Nepal Rastra Bank

Supreme Court Upholds Interim Order on NRB Governor Case

May 01, 2022 0 2 minutes 56 seconds to read

May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his…

Hearing on NRB Governor Case Deferred for Thursday

Apr 27, 2022 0 1 minutes 28 seconds to read

April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on…

SC Order has Strengthened Central Bank’s Autonomy: Governor

Apr 21, 2022 0 2 minutes 34 seconds to read

April 21: The Supreme Court’s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank’s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on…

NRB Governor to Resume his Duties from Today

Apr 20, 2022 0 32 seconds to read

April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday.…

Supreme Court Issues Interim Order not to Implement the Decision Regarding NRB Governor

Apr 19, 2022 0 1 minutes 28 seconds to read

April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government's decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final…

Suspended Governor Files Petition against Government Decision

Apr 18, 2022 0 1 minutes 9 seconds to read

April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend…

Board Meeting of NRB becomes Uncertain due to Lack of Quorum

Apr 17, 2022 0 2 minutes 46 seconds to read

April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons.…

Current Account at a Deficit of Rs 462 Billion

Apr 12, 2022 0 1 minutes 22 seconds to read

April 12: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal…

Government Begins Baseless Investigation against NRB Governor

Apr 10, 2022 0 5 minutes 25 seconds to read

April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country's monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all…

