Enterprises showed that 2,645 health equipment in the country are still not installed in the health institutions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of Lifeline Enterprises Anjali Tiwariwal said that data were collected from 11 hospitals of Bagmati, Koshi, Madhesh, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces adding that 1,823 health equipment are dysfunctional. The study carried out from October 2023 to April 2024 surveyed the status of 19,174 hospitals. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bhaskar Rijal, a biomedical engineer involved in the study team, said that 1,174 sets of equipment are unused despite being in proper condition. </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"">"Those equipment imported during the time of COVID-19 are left unused for lack of Covid-19 patients," Rijal added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rijal further stated that the CT scan machines of Bir Hospital, APF Hospital and Koshi Hospital have turned dysfunctional with severe complaints about the charger board and battery. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of Bir Hospital Dr Santosh Poudel shared that the hospital lacks biomedical engineers to repair and run such equipment. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20766', 'image' => '20240521111257_20200224061638_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:12:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </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"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </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"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </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"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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It aims to benefit 49,000 women and girls who have experienced violence through better access to quality services.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“Addressing gender-based violence is a priority for the government of Nepal. This project will help establish a functioning coordination system to link GBV response mechanisms at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels,” said</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister for Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project is financed by a $4.6 million grant from the State and Peacebuilding Trust Fund and will be implemented by the Ministry of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The project will help strengthen institutional frameworks and capacity, pilot innovative GBV service models with a focus on improving service coverage and quality, and promote behavior change among first responders and local stakeholders for improved GBV response, the statement added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“This project will help empower women and girls to readily access GBV services, report violence, and seek help, especially in the most remote and hard to reach areas. This is key to supporting Nepal’s development that is green, resilient, and inclusive,</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">” </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said Faris Hadad-Zervos.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed the financing agreements for the project on April 24, 2024.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20774', 'image' => '20240521085600_GOGs7zGbAAADCYP.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 20:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21046', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIB Investigation into Cooperatives Fraud Finds Embezzlement of Billions of Rupees', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">BIJAY DAMASE</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: Ram Chandra Pokharel is a member of the problematic Deurali Savings and Credit Cooperative. He said that he deposited his hard-earned money of Rs 3 million in the cooperative but he has not been able to get it back yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Pokharel said that even though he went from pillar to post knocking the doors of the Department of Cooperatives as well as the municipality to get back his money, the cooperative is yet to release the amount. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"The fraudulent operators of the cooperative have political protection, that's why they are not in favor of returning the money," he accused. The deposits of hundreds of other depositors are also trapped in the cooperative. The directors of Deurali have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 2 billion of the depositors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Similarly, Rakesh Murarka said that he worked day and night for five years to earn Rs 8 million and deposited the money in National Development Cooperative Cooperative. He says that he requested all concerned bodies to return his money but was denied justice.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"I even visited political party leaders but in vain," he said expressing his pain. According to Murarka, the depositors of the National Cooperative have lodged a police complaint against its director for embezzlement of Rs 332.22 million. However, the cooperative has not returned their savings yet.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is currently investigating the irregularities in about a dozen cooperatives including these two. CIB's research has shown that most of the cooperatives have collapsed due to indiscriminate and excessive investment in unproductive sectors. It has been found that many co-operatives had given loans without collateral and many such debtors have run away.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police investigation has also revealed that the operators of the problematic cooperatives were found withdrawing money from the cooperatives arbitrarily and investing the money at their whims, which risked billions of rupees deposited by the members. The investigation also found that the cooperatives lacked any kind of regulatory mechanism and auditing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Superintendent of Police at the CIB Hobindra Bogati told New Business Age that billions of rupees of the depositors were trapped in cooperatives and the police had trouble verifying the details. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"During the investigation, it was found that the operators of cooperatives had purchased luxury vehicles with the money deposited in the cooperatives. They also used the money for usury, and bought land in the name of third persons," Bogati said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The investigation of the police has also shown that the family businesses were opened in the name of the parents, sisters, in-laws of the operators of cooperatives while some cooperatives were opened with the motive of embezzling the money of unsuspecting depositors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The police concluded that the country's economy has been negatively affected due to the problems in cooperatives. "The problem surfaced due to the dumping of the money in non-productive areas, as a result of which the economy has slumped," said Bogati.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Lalitpur's Deurali Cooperative was found to have embezzled more than Rs 2 billion and the owner of Shiva Shikhar Cooperative, which had a network spread across 35 districts, had embezzled billions of rupees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police data, since mid-July of the current fiscal year, cases have been registered all over the country saying that co-operative operators have cheated Rs 6 billion. A total of 148 people have been arrested in this connection. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">During last fiscal year, the police registered cases related to cooperative fraud worth Rs 7 billion. The cases are sent to the police only after failing to resolve the issue by the local and state governments as well as the Department of Cooperative. The police investigation has shown that by the time all those agencies investigate, the operators of the cooperatives manage to sell their property. As a result, they were unable to return the savings to the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to government data, there are 31,373 cooperatives in operation across the country. They have a collected Rs 478 billion from the depositors and invested Rs 426 billion in loans. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Although the Department of Cooperatives has estimated that around 500 cooperatives are facing problems, it is not known how much money exactly has been embezzled. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to the police officials involved in investigation, the cooperatives have 73,81,218 depositors. Stakeholders say that thousands of depositors have not been able to get back their money due to political intervention.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">CPN (UML) whip Mahesh Bertaula said that even though his party was serious about the issue of cooperatives, the Nepali Congress has become the obstacle in resolving this issue.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">On the other hand, Chief Whip of Nepali Congress Ramesh Lekhak claims that the ruling parties are busy protecting the co-operative thugs. According to him, the Congress is effortful to ensure justice to the cooperative victims. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Former Secretary Gopinath Mainali sees the need to form a committee to remove the legal obstacles rather than focusing on individuals to solve the problems of cooperatives. "Those with vested interests should not sit in such a committee," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">He said that the state side has not taken any concrete steps to resolve the problems while the main opposition party is linking the issue of cooperatives with the government. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“Why are the political parties not ready to take action by amending the law immediately?" he questioned, adding, "There is no law that allows immediate freezing of the property of directors and officials as soon as cooperatives are declared problematic. The state should make such laws. Legal arrangements should be made to bring those who invest recklessly against the norms of the cooperative to the court.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government has announced the creation of a special regulatory agency to control irregularities in the cooperatives sector. According to Mainali, although the matter of creating such a body was included in the budget many times, the political leadership never implemented it. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">"Even though many committees were formed to solve the problem and submitted reports, it was kept in the drawer," said Mainali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20773', 'image' => '20240521071737_20220506015945_Cooperative.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 19:17:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21045', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Dispute Resolution Commission Tells NEA not to Charge Fees after End of Load Shedding', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-May 2018.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has granted permission to the Nepal Electricity Authority to charge the tariff for electricity distributed to industries from dedicated feeder and trunk lines from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NEA cannot levy the full tariff it claims the industries a liable to pay after the Council of Ministers decided last week to implement the recommendations made by the commission chaired by former judge Girish Chandra Lal resolve the electricity tariff dispute.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The commission submitted its report to Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet on May 5</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The government formed the commission on January 9 with the mandate to study and submit a report on the disputes related to the tariff of electricity supply through dedicated feeder and trunk lines</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">Sushil Chandra Tiwari, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that the Council of Ministers has sent a letter to the ministry to implement the report of the 'Electricity Tariff Dispute Resolution Commission, </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">' regarding the electricity tariff dispute of dedicated feeder and trunk line.