NEWS

Operation of Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Deferred Again

Jan 20, 2021 0 1 minutes 22 seconds to read

January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.…

Ownership Transfer of Khimti Hydropower Project unlikely within Extended Deadline

Jan 19, 2021 0 2 minutes 56 seconds to read

January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about…

NOC to Stop Importing Petrol from Raxaul

Jan 19, 2021 0 1 minutes 10 seconds to read

January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot.…

FMTC lags behind in Meeting its Target of Paddy Procurement

Jan 19, 2021 0 2 minutes 57 seconds to read

January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its…

FNCCI urges NRB Governor to Extend Deadline for Payment of Loan

Jan 19, 2021 0 1 minutes 32 seconds to read

January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19).…

Climbers from 11 Countries get Permits during Winter Season

Jan 18, 2021 0 2 minutes 14 seconds to read

January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in…

Nepali Citizens Opt for Foreign Employment Despite Risk of Coronavirus

Jan 18, 2021 0 3 minutes 12 seconds to read

January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the…

Birgunj Customs Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target

Jan 18, 2021 0 2 minutes 34 seconds to read

January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and…

Contributors of SSF can Avail Loan Soon

Jan 18, 2021 0 2 minutes 37 seconds to read

January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned…

NRB tells Stakeholders to Give Priority to Nepali Insurance and Transportation Companies