Suspension of Central Bank’s Governor has Weakened NRB during Crisis: Experts

Apr 10, 2022 0 6 minutes 36 seconds to read

April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the…

Government Suspends NRB Governor Adhikari

Apr 09, 2022 0 2 minutes 56 seconds to read

April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central…

NRB Attempts to Prevent Foreign Exchange Reserves from Further Decline

Apr 08, 2022 0 4 minutes 5 seconds to read

April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange…

Overall Economy not in a Tailspin: NRB

Apr 08, 2022 0 1 minutes 17 seconds to read

At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in…

NRB under Pressure due to Declining Foreign Exchange Reserves

Apr 06, 2022 0 3 minutes 29 seconds to read

April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange…

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			'id' => '15196',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Upholds Interim Order on NRB Governor Case',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties. A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan issued a verdict on Friday upholding an earlier decision taken by the apex court over the suspension of the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari had filed a writ petition on April 17 against the government&#39;s decision to form a committee to investigate his alleged role in leaking sensitive information relating to the decisions of the Ministry of Finance and not effectively fulfilling his responsibilities.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 7 had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information. The cabinet meeting had formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee was asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, responding to the writ petition on April 19, a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal had issued an interim order against the government&#39;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the government started probe against the governor without adequate grounds.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court observed that the government had initiated the probe without any valid basis and the governor was not given any opportunity to defend himself. In this context, the court ruled that the government&rsquo;s decision was biased and was carried out with mala fide intentions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court verdict states that the government&rsquo;s decision to investigate against the governor is against the precedents set in similar cases involving former governors Tilak Rawal and Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A letter handed over to the governor only states that he lacks the capacity to work as the central bank&rsquo;s governor. However, it does not mention on what grounds did the ministry consider the governor incompetent, reads the verdict.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court ruling has also upheld the autonomy of the central bank.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '15173',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Hearing on NRB Governor Case Deferred for Thursday',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Although a division bench of SC Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan started hearing on the case, it was postponed for Thursday due to time constraint. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The apex court had called both sides for the hearing after a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal last Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to suspend the governor until the final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari was suspended from his post automatically after the government formed a probe committee to investigate against the governor on April 7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Following the government&rsquo;s decision, Governor Adhikari had filed a case at the SC on April 17 demanding the court to scrap such decision. He returned back to office after the apex court &nbsp;issued the interim order to stay the government&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><br />
&nbsp;</p>
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			'created' => '2022-04-27',
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			'id' => '15139',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'SC Order has Strengthened Central Bank’s Autonomy: Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 21: The Supreme Court’s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank’s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 21: The Supreme Court&rsquo;s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank&rsquo;s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari resumed his duties and responsibilities after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to overrule the decision of the government to suspend the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He stated that he is determined to ensure the stability of the economy and the financial sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">After getting reinstated, Adhikari remarked, &ldquo;The decision of the Supreme Court has strengthened the autonomy of NRB. I am determined to make the economy and financial sector stable.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari mentioned that he had no personal ego against anyone and that he would move forward by cooperating with every sector. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The position of governor is not just a person, but an institution as well. Various obstacles surface in the way of fulfilling responsibilities. We are aware to not hold grudges against anyone and move forward with mutual cooperation,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor was suspended after the council of ministers formed a committee to probe against him on April 7. Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of the government on Sunday. Responding to the petition, the court overruled the decision of the government to suspend him by issuing an interim order. The court order also allowed him to resume his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The Supreme Court has set the date of next hearing for April 26 to discuss with both the parties about whether or not to extend the interim order. With the decision of the Supreme Court, the probe against Adhikari has been halted till April 26. This automatically released Adhikari from his suspension, enabling him to get back to fulfill his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2022-04-21',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15133',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB  Governor to Resume his Duties from Today',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. He made such remark after the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to probe against the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;The respected court has issued an order as per the demands I made in the writ petition,&rdquo; said Adhikari, adding, &ldquo;I will resume by duties from Wednesday.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-20',
			'modified' => '2022-04-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14875',
			'image' => '20220420114435_maha.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-20 11:43:39',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15132',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Issues Interim Order not to Implement the Decision Regarding NRB Governor   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government's decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government&#39;s decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A single bench of SC Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued the order asking the government not to implement its decision relating to Governor Adhikari citing Article 132 (2) and 304 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, and Clause 23 (1) of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 BS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari had filed a writ petition on Sunday demanding the apex court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a panel to probe against him. Adhikari argued in the petition that the government formed the probe committee without giving him an opportunity for clarification.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The Supreme Court issued the order after a preliminary hearing on the writ petition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The SC has also summoned both the sides on April 26 for discussions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 8 had decided to form a panel to probe into Governor Adhikari, leading to this automatic suspension from the post. -- RSS&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-19',
			'modified' => '2022-04-19',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14874',
			'image' => '20220419082227_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-19 20:21:24',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15120',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspended Governor Files Petition against Government Decision',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Supreme Court&#39;s Spokesperson Bimal Poudel confirmed that Adhikari&rsquo;s writ petition was registered at the apex court.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In his petition, Adhikari has demanded the court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a probe committee without prior information.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Hearing on the petition would be conducted on Tuesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government had recently formed a panel under the leadership of former SC Justice Purushottam Bhandari to probe alleged irregularities of Adhikari, leading to his suspension from the post of the central bank&rsquo;s governor. -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-18',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14862',
			'image' => '20220418080057_Maha-Prasad-Adhikari.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-18 08:00:20',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15117',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Board Meeting of NRB becomes Uncertain due to Lack of Quorum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been suspended while the terms of other two board members Dr Shree Ram Poudyal and Ramji Regmi have expired. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari has been suspended since the government formed a probe committee on April 7 to investigate alleged irregularities of the governor. Meanwhile, the terms of Dr Poudyal and Regmi expired on Friday. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058, a board meeting of the central bank requires the presence of board chair and at least three board members. Due to the suspension of the governor and end of terms of two board members, the central bank currently has four board members. The central bank board meeting couldn&rsquo;t be held after another board member and expert Dr Subodh Kumar Karna is unavailable to attend the meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;Karna Sir hasn&rsquo;t attended the board meeting ever since he was accused of financial irregularity,&rdquo; said a high-ranking NRB official. &ldquo;The board meeting cannot be held officially until he attends the meeting or other board members are appointed,&rdquo; added the source requesting anonymity.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The source informed that the government is yet to take any action against Karna.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The board meeting currently lacks quorum. Only Deputy Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina, Finance Secretary Madjhu Kumar Marasini and Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra are currently available to attend the meeting. There is a provision to have seven members in the board meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per section 14 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, the Board of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) will comprise of seven members: four ex officio members &ndash; the Governor (who is the Chairman), the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and two Deputy Governors and three other Directors, each of whom are appointed from amongst the persons renowned in the field of Economics, Monetary, Banking, Finance and Commercial Laws.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">It is mandatory for the presence of three board members including an expert to attend the board meeting of NRB chaired by the governor. Although the board meeting is held as per the need, there is a legal provision for holding such meeting at least once a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As the board meeting takes policy-level decision, it is essential to have the board meeting for the review of the monetary policy as well as to formulate policies for the upcoming monetary policy.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15089',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Current Account at a Deficit of Rs 462 Billion',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 12: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 12: Nepal&rsquo;s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report of Nepal Rastra Bank published on April 12, such a deficit was Rs 151.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During the review period, capital transfer decreased 41.2 percent to Rs 7 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 60.0 percent to Rs 16.30 billion, the report said. In the same period of the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs 11.91 billion and Rs 10.18 billion respectively. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Likewise, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs 258.64 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 68.01 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a deficit of 2.17 billion in the review period against a surplus of 565.8 million in the same period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to the central bank&rsquo;s report, total trade deficit increased 34.5 percent to Rs 1160.99 billion during the eight months of 2021/22. Such a deficit had increased 1.6 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15078',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Begins Baseless Investigation against NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country's monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country&#39;s monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has launched an investigation without any credible basis into the alleged role of leaking vital information by Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, who was attempting to revive the crisis-ridden economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting on Thursday formed a probe committee headed by former justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee includes Surya Thapa and Dr Chandrakant Poudyal as members.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">With the formation of the committee, the governor&#39;s rights have been automatically suspended. The central bank is currently headed by Officiating Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">There is a provision in the Nepal Rastra Bank Act-2058 BS that allows the government to take action against the governor for the breach of 6 different points.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government can fire the NRB governor, upon the recommendation of the probe committee, if he is disqualified for being a bank operator as well as lack of ability to work as per the bank&rsquo;s objective, causing damage to banking and financial system, disqualification of license to operate business due to misconduct, or if found to be untrustworthy and for skipping the board meeting for three times without any credible grounds.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the government has started the investigation process without providing any credible basis for the probe. Experts have pointed out that the probe into the governor when the state of the economy is deteriorating has sent the wrong message to the public. They see it as an interference with the NRB&#39;s autonomy. Although it is common to have differences between the central bank and the finance minister, suspending the governor in the current situation has sent the wrong message, says Chiranjeevi Nepal, a former governor himself. Such differences occur elsewhere.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&quot;As the government is the super regulator, it can also investigate the regulatory body,&quot; says the former governor of Nepal, adding, &ldquo;But the decision to investigate the role of the governor during such crisis has cast down the morale of the society.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Since the objectives of the central bank and the government contradict with each other in some points, the differences between the finance minister and the governor should be taken as normal, says Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to him, the Finance Ministry aims to spend as much money as possible to achieve economic growth but the central bank has to control the spending to avoid inflation and also needs to keep the foreign exchange reserves in balance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">He added that the government had interfered in the central bank&rsquo;s autonomy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Another former governor, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, also admits that the Ministry of Finance has started interfering in the banking system. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari, who joined NRB as an assistant officer, retired as a deputy governor. He became the governor upon the recommendation of the then Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada around two years ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari has been praised for bringing the monetary policy to revive the Covid-affected economy soon after he became governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the conflict erupted after Finance Minister Janardan Sharma instructed the central bank to postpone the issuance of monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Recently, there was a dispute between the finance minister and the governor over the banks&rsquo; interest rate. The Finance Minister was infuriated with the governor after the finance minister&rsquo;s instruction to release illegal properties came out in the media. It resulted in the suspension of the governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15075',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspension of Central Bank’s Governor has Weakened NRB during Crisis: Experts ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy. The central bank is the institution that can get the troubled economy back on track. The monetary policy brought by the central bank every year has a great impact on the stability and progress of the national economy. The financial sector and the economy are closely linked.