NEWS

NOC Slashes Price of Petroleum Products by 10 Percent

Apr 01, 2020 0 55 seconds to read

April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday…

Production Comes to a Halt in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor

Apr 02, 2020 0 3 minutes 10 seconds to read

April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection.…

COVID-19 is Worst Crisis since World War II: UN chief

Apr 01, 2020 0 3 minutes 26 seconds to read

April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War…

Nepal Gas Industry Distributing LPGs

Apr 01, 2020 0 1 minutes 32 seconds to read

April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various…

Food Supplies Distributed to Deprived Families

Apr 02, 2020 0 39 seconds to read

April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.…

Companies Contributing to Social Security Fund to Get Government Support during Current Crisis

Apr 01, 2020 0 2 minutes 32 seconds to read

April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday.…

Keep Global Food Supply Chains Intact: WTO

Apr 01, 2020 0 1 minutes 20 seconds to read

April 1: Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19…

Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign Officially Postponed

Apr 01, 2020 0 1 minutes 43 seconds to read

April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported.…

UK Banks Scrap Dividends over Coronavirus Fears

Apr 01, 2020 0 1 minutes 53 seconds to read

April 1: Britain’s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the…

Former King Donates Rs 20 Million

Apr 01, 2020 0 42 seconds to read

April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government's coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund.…

Collection of revenue declines due to Closure of Industries in Sunsari and Morang

Apr 01, 2020 0 1 minutes 3 seconds to read

April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown.…

Coronavirus Takes Toll on Inflow of Remittance to Nepal

Mar 31, 2020 0 5 minutes 8 seconds to read

March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year.…

Consumer Protection Department Registers Maximum Complaints Related to LPG Shortage

Mar 31, 2020 0 1 minutes 25 seconds to read

March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of…

Over 1,000 Tourists Rescued During Weeklong Lockdown

Mar 31, 2020 0 1 minutes 16 seconds to read

March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.…

Government Forms Committee to Recommend Names for NRB Governor

Mar 31, 2020 0 1 minutes 27 seconds to read

March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank’s…

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The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

