November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last…
November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last…
November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health…
November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale…
October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining…
October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of…
October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a…
October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in…
October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private…
October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic.…
October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor…
October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing…
October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital…
October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.…
October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production.…
October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12626', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Still the First Choice of Foreign Investors Despite Covid-19 Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A total of 89 projects with investment of Rs 19.15 billion have been registered with the Department of Industry in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The registration of such projects registered during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was also similar in number. The number of projects with foreign investment has remained almost similar in the last two years. However, the number is significantly less compared to the registration of foreign-backed projects in FY 2018/19, when a total of 129 projects were registered in the first three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 2,846 persons will get employment from the projects ranging from agriculture to IT, production, service sector and tourism industry registered in the current FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period, tourism and service sectors have attracted more investment this year as well. A total of 58 projects related to tourism industry have been registered in the first three months of the current fiscal year. The total investment for the projects is estimated to be around Rs 13.8 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The second choice for foreign investors is the service sector. During the review period, a total of 25 projects were registered in this sector while the agriculture sector recorded one project and the IT sector drew just three projects. The commitment for investment in the service sector in the review period is Rs 4.5 billion. None of the investors have shown any interest in the energy sector in the first three months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Senior Vice President of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Binayak Shah says it is a positive development to see investors interested in the tourism industry but added there has been very little investment in real sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have also notice a trend of foreign investors just acquiring license,” said Shah, adding, “Foreign investors might have been attracted because there is still plenty of opportunities in the provincial capitals and other areas outside the capital.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the number of projects registered in the first three months of FY 2018/19 was significantly more, the investment commitment in that particular year was less than either the current FY year or the last FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In FY 2018/19, a total of 129 projects with investment of Rs 7.13 billion were registered with the department. However, investment for 88 projects registered in the last FY 2019/20 was Rs 19.25 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12373', 'image' => '20201102015340_20201016032657_1602804123.Clipboard13.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 13:52:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12625', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Gradually Reopen Tourism Industry', 'sub_title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Present a Proposal to Cabinet Soon', 'summary' => 'November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols. The government has already opened doors for trekking and mountaineering since October 17 and has not decided to take a step further by opening other sectors of tourism industry amid Covid-19 pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said during a Webinar organised by Nepal Mountaineering Association on the occasion of its 47<sup>th</sup> anniversary that there is no alternative to gradually reopening the tourism sector despite the risk of Covid-19 infection. He further said that the government is preparing to open all the sectors associated with the tourism industry by strictly implementing health protocols. Minister Bhattarai added that the proposal will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval soon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that the tourists will be allowed to enter Nepal on condition that they abide by health and safety standards. According to the minister, Kuwait’s prince is preparing to visit Nepal soon for mountain expedition. The government has already announced on-arrival visas for foreign tourists visiting Nepal in groups provided that they stay in quarantine for seven days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the Webinar, NMA Chairman Santabir Lama said that the employees associated to the mountaineering sector have been struggling to make ends meet due to the effects of Covid-19. He also urged the government to set up a basket fund to support them during the current crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">General Secretary of NMA Kul Bahadur Gurung pointed out to the need of concessional loan and relief to the entrepreneurs involved in the tourism sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, President of TAAN Khum Bahadur Subedi said that the government must bring additional relief packages to revitalize the tourism industry that has been badly affected by the pandemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Stakeholders are preparing to organize a nationwide cycle tour from Mechi to Mahakali from November 2 to promote the tourism industry. Renowned cyclist Pushkar Shah will be leading the tour, informed Nepal Tourism Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20180513122353_tourism%281%29.jpg" style="height:311px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12372', 'image' => '20201102102949_20181105123341_Tourism.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:27:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12624', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Potatoes up by 100 Percent in Wholesale Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market. According to the records kept by the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of potato has increased by 100 percent this year compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the available data, the price of potato was very less during last year than this year. Currently, the price of red potatoes imported from India is Rs 68 per kilogram, which is 100 percent more than the price of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Data kept by the committee show that the price of red potatoes from India was Rs 34 per kg on November 2 last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The price of red potatoes grown in Nepal is Rs 91 per kilogram at present. The current price is 45 percent more than last year’s price of home-grown red potatoes, when the cost of such local potatoes was Rs 63 per kg.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Information officer at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, Binaya Shrestha, informed that there is no additional demand for potatoes in the market but the price is still high because it will take some time for the locally produced potatoes to be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He added that the price of potatoes has increased in the Indian market as well, which has also affected the price in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“India is the main supplier of potatoes to Nepal during this season. As the price has increased in India, it is obvious that the price will increase in Nepal,” said Shrestha, adding that the price of potatoes will go down from mid-November onwards when adequate amount of locally produced potatoes will be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, consumers complain that the retailers have been fixing the prices of potatoes arbitrarily as the wholesale price itself is exorbitantly high. It has been found that the retail stores in Kirtiour, Balkhu and Kalanki have been selling potatoes at a price which is Rs 40 more per kg than the wholesale price.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12371', 'image' => '20201102101034_1604275003.90q.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:09:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12623', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines gets India’s Kuber Group as new Business Partner', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive. After acquiring a new business partner, the airline company has also received permission to operate flights effective from October 21.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Indian company owns 49 percent share of Saurya Airlines while the remaining 51 percent stake belongs to the Nepali shareholders.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the existing laws of the country, foreign companies cannot own majority shares of any company operating in Nepal. Therefore, Saurya Airlines has kept majority share of 51 percent while making the Indian company its business partner, informed Gopal Bhattarai, managing director of Saurya Airlines. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We were facing problem to implement new plans due to financial crisis. So we signed a partnership deal with a reputed Indian company. We are now hopeful of making an impact in the domestic market as well as the regional market in the near future,” said Bhattarai.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Bhattarai claimed that Saurya Airlines has become the first airline company in Nepal to acquire foreign business partner. Kuber Group invests in real estate and tobacco business in India.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to MD Bhattarai, Saurya Airlines will be providing its services through three aircraft for the time being while it is planning to procure a new ATR aircraft soon. He says that the operation of ATR is cost effective in Nepal and the plane is also suitable for Nepal considering its geography.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">In total, Saurya Airlines is planning to add five more aircraft to its fleet.</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:"Arial Unicode MS""> The airline company has already procured a 50-seater Canadian Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft during the lockdown period.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the company has received permission to operate 10 flights per day, Saurya Airlines is planning to operate one flight each with its three aircraft per day for the time being, informed the company’s spokesperson Mukesh Khanal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Khanal, two of their three aircraft are currently being repaired.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Saurya Airlines, which came into operation in 2014, was sold by the establishment faction to new owners within four years of operation due to financial crisis. The new operators have collaborated with the Indian company for effective operation.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines are the three major companies operating flights along the trunk route in Nepal. With the revival of Saurya Airlines, the domestic airline market of Nepal is expected to become more competitive.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12370', 'image' => '20201021041745_1603238244.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 16:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12622', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 3500 Bank Employees Test Positive for Covid-19 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people.', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people. As the number of infected employees is increasing day by day, banks have not been able to provide services from all of the branches at the same time.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the data from Nepal Rastra Bank, around 3,500 employees of commercial banks have been infected with coronavirus.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Compared to the employees of commercial banks, the number of infected employees in development banks, finance companies and microfinance companies is less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Development Bankers Association, 485 employees of 20 development banks have been infected as October 18.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of these, 176 have already recovered from the disease while 309 employees are still infected. Similarly, a total of 183 family members of the infected employees have also tested positive for the virus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Likewise, about 200 employees of 21 “C” class finance companies have been infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the bankers, the banking services have been affected as employees from the cashier sitting at the bank's counter to high-level ones have been infected with the virus. Most of the companies have therefore not been able to operate all of the branches lately due to the increase in cases of infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Some finance companies have opened branch offices alternately, while others have reduced the service period from 10 am to 1 or 2 pm. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the offices of the 84 microfinance institutions currently in operation are located outside the capital, ie in the rural areas. So, only a few employees of such companies have been infected. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Basanta Raj Lamsal, the president of the Nepal Microfinance Bankers' Association, only 2 percent of the total employees of all microfinance companies are infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that even though only a few employees were infected with coronavirus, the current situation doesn’t allow the employees to go to the field to collect interest from the customers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Even though areas like Dailekh and West Nawalparasi are not very crowded, the virus has still spread by coming in contact with people coming from India. The services have been affected despite the fact that only a small number of employees have been infected," he told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, the financial statements of the first quarter of the current fiscal year will be affected due to this. Arjun Khaniya, head of the public relations department of NIC Asia Bank, says that all the services have been affected as more employees are becoming infected day by day. According to him, about 150 employees of all branches of NIC Asia Bank have been infected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, said that the process of infection and recovery will keep on continuing as the employees are working under high risk. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12369', 'image' => '20201021013321_1603202322.bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 13:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12621', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office that keeps the records of government’s income and expenditure.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12368', 'image' => '20201021121118_1603238570.Clipboard11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 12:10:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12620', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12367', 'image' => '20201021104559_fncci (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 10:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12619', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn’t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks’ regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn’t been affected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General’s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12366', 'image' => '20201020042538_1603150256.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 16:25:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12618', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </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:"Times New Roman"">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </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:"Times New Roman"">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </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:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice. </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:"Times New Roman"">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </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:"Times New Roman""> “The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days’ interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12365', 'image' => '20201020034457_nrb (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 15:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12617', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in foreign loan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,” says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government’s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12364', 'image' => '20201020023510_1603151183.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 14:33:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12616', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government’s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into “high dependency units” within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal’s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12363', 'image' => '20201020122057_1603150589.Clipboard09.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 12:20:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank’s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,” said Thapa, adding, “The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12362', 'image' => '20201019030828_1603065592.Clipboard10.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 15:07:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. Even though the Nepal Bankers’ Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans. However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public. However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent. But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future. He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">"As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates. This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,” he said. However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days. "The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future. However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take. This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year. In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period. There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12361', 'image' => '20201019041804_1602980146.