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Due to various reasons, the country&#39;s economy has entered a critical situation. The economy, which was recovering from the effects of coronavirus, has been hit by liquidity crisis, inflation, energy shortage and declining foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor of the central bank advises the government on policy interventions to prevent the economic crisis from deepening and to bail out the troubled economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In this sense, the country&rsquo;s economy needs a governor at all times. Meanwhile, the government seems to have weakened the NRB by suspending Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari during such critical time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Experts say that this will affect the main task of revitalizing the economy. They are of the view that the government has made a blunder by suspending the governor. They noted that the suspension of the governor was not appropriate, even during normal circumstances. There is no concrete reason to suspend the governor, they say.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The dispute between Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Governor Adhikari could have been resolved through discussions. Experts say that there is weaknesses on both sides. Even though it could be resolved through discussions, they say that the situation was complicated by political bias.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting held on Thursday has formed a committee to investigate various allegations against Governor Adhikari due to which he has been automatically suspended. The government made the decision public on Friday, prompting reactions from different perspectives.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Former finance secretary and economist Rameshwar Khanal says that the government has tried to weaken the NRB when the economy was in crisis.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The economy has been in a critical situation since last July. Since then, NRB has been working on various issues for its improvement. In particular, NRB tightened imports to curb declining foreign exchange reserves. Apart from this, the regulatory body has also made various other policy arrangements in the meantime.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite this, the economy has entered a phase of crisis. In such a situation, NRB&rsquo;s role is even more crucial. The central bank may have to make important decisions at any time. However, economist Khanal says that the government&rsquo;s decision has closed the door for the central bank to take vital decisions.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&quot;The government has suspended governor Adhikari and assigned deputy governor Neelam Dhungana as officiating governor,&rdquo; said Khanal, &ldquo;However, the acting governor&#39;s jurisdiction may be limited. No bold decisions can be made. Also, there is no guarantee that the officiating governor&rsquo;s orders will be carried out. Thus, the NRB is weakened in terms of policy when the economy is in crisis.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He added that the government&#39;s move would have a negative impact on the overall economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;Since there is no chief executive officer at the central bank, it will create a negative impact. Financial services could be affected,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;At the same time, we can lose our reputation in the international arena if there are shortcomings in foreign exchange trading.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of Nabil Bank Upendra Poudel said that there was no good coordination between the Ministry of Finance and NRB during the crisis. &ldquo;I don&#39;t want to comment on what happened,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;However, the economy is in crisis right now. At this time, everyone should coordinate with each other. Nevertheless, there is a lack of coordination between the two government bodies.&rdquo; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">According to Bhuvan Dahal, former president of the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association, it is wrong to suspend Governor Adhikari. He says this has really weakened NRB.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The government&#39;s move to weaken the NRB will have a negative impact on the economy and the financial sector. The current situation is not normal as before, the economy is in crisis. There are also problems in the banking sector including the liquidity crisis. At this point, the suspension of the governor could have unpleasant consequences,&rdquo; said Dahal.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the entire banking and financial sector is concerned over the incident.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The banks have a history of CEOs facing injustice on issues related to credit flow and recovery. Now the governor of NRB has been treated unfairly,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;It is normal to have difference of opinion between the finance ministry and the central bank. This also happens abroad but not to this level. The issue should have been resolved through discussion. However, the government has done injustice by suspending an honest governor,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Likewise, president of Nepal Financial Institutions Association, Saroj Kaji Tuladhar said that the incident will have a psychological impact on the financial sector. He said that, in particular, it will affect financial stability.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of the Microfinance Bankers Association, Prakash Raj Sharma, said that the development of the financial sector and services would be affected due to this incident. Stating that it will also have an impact on the recovery of the troubled economy, he said that the financial sector would not support this decision of the government under any circumstances.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15071',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Suspends NRB Governor Adhikari',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">After repeated calls for bailing out the economy from crisis, the Ministry of Finance on Friday handed over the suspension letter to Governor Adhikari.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The ministry has assigned the responsibility of Officiating Governor to Deputy Governor Neelam Dhungana. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday (April 7) had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information of NRB. The Cabinet meeting has formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A source at the finance ministry said that Governor Adhikari was suspended so that he would not be able to destroy evidences. If he emerges clean after the&nbsp;investigation, Adhikari will reassume his duties as NRB governor. However, if he is found guilty the prospect of Adhikari returning back to the top job will effectively come to an end.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During a programme on Friday, Finance Minister Sharma had accused Adhikari, without mentioning his name, of being involved in leaking vital information to the media.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">While Finance Minister dismissed rumors that the country&rsquo;s economy was in crisis as mentioned in the media, Governor Adhikari maintained that the country was following the footsteps of Sri Lanka.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15067',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB Attempts to Prevent Foreign Exchange Reserves from Further Decline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a strategy to prevent the foreign exchange reserves from further declining, fearing that the country will not be able to import medicines, food and other essential commodities if the situation goes out of hand.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure since the beginning of the current fiscal year. In order to increase foreign exchange reserves, NRB facilitated deposit of foreign currency by non-resident Nepalis and also increased the interest rate on savings made through remittance. As the policy did not work, the central bank resorted to a strategy of tightening the screws on areas where foreign exchange is spent.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Last Monday, NRB called the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and instructed them not to open LCs for import of luxurious goods. Earlier, the NRB had twice issued a circular stating that 100 percent cash margin should be maintained for importing 47 different types of goods. Besides, imports of gold and silver were also limited.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">As the policy to tighten imports didn&rsquo;t have much effect, the NRB verbally instructed the banks not to open LCs for some time. Since the NRB does not have the right to stop the import, it has tried to discourage the banks by verbally urging them not to open LCs.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatt says that the focus is now on preserving the foreign exchange reserves so that there won&#39;t be problems in importing essential goods. &ldquo;The pressure on foreign exchange reserves has been mounting since the beginning of the current fiscal year,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We want to stop importing luxury items, including gold and silver, for a while as we might have a problem buying essential medicines.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">On Tuesday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari briefed Finance Minister Janardan Sharma about the state of foreign exchange reserves and suggested that imports of some goods should be stopped for the time being.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Even though the NRB has implemented cash margin provision, bankers have been suggesting to stop opening new LCs for some time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB currently has foreign exchange reserves to support imports of goods and services for six and a half months. Until one year ago, there was enough reserve to support a year of import of goods and services. It is said that reaching foreign exchange reserves that support imports for less than six months would be very dangerous to the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In the monetary policy, the NRB had set a target of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves that would support imports for up to seven months. The country&#39;s balance of payments is at a loss of Rs 247 billion. The trade deficit has exceeded Rs 1.15 trillion.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '15064',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Overall Economy not in a Tailspin: NRB   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.    ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 8:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Speaking at a programme organized in the capital on Thursday, Executive Director and Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatta insisted that although the economy witnessed some stress due to liquidity and inflation, the pillars of economy were still strong. He admitted that Nepal&#39;s economy has been affected by the impact of Russia-Ukraine war. It affected our supply system, he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Bhatta further informed that although the foreign exchange reserves were slightly lower than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, there was no need to panic at all. As the COVID-19 impact is subsiding, positive changes would be seen in economy, Bhatta assured.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has tightened the import of luxurious goods, said Bhatta, adding, &quot;Currently, we have the reserves sufficient to import goods and services for six and half months.&quot; -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15056',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB under Pressure due to Declining Foreign Exchange Reserves  ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves. The central bank has failed to improve the situation even after making policy arrangements to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">During last July, the country&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 1.39 trillion. It has come down to Rs 1.17 trillion in January this year. Foreign exchange reserves are declining due to decline in foreign exchange earnings including remittances and also because of high imports.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Although the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a policy of discouraging imports in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (FY) to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves, it has not made any substantial effects.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Meanwhile, NRB on Monday summoned the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and verbally instructed them not to open LC (letter of credit) for import of luxurious goods.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">However, deputy spokesperson of NRB Narayan Prasad Pokhrel claims that the current state of the economy is not so weak as it seems to be. &quot;Our foreign exchange reserves have not diminished much due to the policy intervention of the central bank,&quot; he said, &quot;There&#39;s no need to panic, we&#39;re just trying to be alert.&quot;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Pokharel informed that since NRB is not the body responsible to stop imports, it has not instructed to stop imports but there was only a general discussion on loans provided by banks for imports. &quot;We can&#39;t stop the import,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the NRB had discussed the loan situation with the CEOs of the bank and urged them to be cautious while opening LC.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB had adopted a policy of discouraging loans for &nbsp;import from the second quarter of the current fiscal year. On November 26, 2021, the central bank set a limit for import of silver. As per the decision, commercial banks cannot import silver more than USD 35,000 at a time. The bank also issued a directive which reduced the gold import quota by 50 percent and to discourage the import of luxury goods. The&nbsp; central bank also made it mandatory for having a cash margin of 100 percent for opening LCs to import 47 types of goods.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, in order to increase the foreign exchange reserves, the NRB has made the provision of opening an account in dollars for non-resident Nepalis but the foreign exchange reserves have not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Bankers, on the other hand, have been suggesting to ban imports of luxury goods. &quot;The demand for LC is high now. We have no right to stop it. If you want to stop it, it is time to stop it,&quot; said Anil Keshari Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite the negative economic indicators, the government has so far been criticized for failing to adopt a policy to protect the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15196',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Upholds Interim Order on NRB Governor Case',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties. A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan issued a verdict on Friday upholding an earlier decision taken by the apex court over the suspension of the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari had filed a writ petition on April 17 against the government&#39;s decision to form a committee to investigate his alleged role in leaking sensitive information relating to the decisions of the Ministry of Finance and not effectively fulfilling his responsibilities.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 7 had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information. The cabinet meeting had formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee was asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, responding to the writ petition on April 19, a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal had issued an interim order against the government&#39;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the government started probe against the governor without adequate grounds.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court observed that the government had initiated the probe without any valid basis and the governor was not given any opportunity to defend himself. In this context, the court ruled that the government&rsquo;s decision was biased and was carried out with mala fide intentions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court verdict states that the government&rsquo;s decision to investigate against the governor is against the precedents set in similar cases involving former governors Tilak Rawal and Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A letter handed over to the governor only states that he lacks the capacity to work as the central bank&rsquo;s governor. However, it does not mention on what grounds did the ministry consider the governor incompetent, reads the verdict.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court ruling has also upheld the autonomy of the central bank.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '15173',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Hearing on NRB Governor Case Deferred for Thursday',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Although a division bench of SC Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan started hearing on the case, it was postponed for Thursday due to time constraint. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The apex court had called both sides for the hearing after a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal last Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to suspend the governor until the final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari was suspended from his post automatically after the government formed a probe committee to investigate against the governor on April 7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Following the government&rsquo;s decision, Governor Adhikari had filed a case at the SC on April 17 demanding the court to scrap such decision. He returned back to office after the apex court &nbsp;issued the interim order to stay the government&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><br />