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NEPSE

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			'title' => ' NOC Slashes Price of Petroleum Products by 10 Percent    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, the price of cooking gas remains unchanged, said NOC&#39;s spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya. The price decrement follows price fall of petroleum products in the international market, RSS reported citing NOC officials.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new price adjustment, diesel and kerosene will be sold for Rs 85 per litre and petrol for Rs 96. Likewise, the price of aviation turbine fuel for domestic flights has been decreased by Rs 15 per litre to Rs 75.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The price of aviation turbine fuel for international flights is adjusted to USD 0.95 per litre, said Upadhyaya. </span></span></span></p>
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			'title' => 'Production Comes to a Halt in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Many industries could not bring the raw materials stuck at the border. Even industries that have stored raw materials could not continue production due to the absence of workers and halt in transportation. The pharmaceutical industries are open. However, other industries for emergency supplies are producing minimum quantities. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president, Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, the lockdown has affected the production of staple food&nbsp;as well. &ldquo;We cannot transport even 20 percent of the production,&rdquo; Gupta said. He estimated that around 3,000 food industries have been affected nationwide. Among them, 2,000 are rice industries. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;The production of construction materials has also been halted because of lack of workers and transportation. Due to lack of transportation, we cannot send the orders to our customers,&rdquo; said industrialist Rajesh Kyal.&nbsp; The corridor has around 1,000 factories producing food supplies, animal feeds, medicines and packaging.&nbsp; </span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The local administration has said that passes will be provided to the emergency industries. For this, a particular time has been set. According to Lalit Kumar Basnet, assistant district officer of Parsa, the workers need to reach the factory before 9 am and can leave the factory only after 6 pm. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Local security entity and industrialists had agreed to allow movement at the specific time. While motorcycles are allowed for commuting, other vehicles are not allowed. However, many workers have not been going to work due to the fear of coronavirus. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Because of limitation on timing, it is difficult to bring raw materials from the border, said Ashok Kumar Vaid, vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Province 2. &ldquo;Vehicles entering the factory at 9 am have to wait till 6 pm to leave the place,&rdquo; said Vaid. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Gupta said that not only has the transportation been affected, but the materials which need to be sent outside Birgunj are also stuck at the border. As the supplies are stuck at the border, Birgunj customs office had issued a notice requesting the importer to do the custom clearance. Now, the frequency of trucks have increased comparatively. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, the lockdown in India has decreased the import from roadways, said Dhundi Prashad Niraula. Previously, on an average day, around 600-700 vehicles used to enter the border, but only 37 vehicles entered on Monday.&nbsp; Meanwhile, cargo transportation via train has increased. Currently, 2,200 containers filled with supply and 400 empty containers are stockpiled at Birgunj dry port. </span></span></span></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11858',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'COVID-19 is Worst Crisis since World War II: UN chief ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession &ldquo;that probably has no parallel in the recent past&rdquo;, the Associated Press reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 that there is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to &ldquo;enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict&rdquo;.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres reportedly called for a much stronger and more effective global response to the coronavirus pandemic and to the social and economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing. He stressed that this will only be possible &ldquo;if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations &mdash; one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people&rsquo;s lives,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the secretary-general told reporters that the magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis &mdash; large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">He further said that many countries were not respecting WHO guidelines, with each tending to go its own way in dealing with the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission,&rdquo; AP quoted him as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the UN Secretary-General, while $5 trillion has been mobilized, most of that money was by the developed world &mdash; including $2 trillion in the United States &mdash; to support their own economies from the consequences of the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences in their populations, in the people that lost their jobs, the small companies that are operating and risk to disappear, those that live with the informal economy that now have no chance to survive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Massive support to the developing world is still required.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the report also cites International Labor Organization estimates for 2020 that between 5 million and 25 million jobs will be lost, with a corresponding loss of between $860 million and $3.4 trillion in labor income. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">It also cited an estimate by the U.N. trade and development organization UNCTAD of a 30-40 percent &ldquo;downward pressure&quot; on global foreign direct investment flows this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries, with the aim of swiftly enabling governments to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11861',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepal Gas Industry Distributing LPGs ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:Arial">The company said in a statement that it will distribute the LPG from six new locations instead from Balaju Industrial Estate. The company said it decided to decentralize its distribution centres to address the problems of the consumers, who have been complaining of difficulty in refilling their cylinders due to the lockdown imposed by the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">Gokul Bhandari, executive director of Nepal Gas Industry, informed that the company will distribute LPGs for three consecutive days from six different location in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Considering the current crisis caused by coronavirus, consumers are not able to collect the LPGs from our main distribution center. That&rsquo;s why we are distributing it from six various locations,&rdquo; he informed. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the company will distribute 560 LPG cylinders from two locations every day.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">The company will distribute the LPGs under the supervision of Nepal Police. The LPGs were distributed at Chabahil and Bafal on Wednesday, and the company plans to distribute them at Baniyatar and Koteshwar on Thursday and Bhanimandal and Maharajgunj on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp; -- RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11865',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Food Supplies Distributed to Deprived Families ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.&nbsp; &nbsp;Laxman Kadel, general secretary of Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that the food supply was distributed to the family members of local labors who were hard hit by the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Food supplies worth Rs 80,000, and total of Rs 50,500 cash were distributed among the family members of the labourers. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11856',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Companies Contributing to Social Security Fund to Get Government Support during Current Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has decided to provide Rs 300 million to the companies struggling to pay their workers due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the government since March 24. Only those companies that have been contributing to the newly-established fund will be entitled to the benefit, said government sources.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has been collecting 31 percent cut from the salary of each employee from the private sector. Out of the 31 percent, the company contributes 20 percent while 11 percent is deducted from the employee&rsquo;s basic salary.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following the government announcement on Sunday, the contributors will not have to deposit the 31 percent amount for the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). The government itself will contribute the amount to the fund for the time period owing to the crisis caused by the pandemic that has spread to 202 countries and caused over 42,000 fatalities as of March 31. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Executive Director of the Social Security Fund Kapil Mani Gyawali informed New Business Age that the government itself will contribute the amount on behalf of the companies for this month. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As of March-end, a total of 12,315 companies and 153,276 employees have been listed in the ambitious project announced by the government during the start of the current fiscal year. However, the companies and staffers contributing to the fund is actually less than the listed numbers. According to Gyawali, so far only 36,000 employees have made contribution to the fund. The fund has received Rs 870 million so far.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, vice president of Nepal Cement Producers&rsquo; Association Tara Prasad Pokharel said that more than 75 percent of cement companies have been listed in the SSF and urged others to join the fund. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He, however, argued that other companies that are not yet listed in the SSF but are contributing to the Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizen&rsquo;s Investment Trust (CIT) should also be entitled to relief.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11859',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Keep Global Food Supply Chains Intact: WTO',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1:  Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: &nbsp;Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN food and health agencies said on Tuesday, warning of possible shortages and price spikes.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to Reuters, they voiced concern that disruptions to the movement of agricultural and food industry workers or food containers could result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste and said protectionism was also a risk.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,&quot; Reuters quoted WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo, and the heads of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN&#39;s Food and Agriculture Organization Qu Dongyu as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Such reactions can alter the balance between food supply and demand, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.&quot;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The joint statement added that such measures are particularly damaging to low-income and food-deficit countries, according to Reuters.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Azevedo said last week that WTO projections show the economic downturn and job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be worse than the 2008 recession. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11855',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign Officially Postponed ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. The VNY 2020 aimed at bringing in more than 2 million foreign tourists to Nepal has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the Campaign on January 1 this year but given the outbreak of COVID-19, the government decided to postpone the campaign, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had decided to postpone the campaign till April this year. Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari told RSS that the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 22 took a decision to this effect. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;All the programmes related to Visit Nepal 2020 have been officially called off. We have not set any agenda for the campaign as of now. However the budget for the next fiscal year would discuss and decide on how to forward the campaign then,&rdquo; RSS quoted Adhikari as saying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">With the official decision to call off the campaign, the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat at Keshar Mahal in Kathmandu would be dissolved by mid-April this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far five positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nepal, of which one infected person has returned home after treatment and recovery. The government has enforced a nation-wide lockdown since March 24 to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus. The lockdown will remain in force till April 7.</span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2020-04-01',
			'modified' => '2020-04-01',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11607',