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to him, after the report was approved by the Council of Ministers, a letter was sent to the ministry for implementation last Friday. As mentioned in the report, the industrialist will have to pay to the electricity dues to the NEA only from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">. </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">“The report submitted by the commission has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Now the report will be implemented," said Energy Secretary Tiwari told New Business Age. According to him, the outstanding electricity tariff from mid-January </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">16 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">41</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion. The industrialists will have to pay interest and </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> percent penalty to the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">According to Tiwari, commission's report has suggested that it is not appropriate to collect fees twice from the industrialists, especially after mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">18 to mid-May </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2020</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> after the NEA announced an end to loadshedding. The NEA has been demanding an additional Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">44</span></span> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion from the industrialists as electricity charge for this period, which the commission report does not allow the state-owned utility to collect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">There has been a dispute between the industrialists and the electricity authority on this issue for a long time. The authority even disconnected the lines of some industries after the industrialists took a stand of not paying the electricity tariff.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20772', 'image' => '20240521041228_20220330051709_c1d0e043-electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 16:11:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21044', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Surges by 23.94 Points to Close at 2115.94', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">May 21: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) witnessed a gain of 23.94 points, equivalent to 1.14%, closing at 2115.94 on the third trading day of the week, Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">During today’s trading, 317 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 73,667 transactions. As many as 13,241,217 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.20 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 24 crores. Janaki Finance Limited (JFL), Nerude Mirmire Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (NMLBBL), and Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (SLBSL) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Conversely, Shine Resunga Development Bank (SHINE) faced the highest loss of 4.28%, closing at a market price of Rs 400 per share.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in positive territory except the Development Bank Index and the Trading Index.</span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20771', 'image' => '20240521033434_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:25:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21043', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Promotion Event on Nepal held in Beijing ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) of Gandaki province, hosted a tourism promotion event under the theme "Nepal Sales Mission 2024: Gandaki Province" at the Embassy on Monday. </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 event aimed to develop network among tour and travel operators of Nepal and China, the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, states a press release issued by the organisers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Ambassador of Nepal to the People's Republic of China, Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, highlighted the major tourism attractions of Nepal and encouraged the participants to jointly cooperate to make the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2025 a success, which was jointly declared by Nepal and China. He also urged the participants to build network as to enhance tourism cooperation between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the event, NTB Senior Officer Kundan Sharma Mishra made a presentation promoting Nepal as an attractive tourism destination focusing on Pokhara which was recently declared as the tourism capital of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, NATTA president Hari Ram Adhikari and member Khim Bahadur Nepali delivered statements about Nepal's tourism potentials. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme was followed by an interactive B2B session. The event was attended by approximately 150 participants including Nepali and Chinese tour and travel operators, business persons working in tourism sector as well as media representatives. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20770', 'image' => '20240521031857_20231001020729_20230714012959_20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 15:18:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21042', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Yet to Spend Rs 435 Billion Budget with Two Months Left for Current FY to End', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: With less than two months left for the current fiscal year (FY) to end, the government is yet to spend Rs 435 billion to meet the revised target of budget expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government announced a budget of Rs 1751 billion for the current year and revised it to Rs 1530 billion in January through the mid-tern review of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Financial Comptroller General Office, the constitutional body that keeps track of government’s expenditure, the government has spent only Rs 1095 billion as of last Sunday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With only two months remaining in the current fiscal year and signs of increasing political instability, questions have arisen about how the government will spend the rest of the budget. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Monday amid the obstruction of parliament by the main opposition Nepali Congress. Three governments have been formed in one year under the leadership of Prime Minister Dahal. Due to political instability, government spending is affected due to lack of timely decisions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As the government has allocated a budget of Rs 1141 billion for the current expenses. After the mid-tern review, the estimate expenditure under this heading has been fixed at Rs 1007 billion. The FCGO has said that the government has already spent Rs 770 billion under the current expenses as of Sunday. According to the FCGO, the government has allocated 302 billion under the heading of capital expenditure for in the current fiscal year, but has spent only Rs 119 billion so far. According to the revised estimate, the government has to spend Rs 254 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In Nepal, the capital expenditure for development works is mostly spent in the months of March, April, May and June. However, even at this period, the capital expenditure has not been much encouraging. According to the revised estimate, the government will have to spend Rs 135 billion under the heading of capital expenditure. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, a the government had allocated a budget of Rs 307 billion for financial management, which was revised to Rs 268 billion through the mid-tern review. According to the data of the FCGO, the government has already spent Rs 205 billion has under this heading as of Sunday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Government officials are blaming each other for the lackluster expenditure. According to the Ministry of Finance, there is no reason to stop the expenditure as the Minister for Finance and the ministry have repeatedly instructed the secretaries of the related ministries and heads of agencies to increase the expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Recently, the Finance Ministry instructed the Department of Roads to send a report on work progress along with recommendations to resolve the problems it faces. However, the department has not yet submitted its report," an official of the budget division of the Ministry of Finance told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, no project and work has been stopped due to lack of budget.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, the expenditure situation is not satisfactory. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Economist Bimal Koirala highlights that the unspent budget is due to errors in the government’s budget formulation process, lack of political will, and structural issues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> “Due to errors in budgeting, there is no capital expenditure and no development. That is what has happened so far," he said. "The size of the budget has become an arbitrary number and the trend of reducing it through the mid-term review is not a good practice. The government should bring a realistic budget."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Koirala says that due to the fact that the government has not properly implemented the report of the Expenditure Review Commission, the problems have been persisting for years. "This situation will continue until the government identifies the problems in the budget spending system and takes initiatives to solve them," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20769', 'image' => '20240521010943_budget.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 13:09:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21041', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Manaslu Conservation Area Collects over Rs 25 Million in Revenue ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The office of the Manaslu Conservation Area Project has collected more than Rs 25 million in revenue in nine months of the current fiscal year. The office collected the amount as entry fee from tourists visiting the area from July 17, 2023 to April 12, 2024. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 8,302 foreign tourists visited the area during the review period, according to the office. It collected Rs 24.9 million from them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 152 foreign tourists of SAARC countries had visited the Manaslu Conservation Area during this period. A total of Rs 152,000 in revenue was collected from them, said MCAP Chief Santosh Sherchan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The office has determined Rs 1,000 as entry fee for a tourist of SAARC countries visiting the area while tourists from other countries have to pay Rs 3,000 per person. It has already collected more revenue in nine months this year as compared to previous year as number of tourists visiting Manaslu conservation area has increased this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Sherchan shared that more than 12,000 foreign tourists have been expected at Manaslu conservation area this year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20768', 'image' => '20240521121934_20221101102053_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 12:19:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21040', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Hits Record High as Iran Shock Triggers Safe Haven Investment', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The price of gold hit a record high in the international market Monday as the shock death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash boosted support for the precious metal seen as a safe haven investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">According to AFP, copper also struck an all-time peak and silver jumped to the highest level in more than 11 years -- with markets generally gaining from a brighter economic outlook.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold had already hit a series of record highs this year and Nepal was not an exception.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The country also witnessed a record-high price of gold on Monday with the precious yellow metal traded at Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">141,800 per tola</span> (11.66 grams) before shedding Rs 1200 per tola on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Asian and European stock markets began the week higher, having recently struck all-time peaks along with indices on Wall Street.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The metals are priced in the dollar, which has come under pressure recently from expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon start to cut interest rates as inflation cools.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Gold struck a record $2,450.07 an ounce in the international market on Monday, while copper's all-time high stood at $11,104 per tonne.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Raisi was confirmed dead on Monday after search and rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic, AFP added.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Foreign countries had been closely following the search at a time of high regional tensions over the Gaza war raging between Israel and Hamas since October 7.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"Gold and copper have hit record highs, (and) silver jumped to an 11-year high... after the death of Iran's president in a helicopter crash," AFP quoted Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto trading group, as saying.