&nbsp;</p>
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			'created' => '2022-04-27',
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			'sortorder' => '14915',
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			'id' => '15139',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'SC Order has Strengthened Central Bank’s Autonomy: Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 21: The Supreme Court’s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank’s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 21: The Supreme Court&rsquo;s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank&rsquo;s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari resumed his duties and responsibilities after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to overrule the decision of the government to suspend the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He stated that he is determined to ensure the stability of the economy and the financial sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">After getting reinstated, Adhikari remarked, &ldquo;The decision of the Supreme Court has strengthened the autonomy of NRB. I am determined to make the economy and financial sector stable.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari mentioned that he had no personal ego against anyone and that he would move forward by cooperating with every sector. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The position of governor is not just a person, but an institution as well. Various obstacles surface in the way of fulfilling responsibilities. We are aware to not hold grudges against anyone and move forward with mutual cooperation,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor was suspended after the council of ministers formed a committee to probe against him on April 7. Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of the government on Sunday. Responding to the petition, the court overruled the decision of the government to suspend him by issuing an interim order. The court order also allowed him to resume his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The Supreme Court has set the date of next hearing for April 26 to discuss with both the parties about whether or not to extend the interim order. With the decision of the Supreme Court, the probe against Adhikari has been halted till April 26. This automatically released Adhikari from his suspension, enabling him to get back to fulfill his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2022-04-21',
			'modified' => '2022-04-21',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14881',
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			'article_date' => '2022-04-21 12:11:18',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15133',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB  Governor to Resume his Duties from Today',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. He made such remark after the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to probe against the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;The respected court has issued an order as per the demands I made in the writ petition,&rdquo; said Adhikari, adding, &ldquo;I will resume by duties from Wednesday.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-20',
			'modified' => '2022-04-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14875',
			'image' => '20220420114435_maha.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-20 11:43:39',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15132',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Issues Interim Order not to Implement the Decision Regarding NRB Governor   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government's decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government&#39;s decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A single bench of SC Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued the order asking the government not to implement its decision relating to Governor Adhikari citing Article 132 (2) and 304 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, and Clause 23 (1) of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 BS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari had filed a writ petition on Sunday demanding the apex court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a panel to probe against him. Adhikari argued in the petition that the government formed the probe committee without giving him an opportunity for clarification.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The Supreme Court issued the order after a preliminary hearing on the writ petition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The SC has also summoned both the sides on April 26 for discussions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 8 had decided to form a panel to probe into Governor Adhikari, leading to this automatic suspension from the post. -- RSS&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-19',
			'modified' => '2022-04-19',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14874',
			'image' => '20220419082227_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-19 20:21:24',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15120',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspended Governor Files Petition against Government Decision',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Supreme Court&#39;s Spokesperson Bimal Poudel confirmed that Adhikari&rsquo;s writ petition was registered at the apex court.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In his petition, Adhikari has demanded the court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a probe committee without prior information.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Hearing on the petition would be conducted on Tuesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government had recently formed a panel under the leadership of former SC Justice Purushottam Bhandari to probe alleged irregularities of Adhikari, leading to his suspension from the post of the central bank&rsquo;s governor. -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-18',
			'modified' => '2022-04-18',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14862',
			'image' => '20220418080057_Maha-Prasad-Adhikari.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-18 08:00:20',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15117',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Board Meeting of NRB becomes Uncertain due to Lack of Quorum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been suspended while the terms of other two board members Dr Shree Ram Poudyal and Ramji Regmi have expired. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari has been suspended since the government formed a probe committee on April 7 to investigate alleged irregularities of the governor. Meanwhile, the terms of Dr Poudyal and Regmi expired on Friday. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058, a board meeting of the central bank requires the presence of board chair and at least three board members. Due to the suspension of the governor and end of terms of two board members, the central bank currently has four board members. The central bank board meeting couldn&rsquo;t be held after another board member and expert Dr Subodh Kumar Karna is unavailable to attend the meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;Karna Sir hasn&rsquo;t attended the board meeting ever since he was accused of financial irregularity,&rdquo; said a high-ranking NRB official. &ldquo;The board meeting cannot be held officially until he attends the meeting or other board members are appointed,&rdquo; added the source requesting anonymity.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The source informed that the government is yet to take any action against Karna.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The board meeting currently lacks quorum. Only Deputy Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina, Finance Secretary Madjhu Kumar Marasini and Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra are currently available to attend the meeting. There is a provision to have seven members in the board meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per section 14 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, the Board of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) will comprise of seven members: four ex officio members &ndash; the Governor (who is the Chairman), the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and two Deputy Governors and three other Directors, each of whom are appointed from amongst the persons renowned in the field of Economics, Monetary, Banking, Finance and Commercial Laws.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">It is mandatory for the presence of three board members including an expert to attend the board meeting of NRB chaired by the governor. Although the board meeting is held as per the need, there is a legal provision for holding such meeting at least once a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As the board meeting takes policy-level decision, it is essential to have the board meeting for the review of the monetary policy as well as to formulate policies for the upcoming monetary policy.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-17',
			'modified' => '2022-04-17',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14859',
			'image' => '20220417045301_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-17 16:52:04',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15089',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Current Account at a Deficit of Rs 462 Billion',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 12: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 12: Nepal&rsquo;s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report of Nepal Rastra Bank published on April 12, such a deficit was Rs 151.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During the review period, capital transfer decreased 41.2 percent to Rs 7 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 60.0 percent to Rs 16.30 billion, the report said. In the same period of the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs 11.91 billion and Rs 10.18 billion respectively. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Likewise, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs 258.64 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 68.01 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a deficit of 2.17 billion in the review period against a surplus of 565.8 million in the same period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to the central bank&rsquo;s report, total trade deficit increased 34.5 percent to Rs 1160.99 billion during the eight months of 2021/22. Such a deficit had increased 1.6 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-12',
			'modified' => '2022-04-12',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14831',
			'image' => '20220412021437_1649750850.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-12 14:13:38',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15078',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Begins Baseless Investigation against NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country's monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country&#39;s monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has launched an investigation without any credible basis into the alleged role of leaking vital information by Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, who was attempting to revive the crisis-ridden economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting on Thursday formed a probe committee headed by former justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee includes Surya Thapa and Dr Chandrakant Poudyal as members.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">With the formation of the committee, the governor&#39;s rights have been automatically suspended. The central bank is currently headed by Officiating Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">There is a provision in the Nepal Rastra Bank Act-2058 BS that allows the government to take action against the governor for the breach of 6 different points.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government can fire the NRB governor, upon the recommendation of the probe committee, if he is disqualified for being a bank operator as well as lack of ability to work as per the bank&rsquo;s objective, causing damage to banking and financial system, disqualification of license to operate business due to misconduct, or if found to be untrustworthy and for skipping the board meeting for three times without any credible grounds.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the government has started the investigation process without providing any credible basis for the probe. Experts have pointed out that the probe into the governor when the state of the economy is deteriorating has sent the wrong message to the public. They see it as an interference with the NRB&#39;s autonomy. Although it is common to have differences between the central bank and the finance minister, suspending the governor in the current situation has sent the wrong message, says Chiranjeevi Nepal, a former governor himself. Such differences occur elsewhere.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&quot;As the government is the super regulator, it can also investigate the regulatory body,&quot; says the former governor of Nepal, adding, &ldquo;But the decision to investigate the role of the governor during such crisis has cast down the morale of the society.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Since the objectives of the central bank and the government contradict with each other in some points, the differences between the finance minister and the governor should be taken as normal, says Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to him, the Finance Ministry aims to spend as much money as possible to achieve economic growth but the central bank has to control the spending to avoid inflation and also needs to keep the foreign exchange reserves in balance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">He added that the government had interfered in the central bank&rsquo;s autonomy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Another former governor, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, also admits that the Ministry of Finance has started interfering in the banking system. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari, who joined NRB as an assistant officer, retired as a deputy governor. He became the governor upon the recommendation of the then Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada around two years ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari has been praised for bringing the monetary policy to revive the Covid-affected economy soon after he became governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the conflict erupted after Finance Minister Janardan Sharma instructed the central bank to postpone the issuance of monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Recently, there was a dispute between the finance minister and the governor over the banks&rsquo; interest rate. The Finance Minister was infuriated with the governor after the finance minister&rsquo;s instruction to release illegal properties came out in the media. It resulted in the suspension of the governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2022-04-10',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14820',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15075',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspension of Central Bank’s Governor has Weakened NRB during Crisis: Experts ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy. The central bank is the institution that can get the troubled economy back on track. The monetary policy brought by the central bank every year has a great impact on the stability and progress of the national economy. The financial sector and the economy are closely linked.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Due to various reasons, the country&#39;s economy has entered a critical situation. The economy, which was recovering from the effects of coronavirus, has been hit by liquidity crisis, inflation, energy shortage and declining foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor of the central bank advises the government on policy interventions to prevent the economic crisis from deepening and to bail out the troubled economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In this sense, the country&rsquo;s economy needs a governor at all times. Meanwhile, the government seems to have weakened the NRB by suspending Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari during such critical time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Experts say that this will affect the main task of revitalizing the economy. They are of the view that the government has made a blunder by suspending the governor. They noted that the suspension of the governor was not appropriate, even during normal circumstances. There is no concrete reason to suspend the governor, they say.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The dispute between Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Governor Adhikari could have been resolved through discussions. Experts say that there is weaknesses on both sides. Even though it could be resolved through discussions, they say that the situation was complicated by political bias.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting held on Thursday has formed a committee to investigate various allegations against Governor Adhikari due to which he has been automatically suspended. The government made the decision public on Friday, prompting reactions from different perspectives.