			'image' => '20200401083536_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:34:52',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11860',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'UK Banks Scrap Dividends over Coronavirus Fears',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Britain’s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: Britain&rsquo;s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator, saving their capital as a buffer against expected losses from the economic fallout from the coronavirus, Reuters reported. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and the British arm of Spain&rsquo;s Santander all halted payouts. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lenders had been due to pay out over 8 billion pounds between them in 2019 dividends, with HSBC the biggest payer at $4.2 billion. The move came in response to a request from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which also asked banks and insurers not to pay senior staff bonuses this year.,&rdquo; Reuters said in a news report published on April 1. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The PRA said banks entered the epidemic, which has put Britain into lockdown, with strong capital positions, enough to withstand a severe UK and global recession, according to Reuters. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Banks pay out dividends as a means of rewarding shareholders and disposing of excess profits, but they have the option to retain the earnings instead to preserve their capital levels.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The statements from British lenders reportedly come after the European Central Bank (ECB) last week asked euro zone lenders to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest, and use their profits to support the economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Reuters further reported that several of Europe&rsquo;s largest lenders, including UniCredit, and Societe Generale have already announced they will hold off paying 2019 dividends for now. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The move to scrap 2019 shareholder distributions is expected to free up capital that banks can instead lend to businesses and consumers rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11606',
			'image' => '20200401121627_1585580798.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 12:15:36',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11854',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Former King Donates Rs 20 Million ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government's coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government&#39;s coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. The contribution will be made through the Himani Trust.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In a statement issued on Tuesday, the former King has also thanked all for showing patience and exercising restraint at this time of crisis and disaster. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;</span></strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lockdown is imperative and there is no excuse to not follow it.&rdquo; -- RSS </span></span></span></p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11605',
			'image' => '20200401083425_1585669746.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:33:37',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11857',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Collection of revenue declines due to Closure of Industries in Sunsari and Morang ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. Likewise, the lockdown has also rendered over 35,000 workers jobless in the region.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, 50 industries producing medicines, food and oxygen in the region are still in operation. Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor is the oldest industrial corridor of Nepal. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The industries in the region have been producing goods worth Rs 500 million a year regularly.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Besides affecting the production, the lockdown has also reduced import and export. This has made a direct impact on revenue collection at Biratnagar Customs Office. The collection of revenue from the customs point has declined to Rs 15 million per day from Rs 150 million since the lockdown began.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11604',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 11:46:03',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11853',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Coronavirus Takes Toll on Inflow of Remittance to Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. The inflow of remittance is expected to further slump in the coming days due to the ban imposed by the government on issuing labour permits and the protracted lockdown in the labour destination countries.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">At present, the inflow of remittance has reduced significantly due to the imposition of lockdown and curfew in the countries offering foreign employment to Nepali workers in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to remittance companies, the inflow of remittance has decreased by 25 percent in the recent days compared to the normal times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Flow of remittance into the country had been gradually decreasing since the last five months.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The country recorded remittance inflow of Rs 75.40 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August). In the following month (mid-August to mid-September), remittance increased by Rs2.93 billion to Rs 78.33 billion. But since then, it has been decreasing every month.&nbsp; The inflow of remittance was the lowest between mid-January to mid-February in the current fiscal year at Rs 65.95 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s major source of remittance is foreign employment. But this sector has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 38,000 people worldwide and infected nearly 800,000 people across the globe as of Tuesday afternoon (March 31).</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On one hand, the government has stopped issuing labour permits while on the other hand the some of the major labour destination countries have themselves imposed travel restriction for foreigners, including Nepali migrant workers. This has prevented Nepali migrant workers from travelling abroad for foreign employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to NRB, a major portion of remittance comes to Nepal from countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, USA, India among other countries. All of these countries are currently struggling to cope with the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">This has greatly affected financial activities in the labour destination countries which in turn has threatened the job security of Nepali migrant workers. Subsequently, the inflow of remittance has been largely affected by the pandemic, which originated from China and now has shifted to Europe, USA and the middle east.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the families in Nepal are dependent on remittance sent by their family members from abroad.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist and former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission Swornim Wagle says that the inflow of remittance is likely to decrease if the coronavirus pandemic gets protracted.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another economist Keshav Acharya also shares similar view of a grim scenario.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Suman Pokharel, CEO of IME Remit, which brings in most of the remittance to Nepal from abroad, also believes that there are high chances that the flow of remittance will decrease in the coming days. Things will get further complicated if the current situation gets prolonged, he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another reason for the decline in remittance inflow is that the Nepali nationals are not capable to send money to their homeland through digital medium.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf countries send money back to their homes by visiting the counters of the remittance company. This is practically not possible at the moment,&rdquo; said Pokharel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chairman of Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association Bhuvan Dahal expressed concerns that the two major sources of income of the country &ndash; remittance and tourism &ndash; are in trouble due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Foreign currency has great significance for a country like Nepal which is chiefly dependent in import,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;Currently, we have enough foreign currency to meet the demand of import for the next eight months. But things will get worse if the coronavirus pandemic lingers any longer.&rdquo; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB Spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta says although they are yet to get the official data, the inflow of remittance will decline to a great extent in the upcoming report.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11852',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Consumer Protection Department Registers Maximum Complaints Related to LPG Shortage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On Monday, the department registered complaints regarding lack of cooking gas and other essentials as well as black marketing of masks, food and price hike among others. Maximum number of complaints was related to shortage of cooking gas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The complaints were registered from consumers from across the country. Most of the complaints were registered via telephone while the consumers also used Facebook, Viber and other online medium to register the complaints.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the complaints were registered against Nepal Oil Corporation and Food Management and Trading Company Limited. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 472 complaints were registered with the department as of 10 am on Monday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department has been registering complaints from Facebook, Twitter, Viber, telephone, fax, website, email, and SMS. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11850',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Over 1,000 Tourists Rescued During Weeklong Lockdown ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to RSS, sources at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) informed that those tourists were rescued from 19 different tourist destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda. They were rescued via chartered flights. Most of the tourists were rescued from Lukla in Solukhumbu district.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), eighty-five tourist guides were airlifted to Kathmandu from the Lukla region on Sunday and Monday. The rescue flights were made in cooperation with the NTB, RSS further said. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Different airlines companies, including Nepal Airlines Corporation (one), Sita Air (two) and Summit Air (two) had operated flights to bring 70 foreign tourists and their guides back to Kathmandu on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has been granted permission to make rescue flights to Dhangadhi, Surkhet and Biratnagar, RSS cited CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri as saying.</span></span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2020-03-31',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11601',
			'image' => '20200331102258_Helicopterher.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-03-31 10:22:08',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11848',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Forms Committee to Recommend Names for NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor.</span><strong> </strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee includes former NRB Governor Bijaynath Bhattarai and former Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota as members. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee has been tasked to recommend the names of three persons for the post of central bank&rsquo;s governor. One of the persons recommended by the committee will be appointed as the governor by the cabinet.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The last meeting of the Council of Ministers had formed the committee to finalize names for the NRB governor post, which has been lying vacant since the retirement of erstwhile governor Chiranjivi Nepal about two weeks ago.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy Governor of NRB Chinta Mani Shivakoti was appointed as the acting governor after Nepal&rsquo;s five-year term ended on March 17.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Earlier, the government used to appoint NRB governor one month before the retirement of the incumbent governor. However, this time the government has failed to make appointment to the vital post even two weeks after the retirement of the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11862',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' NOC Slashes Price of Petroleum Products by 10 Percent    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, the price of cooking gas remains unchanged, said NOC&#39;s spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya. The price decrement follows price fall of petroleum products in the international market, RSS reported citing NOC officials.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new price adjustment, diesel and kerosene will be sold for Rs 85 per litre and petrol for Rs 96. Likewise, the price of aviation turbine fuel for domestic flights has been decreased by Rs 15 per litre to Rs 75.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The price of aviation turbine fuel for international flights is adjusted to USD 0.95 per litre, said Upadhyaya. </span></span></span></p>
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11614',
			'image' => '20200401103058_petrol-2-1539134824.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 22:30:01',