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 16:17:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">“We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,” he said, adding, “We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.” The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12360', 'image' => '20201019010918_Samrat2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 13:03:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers’ Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government’s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12359', 'image' => '20201019114758_1603066095.34 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 11:47:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12626', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Still the First Choice of Foreign Investors Despite Covid-19 Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A total of 89 projects with investment of Rs 19.15 billion have been registered with the Department of Industry in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The registration of such projects registered during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was also similar in number. The number of projects with foreign investment has remained almost similar in the last two years. However, the number is significantly less compared to the registration of foreign-backed projects in FY 2018/19, when a total of 129 projects were registered in the first three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 2,846 persons will get employment from the projects ranging from agriculture to IT, production, service sector and tourism industry registered in the current FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period, tourism and service sectors have attracted more investment this year as well. A total of 58 projects related to tourism industry have been registered in the first three months of the current fiscal year. The total investment for the projects is estimated to be around Rs 13.8 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The second choice for foreign investors is the service sector. During the review period, a total of 25 projects were registered in this sector while the agriculture sector recorded one project and the IT sector drew just three projects. The commitment for investment in the service sector in the review period is Rs 4.5 billion. None of the investors have shown any interest in the energy sector in the first three months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Senior Vice President of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Binayak Shah says it is a positive development to see investors interested in the tourism industry but added there has been very little investment in real sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have also notice a trend of foreign investors just acquiring license,” said Shah, adding, “Foreign investors might have been attracted because there is still plenty of opportunities in the provincial capitals and other areas outside the capital.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the number of projects registered in the first three months of FY 2018/19 was significantly more, the investment commitment in that particular year was less than either the current FY year or the last FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In FY 2018/19, a total of 129 projects with investment of Rs 7.13 billion were registered with the department. However, investment for 88 projects registered in the last FY 2019/20 was Rs 19.25 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12373', 'image' => '20201102015340_20201016032657_1602804123.Clipboard13.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 13:52:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12625', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Gradually Reopen Tourism Industry', 'sub_title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Present a Proposal to Cabinet Soon', 'summary' => 'November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols. The government has already opened doors for trekking and mountaineering since October 17 and has not decided to take a step further by opening other sectors of tourism industry amid Covid-19 pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said during a Webinar organised by Nepal Mountaineering Association on the occasion of its 47<sup>th</sup> anniversary that there is no alternative to gradually reopening the tourism sector despite the risk of Covid-19 infection. He further said that the government is preparing to open all the sectors associated with the tourism industry by strictly implementing health protocols. Minister Bhattarai added that the proposal will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval soon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that the tourists will be allowed to enter Nepal on condition that they abide by health and safety standards. According to the minister, Kuwait’s prince is preparing to visit Nepal soon for mountain expedition. The government has already announced on-arrival visas for foreign tourists visiting Nepal in groups provided that they stay in quarantine for seven days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the Webinar, NMA Chairman Santabir Lama said that the employees associated to the mountaineering sector have been struggling to make ends meet due to the effects of Covid-19. He also urged the government to set up a basket fund to support them during the current crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">General Secretary of NMA Kul Bahadur Gurung pointed out to the need of concessional loan and relief to the entrepreneurs involved in the tourism sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, President of TAAN Khum Bahadur Subedi said that the government must bring additional relief packages to revitalize the tourism industry that has been badly affected by the pandemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Stakeholders are preparing to organize a nationwide cycle tour from Mechi to Mahakali from November 2 to promote the tourism industry. Renowned cyclist Pushkar Shah will be leading the tour, informed Nepal Tourism Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20180513122353_tourism%281%29.jpg" style="height:311px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12372', 'image' => '20201102102949_20181105123341_Tourism.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:27:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12624', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Potatoes up by 100 Percent in Wholesale Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market. According to the records kept by the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of potato has increased by 100 percent this year compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the available data, the price of potato was very less during last year than this year. Currently, the price of red potatoes imported from India is Rs 68 per kilogram, which is 100 percent more than the price of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Data kept by the committee show that the price of red potatoes from India was Rs 34 per kg on November 2 last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The price of red potatoes grown in Nepal is Rs 91 per kilogram at present. The current price is 45 percent more than last year’s price of home-grown red potatoes, when the cost of such local potatoes was Rs 63 per kg.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Information officer at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, Binaya Shrestha, informed that there is no additional demand for potatoes in the market but the price is still high because it will take some time for the locally produced potatoes to be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He added that the price of potatoes has increased in the Indian market as well, which has also affected the price in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“India is the main supplier of potatoes to Nepal during this season. As the price has increased in India, it is obvious that the price will increase in Nepal,” said Shrestha, adding that the price of potatoes will go down from mid-November onwards when adequate amount of locally produced potatoes will be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, consumers complain that the retailers have been fixing the prices of potatoes arbitrarily as the wholesale price itself is exorbitantly high. It has been found that the retail stores in Kirtiour, Balkhu and Kalanki have been selling potatoes at a price which is Rs 40 more per kg than the wholesale price.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12371', 'image' => '20201102101034_1604275003.90q.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:09:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12623', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines gets India’s Kuber Group as new Business Partner', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive. After acquiring a new business partner, the airline company has also received permission to operate flights effective from October 21.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Indian company owns 49 percent share of Saurya Airlines while the remaining 51 percent stake belongs to the Nepali shareholders.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the existing laws of the country, foreign companies cannot own majority shares of any company operating in Nepal. Therefore, Saurya Airlines has kept majority share of 51 percent while making the Indian company its business partner, informed Gopal Bhattarai, managing director of Saurya Airlines. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We were facing problem to implement new plans due to financial crisis. So we signed a partnership deal with a reputed Indian company. We are now hopeful of making an impact in the domestic market as well as the regional market in the near future,” said Bhattarai.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Bhattarai claimed that Saurya Airlines has become the first airline company in Nepal to acquire foreign business partner. Kuber Group invests in real estate and tobacco business in India.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to MD Bhattarai, Saurya Airlines will be providing its services through three aircraft for the time being while it is planning to procure a new ATR aircraft soon. He says that the operation of ATR is cost effective in Nepal and the plane is also suitable for Nepal considering its geography.