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Former finance secretary and economist Rameshwar Khanal says that the government has tried to weaken the NRB when the economy was in crisis.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The economy has been in a critical situation since last July. Since then, NRB has been working on various issues for its improvement. In particular, NRB tightened imports to curb declining foreign exchange reserves. Apart from this, the regulatory body has also made various other policy arrangements in the meantime.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite this, the economy has entered a phase of crisis. In such a situation, NRB&rsquo;s role is even more crucial. The central bank may have to make important decisions at any time. However, economist Khanal says that the government&rsquo;s decision has closed the door for the central bank to take vital decisions.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&quot;The government has suspended governor Adhikari and assigned deputy governor Neelam Dhungana as officiating governor,&rdquo; said Khanal, &ldquo;However, the acting governor&#39;s jurisdiction may be limited. No bold decisions can be made. Also, there is no guarantee that the officiating governor&rsquo;s orders will be carried out. Thus, the NRB is weakened in terms of policy when the economy is in crisis.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He added that the government&#39;s move would have a negative impact on the overall economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;Since there is no chief executive officer at the central bank, it will create a negative impact. Financial services could be affected,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;At the same time, we can lose our reputation in the international arena if there are shortcomings in foreign exchange trading.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of Nabil Bank Upendra Poudel said that there was no good coordination between the Ministry of Finance and NRB during the crisis. &ldquo;I don&#39;t want to comment on what happened,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;However, the economy is in crisis right now. At this time, everyone should coordinate with each other. Nevertheless, there is a lack of coordination between the two government bodies.&rdquo; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">According to Bhuvan Dahal, former president of the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association, it is wrong to suspend Governor Adhikari. He says this has really weakened NRB.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The government&#39;s move to weaken the NRB will have a negative impact on the economy and the financial sector. The current situation is not normal as before, the economy is in crisis. There are also problems in the banking sector including the liquidity crisis. At this point, the suspension of the governor could have unpleasant consequences,&rdquo; said Dahal.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the entire banking and financial sector is concerned over the incident.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The banks have a history of CEOs facing injustice on issues related to credit flow and recovery. Now the governor of NRB has been treated unfairly,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;It is normal to have difference of opinion between the finance ministry and the central bank. This also happens abroad but not to this level. The issue should have been resolved through discussion. However, the government has done injustice by suspending an honest governor,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Likewise, president of Nepal Financial Institutions Association, Saroj Kaji Tuladhar said that the incident will have a psychological impact on the financial sector. He said that, in particular, it will affect financial stability.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of the Microfinance Bankers Association, Prakash Raj Sharma, said that the development of the financial sector and services would be affected due to this incident. Stating that it will also have an impact on the recovery of the troubled economy, he said that the financial sector would not support this decision of the government under any circumstances.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15071',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Suspends NRB Governor Adhikari',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">After repeated calls for bailing out the economy from crisis, the Ministry of Finance on Friday handed over the suspension letter to Governor Adhikari.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The ministry has assigned the responsibility of Officiating Governor to Deputy Governor Neelam Dhungana. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday (April 7) had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information of NRB. The Cabinet meeting has formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A source at the finance ministry said that Governor Adhikari was suspended so that he would not be able to destroy evidences. If he emerges clean after the&nbsp;investigation, Adhikari will reassume his duties as NRB governor. However, if he is found guilty the prospect of Adhikari returning back to the top job will effectively come to an end.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During a programme on Friday, Finance Minister Sharma had accused Adhikari, without mentioning his name, of being involved in leaking vital information to the media.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">While Finance Minister dismissed rumors that the country&rsquo;s economy was in crisis as mentioned in the media, Governor Adhikari maintained that the country was following the footsteps of Sri Lanka.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15067',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB Attempts to Prevent Foreign Exchange Reserves from Further Decline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a strategy to prevent the foreign exchange reserves from further declining, fearing that the country will not be able to import medicines, food and other essential commodities if the situation goes out of hand.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure since the beginning of the current fiscal year. In order to increase foreign exchange reserves, NRB facilitated deposit of foreign currency by non-resident Nepalis and also increased the interest rate on savings made through remittance. As the policy did not work, the central bank resorted to a strategy of tightening the screws on areas where foreign exchange is spent.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Last Monday, NRB called the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and instructed them not to open LCs for import of luxurious goods. Earlier, the NRB had twice issued a circular stating that 100 percent cash margin should be maintained for importing 47 different types of goods. Besides, imports of gold and silver were also limited.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">As the policy to tighten imports didn&rsquo;t have much effect, the NRB verbally instructed the banks not to open LCs for some time. Since the NRB does not have the right to stop the import, it has tried to discourage the banks by verbally urging them not to open LCs.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatt says that the focus is now on preserving the foreign exchange reserves so that there won&#39;t be problems in importing essential goods. &ldquo;The pressure on foreign exchange reserves has been mounting since the beginning of the current fiscal year,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We want to stop importing luxury items, including gold and silver, for a while as we might have a problem buying essential medicines.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">On Tuesday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari briefed Finance Minister Janardan Sharma about the state of foreign exchange reserves and suggested that imports of some goods should be stopped for the time being.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Even though the NRB has implemented cash margin provision, bankers have been suggesting to stop opening new LCs for some time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB currently has foreign exchange reserves to support imports of goods and services for six and a half months. Until one year ago, there was enough reserve to support a year of import of goods and services. It is said that reaching foreign exchange reserves that support imports for less than six months would be very dangerous to the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In the monetary policy, the NRB had set a target of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves that would support imports for up to seven months. The country&#39;s balance of payments is at a loss of Rs 247 billion. The trade deficit has exceeded Rs 1.15 trillion.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15064',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Overall Economy not in a Tailspin: NRB   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.    ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 8:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Speaking at a programme organized in the capital on Thursday, Executive Director and Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatta insisted that although the economy witnessed some stress due to liquidity and inflation, the pillars of economy were still strong. He admitted that Nepal&#39;s economy has been affected by the impact of Russia-Ukraine war. It affected our supply system, he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Bhatta further informed that although the foreign exchange reserves were slightly lower than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, there was no need to panic at all. As the COVID-19 impact is subsiding, positive changes would be seen in economy, Bhatta assured.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has tightened the import of luxurious goods, said Bhatta, adding, &quot;Currently, we have the reserves sufficient to import goods and services for six and half months.&quot; -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15056',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB under Pressure due to Declining Foreign Exchange Reserves  ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves. The central bank has failed to improve the situation even after making policy arrangements to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">During last July, the country&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 1.39 trillion. It has come down to Rs 1.17 trillion in January this year. Foreign exchange reserves are declining due to decline in foreign exchange earnings including remittances and also because of high imports.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Although the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a policy of discouraging imports in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (FY) to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves, it has not made any substantial effects.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Meanwhile, NRB on Monday summoned the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and verbally instructed them not to open LC (letter of credit) for import of luxurious goods.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">However, deputy spokesperson of NRB Narayan Prasad Pokhrel claims that the current state of the economy is not so weak as it seems to be. &quot;Our foreign exchange reserves have not diminished much due to the policy intervention of the central bank,&quot; he said, &quot;There&#39;s no need to panic, we&#39;re just trying to be alert.&quot;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Pokharel informed that since NRB is not the body responsible to stop imports, it has not instructed to stop imports but there was only a general discussion on loans provided by banks for imports. &quot;We can&#39;t stop the import,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the NRB had discussed the loan situation with the CEOs of the bank and urged them to be cautious while opening LC.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB had adopted a policy of discouraging loans for &nbsp;import from the second quarter of the current fiscal year. On November 26, 2021, the central bank set a limit for import of silver. As per the decision, commercial banks cannot import silver more than USD 35,000 at a time. The bank also issued a directive which reduced the gold import quota by 50 percent and to discourage the import of luxury goods. The&nbsp; central bank also made it mandatory for having a cash margin of 100 percent for opening LCs to import 47 types of goods.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, in order to increase the foreign exchange reserves, the NRB has made the provision of opening an account in dollars for non-resident Nepalis but the foreign exchange reserves have not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Bankers, on the other hand, have been suggesting to ban imports of luxury goods. &quot;The demand for LC is high now. We have no right to stop it. If you want to stop it, it is time to stop it,&quot; said Anil Keshari Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite the negative economic indicators, the government has so far been criticized for failing to adopt a policy to protect the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15196',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Upholds Interim Order on NRB Governor Case',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties. A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan issued a verdict on Friday upholding an earlier decision taken by the apex court over the suspension of the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari had filed a writ petition on April 17 against the government&#39;s decision to form a committee to investigate his alleged role in leaking sensitive information relating to the decisions of the Ministry of Finance and not effectively fulfilling his responsibilities.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 7 had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information. The cabinet meeting had formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee was asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, responding to the writ petition on April 19, a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal had issued an interim order against the government&#39;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the government started probe against the governor without adequate grounds.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court observed that the government had initiated the probe without any valid basis and the governor was not given any opportunity to defend himself. In this context, the court ruled that the government&rsquo;s decision was biased and was carried out with mala fide intentions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court verdict states that the government&rsquo;s decision to investigate against the governor is against the precedents set in similar cases involving former governors Tilak Rawal and Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A letter handed over to the governor only states that he lacks the capacity to work as the central bank&rsquo;s governor. However, it does not mention on what grounds did the ministry consider the governor incompetent, reads the verdict.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court ruling has also upheld the autonomy of the central bank.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-05-01',
			'modified' => '2022-05-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14938',
			'image' => '20220501051817_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-05-01 17:17:28',
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	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15173',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Hearing on NRB Governor Case Deferred for Thursday',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Although a division bench of SC Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan started hearing on the case, it was postponed for Thursday due to time constraint. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The apex court had called both sides for the hearing after a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal last Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to suspend the governor until the final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari was suspended from his post automatically after the government formed a probe committee to investigate against the governor on April 7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Following the government&rsquo;s decision, Governor Adhikari had filed a case at the SC on April 17 demanding the court to scrap such decision. He returned back to office after the apex court &nbsp;issued the interim order to stay the government&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><br />
&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-27',
			'modified' => '2022-04-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14915',
			'image' => '20220427095213_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-27 09:51:30',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15139',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'SC Order has Strengthened Central Bank’s Autonomy: Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 21: The Supreme Court’s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank’s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 21: The Supreme Court&rsquo;s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank&rsquo;s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari resumed his duties and responsibilities after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to overrule the decision of the government to suspend the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He stated that he is determined to ensure the stability of the economy and the financial sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">After getting reinstated, Adhikari remarked, &ldquo;The decision of the Supreme Court has strengthened the autonomy of NRB. I am determined to make the economy and financial sector stable.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari mentioned that he had no personal ego against anyone and that he would move forward by cooperating with every sector. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The position of governor is not just a person, but an institution as well. Various obstacles surface in the way of fulfilling responsibilities. We are aware to not hold grudges against anyone and move forward with mutual cooperation,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor was suspended after the council of ministers formed a committee to probe against him on April 7. Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of the government on Sunday. Responding to the petition, the court overruled the decision of the government to suspend him by issuing an interim order. The court order also allowed him to resume his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The Supreme Court has set the date of next hearing for April 26 to discuss with both the parties about whether or not to extend the interim order. With the decision of the Supreme Court, the probe against Adhikari has been halted till April 26. This automatically released Adhikari from his suspension, enabling him to get back to fulfill his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-21',