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			'id' => '11864',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production Comes to a Halt in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Many industries could not bring the raw materials stuck at the border. Even industries that have stored raw materials could not continue production due to the absence of workers and halt in transportation. The pharmaceutical industries are open. However, other industries for emergency supplies are producing minimum quantities. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president, Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, the lockdown has affected the production of staple food&nbsp;as well. &ldquo;We cannot transport even 20 percent of the production,&rdquo; Gupta said. He estimated that around 3,000 food industries have been affected nationwide. Among them, 2,000 are rice industries. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;The production of construction materials has also been halted because of lack of workers and transportation. Due to lack of transportation, we cannot send the orders to our customers,&rdquo; said industrialist Rajesh Kyal.&nbsp; The corridor has around 1,000 factories producing food supplies, animal feeds, medicines and packaging.&nbsp; </span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The local administration has said that passes will be provided to the emergency industries. For this, a particular time has been set. According to Lalit Kumar Basnet, assistant district officer of Parsa, the workers need to reach the factory before 9 am and can leave the factory only after 6 pm. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Local security entity and industrialists had agreed to allow movement at the specific time. While motorcycles are allowed for commuting, other vehicles are not allowed. However, many workers have not been going to work due to the fear of coronavirus. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Because of limitation on timing, it is difficult to bring raw materials from the border, said Ashok Kumar Vaid, vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Province 2. &ldquo;Vehicles entering the factory at 9 am have to wait till 6 pm to leave the place,&rdquo; said Vaid. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Gupta said that not only has the transportation been affected, but the materials which need to be sent outside Birgunj are also stuck at the border. As the supplies are stuck at the border, Birgunj customs office had issued a notice requesting the importer to do the custom clearance. Now, the frequency of trucks have increased comparatively. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, the lockdown in India has decreased the import from roadways, said Dhundi Prashad Niraula. Previously, on an average day, around 600-700 vehicles used to enter the border, but only 37 vehicles entered on Monday.&nbsp; Meanwhile, cargo transportation via train has increased. Currently, 2,200 containers filled with supply and 400 empty containers are stockpiled at Birgunj dry port. </span></span></span></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '11613',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11858',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'COVID-19 is Worst Crisis since World War II: UN chief ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession &ldquo;that probably has no parallel in the recent past&rdquo;, the Associated Press reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 that there is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to &ldquo;enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict&rdquo;.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres reportedly called for a much stronger and more effective global response to the coronavirus pandemic and to the social and economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing. He stressed that this will only be possible &ldquo;if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations &mdash; one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people&rsquo;s lives,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the secretary-general told reporters that the magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis &mdash; large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">He further said that many countries were not respecting WHO guidelines, with each tending to go its own way in dealing with the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission,&rdquo; AP quoted him as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the UN Secretary-General, while $5 trillion has been mobilized, most of that money was by the developed world &mdash; including $2 trillion in the United States &mdash; to support their own economies from the consequences of the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences in their populations, in the people that lost their jobs, the small companies that are operating and risk to disappear, those that live with the informal economy that now have no chance to survive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Massive support to the developing world is still required.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the report also cites International Labor Organization estimates for 2020 that between 5 million and 25 million jobs will be lost, with a corresponding loss of between $860 million and $3.4 trillion in labor income. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">It also cited an estimate by the U.N. trade and development organization UNCTAD of a 30-40 percent &ldquo;downward pressure&quot; on global foreign direct investment flows this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries, with the aim of swiftly enabling governments to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '11612',
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			'id' => '11861',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepal Gas Industry Distributing LPGs ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:Arial">The company said in a statement that it will distribute the LPG from six new locations instead from Balaju Industrial Estate. The company said it decided to decentralize its distribution centres to address the problems of the consumers, who have been complaining of difficulty in refilling their cylinders due to the lockdown imposed by the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">Gokul Bhandari, executive director of Nepal Gas Industry, informed that the company will distribute LPGs for three consecutive days from six different location in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Considering the current crisis caused by coronavirus, consumers are not able to collect the LPGs from our main distribution center. That&rsquo;s why we are distributing it from six various locations,&rdquo; he informed. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the company will distribute 560 LPG cylinders from two locations every day.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">The company will distribute the LPGs under the supervision of Nepal Police. The LPGs were distributed at Chabahil and Bafal on Wednesday, and the company plans to distribute them at Baniyatar and Koteshwar on Thursday and Bhanimandal and Maharajgunj on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp; -- RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '11611',
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			'id' => '11865',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Food Supplies Distributed to Deprived Families ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.&nbsp; &nbsp;Laxman Kadel, general secretary of Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that the food supply was distributed to the family members of local labors who were hard hit by the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Food supplies worth Rs 80,000, and total of Rs 50,500 cash were distributed among the family members of the labourers. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'created' => '2020-04-02',
			'modified' => '2020-04-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11610',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11856',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Companies Contributing to Social Security Fund to Get Government Support during Current Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has decided to provide Rs 300 million to the companies struggling to pay their workers due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the government since March 24. Only those companies that have been contributing to the newly-established fund will be entitled to the benefit, said government sources.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has been collecting 31 percent cut from the salary of each employee from the private sector. Out of the 31 percent, the company contributes 20 percent while 11 percent is deducted from the employee&rsquo;s basic salary.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following the government announcement on Sunday, the contributors will not have to deposit the 31 percent amount for the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). The government itself will contribute the amount to the fund for the time period owing to the crisis caused by the pandemic that has spread to 202 countries and caused over 42,000 fatalities as of March 31. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Executive Director of the Social Security Fund Kapil Mani Gyawali informed New Business Age that the government itself will contribute the amount on behalf of the companies for this month. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As of March-end, a total of 12,315 companies and 153,276 employees have been listed in the ambitious project announced by the government during the start of the current fiscal year. However, the companies and staffers contributing to the fund is actually less than the listed numbers. According to Gyawali, so far only 36,000 employees have made contribution to the fund. The fund has received Rs 870 million so far.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, vice president of Nepal Cement Producers&rsquo; Association Tara Prasad Pokharel said that more than 75 percent of cement companies have been listed in the SSF and urged others to join the fund. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He, however, argued that other companies that are not yet listed in the SSF but are contributing to the Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizen&rsquo;s Investment Trust (CIT) should also be entitled to relief.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11859',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Keep Global Food Supply Chains Intact: WTO',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1:  Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: &nbsp;Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN food and health agencies said on Tuesday, warning of possible shortages and price spikes.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to Reuters, they voiced concern that disruptions to the movement of agricultural and food industry workers or food containers could result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste and said protectionism was also a risk.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,&quot; Reuters quoted WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo, and the heads of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN&#39;s Food and Agriculture Organization Qu Dongyu as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Such reactions can alter the balance between food supply and demand, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.&quot;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The joint statement added that such measures are particularly damaging to low-income and food-deficit countries, according to Reuters.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Azevedo said last week that WTO projections show the economic downturn and job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be worse than the 2008 recession. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11855',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign Officially Postponed ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. The VNY 2020 aimed at bringing in more than 2 million foreign tourists to Nepal has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the Campaign on January 1 this year but given the outbreak of COVID-19, the government decided to postpone the campaign, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had decided to postpone the campaign till April this year. Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari told RSS that the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 22 took a decision to this effect. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;All the programmes related to Visit Nepal 2020 have been officially called off. We have not set any agenda for the campaign as of now. However the budget for the next fiscal year would discuss and decide on how to forward the campaign then,&rdquo; RSS quoted Adhikari as saying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">With the official decision to call off the campaign, the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat at Keshar Mahal in Kathmandu would be dissolved by mid-April this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far five positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nepal, of which one infected person has returned home after treatment and recovery. The government has enforced a nation-wide lockdown since March 24 to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus. The lockdown will remain in force till April 7.</span></span></span></p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11607',
			'image' => '20200401083536_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:34:52',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11860',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'UK Banks Scrap Dividends over Coronavirus Fears',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Britain’s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: Britain&rsquo;s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator, saving their capital as a buffer against expected losses from the economic fallout from the coronavirus, Reuters reported. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and the British arm of Spain&rsquo;s Santander all halted payouts. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lenders had been due to pay out over 8 billion pounds between them in 2019 dividends, with HSBC the biggest payer at $4.2 billion. The move came in response to a request from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which also asked banks and insurers not to pay senior staff bonuses this year.,&rdquo; Reuters said in a news report published on April 1. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The PRA said banks entered the epidemic, which has put Britain into lockdown, with strong capital positions, enough to withstand a severe UK and global recession, according to Reuters. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Banks pay out dividends as a means of rewarding shareholders and disposing of excess profits, but they have the option to retain the earnings instead to preserve their capital levels.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The statements from British lenders reportedly come after the European Central Bank (ECB) last week asked euro zone lenders to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest, and use their profits to support the economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Reuters further reported that several of Europe&rsquo;s largest lenders, including UniCredit, and Societe Generale have already announced they will hold off paying 2019 dividends for now. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The move to scrap 2019 shareholder distributions is expected to free up capital that banks can instead lend to businesses and consumers rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'sortorder' => '11606',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 12:15:36',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11854',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Former King Donates Rs 20 Million ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government's coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government&#39;s coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. The contribution will be made through the Himani Trust.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In a statement issued on Tuesday, the former King has also thanked all for showing patience and exercising restraint at this time of crisis and disaster. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;</span></strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lockdown is imperative and there is no excuse to not follow it.&rdquo; -- RSS </span></span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2020-04-01',