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">"There is a clear geopolitical premium since October 7th," he said, adding that "expectations the Fed will cut rates soon is helping".</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Analysts said market sentiment was boosted additionally by China's plan to support its struggling property sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The positive start to the week for equities came after Wall Street's Dow index ended above 40,000 points for the first time on Friday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Oil prices dipped after initially jumping on the Iran news, added the news agency.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">Investors are looking to the release Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's May policy decision, hoping for some insight into the thinking of decision-makers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"">The release comes after data last week showed US inflation easing in April, reviving hopes the central bank would cut interest rates twice this year.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20767', 'image' => '20240521114649_20240310065333_20240307024448_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:45:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21039', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Country's 14% of Health Equipment Remains Unused ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: As much as 14 percent of the total health equipment are left unused in the country, a study has revealed. The survey of biomedical equipment in Nepal's public health institutions conducted by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with Lifeline Enterprises showed that 2,645 health equipment in the country are still not installed in the health institutions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chairperson of Lifeline Enterprises Anjali Tiwariwal said that data were collected from 11 hospitals of Bagmati, Koshi, Madhesh, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim provinces adding that 1,823 health equipment are dysfunctional. The study carried out from October 2023 to April 2024 surveyed the status of 19,174 hospitals. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bhaskar Rijal, a biomedical engineer involved in the study team, said that 1,174 sets of equipment are unused despite being in proper condition. </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"">"Those equipment imported during the time of COVID-19 are left unused for lack of Covid-19 patients," Rijal added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Rijal further stated that the CT scan machines of Bir Hospital, APF Hospital and Koshi Hospital have turned dysfunctional with severe complaints about the charger board and battery. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of Bir Hospital Dr Santosh Poudel shared that the hospital lacks biomedical engineers to repair and run such equipment. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20766', 'image' => '20240521111257_20200224061638_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 11:12:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21038', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birgunj Metropolis Collects Rs 400 Million in Revenue', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 21: Birgunj Metropolis has collected nearly Rs 400 million in revenue in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to Rs 398 million. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The revenue collection increased by Rs 31.8 million compared to the same period in the last fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the Revenue Division Chief of Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, Manoj Karna, stated that they had aimed to collect Rs 700 million in revenue; the collection stood at only Rs 400 million so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing budget was revised last January. "The economic downturn caused a decline in trade activities, which has clearly impacted revenue collection," Karna added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the Metropolis, Matrika Bhattarai, informed that although they had aimed to collect Rs 500 million in land tax in the current fiscal year, it was now difficult to meet the target.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It is because of the downturn in the realty business. We have been able to collect Rs 139 million so far," he said, adding that it was difficult to manage resources due to the failure to meet the target of internal revenue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The metropolis has been collecting inland revenue under 24 headings. Under house rent, Rs 49 million was collected as revenue this year. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-21', 'modified' => '2024-05-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20765', 'image' => '20240521084251_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-21 08:41:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21037', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Trade Deficit Stands at Rs 1177 billion in Ten Months of Current FY', 'sub_title' => 'Country imported goods worth Rs 1300 billion and exported goods amounting to Rs 126 billion', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: Nepal suffered a trade deficit of Rs 1177 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the review period, the country imported goods worth Rs 1303 billion while the export was limited to just Rs 126 billion, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May of the current fiscal year, the country recorded foreign trade worth Rs 1,429 billion, marking a decline of 2.50 percent compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Furthermore, imports have decreased by 2.39 percent and exports by 3.61 percent during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Record with the department show that Nepal suffered a trade loss of Rs 729 billion with India alone in the first ten months of the current fiscal year. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 815 billion from India while the export to India from Nepal stood at Rs 86 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, Nepal recorded the second highest trade deficit of Rs 238 billion with neighboring China. In the review period, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 240 billion from China while it exported goods worth only Rs 22.74 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-May, the largest imports to Nepal were petroleum products, including petrol worth Rs 115.67 billion, diesel worth Rs 56.80 billion, and cooking gas worth Rs 46 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 24 billion during the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's highest export was of carpet, worth Rs 8.79 billion followed by cardamom worth Rs 6.91 billion, iron worth Rs 5.52 billion and palm oil worth Rs 5.60 billion. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20764', 'image' => '20240520070644_20240512114121_20240311122722_20240122013031_How-to-start-an-import-export-business.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 19:06:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21036', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Posts Growth of 27.54 to Close at 2,092', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 20: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index witnessed a gain of 1.33%, or 27.54 points, closing at 2,092 on the second trading day of the week, Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During today's trading session, 315 scrips were traded on NEPSE through 80,982 transactions. A total of 14,370,689 shares changed hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 5.85 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Pokhara Finance Limited (PFL) led the turnover amount with total transactions worth Rs 19.92 crore, closing at a market price of Rs 693.60 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha (SLBSL), Buddha Bhumi Hydropower Company Limited (BNHC), and Bhagawati Hydropower Company Limited (BGWT) each gained 10% and hit the positive circuit for the day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Conversely, Upakar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (ULBSL) faced the maximum decline of 7.40%, closing at Rs 1,852.00 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, five sector indices closed in the red today. The "Banking Index" saw the highest gain of 4.18%, while the "Microfinance Index" saw the highest decline of 0.65%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20763', 'image' => '20240520040159_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 16:00:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21034', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway Achieves Breakthrough in One of the Tunnels', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">KATHMANDU: The Nepalese Army was assigned to manage the construction of the much-awaited Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway (Fast Track) in 2074 BS with a mandate to complete the project by 2078 BS. However, limited progress has been made so far on this national pride project, raising doubts about its completion by the extended deadline of 2083 BS.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The project achieved a breakthrough in one of the six tunnels to be built from Kathmandu to Nijgadh on Friday. According to the Nepalese Army, the 1,633-meter long section on the left side of the tunnel at Lendanda in Makwanpur achieved the breakthrough towards the tunnel leading to Nijgadh. However, 150 meters of a parallel tunnel leading to Kathmandu has yet to be excavated. This section is being developed as a twin-tube tunnel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Under the management of the Nepalese Army, a contract was signed on 31st Baisakh, 2078, to build tunnels at three locations -- Mahadeotar, Lendanda, and Dhedre. The agreement was made with two Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited and Poly Chengda Engineering Corporation Limited.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chinese companies were contracted to build a special bridge along with the tunnels within three and a half years, with an investment of Rs 50.14 billion. Although these three tunnels were to be completed within this timeframe, only one tunnel has achieved a breakthrough with six months left. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Army sources informed that the tunnel located in Dhedre of Makwanpur is expected to achieve a breakthrough within the next two months. Its length is 1,630 meters, and only 129 meters remain to be excavated.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Among the three tunnels to be built in the first phase, the Mahadeotar tunnel in Makwanpur is the longest, with a length of 3,355 meters. The army has reported that 2,158 meters have been excavated so far. An army officer stated that if the current pace of work is maintained, this tunnel will also be completed in six to seven months. Spokesperson for the Nepalese Army, Brigadier General Gaurav Kumar KC noted that the 1.633 km long Lendanda tunnel under Package No. 2 has been completed. During this period, the physical progress of all three tunnels along the expressway has reached 78 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The total length of the tunnels under construction at these three locations is 6.618 km. According to the Nepalese Army, the cost of the first package of the tunnel along with the bridge is Rs 21.61 billion, while the cost of the second package is Rs 28.53 billion. The army divided the tunnel construction into two packages and signed contract agreements accordingly. Although there were no issues with the Mahadeotar tunnel in Package No. 1, there were disputes concerning the Dhedre and Lendanda tunnels in Package No. 2. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament reported irregularities in the pre-qualification (PQ) process for the second package which was announced without any competitive bids, leading the army to cancel the process and proceed with bid again.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The latest detailed project report (DPR) includes the construction of three additional tunnels, which are currently under design. The revised DPR of the expressway, approved by the Council of Ministers on Shrawan 30, 2080, added the Devichaur, Sisautar, and Chandram Bhir tunnels. These new additions are still in the procurement process. The expressway's distance has also decreased from the previous 72.5 kilometers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepalese Army, out of the 89 bridges to be built on the expressway, 85 have been contracted so far, and five bridges have been constructed. The contract process for four bridges under package No. 11 is pending. Given the significant amount of work remaining, the project is unlikely to be completed within the extended deadline.