			'modified' => '2022-04-21',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14881',
			'image' => '20220421121201_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-21 12:11:18',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15133',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB  Governor to Resume his Duties from Today',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. He made such remark after the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to probe against the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;The respected court has issued an order as per the demands I made in the writ petition,&rdquo; said Adhikari, adding, &ldquo;I will resume by duties from Wednesday.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-20',
			'modified' => '2022-04-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14875',
			'image' => '20220420114435_maha.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-20 11:43:39',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => true,
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15132',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Issues Interim Order not to Implement the Decision Regarding NRB Governor   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government's decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government&#39;s decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A single bench of SC Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued the order asking the government not to implement its decision relating to Governor Adhikari citing Article 132 (2) and 304 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, and Clause 23 (1) of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 BS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari had filed a writ petition on Sunday demanding the apex court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a panel to probe against him. Adhikari argued in the petition that the government formed the probe committee without giving him an opportunity for clarification.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The Supreme Court issued the order after a preliminary hearing on the writ petition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The SC has also summoned both the sides on April 26 for discussions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 8 had decided to form a panel to probe into Governor Adhikari, leading to this automatic suspension from the post. -- RSS&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-19',
			'modified' => '2022-04-19',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14874',
			'image' => '20220419082227_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-19 20:21:24',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15120',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspended Governor Files Petition against Government Decision',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Supreme Court&#39;s Spokesperson Bimal Poudel confirmed that Adhikari&rsquo;s writ petition was registered at the apex court.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In his petition, Adhikari has demanded the court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a probe committee without prior information.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Hearing on the petition would be conducted on Tuesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government had recently formed a panel under the leadership of former SC Justice Purushottam Bhandari to probe alleged irregularities of Adhikari, leading to his suspension from the post of the central bank&rsquo;s governor. -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-18',
			'modified' => '2022-04-18',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14862',
			'image' => '20220418080057_Maha-Prasad-Adhikari.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-18 08:00:20',
			'homepage' => false,
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15117',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Board Meeting of NRB becomes Uncertain due to Lack of Quorum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been suspended while the terms of other two board members Dr Shree Ram Poudyal and Ramji Regmi have expired. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari has been suspended since the government formed a probe committee on April 7 to investigate alleged irregularities of the governor. Meanwhile, the terms of Dr Poudyal and Regmi expired on Friday. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058, a board meeting of the central bank requires the presence of board chair and at least three board members. Due to the suspension of the governor and end of terms of two board members, the central bank currently has four board members. The central bank board meeting couldn&rsquo;t be held after another board member and expert Dr Subodh Kumar Karna is unavailable to attend the meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;Karna Sir hasn&rsquo;t attended the board meeting ever since he was accused of financial irregularity,&rdquo; said a high-ranking NRB official. &ldquo;The board meeting cannot be held officially until he attends the meeting or other board members are appointed,&rdquo; added the source requesting anonymity.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The source informed that the government is yet to take any action against Karna.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The board meeting currently lacks quorum. Only Deputy Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina, Finance Secretary Madjhu Kumar Marasini and Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra are currently available to attend the meeting. There is a provision to have seven members in the board meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per section 14 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, the Board of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) will comprise of seven members: four ex officio members &ndash; the Governor (who is the Chairman), the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and two Deputy Governors and three other Directors, each of whom are appointed from amongst the persons renowned in the field of Economics, Monetary, Banking, Finance and Commercial Laws.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">It is mandatory for the presence of three board members including an expert to attend the board meeting of NRB chaired by the governor. Although the board meeting is held as per the need, there is a legal provision for holding such meeting at least once a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As the board meeting takes policy-level decision, it is essential to have the board meeting for the review of the monetary policy as well as to formulate policies for the upcoming monetary policy.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-17',
			'modified' => '2022-04-17',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14859',
			'image' => '20220417045301_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-17 16:52:04',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15089',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Current Account at a Deficit of Rs 462 Billion',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 12: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 12: Nepal&rsquo;s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report of Nepal Rastra Bank published on April 12, such a deficit was Rs 151.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During the review period, capital transfer decreased 41.2 percent to Rs 7 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 60.0 percent to Rs 16.30 billion, the report said. In the same period of the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs 11.91 billion and Rs 10.18 billion respectively. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Likewise, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs 258.64 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 68.01 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a deficit of 2.17 billion in the review period against a surplus of 565.8 million in the same period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to the central bank&rsquo;s report, total trade deficit increased 34.5 percent to Rs 1160.99 billion during the eight months of 2021/22. Such a deficit had increased 1.6 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-12',
			'modified' => '2022-04-12',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14831',
			'image' => '20220412021437_1649750850.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-12 14:13:38',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15078',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Begins Baseless Investigation against NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country's monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country&#39;s monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has launched an investigation without any credible basis into the alleged role of leaking vital information by Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, who was attempting to revive the crisis-ridden economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting on Thursday formed a probe committee headed by former justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee includes Surya Thapa and Dr Chandrakant Poudyal as members.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">With the formation of the committee, the governor&#39;s rights have been automatically suspended. The central bank is currently headed by Officiating Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">There is a provision in the Nepal Rastra Bank Act-2058 BS that allows the government to take action against the governor for the breach of 6 different points.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government can fire the NRB governor, upon the recommendation of the probe committee, if he is disqualified for being a bank operator as well as lack of ability to work as per the bank&rsquo;s objective, causing damage to banking and financial system, disqualification of license to operate business due to misconduct, or if found to be untrustworthy and for skipping the board meeting for three times without any credible grounds.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the government has started the investigation process without providing any credible basis for the probe. Experts have pointed out that the probe into the governor when the state of the economy is deteriorating has sent the wrong message to the public. They see it as an interference with the NRB&#39;s autonomy. Although it is common to have differences between the central bank and the finance minister, suspending the governor in the current situation has sent the wrong message, says Chiranjeevi Nepal, a former governor himself. Such differences occur elsewhere.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&quot;As the government is the super regulator, it can also investigate the regulatory body,&quot; says the former governor of Nepal, adding, &ldquo;But the decision to investigate the role of the governor during such crisis has cast down the morale of the society.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Since the objectives of the central bank and the government contradict with each other in some points, the differences between the finance minister and the governor should be taken as normal, says Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to him, the Finance Ministry aims to spend as much money as possible to achieve economic growth but the central bank has to control the spending to avoid inflation and also needs to keep the foreign exchange reserves in balance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">He added that the government had interfered in the central bank&rsquo;s autonomy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Another former governor, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, also admits that the Ministry of Finance has started interfering in the banking system. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari, who joined NRB as an assistant officer, retired as a deputy governor. He became the governor upon the recommendation of the then Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada around two years ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari has been praised for bringing the monetary policy to revive the Covid-affected economy soon after he became governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the conflict erupted after Finance Minister Janardan Sharma instructed the central bank to postpone the issuance of monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Recently, there was a dispute between the finance minister and the governor over the banks&rsquo; interest rate. The Finance Minister was infuriated with the governor after the finance minister&rsquo;s instruction to release illegal properties came out in the media. It resulted in the suspension of the governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15075',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspension of Central Bank’s Governor has Weakened NRB during Crisis: Experts ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy. The central bank is the institution that can get the troubled economy back on track. The monetary policy brought by the central bank every year has a great impact on the stability and progress of the national economy. The financial sector and the economy are closely linked.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Due to various reasons, the country&#39;s economy has entered a critical situation. The economy, which was recovering from the effects of coronavirus, has been hit by liquidity crisis, inflation, energy shortage and declining foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor of the central bank advises the government on policy interventions to prevent the economic crisis from deepening and to bail out the troubled economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In this sense, the country&rsquo;s economy needs a governor at all times. Meanwhile, the government seems to have weakened the NRB by suspending Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari during such critical time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Experts say that this will affect the main task of revitalizing the economy. They are of the view that the government has made a blunder by suspending the governor. They noted that the suspension of the governor was not appropriate, even during normal circumstances. There is no concrete reason to suspend the governor, they say.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The dispute between Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Governor Adhikari could have been resolved through discussions. Experts say that there is weaknesses on both sides. Even though it could be resolved through discussions, they say that the situation was complicated by political bias.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting held on Thursday has formed a committee to investigate various allegations against Governor Adhikari due to which he has been automatically suspended. The government made the decision public on Friday, prompting reactions from different perspectives.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Former finance secretary and economist Rameshwar Khanal says that the government has tried to weaken the NRB when the economy was in crisis.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The economy has been in a critical situation since last July. Since then, NRB has been working on various issues for its improvement. In particular, NRB tightened imports to curb declining foreign exchange reserves. Apart from this, the regulatory body has also made various other policy arrangements in the meantime.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite this, the economy has entered a phase of crisis. In such a situation, NRB&rsquo;s role is even more crucial. The central bank may have to make important decisions at any time. However, economist Khanal says that the government&rsquo;s decision has closed the door for the central bank to take vital decisions.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&quot;The government has suspended governor Adhikari and assigned deputy governor Neelam Dhungana as officiating governor,&rdquo; said Khanal, &ldquo;However, the acting governor&#39;s jurisdiction may be limited. No bold decisions can be made. Also, there is no guarantee that the officiating governor&rsquo;s orders will be carried out. Thus, the NRB is weakened in terms of policy when the economy is in crisis.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He added that the government&#39;s move would have a negative impact on the overall economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;Since there is no chief executive officer at the central bank, it will create a negative impact. Financial services could be affected,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;At the same time, we can lose our reputation in the international arena if there are shortcomings in foreign exchange trading.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of Nabil Bank Upendra Poudel said that there was no good coordination between the Ministry of Finance and NRB during the crisis. &ldquo;I don&#39;t want to comment on what happened,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;However, the economy is in crisis right now. At this time, everyone should coordinate with each other. Nevertheless, there is a lack of coordination between the two government bodies.