			'modified' => '2020-04-01',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11605',
			'image' => '20200401083425_1585669746.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:33:37',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11857',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Collection of revenue declines due to Closure of Industries in Sunsari and Morang ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. Likewise, the lockdown has also rendered over 35,000 workers jobless in the region.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, 50 industries producing medicines, food and oxygen in the region are still in operation. Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor is the oldest industrial corridor of Nepal. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The industries in the region have been producing goods worth Rs 500 million a year regularly.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Besides affecting the production, the lockdown has also reduced import and export. This has made a direct impact on revenue collection at Biratnagar Customs Office. The collection of revenue from the customs point has declined to Rs 15 million per day from Rs 150 million since the lockdown began.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11604',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 11:46:03',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11853',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Coronavirus Takes Toll on Inflow of Remittance to Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. The inflow of remittance is expected to further slump in the coming days due to the ban imposed by the government on issuing labour permits and the protracted lockdown in the labour destination countries.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">At present, the inflow of remittance has reduced significantly due to the imposition of lockdown and curfew in the countries offering foreign employment to Nepali workers in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to remittance companies, the inflow of remittance has decreased by 25 percent in the recent days compared to the normal times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Flow of remittance into the country had been gradually decreasing since the last five months.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The country recorded remittance inflow of Rs 75.40 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August). In the following month (mid-August to mid-September), remittance increased by Rs2.93 billion to Rs 78.33 billion. But since then, it has been decreasing every month.&nbsp; The inflow of remittance was the lowest between mid-January to mid-February in the current fiscal year at Rs 65.95 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s major source of remittance is foreign employment. But this sector has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 38,000 people worldwide and infected nearly 800,000 people across the globe as of Tuesday afternoon (March 31).</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On one hand, the government has stopped issuing labour permits while on the other hand the some of the major labour destination countries have themselves imposed travel restriction for foreigners, including Nepali migrant workers. This has prevented Nepali migrant workers from travelling abroad for foreign employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to NRB, a major portion of remittance comes to Nepal from countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, USA, India among other countries. All of these countries are currently struggling to cope with the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">This has greatly affected financial activities in the labour destination countries which in turn has threatened the job security of Nepali migrant workers. Subsequently, the inflow of remittance has been largely affected by the pandemic, which originated from China and now has shifted to Europe, USA and the middle east.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the families in Nepal are dependent on remittance sent by their family members from abroad.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist and former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission Swornim Wagle says that the inflow of remittance is likely to decrease if the coronavirus pandemic gets protracted.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another economist Keshav Acharya also shares similar view of a grim scenario.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Suman Pokharel, CEO of IME Remit, which brings in most of the remittance to Nepal from abroad, also believes that there are high chances that the flow of remittance will decrease in the coming days. Things will get further complicated if the current situation gets prolonged, he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another reason for the decline in remittance inflow is that the Nepali nationals are not capable to send money to their homeland through digital medium.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf countries send money back to their homes by visiting the counters of the remittance company. This is practically not possible at the moment,&rdquo; said Pokharel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chairman of Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association Bhuvan Dahal expressed concerns that the two major sources of income of the country &ndash; remittance and tourism &ndash; are in trouble due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Foreign currency has great significance for a country like Nepal which is chiefly dependent in import,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;Currently, we have enough foreign currency to meet the demand of import for the next eight months. But things will get worse if the coronavirus pandemic lingers any longer.&rdquo; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB Spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta says although they are yet to get the official data, the inflow of remittance will decline to a great extent in the upcoming report.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11603',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11852',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Consumer Protection Department Registers Maximum Complaints Related to LPG Shortage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On Monday, the department registered complaints regarding lack of cooking gas and other essentials as well as black marketing of masks, food and price hike among others. Maximum number of complaints was related to shortage of cooking gas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The complaints were registered from consumers from across the country. Most of the complaints were registered via telephone while the consumers also used Facebook, Viber and other online medium to register the complaints.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the complaints were registered against Nepal Oil Corporation and Food Management and Trading Company Limited. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 472 complaints were registered with the department as of 10 am on Monday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department has been registering complaints from Facebook, Twitter, Viber, telephone, fax, website, email, and SMS. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'created' => '2020-03-31',
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			'sortorder' => '11602',
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			'article_date' => '2020-03-31 12:22:17',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11850',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Over 1,000 Tourists Rescued During Weeklong Lockdown ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to RSS, sources at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) informed that those tourists were rescued from 19 different tourist destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda. They were rescued via chartered flights. Most of the tourists were rescued from Lukla in Solukhumbu district.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), eighty-five tourist guides were airlifted to Kathmandu from the Lukla region on Sunday and Monday. The rescue flights were made in cooperation with the NTB, RSS further said. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Different airlines companies, including Nepal Airlines Corporation (one), Sita Air (two) and Summit Air (two) had operated flights to bring 70 foreign tourists and their guides back to Kathmandu on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has been granted permission to make rescue flights to Dhangadhi, Surkhet and Biratnagar, RSS cited CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri as saying.</span></span></span></p>
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			'created' => '2020-03-31',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11601',
			'image' => '20200331102258_Helicopterher.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-03-31 10:22:08',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11848',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Forms Committee to Recommend Names for NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor.</span><strong> </strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee includes former NRB Governor Bijaynath Bhattarai and former Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota as members. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee has been tasked to recommend the names of three persons for the post of central bank&rsquo;s governor. One of the persons recommended by the committee will be appointed as the governor by the cabinet.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The last meeting of the Council of Ministers had formed the committee to finalize names for the NRB governor post, which has been lying vacant since the retirement of erstwhile governor Chiranjivi Nepal about two weeks ago.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy Governor of NRB Chinta Mani Shivakoti was appointed as the acting governor after Nepal&rsquo;s five-year term ended on March 17.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Earlier, the government used to appoint NRB governor one month before the retirement of the incumbent governor. However, this time the government has failed to make appointment to the vital post even two weeks after the retirement of the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11862',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => ' NOC Slashes Price of Petroleum Products by 10 Percent    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, the price of cooking gas remains unchanged, said NOC&#39;s spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya. The price decrement follows price fall of petroleum products in the international market, RSS reported citing NOC officials.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new price adjustment, diesel and kerosene will be sold for Rs 85 per litre and petrol for Rs 96. Likewise, the price of aviation turbine fuel for domestic flights has been decreased by Rs 15 per litre to Rs 75.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The price of aviation turbine fuel for international flights is adjusted to USD 0.95 per litre, said Upadhyaya. </span></span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2020-04-01',
			'modified' => '2020-04-01',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11614',
			'image' => '20200401103058_petrol-2-1539134824.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 22:30:01',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11864',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production Comes to a Halt in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Many industries could not bring the raw materials stuck at the border. Even industries that have stored raw materials could not continue production due to the absence of workers and halt in transportation. The pharmaceutical industries are open. However, other industries for emergency supplies are producing minimum quantities. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president, Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, the lockdown has affected the production of staple food&nbsp;as well. &ldquo;We cannot transport even 20 percent of the production,&rdquo; Gupta said. He estimated that around 3,000 food industries have been affected nationwide. Among them, 2,000 are rice industries. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;The production of construction materials has also been halted because of lack of workers and transportation. Due to lack of transportation, we cannot send the orders to our customers,&rdquo; said industrialist Rajesh Kyal.&nbsp; The corridor has around 1,000 factories producing food supplies, animal feeds, medicines and packaging.&nbsp; </span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The local administration has said that passes will be provided to the emergency industries. For this, a particular time has been set. According to Lalit Kumar Basnet, assistant district officer of Parsa, the workers need to reach the factory before 9 am and can leave the factory only after 6 pm. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Local security entity and industrialists had agreed to allow movement at the specific time. While motorcycles are allowed for commuting, other vehicles are not allowed. However, many workers have not been going to work due to the fear of coronavirus. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Because of limitation on timing, it is difficult to bring raw materials from the border, said Ashok Kumar Vaid, vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Province 2. &ldquo;Vehicles entering the factory at 9 am have to wait till 6 pm to leave the place,&rdquo; said Vaid. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Gupta said that not only has the transportation been affected, but the materials which need to be sent outside Birgunj are also stuck at the border. As the supplies are stuck at the border, Birgunj customs office had issued a notice requesting the importer to do the custom clearance. Now, the frequency of trucks have increased comparatively. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, the lockdown in India has decreased the import from roadways, said Dhundi Prashad Niraula. Previously, on an average day, around 600-700 vehicles used to enter the border, but only 37 vehicles entered on Monday.&nbsp; Meanwhile, cargo transportation via train has increased. Currently, 2,200 containers filled with supply and 400 empty containers are stockpiled at Birgunj dry port. </span></span></span></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11613',