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">In total, Saurya Airlines is planning to add five more aircraft to its fleet.</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:"Arial Unicode MS""> The airline company has already procured a 50-seater Canadian Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft during the lockdown period.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the company has received permission to operate 10 flights per day, Saurya Airlines is planning to operate one flight each with its three aircraft per day for the time being, informed the company’s spokesperson Mukesh Khanal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Khanal, two of their three aircraft are currently being repaired.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Saurya Airlines, which came into operation in 2014, was sold by the establishment faction to new owners within four years of operation due to financial crisis. The new operators have collaborated with the Indian company for effective operation.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines are the three major companies operating flights along the trunk route in Nepal. With the revival of Saurya Airlines, the domestic airline market of Nepal is expected to become more competitive.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12370', 'image' => '20201021041745_1603238244.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 16:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12622', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 3500 Bank Employees Test Positive for Covid-19 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people.', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people. As the number of infected employees is increasing day by day, banks have not been able to provide services from all of the branches at the same time.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the data from Nepal Rastra Bank, around 3,500 employees of commercial banks have been infected with coronavirus.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Compared to the employees of commercial banks, the number of infected employees in development banks, finance companies and microfinance companies is less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Development Bankers Association, 485 employees of 20 development banks have been infected as October 18.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of these, 176 have already recovered from the disease while 309 employees are still infected. Similarly, a total of 183 family members of the infected employees have also tested positive for the virus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Likewise, about 200 employees of 21 “C” class finance companies have been infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the bankers, the banking services have been affected as employees from the cashier sitting at the bank's counter to high-level ones have been infected with the virus. Most of the companies have therefore not been able to operate all of the branches lately due to the increase in cases of infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Some finance companies have opened branch offices alternately, while others have reduced the service period from 10 am to 1 or 2 pm. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the offices of the 84 microfinance institutions currently in operation are located outside the capital, ie in the rural areas. So, only a few employees of such companies have been infected. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Basanta Raj Lamsal, the president of the Nepal Microfinance Bankers' Association, only 2 percent of the total employees of all microfinance companies are infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that even though only a few employees were infected with coronavirus, the current situation doesn’t allow the employees to go to the field to collect interest from the customers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Even though areas like Dailekh and West Nawalparasi are not very crowded, the virus has still spread by coming in contact with people coming from India. The services have been affected despite the fact that only a small number of employees have been infected," he told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, the financial statements of the first quarter of the current fiscal year will be affected due to this. Arjun Khaniya, head of the public relations department of NIC Asia Bank, says that all the services have been affected as more employees are becoming infected day by day. According to him, about 150 employees of all branches of NIC Asia Bank have been infected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, said that the process of infection and recovery will keep on continuing as the employees are working under high risk. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12369', 'image' => '20201021013321_1603202322.bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 13:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12621', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office that keeps the records of government’s income and expenditure.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12368', 'image' => '20201021121118_1603238570.Clipboard11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 12:10:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12620', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12367', 'image' => '20201021104559_fncci (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 10:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12619', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn’t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks’ regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn’t been affected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General’s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12366', 'image' => '20201020042538_1603150256.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 16:25:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12618', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </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:"Times New Roman"">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </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:"Times New Roman"">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </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:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice. </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:"Times New Roman"">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </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:"Times New Roman""> “The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days’ interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12365', 'image' => '20201020034457_nrb (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 15:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12617', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in foreign loan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,” says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government’s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12364', 'image' => '20201020023510_1603151183.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 14:33:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12616', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government’s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into “high dependency units” within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal’s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12363', 'image' => '20201020122057_1603150589.Clipboard09.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 12:20:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank’s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,” said Thapa, adding, “The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12362', 'image' => '20201019030828_1603065592.Clipboard10.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 15:07:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. Even though the Nepal Bankers’ Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans. However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public. However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent. But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future. He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">"As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates. This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,” he said. However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days. "The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future. However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take. This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year. In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period. There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12361', 'image' => '20201019041804_1602980146.