Jan 18, 2021 0 1 minutes 51 seconds to read

January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from…

Four Solar Plants get Permission for Survey

Jan 17, 2021 0 1 minutes 52 seconds to read

January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity…

Hoteliers Devise Strategy to bring Asian Tourists

Jan 17, 2021 0 1 minutes 50 seconds to read

January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on…

Government Launches Nagarik App for Nepali Citizens

Jan 17, 2021 0 2 minutes 11 seconds to read

January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app.…

Prices of Essential Food Skyrocketing

Jan 17, 2021 0 2 minutes 44 seconds to read

January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw…

Foreign Investors Need to Invest up to 25 Percent within 1 Year

Jan 15, 2021 0 2 minutes 1 seconds to read

January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in…

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No Laughing Matter

The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

. . .
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NEPSE

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			'title' => 'Operation of Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Deferred Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.&nbsp; However, both the railway line and the trains are in a state of readiness. Two trains, brought from India, are in parking lot since their test operation on September 20.<br />
Nepal Railway Company Limited, the government entity entrusted for operating the railway, has deferred the operation three times.<br />
While buying the train, the company had announced to start operating the trains by mid-November 2020. But the company later pushed the operation date to December 2020. &nbsp;After two setbacks, the company has now vowed to start it by end of this month.<br />
Guru Bhattarai, general manager of the company, informed that the inauguration of the railway would be held in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries (Nepal and India). Due to this, the exact timing for operation of the railway has been uncertain, he informed.<br />
Stating that preparations for operating the train are in the final stage, he said, &quot;The date has not been fixed yet as the train will be inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India.&quot; However, the company is preparing to run the train by the end of January.<br />
Although the company has made final preparations to run the trains, the recruitment process for Nepali employees has not started yet. A few days before the train arrived, the company had published vacancy for 129 employees for 29 different posts on September 15.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12958',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Ownership Transfer of Khimti Hydropower Project unlikely within Extended Deadline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire. However, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Himal Power Company, promoter of the project funded by foreign investors, is yet to reach an understanding for the handover. This is the first hydropower company that is about to be handed over to the government by the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The two sides have reached a short-term understanding to continue operating the project although the share transfer process has not yet completed. The short-term agreement expires in mid-February but the two sides have not yet reached any substantial understanding for the handover.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement between the Government of Nepal and the promoter company, 50 percent shares of the company should have been transferred to the government by July 11. However, the deadline was extended till mid-February as the share transfer process could not be completed within the stipulated date. The handover process has not made any progress although the extended deadline is coming closer.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Looking at the current situation, it is unlikely that the handover process will be completed within mid-Fedruary.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director of NEA Prabal Adhikari informed New Business Age that they are currently discussing the issue. He added that it is impossible to transfer the shares within mid-February.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The project which is being run by Himal Power Company since July 2000 is the first hydropower project built with investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The then government had signed an agreement with the developers to transfer 50 percent of shares to the government after 20 years of operation. The project reached the milestone of generating electricity for 20 years on July 11 last year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement, the NEA will own 100 percent shares of the project in the next 30 years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">For the completion of share transfer process, stakeholders including the NEA and the promoters of the project should establish a joint venture. Then the new entity will have to finalize the power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the NEA. However, the joint venture company is yet to be established and the issue of PPA is also pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'NOC to Stop Importing Petrol from Raxaul',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the state-run news agency of Nepal, RSS, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been citing security concerns for more than two years regarding the operation of the depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">NOC decided to stop importing petroleum products from Raxaul citing the security concerns of IOC&#39;s. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Arrangements have been made for petroleum dealers from Bara and Parsa, who have been importing petroleum products from Raxaul Depot, to purchase fuel at the Nepal Oil Corporation&#39;s Provincial Office in Province 2, said Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson of the corporation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">All billings will now be made from the Provincial Office of the NOC. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12956',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FMTC lags behind in Meeting its Target of Paddy Procurement ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The FMTC&nbsp; had set a target of purchasing 60,000 metric tons of paddy from purchase centres spread across the country. However, it has managed to purchase only 22,555 metric tons of paddy so far.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has been learnt that the company has not been able to meet its target due to lack of adequate storage facility and also because it started the procurement process late.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The state-owned company had failed to purchase paddy in accordance to its target last year as well. FMTC had set a target to purchase 30,000 metric tons of paddy last year but it was able to buy only 21,164 metric tons of paddy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FMTC has an obligation to purchase paddy fulfill Nepal&rsquo;s commitment for storage of food grains for SAARC nations. The government keeps a stock of food in order to supply them during times of crisis as well as to remote areas. In this context, the FMTC procures paddy and wheat from various centres every year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the company Netra Subedi informed that they are in the process of procuring paddy till mid-February but admitted that they have failed to purchase paddy as per their target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, FMTC started the procurement process late and secondly we do not have large storage facility,&rdquo; said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has also been found that the FMTC has been purchasing paddy at a higher price than the local businessmen. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Out of the 11 centres across the country, FMTC has not been able to purchase paddy in Jumla.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the data provided by the company, it has purchased 3,835 metric tons of paddy in Rajapur (Bardiya), 5,336 metric tons in Dhangadhi, 2,300 metric tons in Birtamode, 1,349 metric tons in Janakpur, 1,362 metric tons in Biratnagar, 2,256 metric tons in Lahan, 1,845 metric tons in Birgunj, 1,800 metric tons in Bhairahawa, 3,307 metric tons in Nepalgunj and 947 metric tons in Mahendranagar.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12957',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI urges NRB Governor to Extend Deadline for Payment of Loan',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). During the meeting FNCCI members requested NRB Governor Adhikari to extend the deadline for payment of loan and interest by three months till mid-April.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha informed that the industrialists and businessmen have been affected due to the dilly-dallying of banks and financial institutions to provide services in accordance to the government&rsquo;s policy.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also said that the central bank must play a special role to ensure that the business continuity loan is made available without any hassles. The delegation also informed Governor Adhikari that some banks and financial institutions have blacklisted businessmen under different pretexts. They also urged the governor not to keep the borrowers who have suffered business losses for two years under &ldquo;watchful list&rdquo;. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also pointed out to the need of extending the ceiling of online payment and to ensure proper safety.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the meeting, Governor Adhikari assured FNCCI members that the central bank will collaborate with them for revitalizing the businesses and industries affected by Covid-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12950',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Climbers from 11 Countries get Permits during Winter Season',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal. Nevertheless, mountaineers from 11 countries including Nepal have been granted permission to climb mountains during this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Department of Tourism has given climbing permits to 44 climbers of nine expedition teams from Nepal, India, Switzerland, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, USA, Qatar, Mexico, Spain and Italy since the start of climbing season this winter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had opened trekking and expedition for foreigners from October 17 amid coronavirus pandemic. The ministry had issued a standard health protocol which the foreigners had to follow if they were interested in visiting Nepal to climb mountains.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials at the department believe that the government&rsquo;s decision to open the trekking and expedition industry for foreign tourists has contributed a lot to the ailing economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the department, Nepal, Spain and the USA have the highest number of climbers this season. Altogether 21 climbers from Nepal, 10 from Spain, four from USA and the remaining nine have received permits this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has collected royalty of Rs 879,000 from the climbers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, a ten-member Nepali team, which also included Nirmal Purja, on Saturday climbed Mount K2 of Pakistan for the first time in history during winter season. The success of Nepali team is expected to boost mountaineering activities in the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200807075017_1596774556.Trekking%20pic.jpg" style="height:253px; width:450px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Nepali Citizens Opt for Foreign Employment Despite Risk of Coronavirus',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had pledged to provide employment to Nepali migrant workers who had returned to the country after the disease started spreading in the labour destination countries. However, the government failed to live up to its commitment and this has forced thousands of workers to return to their work although the risk of Covid-19 has not yet subsided.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 72,366 Nepalis left for foreign employment in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The data was collected from five months record of Nepal Rastra Bank and one month&rsquo;s data prepared by the Department of Foreign Employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Among them, 30,837 workers took new labour permits while the remaining 41,529 had renewed their work permits.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment Tikaram Neupane says that the workers have been forced to travel abroad for employment as the government failed to launch the special scheme which it had announced.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The government had assured the Nepali workers who lost their foreign jobs that it would provide employment to them within the country. However, the government&rsquo;s scheme did kick off,&rdquo; said Neupane, adding, &ldquo;On top of that, there is political instability in the country. This too has forced Nepali citizens to go abroad for work.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There isn&rsquo;t any possibility for the government to launch programmes to create employment opportunities given the political instability which the country is going through. In such a situation, many more youths are likely to leave the country, says Neupane.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The latest reports show that the number of people opting for foreign employment is growing. Only around 3000 Nepalis had left for foreign employment in the first month of the current fiscal year. But the number of Nepali migrant workers leaving the country in the sixth month has climbed to 14,753.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department says that the number of people leaving the country for overseas jobs is increasing despite the threat of coronavirus after the government gave a green signal for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Neupane says foreign countries have already started demanding workers. This has also prompted Nepali citizens to opt for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12953',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export. The Birgunj Customs Office did not meet the target set in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has collected 86 percent of the target revenue between mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year. According to customs officer Ramesh Sukmani, a total revenue of Rs 73.55 billion has been collected in the last six months. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The Birgunj Customs had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 85.51 billion. The revenue collection so far this year is Rs 12 billion less than the corresponding &nbsp;period of last FY 2076/77. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Sukmani, the customs office has not been able to collect revenue as per the target due to the impact of coronavirus on the import, production and supply chain. &quot;Even in such an uncomfortable situation, raising such a large amount of revenue in six months should be considered an achievement,&quot; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has said that the revenue will improve in the coming months as the import and export from Birgunj is gradually returning to normal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs has collected Rs 28 billion from import duty in the first six months of the current year. Likewise, Rs 7.2 million revenue has been collected from export. Value added tax of Rs 25.44 billion has also been collected. Likewise, the customs office has collected Rs 8.66 billion in excise duty, Rs 6.88 billion in infrastructure tax on petroleum products and Rs 3.83 billion on road construction and road improvement charge. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office claims that the decline in imports of goods that contribute to the revenue this year has had an impact on revenue collection. According to the customs office data, the import of both vehicles and petroleum products, which are considered the main source of revenue, has declined. Customs officials say that import of industrial raw materials has also declined. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12952',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Contributors of SSF can Avail Loan Soon',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has prepared a draft of a new directive for implementing the investment work procedure, which once endorsed by the SSF board will pave way for providing loans to the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The draft, which outlines areas of investment and other issues, will be presented to the upcoming board meeting of SSF. Besides providing loan, SSF can also invest the collected amount if the draft is approved by the board.