			'image' => '20200402100050_1585693075 copy.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-02 09:57:35',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11858',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'COVID-19 is Worst Crisis since World War II: UN chief ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession &ldquo;that probably has no parallel in the recent past&rdquo;, the Associated Press reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 that there is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to &ldquo;enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict&rdquo;.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres reportedly called for a much stronger and more effective global response to the coronavirus pandemic and to the social and economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing. He stressed that this will only be possible &ldquo;if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations &mdash; one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people&rsquo;s lives,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the secretary-general told reporters that the magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis &mdash; large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">He further said that many countries were not respecting WHO guidelines, with each tending to go its own way in dealing with the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission,&rdquo; AP quoted him as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the UN Secretary-General, while $5 trillion has been mobilized, most of that money was by the developed world &mdash; including $2 trillion in the United States &mdash; to support their own economies from the consequences of the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences in their populations, in the people that lost their jobs, the small companies that are operating and risk to disappear, those that live with the informal economy that now have no chance to survive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Massive support to the developing world is still required.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the report also cites International Labor Organization estimates for 2020 that between 5 million and 25 million jobs will be lost, with a corresponding loss of between $860 million and $3.4 trillion in labor income. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">It also cited an estimate by the U.N. trade and development organization UNCTAD of a 30-40 percent &ldquo;downward pressure&quot; on global foreign direct investment flows this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries, with the aim of swiftly enabling governments to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11612',
			'image' => '20200401114957_NICA-768874-Guterres.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 11:48:59',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11861',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepal Gas Industry Distributing LPGs ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:Arial">The company said in a statement that it will distribute the LPG from six new locations instead from Balaju Industrial Estate. The company said it decided to decentralize its distribution centres to address the problems of the consumers, who have been complaining of difficulty in refilling their cylinders due to the lockdown imposed by the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">Gokul Bhandari, executive director of Nepal Gas Industry, informed that the company will distribute LPGs for three consecutive days from six different location in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Considering the current crisis caused by coronavirus, consumers are not able to collect the LPGs from our main distribution center. That&rsquo;s why we are distributing it from six various locations,&rdquo; he informed. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the company will distribute 560 LPG cylinders from two locations every day.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">The company will distribute the LPGs under the supervision of Nepal Police. The LPGs were distributed at Chabahil and Bafal on Wednesday, and the company plans to distribute them at Baniyatar and Koteshwar on Thursday and Bhanimandal and Maharajgunj on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp; -- RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'keywords' => '',
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			'sortorder' => '11611',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 18:06:32',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11865',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Food Supplies Distributed to Deprived Families ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.&nbsp; &nbsp;Laxman Kadel, general secretary of Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that the food supply was distributed to the family members of local labors who were hard hit by the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Food supplies worth Rs 80,000, and total of Rs 50,500 cash were distributed among the family members of the labourers. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2020-04-02',
			'modified' => '2020-04-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11610',
			'image' => '20200402113737_1585713561.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-02 11:36:44',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11856',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Companies Contributing to Social Security Fund to Get Government Support during Current Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has decided to provide Rs 300 million to the companies struggling to pay their workers due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the government since March 24. Only those companies that have been contributing to the newly-established fund will be entitled to the benefit, said government sources.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has been collecting 31 percent cut from the salary of each employee from the private sector. Out of the 31 percent, the company contributes 20 percent while 11 percent is deducted from the employee&rsquo;s basic salary.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following the government announcement on Sunday, the contributors will not have to deposit the 31 percent amount for the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). The government itself will contribute the amount to the fund for the time period owing to the crisis caused by the pandemic that has spread to 202 countries and caused over 42,000 fatalities as of March 31. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Executive Director of the Social Security Fund Kapil Mani Gyawali informed New Business Age that the government itself will contribute the amount on behalf of the companies for this month. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As of March-end, a total of 12,315 companies and 153,276 employees have been listed in the ambitious project announced by the government during the start of the current fiscal year. However, the companies and staffers contributing to the fund is actually less than the listed numbers. According to Gyawali, so far only 36,000 employees have made contribution to the fund. The fund has received Rs 870 million so far.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, vice president of Nepal Cement Producers&rsquo; Association Tara Prasad Pokharel said that more than 75 percent of cement companies have been listed in the SSF and urged others to join the fund. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He, however, argued that other companies that are not yet listed in the SSF but are contributing to the Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizen&rsquo;s Investment Trust (CIT) should also be entitled to relief.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '11609',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11859',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Keep Global Food Supply Chains Intact: WTO',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1:  Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: &nbsp;Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN food and health agencies said on Tuesday, warning of possible shortages and price spikes.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to Reuters, they voiced concern that disruptions to the movement of agricultural and food industry workers or food containers could result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste and said protectionism was also a risk.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,&quot; Reuters quoted WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo, and the heads of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN&#39;s Food and Agriculture Organization Qu Dongyu as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Such reactions can alter the balance between food supply and demand, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.&quot;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The joint statement added that such measures are particularly damaging to low-income and food-deficit countries, according to Reuters.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Azevedo said last week that WTO projections show the economic downturn and job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be worse than the 2008 recession. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11608',
			'image' => '20200401120529_20171227013530__MG_0036.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 12:04:44',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11855',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign Officially Postponed ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. The VNY 2020 aimed at bringing in more than 2 million foreign tourists to Nepal has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the Campaign on January 1 this year but given the outbreak of COVID-19, the government decided to postpone the campaign, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had decided to postpone the campaign till April this year. Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari told RSS that the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 22 took a decision to this effect. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;All the programmes related to Visit Nepal 2020 have been officially called off. We have not set any agenda for the campaign as of now. However the budget for the next fiscal year would discuss and decide on how to forward the campaign then,&rdquo; RSS quoted Adhikari as saying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">With the official decision to call off the campaign, the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat at Keshar Mahal in Kathmandu would be dissolved by mid-April this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far five positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nepal, of which one infected person has returned home after treatment and recovery. The government has enforced a nation-wide lockdown since March 24 to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus. The lockdown will remain in force till April 7.</span></span></span></p>
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			'sortorder' => '11607',
			'image' => '20200401083536_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:34:52',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11860',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'UK Banks Scrap Dividends over Coronavirus Fears',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Britain’s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: Britain&rsquo;s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator, saving their capital as a buffer against expected losses from the economic fallout from the coronavirus, Reuters reported. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and the British arm of Spain&rsquo;s Santander all halted payouts. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lenders had been due to pay out over 8 billion pounds between them in 2019 dividends, with HSBC the biggest payer at $4.2 billion. The move came in response to a request from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which also asked banks and insurers not to pay senior staff bonuses this year.,&rdquo; Reuters said in a news report published on April 1. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The PRA said banks entered the epidemic, which has put Britain into lockdown, with strong capital positions, enough to withstand a severe UK and global recession, according to Reuters. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Banks pay out dividends as a means of rewarding shareholders and disposing of excess profits, but they have the option to retain the earnings instead to preserve their capital levels.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The statements from British lenders reportedly come after the European Central Bank (ECB) last week asked euro zone lenders to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest, and use their profits to support the economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Reuters further reported that several of Europe&rsquo;s largest lenders, including UniCredit, and Societe Generale have already announced they will hold off paying 2019 dividends for now. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The move to scrap 2019 shareholder distributions is expected to free up capital that banks can instead lend to businesses and consumers rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11854',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Former King Donates Rs 20 Million ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government's coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government&#39;s coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. The contribution will be made through the Himani Trust.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In a statement issued on Tuesday, the former King has also thanked all for showing patience and exercising restraint at this time of crisis and disaster. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;</span></strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lockdown is imperative and there is no excuse to not follow it.&rdquo; -- RSS </span></span></span></p>