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 16:17:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">“We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,” he said, adding, “We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.” The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12360', 'image' => '20201019010918_Samrat2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 13:03:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers’ Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government’s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12359', 'image' => '20201019114758_1603066095.34 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 11:47:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12626', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Still the First Choice of Foreign Investors Despite Covid-19 Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A total of 89 projects with investment of Rs 19.15 billion have been registered with the Department of Industry in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The registration of such projects registered during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was also similar in number. The number of projects with foreign investment has remained almost similar in the last two years. However, the number is significantly less compared to the registration of foreign-backed projects in FY 2018/19, when a total of 129 projects were registered in the first three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 2,846 persons will get employment from the projects ranging from agriculture to IT, production, service sector and tourism industry registered in the current FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period, tourism and service sectors have attracted more investment this year as well. A total of 58 projects related to tourism industry have been registered in the first three months of the current fiscal year. The total investment for the projects is estimated to be around Rs 13.8 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The second choice for foreign investors is the service sector. During the review period, a total of 25 projects were registered in this sector while the agriculture sector recorded one project and the IT sector drew just three projects. The commitment for investment in the service sector in the review period is Rs 4.5 billion. None of the investors have shown any interest in the energy sector in the first three months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Senior Vice President of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Binayak Shah says it is a positive development to see investors interested in the tourism industry but added there has been very little investment in real sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have also notice a trend of foreign investors just acquiring license,” said Shah, adding, “Foreign investors might have been attracted because there is still plenty of opportunities in the provincial capitals and other areas outside the capital.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the number of projects registered in the first three months of FY 2018/19 was significantly more, the investment commitment in that particular year was less than either the current FY year or the last FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In FY 2018/19, a total of 129 projects with investment of Rs 7.13 billion were registered with the department. However, investment for 88 projects registered in the last FY 2019/20 was Rs 19.25 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12373', 'image' => '20201102015340_20201016032657_1602804123.Clipboard13.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 13:52:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12625', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Gradually Reopen Tourism Industry', 'sub_title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Present a Proposal to Cabinet Soon', 'summary' => 'November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols. The government has already opened doors for trekking and mountaineering since October 17 and has not decided to take a step further by opening other sectors of tourism industry amid Covid-19 pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said during a Webinar organised by Nepal Mountaineering Association on the occasion of its 47<sup>th</sup> anniversary that there is no alternative to gradually reopening the tourism sector despite the risk of Covid-19 infection. He further said that the government is preparing to open all the sectors associated with the tourism industry by strictly implementing health protocols. Minister Bhattarai added that the proposal will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval soon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that the tourists will be allowed to enter Nepal on condition that they abide by health and safety standards. According to the minister, Kuwait’s prince is preparing to visit Nepal soon for mountain expedition. The government has already announced on-arrival visas for foreign tourists visiting Nepal in groups provided that they stay in quarantine for seven days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the Webinar, NMA Chairman Santabir Lama said that the employees associated to the mountaineering sector have been struggling to make ends meet due to the effects of Covid-19. He also urged the government to set up a basket fund to support them during the current crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">General Secretary of NMA Kul Bahadur Gurung pointed out to the need of concessional loan and relief to the entrepreneurs involved in the tourism sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, President of TAAN Khum Bahadur Subedi said that the government must bring additional relief packages to revitalize the tourism industry that has been badly affected by the pandemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Stakeholders are preparing to organize a nationwide cycle tour from Mechi to Mahakali from November 2 to promote the tourism industry. Renowned cyclist Pushkar Shah will be leading the tour, informed Nepal Tourism Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20180513122353_tourism%281%29.jpg" style="height:311px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12372', 'image' => '20201102102949_20181105123341_Tourism.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:27:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12624', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Potatoes up by 100 Percent in Wholesale Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market. According to the records kept by the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of potato has increased by 100 percent this year compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the available data, the price of potato was very less during last year than this year. Currently, the price of red potatoes imported from India is Rs 68 per kilogram, which is 100 percent more than the price of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Data kept by the committee show that the price of red potatoes from India was Rs 34 per kg on November 2 last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The price of red potatoes grown in Nepal is Rs 91 per kilogram at present. The current price is 45 percent more than last year’s price of home-grown red potatoes, when the cost of such local potatoes was Rs 63 per kg.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Information officer at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, Binaya Shrestha, informed that there is no additional demand for potatoes in the market but the price is still high because it will take some time for the locally produced potatoes to be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He added that the price of potatoes has increased in the Indian market as well, which has also affected the price in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“India is the main supplier of potatoes to Nepal during this season. As the price has increased in India, it is obvious that the price will increase in Nepal,” said Shrestha, adding that the price of potatoes will go down from mid-November onwards when adequate amount of locally produced potatoes will be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, consumers complain that the retailers have been fixing the prices of potatoes arbitrarily as the wholesale price itself is exorbitantly high. It has been found that the retail stores in Kirtiour, Balkhu and Kalanki have been selling potatoes at a price which is Rs 40 more per kg than the wholesale price.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12371', 'image' => '20201102101034_1604275003.90q.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:09:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12623', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines gets India’s Kuber Group as new Business Partner', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive. After acquiring a new business partner, the airline company has also received permission to operate flights effective from October 21.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Indian company owns 49 percent share of Saurya Airlines while the remaining 51 percent stake belongs to the Nepali shareholders.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the existing laws of the country, foreign companies cannot own majority shares of any company operating in Nepal. Therefore, Saurya Airlines has kept majority share of 51 percent while making the Indian company its business partner, informed Gopal Bhattarai, managing director of Saurya Airlines. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We were facing problem to implement new plans due to financial crisis. So we signed a partnership deal with a reputed Indian company. We are now hopeful of making an impact in the domestic market as well as the regional market in the near future,” said Bhattarai.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Bhattarai claimed that Saurya Airlines has become the first airline company in Nepal to acquire foreign business partner. Kuber Group invests in real estate and tobacco business in India.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to MD Bhattarai, Saurya Airlines will be providing its services through three aircraft for the time being while it is planning to procure a new ATR aircraft soon. He says that the operation of ATR is cost effective in Nepal and the plane is also suitable for Nepal considering its geography.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">In total, Saurya Airlines is planning to add five more aircraft to its fleet.</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:"Arial Unicode MS""> The airline company has already procured a 50-seater Canadian Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft during the lockdown period.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the company has received permission to operate 10 flights per day, Saurya Airlines is planning to operate one flight each with its three aircraft per day for the time being, informed the company’s spokesperson Mukesh Khanal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Khanal, two of their three aircraft are currently being repaired.