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Deputy Executive Director of SSF Bivek Panthi, the draft will be implemented as soon as it gets approved by the SSF board.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had issued a work procedure for effective implementation of the SSF. As per the investment work procedure, the contributors can avail special loan, housing loan, educational loan and loan under the heading of social work.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contributors can get loan up to 15 percent of their total contribution. There is a provision of providing loan equivalent to 15 years of salary of the contributor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the government&rsquo;s work procedure, the contributors of SSF can get a maximum of Rs 7.5 million under housing loan. Similarly, they can avail up to Rs 3.5 million for higher studies in foreign countries.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Those who seek loan from the SSF must have contributed to the fund for at least three years. However, the work procedure has not mentioned anything about the collateral and the evaluator. Therefore, the directive is required to clear these issues, says &nbsp;Panthi, who is also the spokesperson of SSF.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far, 13,089 employers and more than 185,000 workers have been listed in the SSF so far. It has already collected more than Rs 3.71 billion from the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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			'sortorder' => '12698',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12951',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB tells Stakeholders to Give Priority to Nepali Insurance and Transportation Companies ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The central bank issued such directive to promote the home-based companies. The central bank has said that this new policy will be applicable for import goods imported to Nepal from third countries except India through Letter of Credit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB made the provision for promoting Nepali insurance and transportation companies by amending the Unified Directive 2076.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had been urging the importers to insure their goods from Nepali insurance companies since a long time. Now, the central bank also wants to promote Nepal&rsquo;s transportation companies, informed Bam Bahadur Mishra, executive director of NRB&rsquo;s Foreign Exchange Department. However, the central bank has not made this new provision mandatory.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepal&rsquo;s insurance companies alone cannot handle all the imports. Therefore, we have made a policy-level decision that directs stakeholders to take the services of Nepali insurance companies to the possible extent,&rdquo; said Mishra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">If the importers want to opt for foreign insurance companies, they need to present the documents and related bills. According to the central bank, the importers need to present the insurance and transportation bills separately and must be clearly noticeable.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12949',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Four Solar Plants get Permission for Survey ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development. Kalikhola Solar Plant, Mithila Solar Plant, Bhawanipur Solar Plant and Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant have received survey licenses from the department. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The largest project to get license is Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant. The promoter company Panas Energy Pvt Ltd is going to build a 100 MW capacity plant in Siraha district. According to the department, the company got permission for the survey on November 5. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Goodluck Glocal Power Energy has received permission to survey 7 MW Kalikhola Solar Plant in Nuwakot. According to the department, Solar Star Pvt Ltd has got permission to build and survey a 5 MW Mithila Solar Plant in Dhanusha and Nepal Petroleum Trade Links Pvt Ltd to build a 5 MW Bhawanipur Solar Plant in Bara. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The promoter companies will have to send the survey report to the department within two years. Navin Raj Singh, director general of the department, said if the survey is not completed in two years, the license will be cancelled. He said that due to the corona virus pandemic, the projects under survey are being extended. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;Some projects have not been able to survey due to the lockdown to control spread of coronavirus. Survey licenses of some projects have expired,&quot; he said, &quot;We are making arrangements to facilitate such projects.&quot; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-01-17',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12696',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12948',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Hoteliers Devise Strategy to bring Asian Tourists',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.<br />
Despite a marginal improvement in the hotel business due to domestic tourism, hoteliers have started formulating special packages and marketing strategies to bring tourists from Asian countries to Nepal. The stakeholders made such plans to bring back the hospitality sector, which has slowed down due to the non-arrival of foreign tourists.<br />
According to the Department of Immigration, the number of tourists from India, China, Thailand, and Myanmar is high despite the effects of the Covid-19. In 2020, only a small number of 230,000 tourists visited Nepal. However, the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2019 was 1.197 million.<br />
Sajan Shakya, general secretary of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that the hotel entrepreneurs are preparing a marketing strategy to bring the hotel business back on track.<br />
According to Shakya, necessary preparations have been made to promote tourism in China, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries, as hoteliers don&#39;t see the possibility of European and American tourists.<br />
He informed that HAN made preparations to conduct marketing promotions with discount packages to such countries as many Buddhist tourists are coming to Nepal. Currently, the condition of the hotel is deplorable. The room occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu has dropped significantly as tourists have not come even though the hotels are open. Shakya added that the hotel operators are overwhelmed to manage the expenses even after opening the hotel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">Hoteliers informed that even though domestic tourists have encouraged business in other tourist destinations, it is not enough. Although the overall hospitality business, which is almost zero, has been observing a positive impact from domestic tourists, they complain that the hotel business in Kathmandu is disappointing.<br />
The occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu, which is almost zero, has improved slightly for some time, rising to an average of 3 percent, HAN reported.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12947',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Launches Nagarik App for Nepali Citizens',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. Users can also have access to all government documents using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The app is in testing phase at the moment. Users can also register their Permanent Account Number (PAN) using the app. They can also check the details of tax paid to the government as well as other details regarding their Employee Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Trust, Social Security Fund among others.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The citizens of Nepal can register their Citizenship Number, Passport Number, educational certificate and Voter ID in the app and will no longer require to present the hard copy of the documents.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung launched the app amid a function on Friday. Minister Gurung informed that the government will be providing all kinds of services through digital platform using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the minister, preparations are underway to add services related to Land Revenue Office, vehicle tax, driving and license as well.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He added that the app has been launched to provide services to the citizens in a fast and effective way using digital platform. According to the minister, the app has already registered the details of 21,500,000 citizens whose records are maintained by the home ministry as well as the personal details, fingerprints and photos of 15,500,000 citizens registered with the Election Commission.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry informed that Nepali citizens can download the app through android phone and open their accounts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12946',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prices of Essential Food Skyrocketing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials. The prices of rice and edible oil have gone up due to the increase in price of raw materials as well as transportation cost.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialist Suresh Rungata says that the farmers&rsquo; protest in India has also affected the price of paddy in Nepal. He added that the price of rice has increased by Rs 4 per kilogram within the last one month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Rice produced in most of the factories of Nepal are basically from paddy imported from India. Nepali importers say that the price of paddy imported from India has gone up by Rs 200 per quintal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, Nepali importers used to import paddy at subsidized rate but now the price has increased, says Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialists say that paddy which used to cost Rs 1800 until some time ago now costs Rs 2000 in Raxaul, India. The subsidized rate of rice in India is Rs 1850.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, the price of edible oil has also increased. The prices of soybean and sunflower oil have increased by Rs 50 per litre.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to industrialist Rungata, soybean oil that used to cost Rs 1,400 for 10 litres now costs Rs 1,900. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the price of mustard oil has increased by Rs 20 per litre. The price fixed for the consumers is 20 percent more than the factory price.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the oil processing factories import raw materials and then refine the oil in Nepal. Unporcessed soybean which used to cost US$ 700 per metric ton now costs US$ 1,100.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The prices of raw materials have increased during the pandemic. Shipping companies have also taken advantage by charging extra amount. Therefore, the prices of food have gone up,&rdquo; said Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12944',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Investors Need to Invest up to 25 Percent within 1 Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government made such arrangement by introducing the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer&nbsp; (FITTA) Regulation 2077.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The new provision has come into effect from last Monday (January 11) following the endorsement of the act two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new arrangement, foreign investors who have been granted permission to invest more than Rs 1 billion in Nepal need to invest at least 5 percent of the total investment within the first year. Similarly, investors who have pledged to&nbsp; invest more than Rs 250 million need to invest at least 10 percent within a year after getting approval from the government. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, investors who have been approved to invest up to Rs 250 million have to invest at least 25 percent of the total investment within a year.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government has not included the threshold for foreign investment in the Act itself, it has been adding the threshold time and again by amending the law and publishing it in the Nepal Gazette.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the latest amendment, the threshold for foreign investment in Nepal is minimum Rs 50 million, informed Narayan Prasad Regmi, spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12959',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Operation of Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Deferred Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.&nbsp; However, both the railway line and the trains are in a state of readiness. Two trains, brought from India, are in parking lot since their test operation on September 20.<br />
Nepal Railway Company Limited, the government entity entrusted for operating the railway, has deferred the operation three times.<br />
While buying the train, the company had announced to start operating the trains by mid-November 2020. But the company later pushed the operation date to December 2020. &nbsp;After two setbacks, the company has now vowed to start it by end of this month.<br />
Guru Bhattarai, general manager of the company, informed that the inauguration of the railway would be held in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries (Nepal and India). Due to this, the exact timing for operation of the railway has been uncertain, he informed.<br />
Stating that preparations for operating the train are in the final stage, he said, &quot;The date has not been fixed yet as the train will be inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India.&quot; However, the company is preparing to run the train by the end of January.<br />
Although the company has made final preparations to run the trains, the recruitment process for Nepali employees has not started yet. A few days before the train arrived, the company had published vacancy for 129 employees for 29 different posts on September 15.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12958',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Ownership Transfer of Khimti Hydropower Project unlikely within Extended Deadline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire. However, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Himal Power Company, promoter of the project funded by foreign investors, is yet to reach an understanding for the handover. This is the first hydropower company that is about to be handed over to the government by the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The two sides have reached a short-term understanding to continue operating the project although the share transfer process has not yet completed. The short-term agreement expires in mid-February but the two sides have not yet reached any substantial understanding for the handover.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement between the Government of Nepal and the promoter company, 50 percent shares of the company should have been transferred to the government by July 11. However, the deadline was extended till mid-February as the share transfer process could not be completed within the stipulated date. The handover process has not made any progress although the extended deadline is coming closer.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Looking at the current situation, it is unlikely that the handover process will be completed within mid-Fedruary.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director of NEA Prabal Adhikari informed New Business Age that they are currently discussing the issue. He added that it is impossible to transfer the shares within mid-February.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The project which is being run by Himal Power Company since July 2000 is the first hydropower project built with investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The then government had signed an agreement with the developers to transfer 50 percent of shares to the government after 20 years of operation. The project reached the milestone of generating electricity for 20 years on July 11 last year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement, the NEA will own 100 percent shares of the project in the next 30 years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">For the completion of share transfer process, stakeholders including the NEA and the promoters of the project should establish a joint venture. Then the new entity will have to finalize the power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the NEA. However, the joint venture company is yet to be established and the issue of PPA is also pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12955',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NOC to Stop Importing Petrol from Raxaul',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the state-run news agency of Nepal, RSS, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been citing security concerns for more than two years regarding the operation of the depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">NOC decided to stop importing petroleum products from Raxaul citing the security concerns of IOC&#39;s. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Arrangements have been made for petroleum dealers from Bara and Parsa, who have been importing petroleum products from Raxaul Depot, to purchase fuel at the Nepal Oil Corporation&#39;s Provincial Office in Province 2, said Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson of the corporation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">All billings will now be made from the Provincial Office of the NOC. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12956',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FMTC lags behind in Meeting its Target of Paddy Procurement ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The FMTC&nbsp; had set a target of purchasing 60,000 metric tons of paddy from purchase centres spread across the country. However, it has managed to purchase only 22,555 metric tons of paddy so far.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has been learnt that the company has not been able to meet its target due to lack of adequate storage facility and also because it started the procurement process late.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The state-owned company had failed to purchase paddy in accordance to its target last year as well. FMTC had set a target to purchase 30,000 metric tons of paddy last year but it was able to buy only 21,164 metric tons of paddy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FMTC has an obligation to purchase paddy fulfill Nepal&rsquo;s commitment for storage of food grains for SAARC nations. The government keeps a stock of food in order to supply them during times of crisis as well as to remote areas. In this context, the FMTC procures paddy and wheat from various centres every year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the company Netra Subedi informed that they are in the process of procuring paddy till mid-February but admitted that they have failed to purchase paddy as per their target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, FMTC started the procurement process late and secondly we do not have large storage facility,&rdquo; said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has also been found that the FMTC has been purchasing paddy at a higher price than the local businessmen. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Out of the 11 centres across the country, FMTC has not been able to purchase paddy in Jumla.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the data provided by the company, it has purchased 3,835 metric tons of paddy in Rajapur (Bardiya), 5,336 metric tons in Dhangadhi, 2,300 metric tons in Birtamode, 1,349 metric tons in Janakpur, 1,362 metric tons in Biratnagar, 2,256 metric tons in Lahan, 1,845 metric tons in Birgunj, 1,800 metric tons in Bhairahawa, 3,307 metric tons in Nepalgunj and 947 metric tons in Mahendranagar.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12957',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI urges NRB Governor to Extend Deadline for Payment of Loan',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). During the meeting FNCCI members requested NRB Governor Adhikari to extend the deadline for payment of loan and interest by three months till mid-April.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha informed that the industrialists and businessmen have been affected due to the dilly-dallying of banks and financial institutions to provide services in accordance to the government&rsquo;s policy.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also said that the central bank must play a special role to ensure that the business continuity loan is made available without any hassles. The delegation also informed Governor Adhikari that some banks and financial institutions have blacklisted businessmen under different pretexts. They also urged the governor not to keep the borrowers who have suffered business losses for two years under &ldquo;watchful list&rdquo;. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also pointed out to the need of extending the ceiling of online payment and to ensure proper safety.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the meeting, Governor Adhikari assured FNCCI members that the central bank will collaborate with them for revitalizing the businesses and industries affected by Covid-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12950',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Climbers from 11 Countries get Permits during Winter Season',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal. Nevertheless, mountaineers from 11 countries including Nepal have been granted permission to climb mountains during this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Department of Tourism has given climbing permits to 44 climbers of nine expedition teams from Nepal, India, Switzerland, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, USA, Qatar, Mexico, Spain and Italy since the start of climbing season this winter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had opened trekking and expedition for foreigners from October 17 amid coronavirus pandemic. The ministry had issued a standard health protocol which the foreigners had to follow if they were interested in visiting Nepal to climb mountains.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials at the department believe that the government&rsquo;s decision to open the trekking and expedition industry for foreign tourists has contributed a lot to the ailing economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the department, Nepal, Spain and the USA have the highest number of climbers this season. Altogether 21 climbers from Nepal, 10 from Spain, four from USA and the remaining nine have received permits this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has collected royalty of Rs 879,000 from the climbers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, a ten-member Nepali team, which also included Nirmal Purja, on Saturday climbed Mount K2 of Pakistan for the first time in history during winter season. The success of Nepali team is expected to boost mountaineering activities in the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200807075017_1596774556.Trekking%20pic.jpg" style="height:253px; width:450px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12701',
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			'article_date' => '2021-01-18 10:39:23',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12954',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepali Citizens Opt for Foreign Employment Despite Risk of Coronavirus',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had pledged to provide employment to Nepali migrant workers who had returned to the country after the disease started spreading in the labour destination countries. However, the government failed to live up to its commitment and this has forced thousands of workers to return to their work although the risk of Covid-19 has not yet subsided.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 72,366 Nepalis left for foreign employment in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The data was collected from five months record of Nepal Rastra Bank and one month&rsquo;s data prepared by the Department of Foreign Employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Among them, 30,837 workers took new labour permits while the remaining 41,529 had renewed their work permits.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment Tikaram Neupane says that the workers have been forced to travel abroad for employment as the government failed to launch the special scheme which it had announced.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The government had assured the Nepali workers who lost their foreign jobs that it would provide employment to them within the country. However, the government&rsquo;s scheme did kick off,&rdquo; said Neupane, adding, &ldquo;On top of that, there is political instability in the country. This too has forced Nepali citizens to go abroad for work.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There isn&rsquo;t any possibility for the government to launch programmes to create employment opportunities given the political instability which the country is going through. In such a situation, many more youths are likely to leave the country, says Neupane.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The latest reports show that the number of people opting for foreign employment is growing. Only around 3000 Nepalis had left for foreign employment in the first month of the current fiscal year. But the number of Nepali migrant workers leaving the country in the sixth month has climbed to 14,753.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department says that the number of people leaving the country for overseas jobs is increasing despite the threat of coronavirus after the government gave a green signal for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Neupane says foreign countries have already started demanding workers. This has also prompted Nepali citizens to opt for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12953',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export. The Birgunj Customs Office did not meet the target set in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has collected 86 percent of the target revenue between mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year. According to customs officer Ramesh Sukmani, a total revenue of Rs 73.55 billion has been collected in the last six months. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The Birgunj Customs had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 85.51 billion. The revenue collection so far this year is Rs 12 billion less than the corresponding &nbsp;period of last FY 2076/77. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Sukmani, the customs office has not been able to collect revenue as per the target due to the impact of coronavirus on the import, production and supply chain. &quot;Even in such an uncomfortable situation, raising such a large amount of revenue in six months should be considered an achievement,&quot; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has said that the revenue will improve in the coming months as the import and export from Birgunj is gradually returning to normal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs has collected Rs 28 billion from import duty in the first six months of the current year. Likewise, Rs 7.2 million revenue has been collected from export. Value added tax of Rs 25.44 billion has also been collected. Likewise, the customs office has collected Rs 8.66 billion in excise duty, Rs 6.88 billion in infrastructure tax on petroleum products and Rs 3.83 billion on road construction and road improvement charge. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office claims that the decline in imports of goods that contribute to the revenue this year has had an impact on revenue collection. According to the customs office data, the import of both vehicles and petroleum products, which are considered the main source of revenue, has declined. Customs officials say that import of industrial raw materials has also declined. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12699',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12952',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Contributors of SSF can Avail Loan Soon',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has prepared a draft of a new directive for implementing the investment work procedure, which once endorsed by the SSF board will pave way for providing loans to the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The draft, which outlines areas of investment and other issues, will be presented to the upcoming board meeting of SSF. Besides providing loan, SSF can also invest the collected amount if the draft is approved by the board.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Deputy Executive Director of SSF Bivek Panthi, the draft will be implemented as soon as it gets approved by the SSF board.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had issued a work procedure for effective implementation of the SSF. As per the investment work procedure, the contributors can avail special loan, housing loan, educational loan and loan under the heading of social work.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contributors can get loan up to 15 percent of their total contribution. There is a provision of providing loan equivalent to 15 years of salary of the contributor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the government&rsquo;s work procedure, the contributors of SSF can get a maximum of Rs 7.5 million under housing loan. Similarly, they can avail up to Rs 3.5 million for higher studies in foreign countries.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Those who seek loan from the SSF must have contributed to the fund for at least three years. However, the work procedure has not mentioned anything about the collateral and the evaluator. Therefore, the directive is required to clear these issues, says &nbsp;Panthi, who is also the spokesperson of SSF.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far, 13,089 employers and more than 185,000 workers have been listed in the SSF so far. It has already collected more than Rs 3.71 billion from the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-01-18',
			'modified' => '2021-01-18',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12698',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12951',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB tells Stakeholders to Give Priority to Nepali Insurance and Transportation Companies ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The central bank issued such directive to promote the home-based companies. The central bank has said that this new policy will be applicable for import goods imported to Nepal from third countries except India through Letter of Credit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB made the provision for promoting Nepali insurance and transportation companies by amending the Unified Directive 2076.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had been urging the importers to insure their goods from Nepali insurance companies since a long time. Now, the central bank also wants to promote Nepal&rsquo;s transportation companies, informed Bam Bahadur Mishra, executive director of NRB&rsquo;s Foreign Exchange Department. However, the central bank has not made this new provision mandatory.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepal&rsquo;s insurance companies alone cannot handle all the imports. Therefore, we have made a policy-level decision that directs stakeholders to take the services of Nepali insurance companies to the possible extent,&rdquo; said Mishra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">If the importers want to opt for foreign insurance companies, they need to present the documents and related bills. According to the central bank, the importers need to present the insurance and transportation bills separately and must be clearly noticeable.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12949',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Four Solar Plants get Permission for Survey ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development. Kalikhola Solar Plant, Mithila Solar Plant, Bhawanipur Solar Plant and Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant have received survey licenses from the department. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The largest project to get license is Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant. The promoter company Panas Energy Pvt Ltd is going to build a 100 MW capacity plant in Siraha district. According to the department, the company got permission for the survey on November 5. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Goodluck Glocal Power Energy has received permission to survey 7 MW Kalikhola Solar Plant in Nuwakot. According to the department, Solar Star Pvt Ltd has got permission to build and survey a 5 MW Mithila Solar Plant in Dhanusha and Nepal Petroleum Trade Links Pvt Ltd to build a 5 MW Bhawanipur Solar Plant in Bara. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The promoter companies will have to send the survey report to the department within two years. Navin Raj Singh, director general of the department, said if the survey is not completed in two years, the license will be cancelled. He said that due to the corona virus pandemic, the projects under survey are being extended. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;Some projects have not been able to survey due to the lockdown to control spread of coronavirus. Survey licenses of some projects have expired,&quot; he said, &quot;We are making arrangements to facilitate such projects.&quot; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-01-17',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12696',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12948',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Hoteliers Devise Strategy to bring Asian Tourists',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.<br />