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			'image' => '20200401083425_1585669746.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:33:37',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11857',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Collection of revenue declines due to Closure of Industries in Sunsari and Morang ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. Likewise, the lockdown has also rendered over 35,000 workers jobless in the region.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, 50 industries producing medicines, food and oxygen in the region are still in operation. Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor is the oldest industrial corridor of Nepal. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The industries in the region have been producing goods worth Rs 500 million a year regularly.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Besides affecting the production, the lockdown has also reduced import and export. This has made a direct impact on revenue collection at Biratnagar Customs Office. The collection of revenue from the customs point has declined to Rs 15 million per day from Rs 150 million since the lockdown began.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11853',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Coronavirus Takes Toll on Inflow of Remittance to Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. The inflow of remittance is expected to further slump in the coming days due to the ban imposed by the government on issuing labour permits and the protracted lockdown in the labour destination countries.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">At present, the inflow of remittance has reduced significantly due to the imposition of lockdown and curfew in the countries offering foreign employment to Nepali workers in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to remittance companies, the inflow of remittance has decreased by 25 percent in the recent days compared to the normal times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Flow of remittance into the country had been gradually decreasing since the last five months.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The country recorded remittance inflow of Rs 75.40 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August). In the following month (mid-August to mid-September), remittance increased by Rs2.93 billion to Rs 78.33 billion. But since then, it has been decreasing every month.&nbsp; The inflow of remittance was the lowest between mid-January to mid-February in the current fiscal year at Rs 65.95 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s major source of remittance is foreign employment. But this sector has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 38,000 people worldwide and infected nearly 800,000 people across the globe as of Tuesday afternoon (March 31).</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On one hand, the government has stopped issuing labour permits while on the other hand the some of the major labour destination countries have themselves imposed travel restriction for foreigners, including Nepali migrant workers. This has prevented Nepali migrant workers from travelling abroad for foreign employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to NRB, a major portion of remittance comes to Nepal from countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, USA, India among other countries. All of these countries are currently struggling to cope with the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">This has greatly affected financial activities in the labour destination countries which in turn has threatened the job security of Nepali migrant workers. Subsequently, the inflow of remittance has been largely affected by the pandemic, which originated from China and now has shifted to Europe, USA and the middle east.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the families in Nepal are dependent on remittance sent by their family members from abroad.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist and former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission Swornim Wagle says that the inflow of remittance is likely to decrease if the coronavirus pandemic gets protracted.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another economist Keshav Acharya also shares similar view of a grim scenario.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Suman Pokharel, CEO of IME Remit, which brings in most of the remittance to Nepal from abroad, also believes that there are high chances that the flow of remittance will decrease in the coming days. Things will get further complicated if the current situation gets prolonged, he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another reason for the decline in remittance inflow is that the Nepali nationals are not capable to send money to their homeland through digital medium.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf countries send money back to their homes by visiting the counters of the remittance company. This is practically not possible at the moment,&rdquo; said Pokharel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chairman of Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association Bhuvan Dahal expressed concerns that the two major sources of income of the country &ndash; remittance and tourism &ndash; are in trouble due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Foreign currency has great significance for a country like Nepal which is chiefly dependent in import,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;Currently, we have enough foreign currency to meet the demand of import for the next eight months. But things will get worse if the coronavirus pandemic lingers any longer.&rdquo; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB Spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta says although they are yet to get the official data, the inflow of remittance will decline to a great extent in the upcoming report.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11852',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Consumer Protection Department Registers Maximum Complaints Related to LPG Shortage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On Monday, the department registered complaints regarding lack of cooking gas and other essentials as well as black marketing of masks, food and price hike among others. Maximum number of complaints was related to shortage of cooking gas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The complaints were registered from consumers from across the country. Most of the complaints were registered via telephone while the consumers also used Facebook, Viber and other online medium to register the complaints.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the complaints were registered against Nepal Oil Corporation and Food Management and Trading Company Limited. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 472 complaints were registered with the department as of 10 am on Monday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department has been registering complaints from Facebook, Twitter, Viber, telephone, fax, website, email, and SMS. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11850',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Over 1,000 Tourists Rescued During Weeklong Lockdown ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to RSS, sources at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) informed that those tourists were rescued from 19 different tourist destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda. They were rescued via chartered flights. Most of the tourists were rescued from Lukla in Solukhumbu district.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), eighty-five tourist guides were airlifted to Kathmandu from the Lukla region on Sunday and Monday. The rescue flights were made in cooperation with the NTB, RSS further said. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Different airlines companies, including Nepal Airlines Corporation (one), Sita Air (two) and Summit Air (two) had operated flights to bring 70 foreign tourists and their guides back to Kathmandu on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has been granted permission to make rescue flights to Dhangadhi, Surkhet and Biratnagar, RSS cited CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri as saying.</span></span></span></p>
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			'sortorder' => '11601',
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			'article_date' => '2020-03-31 10:22:08',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11848',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Forms Committee to Recommend Names for NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor.</span><strong> </strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee includes former NRB Governor Bijaynath Bhattarai and former Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota as members. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee has been tasked to recommend the names of three persons for the post of central bank&rsquo;s governor. One of the persons recommended by the committee will be appointed as the governor by the cabinet.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The last meeting of the Council of Ministers had formed the committee to finalize names for the NRB governor post, which has been lying vacant since the retirement of erstwhile governor Chiranjivi Nepal about two weeks ago.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy Governor of NRB Chinta Mani Shivakoti was appointed as the acting governor after Nepal&rsquo;s five-year term ended on March 17.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Earlier, the government used to appoint NRB governor one month before the retirement of the incumbent governor. However, this time the government has failed to make appointment to the vital post even two weeks after the retirement of the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '11862',
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			'title' => ' NOC Slashes Price of Petroleum Products by 10 Percent    ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The Nepal Oil Corporation has slashed the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene by Rs 10 per litre each effectively from Wednesday midnight, the state-run national news agency RSS reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, the price of cooking gas remains unchanged, said NOC&#39;s spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya. The price decrement follows price fall of petroleum products in the international market, RSS reported citing NOC officials.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As per the new price adjustment, diesel and kerosene will be sold for Rs 85 per litre and petrol for Rs 96. Likewise, the price of aviation turbine fuel for domestic flights has been decreased by Rs 15 per litre to Rs 75.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The price of aviation turbine fuel for international flights is adjusted to USD 0.95 per litre, said Upadhyaya. </span></span></span></p>
',
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			'sortorder' => '11614',
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	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11864',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production Comes to a Halt in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 2: Production in almost all the industries in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor have been shut down because of the absence of workers and halt in transportation due to the lockdown to prevent the coronavirus infection. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Many industries could not bring the raw materials stuck at the border. Even industries that have stored raw materials could not continue production due to the absence of workers and halt in transportation. The pharmaceutical industries are open. However, other industries for emergency supplies are producing minimum quantities. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to Subodh Kumar Gupta, president, Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry, the lockdown has affected the production of staple food&nbsp;as well. &ldquo;We cannot transport even 20 percent of the production,&rdquo; Gupta said. He estimated that around 3,000 food industries have been affected nationwide. Among them, 2,000 are rice industries. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;The production of construction materials has also been halted because of lack of workers and transportation. Due to lack of transportation, we cannot send the orders to our customers,&rdquo; said industrialist Rajesh Kyal.&nbsp; The corridor has around 1,000 factories producing food supplies, animal feeds, medicines and packaging.&nbsp; </span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The local administration has said that passes will be provided to the emergency industries. For this, a particular time has been set. According to Lalit Kumar Basnet, assistant district officer of Parsa, the workers need to reach the factory before 9 am and can leave the factory only after 6 pm. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Local security entity and industrialists had agreed to allow movement at the specific time. While motorcycles are allowed for commuting, other vehicles are not allowed. However, many workers have not been going to work due to the fear of coronavirus. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Because of limitation on timing, it is difficult to bring raw materials from the border, said Ashok Kumar Vaid, vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Province 2. &ldquo;Vehicles entering the factory at 9 am have to wait till 6 pm to leave the place,&rdquo; said Vaid. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Gupta said that not only has the transportation been affected, but the materials which need to be sent outside Birgunj are also stuck at the border. As the supplies are stuck at the border, Birgunj customs office had issued a notice requesting the importer to do the custom clearance. Now, the frequency of trucks have increased comparatively. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, the lockdown in India has decreased the import from roadways, said Dhundi Prashad Niraula. Previously, on an average day, around 600-700 vehicles used to enter the border, but only 37 vehicles entered on Monday.&nbsp; Meanwhile, cargo transportation via train has increased. Currently, 2,200 containers filled with supply and 400 empty containers are stockpiled at Birgunj dry port. </span></span></span></p>