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Saurya Airlines, which came into operation in 2014, was sold by the establishment faction to new owners within four years of operation due to financial crisis. The new operators have collaborated with the Indian company for effective operation.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines are the three major companies operating flights along the trunk route in Nepal. With the revival of Saurya Airlines, the domestic airline market of Nepal is expected to become more competitive.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12370', 'image' => '20201021041745_1603238244.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 16:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12622', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 3500 Bank Employees Test Positive for Covid-19 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people.', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people. As the number of infected employees is increasing day by day, banks have not been able to provide services from all of the branches at the same time.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the data from Nepal Rastra Bank, around 3,500 employees of commercial banks have been infected with coronavirus.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Compared to the employees of commercial banks, the number of infected employees in development banks, finance companies and microfinance companies is less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Development Bankers Association, 485 employees of 20 development banks have been infected as October 18.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of these, 176 have already recovered from the disease while 309 employees are still infected. Similarly, a total of 183 family members of the infected employees have also tested positive for the virus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Likewise, about 200 employees of 21 “C” class finance companies have been infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the bankers, the banking services have been affected as employees from the cashier sitting at the bank's counter to high-level ones have been infected with the virus. Most of the companies have therefore not been able to operate all of the branches lately due to the increase in cases of infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Some finance companies have opened branch offices alternately, while others have reduced the service period from 10 am to 1 or 2 pm. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the offices of the 84 microfinance institutions currently in operation are located outside the capital, ie in the rural areas. So, only a few employees of such companies have been infected. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Basanta Raj Lamsal, the president of the Nepal Microfinance Bankers' Association, only 2 percent of the total employees of all microfinance companies are infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that even though only a few employees were infected with coronavirus, the current situation doesn’t allow the employees to go to the field to collect interest from the customers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Even though areas like Dailekh and West Nawalparasi are not very crowded, the virus has still spread by coming in contact with people coming from India. The services have been affected despite the fact that only a small number of employees have been infected," he told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, the financial statements of the first quarter of the current fiscal year will be affected due to this. Arjun Khaniya, head of the public relations department of NIC Asia Bank, says that all the services have been affected as more employees are becoming infected day by day. According to him, about 150 employees of all branches of NIC Asia Bank have been infected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, said that the process of infection and recovery will keep on continuing as the employees are working under high risk. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12369', 'image' => '20201021013321_1603202322.bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 13:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12621', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office that keeps the records of government’s income and expenditure.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12368', 'image' => '20201021121118_1603238570.Clipboard11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 12:10:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12620', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12367', 'image' => '20201021104559_fncci (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 10:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12619', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn’t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks’ regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn’t been affected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General’s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12366', 'image' => '20201020042538_1603150256.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 16:25:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12618', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </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:"Times New Roman"">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </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:"Times New Roman"">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </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:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice. </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:"Times New Roman"">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </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:"Times New Roman""> “The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days’ interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12365', 'image' => '20201020034457_nrb (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 15:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12617', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in foreign loan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,” says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government’s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12364', 'image' => '20201020023510_1603151183.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 14:33:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12616', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government’s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into “high dependency units” within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal’s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12363', 'image' => '20201020122057_1603150589.Clipboard09.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 12:20:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank’s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,” said Thapa, adding, “The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12362', 'image' => '20201019030828_1603065592.Clipboard10.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 15:07:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. Even though the Nepal Bankers’ Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans. However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public. However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent. But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future. He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">"As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates. This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,” he said. However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days. "The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future. However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take. This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year. In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period. There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12361', 'image' => '20201019041804_1602980146.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 16:17:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">“We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,” he said, adding, “We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.” The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12360', 'image' => '20201019010918_Samrat2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 13:03:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers’ Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government’s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12359', 'image' => '20201019114758_1603066095.34 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 11:47:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12626', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Still the First Choice of Foreign Investors Despite Covid-19 Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Despite a ‘wait and watch’ situation for investment in Nepal due to Covid-19 crisis, registration of projects with foreign investment this year is almost the same as that of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A total of 89 projects with investment of Rs 19.15 billion have been registered with the Department of Industry in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The registration of such projects registered during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was also similar in number. The number of projects with foreign investment has remained almost similar in the last two years. However, the number is significantly less compared to the registration of foreign-backed projects in FY 2018/19, when a total of 129 projects were registered in the first three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 2,846 persons will get employment from the projects ranging from agriculture to IT, production, service sector and tourism industry registered in the current FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the review period, tourism and service sectors have attracted more investment this year as well. A total of 58 projects related to tourism industry have been registered in the first three months of the current fiscal year. The total investment for the projects is estimated to be around Rs 13.8 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The second choice for foreign investors is the service sector. During the review period, a total of 25 projects were registered in this sector while the agriculture sector recorded one project and the IT sector drew just three projects. The commitment for investment in the service sector in the review period is Rs 4.5 billion. None of the investors have shown any interest in the energy sector in the first three months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Senior Vice President of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Binayak Shah says it is a positive development to see investors interested in the tourism industry but added there has been very little investment in real sense.