Despite a marginal improvement in the hotel business due to domestic tourism, hoteliers have started formulating special packages and marketing strategies to bring tourists from Asian countries to Nepal. The stakeholders made such plans to bring back the hospitality sector, which has slowed down due to the non-arrival of foreign tourists.<br />
According to the Department of Immigration, the number of tourists from India, China, Thailand, and Myanmar is high despite the effects of the Covid-19. In 2020, only a small number of 230,000 tourists visited Nepal. However, the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2019 was 1.197 million.<br />
Sajan Shakya, general secretary of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that the hotel entrepreneurs are preparing a marketing strategy to bring the hotel business back on track.<br />
According to Shakya, necessary preparations have been made to promote tourism in China, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries, as hoteliers don&#39;t see the possibility of European and American tourists.<br />
He informed that HAN made preparations to conduct marketing promotions with discount packages to such countries as many Buddhist tourists are coming to Nepal. Currently, the condition of the hotel is deplorable. The room occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu has dropped significantly as tourists have not come even though the hotels are open. Shakya added that the hotel operators are overwhelmed to manage the expenses even after opening the hotel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">Hoteliers informed that even though domestic tourists have encouraged business in other tourist destinations, it is not enough. Although the overall hospitality business, which is almost zero, has been observing a positive impact from domestic tourists, they complain that the hotel business in Kathmandu is disappointing.<br />
The occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu, which is almost zero, has improved slightly for some time, rising to an average of 3 percent, HAN reported.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-17',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12695',
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			'article_date' => '2021-01-17 16:39:19',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12947',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Launches Nagarik App for Nepali Citizens',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. Users can also have access to all government documents using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The app is in testing phase at the moment. Users can also register their Permanent Account Number (PAN) using the app. They can also check the details of tax paid to the government as well as other details regarding their Employee Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Trust, Social Security Fund among others.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The citizens of Nepal can register their Citizenship Number, Passport Number, educational certificate and Voter ID in the app and will no longer require to present the hard copy of the documents.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung launched the app amid a function on Friday. Minister Gurung informed that the government will be providing all kinds of services through digital platform using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the minister, preparations are underway to add services related to Land Revenue Office, vehicle tax, driving and license as well.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He added that the app has been launched to provide services to the citizens in a fast and effective way using digital platform. According to the minister, the app has already registered the details of 21,500,000 citizens whose records are maintained by the home ministry as well as the personal details, fingerprints and photos of 15,500,000 citizens registered with the Election Commission.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry informed that Nepali citizens can download the app through android phone and open their accounts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12946',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prices of Essential Food Skyrocketing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials. The prices of rice and edible oil have gone up due to the increase in price of raw materials as well as transportation cost.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialist Suresh Rungata says that the farmers&rsquo; protest in India has also affected the price of paddy in Nepal. He added that the price of rice has increased by Rs 4 per kilogram within the last one month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Rice produced in most of the factories of Nepal are basically from paddy imported from India. Nepali importers say that the price of paddy imported from India has gone up by Rs 200 per quintal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, Nepali importers used to import paddy at subsidized rate but now the price has increased, says Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialists say that paddy which used to cost Rs 1800 until some time ago now costs Rs 2000 in Raxaul, India. The subsidized rate of rice in India is Rs 1850.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, the price of edible oil has also increased. The prices of soybean and sunflower oil have increased by Rs 50 per litre.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to industrialist Rungata, soybean oil that used to cost Rs 1,400 for 10 litres now costs Rs 1,900. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the price of mustard oil has increased by Rs 20 per litre. The price fixed for the consumers is 20 percent more than the factory price.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the oil processing factories import raw materials and then refine the oil in Nepal. Unporcessed soybean which used to cost US$ 700 per metric ton now costs US$ 1,100.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The prices of raw materials have increased during the pandemic. Shipping companies have also taken advantage by charging extra amount. Therefore, the prices of food have gone up,&rdquo; said Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12944',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Investors Need to Invest up to 25 Percent within 1 Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government made such arrangement by introducing the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer&nbsp; (FITTA) Regulation 2077.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The new provision has come into effect from last Monday (January 11) following the endorsement of the act two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new arrangement, foreign investors who have been granted permission to invest more than Rs 1 billion in Nepal need to invest at least 5 percent of the total investment within the first year. Similarly, investors who have pledged to&nbsp; invest more than Rs 250 million need to invest at least 10 percent within a year after getting approval from the government. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, investors who have been approved to invest up to Rs 250 million have to invest at least 25 percent of the total investment within a year.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government has not included the threshold for foreign investment in the Act itself, it has been adding the threshold time and again by amending the law and publishing it in the Nepal Gazette.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the latest amendment, the threshold for foreign investment in Nepal is minimum Rs 50 million, informed Narayan Prasad Regmi, spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12959',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Operation of Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Deferred Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.&nbsp; However, both the railway line and the trains are in a state of readiness. Two trains, brought from India, are in parking lot since their test operation on September 20.<br />
Nepal Railway Company Limited, the government entity entrusted for operating the railway, has deferred the operation three times.<br />
While buying the train, the company had announced to start operating the trains by mid-November 2020. But the company later pushed the operation date to December 2020. &nbsp;After two setbacks, the company has now vowed to start it by end of this month.<br />
Guru Bhattarai, general manager of the company, informed that the inauguration of the railway would be held in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries (Nepal and India). Due to this, the exact timing for operation of the railway has been uncertain, he informed.<br />
Stating that preparations for operating the train are in the final stage, he said, &quot;The date has not been fixed yet as the train will be inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India.&quot; However, the company is preparing to run the train by the end of January.<br />
Although the company has made final preparations to run the trains, the recruitment process for Nepali employees has not started yet. A few days before the train arrived, the company had published vacancy for 129 employees for 29 different posts on September 15.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2021-01-20',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12958',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Ownership Transfer of Khimti Hydropower Project unlikely within Extended Deadline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire. However, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Himal Power Company, promoter of the project funded by foreign investors, is yet to reach an understanding for the handover. This is the first hydropower company that is about to be handed over to the government by the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The two sides have reached a short-term understanding to continue operating the project although the share transfer process has not yet completed. The short-term agreement expires in mid-February but the two sides have not yet reached any substantial understanding for the handover.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement between the Government of Nepal and the promoter company, 50 percent shares of the company should have been transferred to the government by July 11. However, the deadline was extended till mid-February as the share transfer process could not be completed within the stipulated date. The handover process has not made any progress although the extended deadline is coming closer.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Looking at the current situation, it is unlikely that the handover process will be completed within mid-Fedruary.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director of NEA Prabal Adhikari informed New Business Age that they are currently discussing the issue. He added that it is impossible to transfer the shares within mid-February.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The project which is being run by Himal Power Company since July 2000 is the first hydropower project built with investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The then government had signed an agreement with the developers to transfer 50 percent of shares to the government after 20 years of operation. The project reached the milestone of generating electricity for 20 years on July 11 last year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement, the NEA will own 100 percent shares of the project in the next 30 years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">For the completion of share transfer process, stakeholders including the NEA and the promoters of the project should establish a joint venture. Then the new entity will have to finalize the power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the NEA. However, the joint venture company is yet to be established and the issue of PPA is also pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '12705',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12955',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NOC to Stop Importing Petrol from Raxaul',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the state-run news agency of Nepal, RSS, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been citing security concerns for more than two years regarding the operation of the depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">NOC decided to stop importing petroleum products from Raxaul citing the security concerns of IOC&#39;s. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Arrangements have been made for petroleum dealers from Bara and Parsa, who have been importing petroleum products from Raxaul Depot, to purchase fuel at the Nepal Oil Corporation&#39;s Provincial Office in Province 2, said Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson of the corporation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">All billings will now be made from the Provincial Office of the NOC. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12956',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FMTC lags behind in Meeting its Target of Paddy Procurement ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The FMTC&nbsp; had set a target of purchasing 60,000 metric tons of paddy from purchase centres spread across the country. However, it has managed to purchase only 22,555 metric tons of paddy so far.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has been learnt that the company has not been able to meet its target due to lack of adequate storage facility and also because it started the procurement process late.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The state-owned company had failed to purchase paddy in accordance to its target last year as well. FMTC had set a target to purchase 30,000 metric tons of paddy last year but it was able to buy only 21,164 metric tons of paddy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FMTC has an obligation to purchase paddy fulfill Nepal&rsquo;s commitment for storage of food grains for SAARC nations. The government keeps a stock of food in order to supply them during times of crisis as well as to remote areas. In this context, the FMTC procures paddy and wheat from various centres every year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the company Netra Subedi informed that they are in the process of procuring paddy till mid-February but admitted that they have failed to purchase paddy as per their target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, FMTC started the procurement process late and secondly we do not have large storage facility,&rdquo; said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has also been found that the FMTC has been purchasing paddy at a higher price than the local businessmen. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Out of the 11 centres across the country, FMTC has not been able to purchase paddy in Jumla.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the data provided by the company, it has purchased 3,835 metric tons of paddy in Rajapur (Bardiya), 5,336 metric tons in Dhangadhi, 2,300 metric tons in Birtamode, 1,349 metric tons in Janakpur, 1,362 metric tons in Biratnagar, 2,256 metric tons in Lahan, 1,845 metric tons in Birgunj, 1,800 metric tons in Bhairahawa, 3,307 metric tons in Nepalgunj and 947 metric tons in Mahendranagar.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12957',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI urges NRB Governor to Extend Deadline for Payment of Loan',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). During the meeting FNCCI members requested NRB Governor Adhikari to extend the deadline for payment of loan and interest by three months till mid-April.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha informed that the industrialists and businessmen have been affected due to the dilly-dallying of banks and financial institutions to provide services in accordance to the government&rsquo;s policy.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also said that the central bank must play a special role to ensure that the business continuity loan is made available without any hassles. The delegation also informed Governor Adhikari that some banks and financial institutions have blacklisted businessmen under different pretexts. They also urged the governor not to keep the borrowers who have suffered business losses for two years under &ldquo;watchful list&rdquo;. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also pointed out to the need of extending the ceiling of online payment and to ensure proper safety.