&rdquo; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">According to Bhuvan Dahal, former president of the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association, it is wrong to suspend Governor Adhikari. He says this has really weakened NRB.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The government&#39;s move to weaken the NRB will have a negative impact on the economy and the financial sector. The current situation is not normal as before, the economy is in crisis. There are also problems in the banking sector including the liquidity crisis. At this point, the suspension of the governor could have unpleasant consequences,&rdquo; said Dahal.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the entire banking and financial sector is concerned over the incident.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The banks have a history of CEOs facing injustice on issues related to credit flow and recovery. Now the governor of NRB has been treated unfairly,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;It is normal to have difference of opinion between the finance ministry and the central bank. This also happens abroad but not to this level. The issue should have been resolved through discussion. However, the government has done injustice by suspending an honest governor,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Likewise, president of Nepal Financial Institutions Association, Saroj Kaji Tuladhar said that the incident will have a psychological impact on the financial sector. He said that, in particular, it will affect financial stability.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of the Microfinance Bankers Association, Prakash Raj Sharma, said that the development of the financial sector and services would be affected due to this incident. Stating that it will also have an impact on the recovery of the troubled economy, he said that the financial sector would not support this decision of the government under any circumstances.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15071',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Suspends NRB Governor Adhikari',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">After repeated calls for bailing out the economy from crisis, the Ministry of Finance on Friday handed over the suspension letter to Governor Adhikari.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The ministry has assigned the responsibility of Officiating Governor to Deputy Governor Neelam Dhungana. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday (April 7) had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information of NRB. The Cabinet meeting has formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A source at the finance ministry said that Governor Adhikari was suspended so that he would not be able to destroy evidences. If he emerges clean after the&nbsp;investigation, Adhikari will reassume his duties as NRB governor. However, if he is found guilty the prospect of Adhikari returning back to the top job will effectively come to an end.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During a programme on Friday, Finance Minister Sharma had accused Adhikari, without mentioning his name, of being involved in leaking vital information to the media.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">While Finance Minister dismissed rumors that the country&rsquo;s economy was in crisis as mentioned in the media, Governor Adhikari maintained that the country was following the footsteps of Sri Lanka.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15067',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB Attempts to Prevent Foreign Exchange Reserves from Further Decline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a strategy to prevent the foreign exchange reserves from further declining, fearing that the country will not be able to import medicines, food and other essential commodities if the situation goes out of hand.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure since the beginning of the current fiscal year. In order to increase foreign exchange reserves, NRB facilitated deposit of foreign currency by non-resident Nepalis and also increased the interest rate on savings made through remittance. As the policy did not work, the central bank resorted to a strategy of tightening the screws on areas where foreign exchange is spent.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Last Monday, NRB called the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and instructed them not to open LCs for import of luxurious goods. Earlier, the NRB had twice issued a circular stating that 100 percent cash margin should be maintained for importing 47 different types of goods. Besides, imports of gold and silver were also limited.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">As the policy to tighten imports didn&rsquo;t have much effect, the NRB verbally instructed the banks not to open LCs for some time. Since the NRB does not have the right to stop the import, it has tried to discourage the banks by verbally urging them not to open LCs.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatt says that the focus is now on preserving the foreign exchange reserves so that there won&#39;t be problems in importing essential goods. &ldquo;The pressure on foreign exchange reserves has been mounting since the beginning of the current fiscal year,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We want to stop importing luxury items, including gold and silver, for a while as we might have a problem buying essential medicines.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">On Tuesday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari briefed Finance Minister Janardan Sharma about the state of foreign exchange reserves and suggested that imports of some goods should be stopped for the time being.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Even though the NRB has implemented cash margin provision, bankers have been suggesting to stop opening new LCs for some time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB currently has foreign exchange reserves to support imports of goods and services for six and a half months. Until one year ago, there was enough reserve to support a year of import of goods and services. It is said that reaching foreign exchange reserves that support imports for less than six months would be very dangerous to the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In the monetary policy, the NRB had set a target of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves that would support imports for up to seven months. The country&#39;s balance of payments is at a loss of Rs 247 billion. The trade deficit has exceeded Rs 1.15 trillion.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Overall Economy not in a Tailspin: NRB   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.    ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 8:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Speaking at a programme organized in the capital on Thursday, Executive Director and Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatta insisted that although the economy witnessed some stress due to liquidity and inflation, the pillars of economy were still strong. He admitted that Nepal&#39;s economy has been affected by the impact of Russia-Ukraine war. It affected our supply system, he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Bhatta further informed that although the foreign exchange reserves were slightly lower than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, there was no need to panic at all. As the COVID-19 impact is subsiding, positive changes would be seen in economy, Bhatta assured.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has tightened the import of luxurious goods, said Bhatta, adding, &quot;Currently, we have the reserves sufficient to import goods and services for six and half months.&quot; -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2022-04-08',
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			'sortorder' => '14806',
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			'article_date' => '2022-04-08 08:06:06',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15056',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB under Pressure due to Declining Foreign Exchange Reserves  ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves. The central bank has failed to improve the situation even after making policy arrangements to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">During last July, the country&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 1.39 trillion. It has come down to Rs 1.17 trillion in January this year. Foreign exchange reserves are declining due to decline in foreign exchange earnings including remittances and also because of high imports.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Although the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a policy of discouraging imports in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (FY) to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves, it has not made any substantial effects.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Meanwhile, NRB on Monday summoned the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and verbally instructed them not to open LC (letter of credit) for import of luxurious goods.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">However, deputy spokesperson of NRB Narayan Prasad Pokhrel claims that the current state of the economy is not so weak as it seems to be. &quot;Our foreign exchange reserves have not diminished much due to the policy intervention of the central bank,&quot; he said, &quot;There&#39;s no need to panic, we&#39;re just trying to be alert.&quot;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Pokharel informed that since NRB is not the body responsible to stop imports, it has not instructed to stop imports but there was only a general discussion on loans provided by banks for imports. &quot;We can&#39;t stop the import,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the NRB had discussed the loan situation with the CEOs of the bank and urged them to be cautious while opening LC.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB had adopted a policy of discouraging loans for &nbsp;import from the second quarter of the current fiscal year. On November 26, 2021, the central bank set a limit for import of silver. As per the decision, commercial banks cannot import silver more than USD 35,000 at a time. The bank also issued a directive which reduced the gold import quota by 50 percent and to discourage the import of luxury goods. The&nbsp; central bank also made it mandatory for having a cash margin of 100 percent for opening LCs to import 47 types of goods.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, in order to increase the foreign exchange reserves, the NRB has made the provision of opening an account in dollars for non-resident Nepalis but the foreign exchange reserves have not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Bankers, on the other hand, have been suggesting to ban imports of luxury goods. &quot;The demand for LC is high now. We have no right to stop it. If you want to stop it, it is time to stop it,&quot; said Anil Keshari Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite the negative economic indicators, the government has so far been criticized for failing to adopt a policy to protect the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15196',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Upholds Interim Order on NRB Governor Case',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">May 1: The Supreme Court has upheld its interim order to allow Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari to resume his duties. A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan issued a verdict on Friday upholding an earlier decision taken by the apex court over the suspension of the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari had filed a writ petition on April 17 against the government&#39;s decision to form a committee to investigate his alleged role in leaking sensitive information relating to the decisions of the Ministry of Finance and not effectively fulfilling his responsibilities.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 7 had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information. The cabinet meeting had formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee was asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, responding to the writ petition on April 19, a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal had issued an interim order against the government&#39;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the government started probe against the governor without adequate grounds.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court observed that the government had initiated the probe without any valid basis and the governor was not given any opportunity to defend himself. In this context, the court ruled that the government&rsquo;s decision was biased and was carried out with mala fide intentions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court verdict states that the government&rsquo;s decision to investigate against the governor is against the precedents set in similar cases involving former governors Tilak Rawal and Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A letter handed over to the governor only states that he lacks the capacity to work as the central bank&rsquo;s governor. However, it does not mention on what grounds did the ministry consider the governor incompetent, reads the verdict.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The court ruling has also upheld the autonomy of the central bank.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14938',
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			'id' => '15173',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Hearing on NRB Governor Case Deferred for Thursday',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 27: Hearing on the case filed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari at the Supreme Court against the government could not be completed on Tuesday. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Although a division bench of SC Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tanka Bahadur Moktan started hearing on the case, it was postponed for Thursday due to time constraint. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The apex court had called both sides for the hearing after a single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal last Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to suspend the governor until the final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari was suspended from his post automatically after the government formed a probe committee to investigate against the governor on April 7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Following the government&rsquo;s decision, Governor Adhikari had filed a case at the SC on April 17 demanding the court to scrap such decision. He returned back to office after the apex court &nbsp;issued the interim order to stay the government&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><br />
&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-27',
			'modified' => '2022-04-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14915',
			'image' => '20220427095213_Supreme Court.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-27 09:51:30',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15139',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'SC Order has Strengthened Central Bank’s Autonomy: Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 21: The Supreme Court’s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank’s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 21: The Supreme Court&rsquo;s order has strengthened the autonomy of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank&rsquo;s Governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said after resuming his office on Wednesday.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari resumed his duties and responsibilities after the Supreme Court issued an interim order to overrule the decision of the government to suspend the governor.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He stated that he is determined to ensure the stability of the economy and the financial sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">After getting reinstated, Adhikari remarked, &ldquo;The decision of the Supreme Court has strengthened the autonomy of NRB. I am determined to make the economy and financial sector stable.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari mentioned that he had no personal ego against anyone and that he would move forward by cooperating with every sector. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The position of governor is not just a person, but an institution as well. Various obstacles surface in the way of fulfilling responsibilities. We are aware to not hold grudges against anyone and move forward with mutual cooperation,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor was suspended after the council of ministers formed a committee to probe against him on April 7. Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court against the decision of the government on Sunday. Responding to the petition, the court overruled the decision of the government to suspend him by issuing an interim order. The court order also allowed him to resume his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The Supreme Court has set the date of next hearing for April 26 to discuss with both the parties about whether or not to extend the interim order. With the decision of the Supreme Court, the probe against Adhikari has been halted till April 26. This automatically released Adhikari from his suspension, enabling him to get back to fulfill his responsibilities.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-21',
			'modified' => '2022-04-21',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14881',
			'image' => '20220421121201_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-21 12:11:18',
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			'id' => '15133',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB  Governor to Resume his Duties from Today',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 20: Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has said that he will return to office from Wednesday. He made such remark after the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order to the government not to implement its decision to probe against the governor.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;The respected court has issued an order as per the demands I made in the writ petition,&rdquo; said Adhikari, adding, &ldquo;I will resume by duties from Wednesday.&rdquo;</span></span></p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-20',