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We have also notice a trend of foreign investors just acquiring license,” said Shah, adding, “Foreign investors might have been attracted because there is still plenty of opportunities in the provincial capitals and other areas outside the capital.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the number of projects registered in the first three months of FY 2018/19 was significantly more, the investment commitment in that particular year was less than either the current FY year or the last FY.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In FY 2018/19, a total of 129 projects with investment of Rs 7.13 billion were registered with the department. However, investment for 88 projects registered in the last FY 2019/20 was Rs 19.25 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12373', 'image' => '20201102015340_20201016032657_1602804123.Clipboard13.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 13:52:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12625', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing to Gradually Reopen Tourism Industry', 'sub_title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Present a Proposal to Cabinet Soon', 'summary' => 'November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The government is preparing to open all sectors associated with the tourism industry by maintaining standard health protocols. The government has already opened doors for trekking and mountaineering since October 17 and has not decided to take a step further by opening other sectors of tourism industry amid Covid-19 pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said during a Webinar organised by Nepal Mountaineering Association on the occasion of its 47<sup>th</sup> anniversary that there is no alternative to gradually reopening the tourism sector despite the risk of Covid-19 infection. He further said that the government is preparing to open all the sectors associated with the tourism industry by strictly implementing health protocols. Minister Bhattarai added that the proposal will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval soon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that the tourists will be allowed to enter Nepal on condition that they abide by health and safety standards. According to the minister, Kuwait’s prince is preparing to visit Nepal soon for mountain expedition. The government has already announced on-arrival visas for foreign tourists visiting Nepal in groups provided that they stay in quarantine for seven days.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">During the Webinar, NMA Chairman Santabir Lama said that the employees associated to the mountaineering sector have been struggling to make ends meet due to the effects of Covid-19. He also urged the government to set up a basket fund to support them during the current crisis.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">General Secretary of NMA Kul Bahadur Gurung pointed out to the need of concessional loan and relief to the entrepreneurs involved in the tourism sector. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, President of TAAN Khum Bahadur Subedi said that the government must bring additional relief packages to revitalize the tourism industry that has been badly affected by the pandemic. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Stakeholders are preparing to organize a nationwide cycle tour from Mechi to Mahakali from November 2 to promote the tourism industry. Renowned cyclist Pushkar Shah will be leading the tour, informed Nepal Tourism Board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20180513122353_tourism%281%29.jpg" style="height:311px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12372', 'image' => '20201102102949_20181105123341_Tourism.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:27:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12624', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Price of Potatoes up by 100 Percent in Wholesale Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">November 2: The price of potato has increased by 100 percent in the wholesale market. According to the records kept by the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, the price of potato has increased by 100 percent this year compared to the corresponding period of last year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the available data, the price of potato was very less during last year than this year. Currently, the price of red potatoes imported from India is Rs 68 per kilogram, which is 100 percent more than the price of last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Data kept by the committee show that the price of red potatoes from India was Rs 34 per kg on November 2 last year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The price of red potatoes grown in Nepal is Rs 91 per kilogram at present. The current price is 45 percent more than last year’s price of home-grown red potatoes, when the cost of such local potatoes was Rs 63 per kg.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Information officer at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, Binaya Shrestha, informed that there is no additional demand for potatoes in the market but the price is still high because it will take some time for the locally produced potatoes to be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He added that the price of potatoes has increased in the Indian market as well, which has also affected the price in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“India is the main supplier of potatoes to Nepal during this season. As the price has increased in India, it is obvious that the price will increase in Nepal,” said Shrestha, adding that the price of potatoes will go down from mid-November onwards when adequate amount of locally produced potatoes will be available in the market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, consumers complain that the retailers have been fixing the prices of potatoes arbitrarily as the wholesale price itself is exorbitantly high. It has been found that the retail stores in Kirtiour, Balkhu and Kalanki have been selling potatoes at a price which is Rs 40 more per kg than the wholesale price.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-11-02', 'modified' => '2020-11-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12371', 'image' => '20201102101034_1604275003.90q.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-11-02 10:09:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12623', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines gets India’s Kuber Group as new Business Partner', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: Saurya Airlines has signed a partnership deal with India’s Kuber Group after almost ten months of remaining inactive. After acquiring a new business partner, the airline company has also received permission to operate flights effective from October 21.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Indian company owns 49 percent share of Saurya Airlines while the remaining 51 percent stake belongs to the Nepali shareholders.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">As per the existing laws of the country, foreign companies cannot own majority shares of any company operating in Nepal. Therefore, Saurya Airlines has kept majority share of 51 percent while making the Indian company its business partner, informed Gopal Bhattarai, managing director of Saurya Airlines. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We were facing problem to implement new plans due to financial crisis. So we signed a partnership deal with a reputed Indian company. We are now hopeful of making an impact in the domestic market as well as the regional market in the near future,” said Bhattarai.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Bhattarai claimed that Saurya Airlines has become the first airline company in Nepal to acquire foreign business partner. Kuber Group invests in real estate and tobacco business in India.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to MD Bhattarai, Saurya Airlines will be providing its services through three aircraft for the time being while it is planning to procure a new ATR aircraft soon. He says that the operation of ATR is cost effective in Nepal and the plane is also suitable for Nepal considering its geography.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">In total, Saurya Airlines is planning to add five more aircraft to its fleet.</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:"Arial Unicode MS""> The airline company has already procured a 50-seater Canadian Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft during the lockdown period.