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the meeting, Governor Adhikari assured FNCCI members that the central bank will collaborate with them for revitalizing the businesses and industries affected by Covid-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12950',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Climbers from 11 Countries get Permits during Winter Season',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal. Nevertheless, mountaineers from 11 countries including Nepal have been granted permission to climb mountains during this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Department of Tourism has given climbing permits to 44 climbers of nine expedition teams from Nepal, India, Switzerland, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, USA, Qatar, Mexico, Spain and Italy since the start of climbing season this winter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had opened trekking and expedition for foreigners from October 17 amid coronavirus pandemic. The ministry had issued a standard health protocol which the foreigners had to follow if they were interested in visiting Nepal to climb mountains.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials at the department believe that the government&rsquo;s decision to open the trekking and expedition industry for foreign tourists has contributed a lot to the ailing economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the department, Nepal, Spain and the USA have the highest number of climbers this season. Altogether 21 climbers from Nepal, 10 from Spain, four from USA and the remaining nine have received permits this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has collected royalty of Rs 879,000 from the climbers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, a ten-member Nepali team, which also included Nirmal Purja, on Saturday climbed Mount K2 of Pakistan for the first time in history during winter season. The success of Nepali team is expected to boost mountaineering activities in the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200807075017_1596774556.Trekking%20pic.jpg" style="height:253px; width:450px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12701',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12954',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepali Citizens Opt for Foreign Employment Despite Risk of Coronavirus',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had pledged to provide employment to Nepali migrant workers who had returned to the country after the disease started spreading in the labour destination countries. However, the government failed to live up to its commitment and this has forced thousands of workers to return to their work although the risk of Covid-19 has not yet subsided.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 72,366 Nepalis left for foreign employment in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The data was collected from five months record of Nepal Rastra Bank and one month&rsquo;s data prepared by the Department of Foreign Employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Among them, 30,837 workers took new labour permits while the remaining 41,529 had renewed their work permits.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment Tikaram Neupane says that the workers have been forced to travel abroad for employment as the government failed to launch the special scheme which it had announced.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The government had assured the Nepali workers who lost their foreign jobs that it would provide employment to them within the country. However, the government&rsquo;s scheme did kick off,&rdquo; said Neupane, adding, &ldquo;On top of that, there is political instability in the country. This too has forced Nepali citizens to go abroad for work.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There isn&rsquo;t any possibility for the government to launch programmes to create employment opportunities given the political instability which the country is going through. In such a situation, many more youths are likely to leave the country, says Neupane.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The latest reports show that the number of people opting for foreign employment is growing. Only around 3000 Nepalis had left for foreign employment in the first month of the current fiscal year. But the number of Nepali migrant workers leaving the country in the sixth month has climbed to 14,753.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department says that the number of people leaving the country for overseas jobs is increasing despite the threat of coronavirus after the government gave a green signal for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Neupane says foreign countries have already started demanding workers. This has also prompted Nepali citizens to opt for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12953',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export. The Birgunj Customs Office did not meet the target set in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has collected 86 percent of the target revenue between mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year. According to customs officer Ramesh Sukmani, a total revenue of Rs 73.55 billion has been collected in the last six months. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The Birgunj Customs had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 85.51 billion. The revenue collection so far this year is Rs 12 billion less than the corresponding &nbsp;period of last FY 2076/77. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Sukmani, the customs office has not been able to collect revenue as per the target due to the impact of coronavirus on the import, production and supply chain. &quot;Even in such an uncomfortable situation, raising such a large amount of revenue in six months should be considered an achievement,&quot; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has said that the revenue will improve in the coming months as the import and export from Birgunj is gradually returning to normal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs has collected Rs 28 billion from import duty in the first six months of the current year. Likewise, Rs 7.2 million revenue has been collected from export. Value added tax of Rs 25.44 billion has also been collected. Likewise, the customs office has collected Rs 8.66 billion in excise duty, Rs 6.88 billion in infrastructure tax on petroleum products and Rs 3.83 billion on road construction and road improvement charge. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office claims that the decline in imports of goods that contribute to the revenue this year has had an impact on revenue collection. According to the customs office data, the import of both vehicles and petroleum products, which are considered the main source of revenue, has declined. Customs officials say that import of industrial raw materials has also declined. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12699',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12952',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Contributors of SSF can Avail Loan Soon',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has prepared a draft of a new directive for implementing the investment work procedure, which once endorsed by the SSF board will pave way for providing loans to the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The draft, which outlines areas of investment and other issues, will be presented to the upcoming board meeting of SSF. Besides providing loan, SSF can also invest the collected amount if the draft is approved by the board.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Deputy Executive Director of SSF Bivek Panthi, the draft will be implemented as soon as it gets approved by the SSF board.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had issued a work procedure for effective implementation of the SSF. As per the investment work procedure, the contributors can avail special loan, housing loan, educational loan and loan under the heading of social work.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contributors can get loan up to 15 percent of their total contribution. There is a provision of providing loan equivalent to 15 years of salary of the contributor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the government&rsquo;s work procedure, the contributors of SSF can get a maximum of Rs 7.5 million under housing loan. Similarly, they can avail up to Rs 3.5 million for higher studies in foreign countries.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Those who seek loan from the SSF must have contributed to the fund for at least three years. However, the work procedure has not mentioned anything about the collateral and the evaluator. Therefore, the directive is required to clear these issues, says &nbsp;Panthi, who is also the spokesperson of SSF.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far, 13,089 employers and more than 185,000 workers have been listed in the SSF so far. It has already collected more than Rs 3.71 billion from the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12951',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB tells Stakeholders to Give Priority to Nepali Insurance and Transportation Companies ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The central bank issued such directive to promote the home-based companies. The central bank has said that this new policy will be applicable for import goods imported to Nepal from third countries except India through Letter of Credit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB made the provision for promoting Nepali insurance and transportation companies by amending the Unified Directive 2076.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had been urging the importers to insure their goods from Nepali insurance companies since a long time. Now, the central bank also wants to promote Nepal&rsquo;s transportation companies, informed Bam Bahadur Mishra, executive director of NRB&rsquo;s Foreign Exchange Department. However, the central bank has not made this new provision mandatory.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepal&rsquo;s insurance companies alone cannot handle all the imports. Therefore, we have made a policy-level decision that directs stakeholders to take the services of Nepali insurance companies to the possible extent,&rdquo; said Mishra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">If the importers want to opt for foreign insurance companies, they need to present the documents and related bills. According to the central bank, the importers need to present the insurance and transportation bills separately and must be clearly noticeable.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12949',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Four Solar Plants get Permission for Survey ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development. Kalikhola Solar Plant, Mithila Solar Plant, Bhawanipur Solar Plant and Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant have received survey licenses from the department. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The largest project to get license is Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant. The promoter company Panas Energy Pvt Ltd is going to build a 100 MW capacity plant in Siraha district. According to the department, the company got permission for the survey on November 5. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Goodluck Glocal Power Energy has received permission to survey 7 MW Kalikhola Solar Plant in Nuwakot. According to the department, Solar Star Pvt Ltd has got permission to build and survey a 5 MW Mithila Solar Plant in Dhanusha and Nepal Petroleum Trade Links Pvt Ltd to build a 5 MW Bhawanipur Solar Plant in Bara. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The promoter companies will have to send the survey report to the department within two years. Navin Raj Singh, director general of the department, said if the survey is not completed in two years, the license will be cancelled. He said that due to the corona virus pandemic, the projects under survey are being extended. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;Some projects have not been able to survey due to the lockdown to control spread of coronavirus. Survey licenses of some projects have expired,&quot; he said, &quot;We are making arrangements to facilitate such projects.&quot; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12948',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Hoteliers Devise Strategy to bring Asian Tourists',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.<br />
Despite a marginal improvement in the hotel business due to domestic tourism, hoteliers have started formulating special packages and marketing strategies to bring tourists from Asian countries to Nepal. The stakeholders made such plans to bring back the hospitality sector, which has slowed down due to the non-arrival of foreign tourists.<br />
According to the Department of Immigration, the number of tourists from India, China, Thailand, and Myanmar is high despite the effects of the Covid-19. In 2020, only a small number of 230,000 tourists visited Nepal. However, the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2019 was 1.197 million.<br />
Sajan Shakya, general secretary of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that the hotel entrepreneurs are preparing a marketing strategy to bring the hotel business back on track.<br />
According to Shakya, necessary preparations have been made to promote tourism in China, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries, as hoteliers don&#39;t see the possibility of European and American tourists.<br />
He informed that HAN made preparations to conduct marketing promotions with discount packages to such countries as many Buddhist tourists are coming to Nepal. Currently, the condition of the hotel is deplorable. The room occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu has dropped significantly as tourists have not come even though the hotels are open. Shakya added that the hotel operators are overwhelmed to manage the expenses even after opening the hotel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">Hoteliers informed that even though domestic tourists have encouraged business in other tourist destinations, it is not enough. Although the overall hospitality business, which is almost zero, has been observing a positive impact from domestic tourists, they complain that the hotel business in Kathmandu is disappointing.<br />
The occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu, which is almost zero, has improved slightly for some time, rising to an average of 3 percent, HAN reported.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12947',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Launches Nagarik App for Nepali Citizens',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. Users can also have access to all government documents using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The app is in testing phase at the moment. Users can also register their Permanent Account Number (PAN) using the app. They can also check the details of tax paid to the government as well as other details regarding their Employee Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Trust, Social Security Fund among others.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The citizens of Nepal can register their Citizenship Number, Passport Number, educational certificate and Voter ID in the app and will no longer require to present the hard copy of the documents.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung launched the app amid a function on Friday. Minister Gurung informed that the government will be providing all kinds of services through digital platform using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the minister, preparations are underway to add services related to Land Revenue Office, vehicle tax, driving and license as well.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He added that the app has been launched to provide services to the citizens in a fast and effective way using digital platform. According to the minister, the app has already registered the details of 21,500,000 citizens whose records are maintained by the home ministry as well as the personal details, fingerprints and photos of 15,500,000 citizens registered with the Election Commission.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry informed that Nepali citizens can download the app through android phone and open their accounts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12946',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prices of Essential Food Skyrocketing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials. The prices of rice and edible oil have gone up due to the increase in price of raw materials as well as transportation cost.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialist Suresh Rungata says that the farmers&rsquo; protest in India has also affected the price of paddy in Nepal. He added that the price of rice has increased by Rs 4 per kilogram within the last one month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Rice produced in most of the factories of Nepal are basically from paddy imported from India. Nepali importers say that the price of paddy imported from India has gone up by Rs 200 per quintal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, Nepali importers used to import paddy at subsidized rate but now the price has increased, says Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialists say that paddy which used to cost Rs 1800 until some time ago now costs Rs 2000 in Raxaul, India. The subsidized rate of rice in India is Rs 1850.