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chief of the Nepalese Army, General Prabhuram Sharma, expressed doubts about meeting the deadline in a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives in last December. He stated that it would be a significant achievement if the track could be prepared for vehicles on time, but it will take another two to three years to complete the project. Sharma mentioned delays due to the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Act, which prevented timely tree cutting and caused a five-month shortage of explosives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arjun Jung Thapa, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, was somewhat optimistic about the project's progress. He mentioned that although the first contracted tunnel would be completed within a year, the construction of other added tunnels would take another two to three years. He emphasized the need for an adequate budget, estimating that Rs 60 billion worth of work has been done and at least Rs 45-50 billion are needed to complete the expressway on time. He also noted the ongoing issues, such as delays in the contract process and unresolved issue of linking the expressway from Khokna to the ring road due to the local residents protesting to protect their cultural heritage.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Thapa stressed the need for allocating sufficient funds, suggesting that the expressway should be prioritized to ensure timely completion even if other projects need to be halted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">What is a Twin Tube Tunnel?</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">A 'twin tube tunnel' is different from the Nagadhunga tunnel. As the road is built on a highway and expressway, there is no rescue (evacuation) tunnel in this type of tunnel unlike in Nagadhunga. The Nagadhunga tunnel has a large main tunnel for vehicles to ply while the movement of vehicles is prohibited in the rescue tunnel. Vehicles will be allowed to travel on this tunnel only when there is some problem in the main tunnel or for rescue purpose. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">On the other hand, the expressway tunnel has equal-sized tunnels for vehicles traveling in opposite directions. These two tunnels, however, have crossover passage, allowing vehicles to switch lanes if there is a problem in one of the tunnels. Traffic management offices will handle the traffic flow, and in case of emergencies, they can manage traffic diversions and rescues.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">This two-lane highway will have one lane for Kathmandu-bound traffic and the other for vehicles heading to Nijgadh.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20761', 'image' => '20240520125202_tunnel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 12:51:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21033', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobility up in Rasuagadhi Border Point for Mansarobar Tour ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">RASUWA: The season for travel to Mansarovar, a popular religious destination in China, has begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Rasuwagadhi border point has seen increasing mobility of people travelling to Mt Kailash and Mansarovar, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, via Trishuli, Dhunche and Syafrubesi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Immigration Office, Murari Niraura said that 40 passengers on an average are travelling to Mansarovar via the border point every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Mansarovar is 950 kilometers away from this border point. Niraula said although pilgrims can visit Mansarovar from Nepal via Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa (Humla) border points, Rasuwagadhi has witnessed rising number of visitors to the religious site as it is geographically closer to Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, daily around 50 Chinese nationals have been entering Nepal through the border point. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20760', 'image' => '20240520114909_KAILASH MANSAROVARbanner.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 11:48:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21031', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'House Obstruction will Continue Till the Formation of Probe Committee: General Secretary Thapa ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: General Secretary of Nepali Congress, Gagan Kumar Thapa, has informed that his party would continue the obstruction of parliament until the formation of a parliamentary probe committee on misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. </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"">Talking to media persons following the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday evening, General Secretary Thapa reiterated the need of parliamentary committee before the HoR meeting on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We are for proper running of parliament. I believe the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will be ready to form the parliamentary committee in a way as to meet the objective before the next meeting of the parliament scheduled for 11:00 am Monday," he said, warning that if the probe committee eludes, NC will continue obstruction. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He made it clear that the investigation committee was demanded after there was doubt over the government. Thapa suspected the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister's influence in the probe committee. </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"">"DPM Rabi Lamichhane has 'obstructed' and exerted undue influence to the efforts on forming probe committee. His presentation in the parliament also showed that he was deviating from this demand. It clearly proves that he is afraid and dodging parliamentary probe committee," General Secretary Thapa underlined. </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"">Thapa further viewed his party was not targeting any party. He showed concern why new party was not entertaining questions. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Speaker Devraj Ghimire had removed the schedules of special and emergency hours from the business of HoR meeting on Sunday after DPM Lamichhane put forth his views. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response, General Secretary Thapa organized a press meet and shared party's views. PM Dahal is scheduled to take vote of confidence on Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-20', 'modified' => '2024-05-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20759', 'image' => '20240520062030_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-20 06:19:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