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although the company has received permission to operate 10 flights per day, Saurya Airlines is planning to operate one flight each with its three aircraft per day for the time being, informed the company’s spokesperson Mukesh Khanal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Khanal, two of their three aircraft are currently being repaired.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Saurya Airlines, which came into operation in 2014, was sold by the establishment faction to new owners within four years of operation due to financial crisis. The new operators have collaborated with the Indian company for effective operation.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines are the three major companies operating flights along the trunk route in Nepal. With the revival of Saurya Airlines, the domestic airline market of Nepal is expected to become more competitive.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12370', 'image' => '20201021041745_1603238244.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 16:16:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12622', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 3500 Bank Employees Test Positive for Covid-19 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people.', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 21: Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have now become the hot-spot for spreading Covid-19 infection due to high mobility of people. As the number of infected employees is increasing day by day, banks have not been able to provide services from all of the branches at the same time.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the data from Nepal Rastra Bank, around 3,500 employees of commercial banks have been infected with coronavirus.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Compared to the employees of commercial banks, the number of infected employees in development banks, finance companies and microfinance companies is less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Nepal Development Bankers Association, 485 employees of 20 development banks have been infected as October 18.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of these, 176 have already recovered from the disease while 309 employees are still infected. Similarly, a total of 183 family members of the infected employees have also tested positive for the virus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Likewise, about 200 employees of 21 “C” class finance companies have been infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the bankers, the banking services have been affected as employees from the cashier sitting at the bank's counter to high-level ones have been infected with the virus. Most of the companies have therefore not been able to operate all of the branches lately due to the increase in cases of infection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Some finance companies have opened branch offices alternately, while others have reduced the service period from 10 am to 1 or 2 pm. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the offices of the 84 microfinance institutions currently in operation are located outside the capital, ie in the rural areas. So, only a few employees of such companies have been infected. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Basanta Raj Lamsal, the president of the Nepal Microfinance Bankers' Association, only 2 percent of the total employees of all microfinance companies are infected with coronavirus. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that even though only a few employees were infected with coronavirus, the current situation doesn’t allow the employees to go to the field to collect interest from the customers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"Even though areas like Dailekh and West Nawalparasi are not very crowded, the virus has still spread by coming in contact with people coming from India. The services have been affected despite the fact that only a small number of employees have been infected," he told New Business Age. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to him, the financial statements of the first quarter of the current fiscal year will be affected due to this. Arjun Khaniya, head of the public relations department of NIC Asia Bank, says that all the services have been affected as more employees are becoming infected day by day. According to him, about 150 employees of all branches of NIC Asia Bank have been infected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, said that the process of infection and recovery will keep on continuing as the employees are working under high risk. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12369', 'image' => '20201021013321_1603202322.bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 13:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12621', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office that keeps the records of government’s income and expenditure.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12368', 'image' => '20201021121118_1603238570.Clipboard11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 12:10:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12620', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-21', 'modified' => '2020-10-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12367', 'image' => '20201021104559_fncci (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-21 10:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12619', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn’t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks’ regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn’t been affected.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General’s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12366', 'image' => '20201020042538_1603150256.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 16:25:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12618', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </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:"Times New Roman"">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </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:"Times New Roman"">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </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:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice. </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:"Times New Roman"">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </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:"Times New Roman""> “The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days’ interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12365', 'image' => '20201020034457_nrb (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 15:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12617', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return', 'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in foreign loan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">“We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,” says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister’s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government’s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12364', 'image' => '20201020023510_1603151183.1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 14:33:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12616', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government’s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return the amount.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into “high dependency units” within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal’s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-20', 'modified' => '2020-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12363', 'image' => '20201020122057_1603150589.Clipboard09.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-20 12:20:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank’s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">“This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,” said Thapa, adding, “The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12362', 'image' => '20201019030828_1603065592.Clipboard10.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 15:07:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. Even though the Nepal Bankers’ Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans. However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public. However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent. But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future. He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">"As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates. This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,” he said. However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days. "The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future. However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take. This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year. In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period. There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12361', 'image' => '20201019041804_1602980146.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 16:17:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">“We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,” he said, adding, “We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.” The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12360', 'image' => '20201019010918_Samrat2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 13:03:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers’ Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The government’s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</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:"Arial Unicode MS"">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-10-19', 'modified' => '2020-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12359', 'image' => '20201019114758_1603066095.34 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-10-19 11:47:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