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, the price of edible oil has also increased. The prices of soybean and sunflower oil have increased by Rs 50 per litre.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to industrialist Rungata, soybean oil that used to cost Rs 1,400 for 10 litres now costs Rs 1,900. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the price of mustard oil has increased by Rs 20 per litre. The price fixed for the consumers is 20 percent more than the factory price.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the oil processing factories import raw materials and then refine the oil in Nepal. Unporcessed soybean which used to cost US$ 700 per metric ton now costs US$ 1,100.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The prices of raw materials have increased during the pandemic. Shipping companies have also taken advantage by charging extra amount. Therefore, the prices of food have gone up,&rdquo; said Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12944',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Investors Need to Invest up to 25 Percent within 1 Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government made such arrangement by introducing the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer&nbsp; (FITTA) Regulation 2077.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The new provision has come into effect from last Monday (January 11) following the endorsement of the act two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new arrangement, foreign investors who have been granted permission to invest more than Rs 1 billion in Nepal need to invest at least 5 percent of the total investment within the first year. Similarly, investors who have pledged to&nbsp; invest more than Rs 250 million need to invest at least 10 percent within a year after getting approval from the government. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, investors who have been approved to invest up to Rs 250 million have to invest at least 25 percent of the total investment within a year.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government has not included the threshold for foreign investment in the Act itself, it has been adding the threshold time and again by amending the law and publishing it in the Nepal Gazette.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the latest amendment, the threshold for foreign investment in Nepal is minimum Rs 50 million, informed Narayan Prasad Regmi, spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12959',
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			'title' => 'Operation of Janakpur-Jayanagar Train Deferred Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Times">January 20: The operation of the 34-kilometre-long Janakpur (Kurtha) -Jayanagar railway line has been pushed back repeatedly.&nbsp; However, both the railway line and the trains are in a state of readiness. Two trains, brought from India, are in parking lot since their test operation on September 20.<br />
Nepal Railway Company Limited, the government entity entrusted for operating the railway, has deferred the operation three times.<br />
While buying the train, the company had announced to start operating the trains by mid-November 2020. But the company later pushed the operation date to December 2020. &nbsp;After two setbacks, the company has now vowed to start it by end of this month.<br />
Guru Bhattarai, general manager of the company, informed that the inauguration of the railway would be held in the presence of the prime ministers of the two countries (Nepal and India). Due to this, the exact timing for operation of the railway has been uncertain, he informed.<br />
Stating that preparations for operating the train are in the final stage, he said, &quot;The date has not been fixed yet as the train will be inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India.&quot; However, the company is preparing to run the train by the end of January.<br />
Although the company has made final preparations to run the trains, the recruitment process for Nepali employees has not started yet. A few days before the train arrived, the company had published vacancy for 129 employees for 29 different posts on September 15.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'title' => 'Ownership Transfer of Khimti Hydropower Project unlikely within Extended Deadline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The extended deadline for handover of the 60 megawatt Khimti Hydropower Project to the government is about expire. However, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Himal Power Company, promoter of the project funded by foreign investors, is yet to reach an understanding for the handover. This is the first hydropower company that is about to be handed over to the government by the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The two sides have reached a short-term understanding to continue operating the project although the share transfer process has not yet completed. The short-term agreement expires in mid-February but the two sides have not yet reached any substantial understanding for the handover.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement between the Government of Nepal and the promoter company, 50 percent shares of the company should have been transferred to the government by July 11. However, the deadline was extended till mid-February as the share transfer process could not be completed within the stipulated date. The handover process has not made any progress although the extended deadline is coming closer.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Looking at the current situation, it is unlikely that the handover process will be completed within mid-Fedruary.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director of NEA Prabal Adhikari informed New Business Age that they are currently discussing the issue. He added that it is impossible to transfer the shares within mid-February.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The project which is being run by Himal Power Company since July 2000 is the first hydropower project built with investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The then government had signed an agreement with the developers to transfer 50 percent of shares to the government after 20 years of operation. The project reached the milestone of generating electricity for 20 years on July 11 last year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the agreement, the NEA will own 100 percent shares of the project in the next 30 years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">For the completion of share transfer process, stakeholders including the NEA and the promoters of the project should establish a joint venture. Then the new entity will have to finalize the power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the NEA. However, the joint venture company is yet to be established and the issue of PPA is also pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12955',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NOC to Stop Importing Petrol from Raxaul',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">January 19: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop the import of petroleum products from the Raxaul-based depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to the state-run news agency of Nepal, RSS, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been citing security concerns for more than two years regarding the operation of the depot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">NOC decided to stop importing petroleum products from Raxaul citing the security concerns of IOC&#39;s. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Arrangements have been made for petroleum dealers from Bara and Parsa, who have been importing petroleum products from Raxaul Depot, to purchase fuel at the Nepal Oil Corporation&#39;s Provincial Office in Province 2, said Binit Mani Upadhyaya, spokesperson of the corporation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">All billings will now be made from the Provincial Office of the NOC. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'image' => '20210119120932_20200401103058_petrol-2-1539134824.jpg',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12956',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FMTC lags behind in Meeting its Target of Paddy Procurement ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: The state-owned Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited has not been able to purchase paddy as per its target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The FMTC&nbsp; had set a target of purchasing 60,000 metric tons of paddy from purchase centres spread across the country. However, it has managed to purchase only 22,555 metric tons of paddy so far.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has been learnt that the company has not been able to meet its target due to lack of adequate storage facility and also because it started the procurement process late.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The state-owned company had failed to purchase paddy in accordance to its target last year as well. FMTC had set a target to purchase 30,000 metric tons of paddy last year but it was able to buy only 21,164 metric tons of paddy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FMTC has an obligation to purchase paddy fulfill Nepal&rsquo;s commitment for storage of food grains for SAARC nations. The government keeps a stock of food in order to supply them during times of crisis as well as to remote areas. In this context, the FMTC procures paddy and wheat from various centres every year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the company Netra Subedi informed that they are in the process of procuring paddy till mid-February but admitted that they have failed to purchase paddy as per their target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, FMTC started the procurement process late and secondly we do not have large storage facility,&rdquo; said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It has also been found that the FMTC has been purchasing paddy at a higher price than the local businessmen. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Out of the 11 centres across the country, FMTC has not been able to purchase paddy in Jumla.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the data provided by the company, it has purchased 3,835 metric tons of paddy in Rajapur (Bardiya), 5,336 metric tons in Dhangadhi, 2,300 metric tons in Birtamode, 1,349 metric tons in Janakpur, 1,362 metric tons in Biratnagar, 2,256 metric tons in Lahan, 1,845 metric tons in Birgunj, 1,800 metric tons in Bhairahawa, 3,307 metric tons in Nepalgunj and 947 metric tons in Mahendranagar.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12957',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI urges NRB Governor to Extend Deadline for Payment of Loan',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 19: A delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) held a meeting with Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Monday (January 19). During the meeting FNCCI members requested NRB Governor Adhikari to extend the deadline for payment of loan and interest by three months till mid-April.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha informed that the industrialists and businessmen have been affected due to the dilly-dallying of banks and financial institutions to provide services in accordance to the government&rsquo;s policy.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also said that the central bank must play a special role to ensure that the business continuity loan is made available without any hassles. The delegation also informed Governor Adhikari that some banks and financial institutions have blacklisted businessmen under different pretexts. They also urged the governor not to keep the borrowers who have suffered business losses for two years under &ldquo;watchful list&rdquo;. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI also pointed out to the need of extending the ceiling of online payment and to ensure proper safety.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the meeting, Governor Adhikari assured FNCCI members that the central bank will collaborate with them for revitalizing the businesses and industries affected by Covid-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'sortorder' => '12702',
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			'article_date' => '2021-01-19 13:18:45',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12950',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Climbers from 11 Countries get Permits during Winter Season',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Winter season is considered hostile for climbing mountains in Nepal. Nevertheless, mountaineers from 11 countries including Nepal have been granted permission to climb mountains during this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Department of Tourism has given climbing permits to 44 climbers of nine expedition teams from Nepal, India, Switzerland, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, USA, Qatar, Mexico, Spain and Italy since the start of climbing season this winter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had opened trekking and expedition for foreigners from October 17 amid coronavirus pandemic. The ministry had issued a standard health protocol which the foreigners had to follow if they were interested in visiting Nepal to climb mountains.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials at the department believe that the government&rsquo;s decision to open the trekking and expedition industry for foreign tourists has contributed a lot to the ailing economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the department, Nepal, Spain and the USA have the highest number of climbers this season. Altogether 21 climbers from Nepal, 10 from Spain, four from USA and the remaining nine have received permits this season.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has collected royalty of Rs 879,000 from the climbers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, a ten-member Nepali team, which also included Nirmal Purja, on Saturday climbed Mount K2 of Pakistan for the first time in history during winter season. The success of Nepali team is expected to boost mountaineering activities in the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200807075017_1596774556.Trekking%20pic.jpg" style="height:253px; width:450px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2021-01-18',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12701',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12954',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepali Citizens Opt for Foreign Employment Despite Risk of Coronavirus',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepali citizens have been forced to visit abroad for foreign employment even during coronavirus pandemic due to lack of job opportunities within the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had pledged to provide employment to Nepali migrant workers who had returned to the country after the disease started spreading in the labour destination countries. However, the government failed to live up to its commitment and this has forced thousands of workers to return to their work although the risk of Covid-19 has not yet subsided.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 72,366 Nepalis left for foreign employment in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The data was collected from five months record of Nepal Rastra Bank and one month&rsquo;s data prepared by the Department of Foreign Employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Among them, 30,837 workers took new labour permits while the remaining 41,529 had renewed their work permits.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment Tikaram Neupane says that the workers have been forced to travel abroad for employment as the government failed to launch the special scheme which it had announced.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The government had assured the Nepali workers who lost their foreign jobs that it would provide employment to them within the country. However, the government&rsquo;s scheme did kick off,&rdquo; said Neupane, adding, &ldquo;On top of that, there is political instability in the country. This too has forced Nepali citizens to go abroad for work.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There isn&rsquo;t any possibility for the government to launch programmes to create employment opportunities given the political instability which the country is going through. In such a situation, many more youths are likely to leave the country, says Neupane.