<p><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11613',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11858',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'COVID-19 is Worst Crisis since World War II: UN chief ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession &ldquo;that probably has no parallel in the recent past&rdquo;, the Associated Press reported.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 that there is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to &ldquo;enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict&rdquo;.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres reportedly called for a much stronger and more effective global response to the coronavirus pandemic and to the social and economic devastation that COVID-19 is causing. He stressed that this will only be possible &ldquo;if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations &mdash; one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people&rsquo;s lives,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the secretary-general told reporters that the magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis &mdash; large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">He further said that many countries were not respecting WHO guidelines, with each tending to go its own way in dealing with the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission,&rdquo; AP quoted him as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the UN Secretary-General, while $5 trillion has been mobilized, most of that money was by the developed world &mdash; including $2 trillion in the United States &mdash; to support their own economies from the consequences of the pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences in their populations, in the people that lost their jobs, the small companies that are operating and risk to disappear, those that live with the informal economy that now have no chance to survive,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Massive support to the developing world is still required.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to AP, the report also cites International Labor Organization estimates for 2020 that between 5 million and 25 million jobs will be lost, with a corresponding loss of between $860 million and $3.4 trillion in labor income. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">It also cited an estimate by the U.N. trade and development organization UNCTAD of a 30-40 percent &ldquo;downward pressure&quot; on global foreign direct investment flows this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Guterres announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support efforts in low- and middle-income countries, with the aim of swiftly enabling governments to tackle the crisis and promote recovery.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11612',
			'image' => '20200401114957_NICA-768874-Guterres.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 11:48:59',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11861',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepal Gas Industry Distributing LPGs ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">April 1: The Nepal Gas Industry (NGI) is preparing to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Wednesday at six various locations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:Arial">The company said in a statement that it will distribute the LPG from six new locations instead from Balaju Industrial Estate. The company said it decided to decentralize its distribution centres to address the problems of the consumers, who have been complaining of difficulty in refilling their cylinders due to the lockdown imposed by the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">Gokul Bhandari, executive director of Nepal Gas Industry, informed that the company will distribute LPGs for three consecutive days from six different location in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Considering the current crisis caused by coronavirus, consumers are not able to collect the LPGs from our main distribution center. That&rsquo;s why we are distributing it from six various locations,&rdquo; he informed. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">He said that the company will distribute 560 LPG cylinders from two locations every day.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Arial">The company will distribute the LPGs under the supervision of Nepal Police. The LPGs were distributed at Chabahil and Bafal on Wednesday, and the company plans to distribute them at Baniyatar and Koteshwar on Thursday and Bhanimandal and Maharajgunj on Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp; -- RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
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			'sortorder' => '11611',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 18:06:32',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11865',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Food Supplies Distributed to Deprived Families ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 2: Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries has distributed food supplies to deprived families of Ward no 4 and 6 of Birendranagar.&nbsp; &nbsp;Laxman Kadel, general secretary of Surkhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that the food supply was distributed to the family members of local labors who were hard hit by the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Mangal&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Food supplies worth Rs 80,000, and total of Rs 50,500 cash were distributed among the family members of the labourers. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2020-04-02',
			'modified' => '2020-04-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '11610',
			'image' => '20200402113737_1585713561.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-02 11:36:44',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11856',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Companies Contributing to Social Security Fund to Get Government Support during Current Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Companies listed in the Social Security Fund will be receiving government support under the relief package announced by the cabinet on Sunday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has decided to provide Rs 300 million to the companies struggling to pay their workers due to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the government since March 24. Only those companies that have been contributing to the newly-established fund will be entitled to the benefit, said government sources.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The SSF has been collecting 31 percent cut from the salary of each employee from the private sector. Out of the 31 percent, the company contributes 20 percent while 11 percent is deducted from the employee&rsquo;s basic salary.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following the government announcement on Sunday, the contributors will not have to deposit the 31 percent amount for the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April). The government itself will contribute the amount to the fund for the time period owing to the crisis caused by the pandemic that has spread to 202 countries and caused over 42,000 fatalities as of March 31. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Executive Director of the Social Security Fund Kapil Mani Gyawali informed New Business Age that the government itself will contribute the amount on behalf of the companies for this month. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As of March-end, a total of 12,315 companies and 153,276 employees have been listed in the ambitious project announced by the government during the start of the current fiscal year. However, the companies and staffers contributing to the fund is actually less than the listed numbers. According to Gyawali, so far only 36,000 employees have made contribution to the fund. The fund has received Rs 870 million so far.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, vice president of Nepal Cement Producers&rsquo; Association Tara Prasad Pokharel said that more than 75 percent of cement companies have been listed in the SSF and urged others to join the fund. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He, however, argued that other companies that are not yet listed in the SSF but are contributing to the Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizen&rsquo;s Investment Trust (CIT) should also be entitled to relief.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11859',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Keep Global Food Supply Chains Intact: WTO',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1:  Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: &nbsp;Food supply chains must be protected from any trade-related measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the heads of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN food and health agencies said on Tuesday, warning of possible shortages and price spikes.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to Reuters, they voiced concern that disruptions to the movement of agricultural and food industry workers or food containers could result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste and said protectionism was also a risk.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,&quot; Reuters quoted WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo, and the heads of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN&#39;s Food and Agriculture Organization Qu Dongyu as saying.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&quot;Such reactions can alter the balance between food supply and demand, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.&quot;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The joint statement added that such measures are particularly damaging to low-income and food-deficit countries, according to Reuters.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Azevedo said last week that WTO projections show the economic downturn and job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be worse than the 2008 recession. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 12:04:44',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11855',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign Officially Postponed ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: The government of Nepal has officially called off the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign, the state-owned national news agency reported. The VNY 2020 aimed at bringing in more than 2 million foreign tourists to Nepal has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">President Bidya Devi Bhandari had inaugurated the Campaign on January 1 this year but given the outbreak of COVID-19, the government decided to postpone the campaign, Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had decided to postpone the campaign till April this year. Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari told RSS that the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 22 took a decision to this effect. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;All the programmes related to Visit Nepal 2020 have been officially called off. We have not set any agenda for the campaign as of now. However the budget for the next fiscal year would discuss and decide on how to forward the campaign then,&rdquo; RSS quoted Adhikari as saying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">With the official decision to call off the campaign, the Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat at Keshar Mahal in Kathmandu would be dissolved by mid-April this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far five positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Nepal, of which one infected person has returned home after treatment and recovery. The government has enforced a nation-wide lockdown since March 24 to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus. The lockdown will remain in force till April 7.</span></span></span></p>
',
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			'keywords' => '',
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			'sortorder' => '11607',
			'image' => '20200401083536_Visit-Nepal-2020-Logo.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:34:52',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11860',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'UK Banks Scrap Dividends over Coronavirus Fears',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Britain’s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">April 1: Britain&rsquo;s top banks said on Tuesday they would suspend dividend payments after pressure from the regulator, saving their capital as a buffer against expected losses from the economic fallout from the coronavirus, Reuters reported. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">According to the news agency, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and the British arm of Spain&rsquo;s Santander all halted payouts. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;The lenders had been due to pay out over 8 billion pounds between them in 2019 dividends, with HSBC the biggest payer at $4.2 billion. The move came in response to a request from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which also asked banks and insurers not to pay senior staff bonuses this year.,&rdquo; Reuters said in a news report published on April 1. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The PRA said banks entered the epidemic, which has put Britain into lockdown, with strong capital positions, enough to withstand a severe UK and global recession, according to Reuters. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">&ldquo;Banks pay out dividends as a means of rewarding shareholders and disposing of excess profits, but they have the option to retain the earnings instead to preserve their capital levels.&rdquo;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The statements from British lenders reportedly come after the European Central Bank (ECB) last week asked euro zone lenders to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest, and use their profits to support the economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">Reuters further reported that several of Europe&rsquo;s largest lenders, including UniCredit, and Societe Generale have already announced they will hold off paying 2019 dividends for now. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times">The move to scrap 2019 shareholder distributions is expected to free up capital that banks can instead lend to businesses and consumers rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic. </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11854',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Former King Donates Rs 20 Million ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government's coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">April 1: Former King Gyanendra Shah has announced to donate Rs 20 million to the government&#39;s coronavirus infection control, prevention and treatment fund. The contribution will be made through the Himani Trust.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In a statement issued on Tuesday, the former King has also thanked all for showing patience and exercising restraint at this time of crisis and disaster. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;</span></strong><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lockdown is imperative and there is no excuse to not follow it.&rdquo; -- RSS </span></span></span></p>
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 08:33:37',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11857',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Collection of revenue declines due to Closure of Industries in Sunsari and Morang ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">April 1: More than 400 industries have remained closed in Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor due to the extension of the nation-wide lockdown. Likewise, the lockdown has also rendered over 35,000 workers jobless in the region.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, 50 industries producing medicines, food and oxygen in the region are still in operation. Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor is the oldest industrial corridor of Nepal. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The industries in the region have been producing goods worth Rs 500 million a year regularly.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Besides affecting the production, the lockdown has also reduced import and export. This has made a direct impact on revenue collection at Biratnagar Customs Office. The collection of revenue from the customs point has declined to Rs 15 million per day from Rs 150 million since the lockdown began.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'sortorder' => '11604',
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			'article_date' => '2020-04-01 11:46:03',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11853',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Coronavirus Takes Toll on Inflow of Remittance to Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The latest report of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that the inflow of remittance to Nepal has decreased by 0.5 percent compared to last year. The inflow of remittance is expected to further slump in the coming days due to the ban imposed by the government on issuing labour permits and the protracted lockdown in the labour destination countries.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">At present, the inflow of remittance has reduced significantly due to the imposition of lockdown and curfew in the countries offering foreign employment to Nepali workers in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to remittance companies, the inflow of remittance has decreased by 25 percent in the recent days compared to the normal times.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Flow of remittance into the country had been gradually decreasing since the last five months.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The country recorded remittance inflow of Rs 75.40 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-August). In the following month (mid-August to mid-September), remittance increased by Rs2.93 billion to Rs 78.33 billion. But since then, it has been decreasing every month.&nbsp; The inflow of remittance was the lowest between mid-January to mid-February in the current fiscal year at Rs 65.95 billion.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s major source of remittance is foreign employment. But this sector has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 38,000 people worldwide and infected nearly 800,000 people across the globe as of Tuesday afternoon (March 31).</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On one hand, the government has stopped issuing labour permits while on the other hand the some of the major labour destination countries have themselves imposed travel restriction for foreigners, including Nepali migrant workers. This has prevented Nepali migrant workers from travelling abroad for foreign employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to NRB, a major portion of remittance comes to Nepal from countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, USA, India among other countries. All of these countries are currently struggling to cope with the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">This has greatly affected financial activities in the labour destination countries which in turn has threatened the job security of Nepali migrant workers. Subsequently, the inflow of remittance has been largely affected by the pandemic, which originated from China and now has shifted to Europe, USA and the middle east.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the families in Nepal are dependent on remittance sent by their family members from abroad.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist and former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission Swornim Wagle says that the inflow of remittance is likely to decrease if the coronavirus pandemic gets protracted.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another economist Keshav Acharya also shares similar view of a grim scenario.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Suman Pokharel, CEO of IME Remit, which brings in most of the remittance to Nepal from abroad, also believes that there are high chances that the flow of remittance will decrease in the coming days. Things will get further complicated if the current situation gets prolonged, he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Another reason for the decline in remittance inflow is that the Nepali nationals are not capable to send money to their homeland through digital medium.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf countries send money back to their homes by visiting the counters of the remittance company. This is practically not possible at the moment,&rdquo; said Pokharel.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chairman of Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association Bhuvan Dahal expressed concerns that the two major sources of income of the country &ndash; remittance and tourism &ndash; are in trouble due to the pandemic.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Foreign currency has great significance for a country like Nepal which is chiefly dependent in import,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;Currently, we have enough foreign currency to meet the demand of import for the next eight months. But things will get worse if the coronavirus pandemic lingers any longer.&rdquo; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">NRB Spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta says although they are yet to get the official data, the inflow of remittance will decline to a great extent in the upcoming report.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11852',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Consumer Protection Department Registers Maximum Complaints Related to LPG Shortage',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has started registering complaints of the general public under the Consumer Right Management Information System after the government imposed a lockdown last week to contain the spread of COVID-19.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On Monday, the department registered complaints regarding lack of cooking gas and other essentials as well as black marketing of masks, food and price hike among others. Maximum number of complaints was related to shortage of cooking gas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The complaints were registered from consumers from across the country. Most of the complaints were registered via telephone while the consumers also used Facebook, Viber and other online medium to register the complaints.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Most of the complaints were registered against Nepal Oil Corporation and Food Management and Trading Company Limited. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 472 complaints were registered with the department as of 10 am on Monday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department has been registering complaints from Facebook, Twitter, Viber, telephone, fax, website, email, and SMS. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11850',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Over 1,000 Tourists Rescued During Weeklong Lockdown ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">March 31: A total of 1,330 foreign tourists and local guides stranded at several destinations due to a nationwide lockdown against the coronavirus have been rescued, the state-run national news agency, RSS, reported.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to RSS, sources at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) informed that those tourists were rescued from 19 different tourist destinations including Pokhara, Lukla, Taplejung, Jomsom, Annapurna Base Camp, Muktinath, Langtang, Manaslu, Gorkha, Lete, Besisahar, Kande, Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Beni and Jhinudanda. They were rescued via chartered flights. Most of the tourists were rescued from Lukla in Solukhumbu district.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), eighty-five tourist guides were airlifted to Kathmandu from the Lukla region on Sunday and Monday. The rescue flights were made in cooperation with the NTB, RSS further said. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Different airlines companies, including Nepal Airlines Corporation (one), Sita Air (two) and Summit Air (two) had operated flights to bring 70 foreign tourists and their guides back to Kathmandu on Monday. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has been granted permission to make rescue flights to Dhangadhi, Surkhet and Biratnagar, RSS cited CAAN spokesperson Raj Kumar Chhetri as saying.</span></span></span></p>
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			'sortorder' => '11601',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '11848',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Forms Committee to Recommend Names for NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank’s governor.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">March 31: The government has formed a three-member committee headed by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada to recommend names for the post of Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s governor.</span><strong> </strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee includes former NRB Governor Bijaynath Bhattarai and former Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota as members. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The committee has been tasked to recommend the names of three persons for the post of central bank&rsquo;s governor. One of the persons recommended by the committee will be appointed as the governor by the cabinet.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">The last meeting of the Council of Ministers had formed the committee to finalize names for the NRB governor post, which has been lying vacant since the retirement of erstwhile governor Chiranjivi Nepal about two weeks ago.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy Governor of NRB Chinta Mani Shivakoti was appointed as the acting governor after Nepal&rsquo;s five-year term ended on March 17.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Arial">Earlier, the government used to appoint NRB governor one month before the retirement of the incumbent governor. However, this time the government has failed to make appointment to the vital post even two weeks after the retirement of the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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file not found!

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BFIN to Host Conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday

Price of Gold Reaches All-Time High in Nepal

FOREX

Currency	Unit	Buy	Sell
U.S. Dollar	1	121.23	121.83
European Euro	1	131.65	132.31
UK Pound Sterling	1	142.47	143.18
Swiss Franc	1	124.29	124.90
Australian Dollar	1	71.69	72.05
Canadian Dollar	1	83.90	84.32
Japanese Yen	10	10.94	11.00
Chinese Yuan	1	17.17	17.26
Saudi Arabian Riyal	1	32.27	32.43
UAE Dirham	1	33.01	33.17
Malaysian Ringgit	1	27.36	27.50
South Korean Won	100	9.77	9.82

Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)

Bullion

Fine Gold	1 tola	77000.00
Tejabi Gold	1 tola	76700.00
Silver	1 tola	720.00

Update : 2020-03-25

Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association

Petroleum

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