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The latest reports show that the number of people opting for foreign employment is growing. Only around 3000 Nepalis had left for foreign employment in the first month of the current fiscal year. But the number of Nepali migrant workers leaving the country in the sixth month has climbed to 14,753.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department says that the number of people leaving the country for overseas jobs is increasing despite the threat of coronavirus after the government gave a green signal for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Neupane says foreign countries have already started demanding workers. This has also prompted Nepali citizens to opt for foreign employment.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12953',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export. The Birgunj Customs Office did not meet the target set in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has collected 86 percent of the target revenue between mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year. According to customs officer Ramesh Sukmani, a total revenue of Rs 73.55 billion has been collected in the last six months. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The Birgunj Customs had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 85.51 billion. The revenue collection so far this year is Rs 12 billion less than the corresponding &nbsp;period of last FY 2076/77. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Sukmani, the customs office has not been able to collect revenue as per the target due to the impact of coronavirus on the import, production and supply chain. &quot;Even in such an uncomfortable situation, raising such a large amount of revenue in six months should be considered an achievement,&quot; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office has said that the revenue will improve in the coming months as the import and export from Birgunj is gradually returning to normal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs has collected Rs 28 billion from import duty in the first six months of the current year. Likewise, Rs 7.2 million revenue has been collected from export. Value added tax of Rs 25.44 billion has also been collected. Likewise, the customs office has collected Rs 8.66 billion in excise duty, Rs 6.88 billion in infrastructure tax on petroleum products and Rs 3.83 billion on road construction and road improvement charge. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The customs office claims that the decline in imports of goods that contribute to the revenue this year has had an impact on revenue collection. According to the customs office data, the import of both vehicles and petroleum products, which are considered the main source of revenue, has declined. Customs officials say that import of industrial raw materials has also declined. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12952',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Contributors of SSF can Avail Loan Soon',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Contributors of the Social Security Fund (SSF) can soon avail loan from the state-owned fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has prepared a draft of a new directive for implementing the investment work procedure, which once endorsed by the SSF board will pave way for providing loans to the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The draft, which outlines areas of investment and other issues, will be presented to the upcoming board meeting of SSF. Besides providing loan, SSF can also invest the collected amount if the draft is approved by the board.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Deputy Executive Director of SSF Bivek Panthi, the draft will be implemented as soon as it gets approved by the SSF board.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had issued a work procedure for effective implementation of the SSF. As per the investment work procedure, the contributors can avail special loan, housing loan, educational loan and loan under the heading of social work.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contributors can get loan up to 15 percent of their total contribution. There is a provision of providing loan equivalent to 15 years of salary of the contributor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the government&rsquo;s work procedure, the contributors of SSF can get a maximum of Rs 7.5 million under housing loan. Similarly, they can avail up to Rs 3.5 million for higher studies in foreign countries.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Those who seek loan from the SSF must have contributed to the fund for at least three years. However, the work procedure has not mentioned anything about the collateral and the evaluator. Therefore, the directive is required to clear these issues, says &nbsp;Panthi, who is also the spokesperson of SSF.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far, 13,089 employers and more than 185,000 workers have been listed in the SSF so far. It has already collected more than Rs 3.71 billion from the contributors.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12951',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB tells Stakeholders to Give Priority to Nepali Insurance and Transportation Companies ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed all stakeholders to give priority to Nepali insurance and transportation companies while importing goods from abroad.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The central bank issued such directive to promote the home-based companies. The central bank has said that this new policy will be applicable for import goods imported to Nepal from third countries except India through Letter of Credit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB made the provision for promoting Nepali insurance and transportation companies by amending the Unified Directive 2076.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had been urging the importers to insure their goods from Nepali insurance companies since a long time. Now, the central bank also wants to promote Nepal&rsquo;s transportation companies, informed Bam Bahadur Mishra, executive director of NRB&rsquo;s Foreign Exchange Department. However, the central bank has not made this new provision mandatory.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepal&rsquo;s insurance companies alone cannot handle all the imports. Therefore, we have made a policy-level decision that directs stakeholders to take the services of Nepali insurance companies to the possible extent,&rdquo; said Mishra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">If the importers want to opt for foreign insurance companies, they need to present the documents and related bills. According to the central bank, the importers need to present the insurance and transportation bills separately and must be clearly noticeable.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12949',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Four Solar Plants get Permission for Survey ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">January 17: Four solar power projects of 117 Megawatt capacity have received permission for survey in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Electricity Development. Kalikhola Solar Plant, Mithila Solar Plant, Bhawanipur Solar Plant and Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant have received survey licenses from the department. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The largest project to get license is Lamadanda Lalpur Solar Plant. The promoter company Panas Energy Pvt Ltd is going to build a 100 MW capacity plant in Siraha district. According to the department, the company got permission for the survey on November 5. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Goodluck Glocal Power Energy has received permission to survey 7 MW Kalikhola Solar Plant in Nuwakot. According to the department, Solar Star Pvt Ltd has got permission to build and survey a 5 MW Mithila Solar Plant in Dhanusha and Nepal Petroleum Trade Links Pvt Ltd to build a 5 MW Bhawanipur Solar Plant in Bara. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The promoter companies will have to send the survey report to the department within two years. Navin Raj Singh, director general of the department, said if the survey is not completed in two years, the license will be cancelled. He said that due to the corona virus pandemic, the projects under survey are being extended. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;Some projects have not been able to survey due to the lockdown to control spread of coronavirus. Survey licenses of some projects have expired,&quot; he said, &quot;We are making arrangements to facilitate such projects.&quot; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12948',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Hoteliers Devise Strategy to bring Asian Tourists',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 17: Hoteliers are working to bring the hospitality sector, most affected by the Covid-19, back on track.<br />
Despite a marginal improvement in the hotel business due to domestic tourism, hoteliers have started formulating special packages and marketing strategies to bring tourists from Asian countries to Nepal. The stakeholders made such plans to bring back the hospitality sector, which has slowed down due to the non-arrival of foreign tourists.<br />
According to the Department of Immigration, the number of tourists from India, China, Thailand, and Myanmar is high despite the effects of the Covid-19. In 2020, only a small number of 230,000 tourists visited Nepal. However, the number of tourists visiting Nepal in 2019 was 1.197 million.<br />
Sajan Shakya, general secretary of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that the hotel entrepreneurs are preparing a marketing strategy to bring the hotel business back on track.<br />
According to Shakya, necessary preparations have been made to promote tourism in China, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries, as hoteliers don&#39;t see the possibility of European and American tourists.<br />
He informed that HAN made preparations to conduct marketing promotions with discount packages to such countries as many Buddhist tourists are coming to Nepal. Currently, the condition of the hotel is deplorable. The room occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu has dropped significantly as tourists have not come even though the hotels are open. Shakya added that the hotel operators are overwhelmed to manage the expenses even after opening the hotel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">Hoteliers informed that even though domestic tourists have encouraged business in other tourist destinations, it is not enough. Although the overall hospitality business, which is almost zero, has been observing a positive impact from domestic tourists, they complain that the hotel business in Kathmandu is disappointing.<br />
The occupancy rate of hotels in Kathmandu, which is almost zero, has improved slightly for some time, rising to an average of 3 percent, HAN reported.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12947',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Launches Nagarik App for Nepali Citizens',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The government has launched a smartphone application to provide all kings of government services through the app. Users can also have access to all government documents using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The app is in testing phase at the moment. Users can also register their Permanent Account Number (PAN) using the app. They can also check the details of tax paid to the government as well as other details regarding their Employee Provident Fund, Citizens Investment Trust, Social Security Fund among others.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The citizens of Nepal can register their Citizenship Number, Passport Number, educational certificate and Voter ID in the app and will no longer require to present the hard copy of the documents.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung launched the app amid a function on Friday. Minister Gurung informed that the government will be providing all kinds of services through digital platform using the app.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the minister, preparations are underway to add services related to Land Revenue Office, vehicle tax, driving and license as well.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He added that the app has been launched to provide services to the citizens in a fast and effective way using digital platform. According to the minister, the app has already registered the details of 21,500,000 citizens whose records are maintained by the home ministry as well as the personal details, fingerprints and photos of 15,500,000 citizens registered with the Election Commission.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry informed that Nepali citizens can download the app through android phone and open their accounts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12946',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prices of Essential Food Skyrocketing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 17: The prices of essential food have increased due to the increase in price of raw materials. The prices of rice and edible oil have gone up due to the increase in price of raw materials as well as transportation cost.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialist Suresh Rungata says that the farmers&rsquo; protest in India has also affected the price of paddy in Nepal. He added that the price of rice has increased by Rs 4 per kilogram within the last one month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Rice produced in most of the factories of Nepal are basically from paddy imported from India. Nepali importers say that the price of paddy imported from India has gone up by Rs 200 per quintal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, Nepali importers used to import paddy at subsidized rate but now the price has increased, says Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Industrialists say that paddy which used to cost Rs 1800 until some time ago now costs Rs 2000 in Raxaul, India. The subsidized rate of rice in India is Rs 1850.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, the price of edible oil has also increased. The prices of soybean and sunflower oil have increased by Rs 50 per litre.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to industrialist Rungata, soybean oil that used to cost Rs 1,400 for 10 litres now costs Rs 1,900. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the price of mustard oil has increased by Rs 20 per litre. The price fixed for the consumers is 20 percent more than the factory price.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the oil processing factories import raw materials and then refine the oil in Nepal. Unporcessed soybean which used to cost US$ 700 per metric ton now costs US$ 1,100.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The prices of raw materials have increased during the pandemic. Shipping companies have also taken advantage by charging extra amount. Therefore, the prices of food have gone up,&rdquo; said Rungata.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12944',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Investors Need to Invest up to 25 Percent within 1 Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">January 15: Foreign investors will now onward have to invest 5 to 25 percent of their total investment within a year of getting approval from the government to invest in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government made such arrangement by introducing the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer&nbsp; (FITTA) Regulation 2077.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The new provision has come into effect from last Monday (January 11) following the endorsement of the act two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new arrangement, foreign investors who have been granted permission to invest more than Rs 1 billion in Nepal need to invest at least 5 percent of the total investment within the first year. Similarly, investors who have pledged to&nbsp; invest more than Rs 250 million need to invest at least 10 percent within a year after getting approval from the government. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, investors who have been approved to invest up to Rs 250 million have to invest at least 25 percent of the total investment within a year.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government has not included the threshold for foreign investment in the Act itself, it has been adding the threshold time and again by amending the law and publishing it in the Nepal Gazette.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the latest amendment, the threshold for foreign investment in Nepal is minimum Rs 50 million, informed Narayan Prasad Regmi, spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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FOREX

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)

Bullion

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

Petroleum

Petrol	1 Liter	106.00
Diesel	1 Liter	95.00
Kerosene	1 Liter	95.00
LP Gas	1 Cylinder	1375.00