			'modified' => '2022-04-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '14875',
			'image' => '20220420114435_maha.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2022-04-20 11:43:39',
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			'id' => '15132',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Supreme Court Issues Interim Order not to Implement the Decision Regarding NRB Governor   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government's decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.   ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 19: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued an interim order not to implement the government&#39;s decision to form a probe panel against Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari until a final verdict.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A single bench of SC Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal issued the order asking the government not to implement its decision relating to Governor Adhikari citing Article 132 (2) and 304 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, and Clause 23 (1) of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058 BS.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari had filed a writ petition on Sunday demanding the apex court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a panel to probe against him. Adhikari argued in the petition that the government formed the probe committee without giving him an opportunity for clarification.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The Supreme Court issued the order after a preliminary hearing on the writ petition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The SC has also summoned both the sides on April 26 for discussions.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Earlier, a meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 8 had decided to form a panel to probe into Governor Adhikari, leading to this automatic suspension from the post. -- RSS&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
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			'created' => '2022-04-19',
			'modified' => '2022-04-19',
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			'sortorder' => '14874',
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			'title' => 'Suspended Governor Files Petition against Government Decision',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 18: The suspended Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Maha Prasad Adhikari filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Sunday (April 17) challenging the decision of the Council of Ministers to suspend him. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Supreme Court&#39;s Spokesperson Bimal Poudel confirmed that Adhikari&rsquo;s writ petition was registered at the apex court.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In his petition, Adhikari has demanded the court to scrap the government&#39;s decision to form a probe committee without prior information.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Hearing on the petition would be conducted on Tuesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government had recently formed a panel under the leadership of former SC Justice Purushottam Bhandari to probe alleged irregularities of Adhikari, leading to his suspension from the post of the central bank&rsquo;s governor. -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15117',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Board Meeting of NRB becomes Uncertain due to Lack of Quorum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 17: The board meeting of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has become uncertain as the posts of half of the board members have become vacant due to various reasons. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been suspended while the terms of other two board members Dr Shree Ram Poudyal and Ramji Regmi have expired. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Governor Adhikari has been suspended since the government formed a probe committee on April 7 to investigate alleged irregularities of the governor. Meanwhile, the terms of Dr Poudyal and Regmi expired on Friday. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per the Nepal Rastra Bank Act 2058, a board meeting of the central bank requires the presence of board chair and at least three board members. Due to the suspension of the governor and end of terms of two board members, the central bank currently has four board members. The central bank board meeting couldn&rsquo;t be held after another board member and expert Dr Subodh Kumar Karna is unavailable to attend the meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&ldquo;Karna Sir hasn&rsquo;t attended the board meeting ever since he was accused of financial irregularity,&rdquo; said a high-ranking NRB official. &ldquo;The board meeting cannot be held officially until he attends the meeting or other board members are appointed,&rdquo; added the source requesting anonymity.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The source informed that the government is yet to take any action against Karna.&nbsp; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The board meeting currently lacks quorum. Only Deputy Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina, Finance Secretary Madjhu Kumar Marasini and Deputy Governor Bam Bahadur Mishra are currently available to attend the meeting. There is a provision to have seven members in the board meeting.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As per section 14 of Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, the Board of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) will comprise of seven members: four ex officio members &ndash; the Governor (who is the Chairman), the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and two Deputy Governors and three other Directors, each of whom are appointed from amongst the persons renowned in the field of Economics, Monetary, Banking, Finance and Commercial Laws.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">It is mandatory for the presence of three board members including an expert to attend the board meeting of NRB chaired by the governor. Although the board meeting is held as per the need, there is a legal provision for holding such meeting at least once a month.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">As the board meeting takes policy-level decision, it is essential to have the board meeting for the review of the monetary policy as well as to formulate policies for the upcoming monetary policy.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2022-04-17',
			'modified' => '2022-04-17',
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			'sortorder' => '14859',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15089',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Current Account at a Deficit of Rs 462 Billion',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 12: Nepal’s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 12: Nepal&rsquo;s current account remained at a deficit of Rs 462.93 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report of Nepal Rastra Bank published on April 12, such a deficit was Rs 151.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During the review period, capital transfer decreased 41.2 percent to Rs 7 billion and net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 60.0 percent to Rs 16.30 billion, the report said. In the same period of the previous year, capital transfer and net FDI amounted to Rs 11.91 billion and Rs 10.18 billion respectively. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Likewise, the Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a deficit of Rs 258.64 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs 68.01 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a deficit of 2.17 billion in the review period against a surplus of 565.8 million in the same period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to the central bank&rsquo;s report, total trade deficit increased 34.5 percent to Rs 1160.99 billion during the eight months of 2021/22. Such a deficit had increased 1.6 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
',
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			'created' => '2022-04-12',
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			'sortorder' => '14831',
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			'article_date' => '2022-04-12 14:13:38',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15078',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Begins Baseless Investigation against NRB Governor',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country's monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 10: The government has intervened in the formulation and implementation of the country&#39;s monetary policy at a time when key economic indicators such as Balance of Payments, inflow of remittance and foreign exchange reserves are all negative.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has launched an investigation without any credible basis into the alleged role of leaking vital information by Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, who was attempting to revive the crisis-ridden economy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting on Thursday formed a probe committee headed by former justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee includes Surya Thapa and Dr Chandrakant Poudyal as members.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">With the formation of the committee, the governor&#39;s rights have been automatically suspended. The central bank is currently headed by Officiating Governor Dr Neelam Dhungana.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">There is a provision in the Nepal Rastra Bank Act-2058 BS that allows the government to take action against the governor for the breach of 6 different points.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government can fire the NRB governor, upon the recommendation of the probe committee, if he is disqualified for being a bank operator as well as lack of ability to work as per the bank&rsquo;s objective, causing damage to banking and financial system, disqualification of license to operate business due to misconduct, or if found to be untrustworthy and for skipping the board meeting for three times without any credible grounds.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the government has started the investigation process without providing any credible basis for the probe. Experts have pointed out that the probe into the governor when the state of the economy is deteriorating has sent the wrong message to the public. They see it as an interference with the NRB&#39;s autonomy. Although it is common to have differences between the central bank and the finance minister, suspending the governor in the current situation has sent the wrong message, says Chiranjeevi Nepal, a former governor himself. Such differences occur elsewhere.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">&quot;As the government is the super regulator, it can also investigate the regulatory body,&quot; says the former governor of Nepal, adding, &ldquo;But the decision to investigate the role of the governor during such crisis has cast down the morale of the society.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Since the objectives of the central bank and the government contradict with each other in some points, the differences between the finance minister and the governor should be taken as normal, says Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">According to him, the Finance Ministry aims to spend as much money as possible to achieve economic growth but the central bank has to control the spending to avoid inflation and also needs to keep the foreign exchange reserves in balance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">He added that the government had interfered in the central bank&rsquo;s autonomy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Another former governor, Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, also admits that the Ministry of Finance has started interfering in the banking system. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari, who joined NRB as an assistant officer, retired as a deputy governor. He became the governor upon the recommendation of the then Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada around two years ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari has been praised for bringing the monetary policy to revive the Covid-affected economy soon after he became governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, the conflict erupted after Finance Minister Janardan Sharma instructed the central bank to postpone the issuance of monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Recently, there was a dispute between the finance minister and the governor over the banks&rsquo; interest rate. The Finance Minister was infuriated with the governor after the finance minister&rsquo;s instruction to release illegal properties came out in the media. It resulted in the suspension of the governor.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15075',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Suspension of Central Bank’s Governor has Weakened NRB during Crisis: Experts ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 10: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory body of the financial sector, plays an important role in uplifting the economy. The central bank is the institution that can get the troubled economy back on track. The monetary policy brought by the central bank every year has a great impact on the stability and progress of the national economy. The financial sector and the economy are closely linked.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Due to various reasons, the country&#39;s economy has entered a critical situation. The economy, which was recovering from the effects of coronavirus, has been hit by liquidity crisis, inflation, energy shortage and declining foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The governor of the central bank advises the government on policy interventions to prevent the economic crisis from deepening and to bail out the troubled economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In this sense, the country&rsquo;s economy needs a governor at all times. Meanwhile, the government seems to have weakened the NRB by suspending Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari during such critical time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Experts say that this will affect the main task of revitalizing the economy. They are of the view that the government has made a blunder by suspending the governor. They noted that the suspension of the governor was not appropriate, even during normal circumstances. There is no concrete reason to suspend the governor, they say.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The dispute between Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Governor Adhikari could have been resolved through discussions. Experts say that there is weaknesses on both sides. Even though it could be resolved through discussions, they say that the situation was complicated by political bias.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">A cabinet meeting held on Thursday has formed a committee to investigate various allegations against Governor Adhikari due to which he has been automatically suspended. The government made the decision public on Friday, prompting reactions from different perspectives.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Former finance secretary and economist Rameshwar Khanal says that the government has tried to weaken the NRB when the economy was in crisis.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The economy has been in a critical situation since last July. Since then, NRB has been working on various issues for its improvement. In particular, NRB tightened imports to curb declining foreign exchange reserves. Apart from this, the regulatory body has also made various other policy arrangements in the meantime.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite this, the economy has entered a phase of crisis. In such a situation, NRB&rsquo;s role is even more crucial. The central bank may have to make important decisions at any time. However, economist Khanal says that the government&rsquo;s decision has closed the door for the central bank to take vital decisions.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&quot;The government has suspended governor Adhikari and assigned deputy governor Neelam Dhungana as officiating governor,&rdquo; said Khanal, &ldquo;However, the acting governor&#39;s jurisdiction may be limited. No bold decisions can be made. Also, there is no guarantee that the officiating governor&rsquo;s orders will be carried out. Thus, the NRB is weakened in terms of policy when the economy is in crisis.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He added that the government&#39;s move would have a negative impact on the overall economy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;Since there is no chief executive officer at the central bank, it will create a negative impact. Financial services could be affected,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;At the same time, we can lose our reputation in the international arena if there are shortcomings in foreign exchange trading.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of Nabil Bank Upendra Poudel said that there was no good coordination between the Ministry of Finance and NRB during the crisis. &ldquo;I don&#39;t want to comment on what happened,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;However, the economy is in crisis right now. At this time, everyone should coordinate with each other. Nevertheless, there is a lack of coordination between the two government bodies.&rdquo; </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">According to Bhuvan Dahal, former president of the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association, it is wrong to suspend Governor Adhikari. He says this has really weakened NRB.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The government&#39;s move to weaken the NRB will have a negative impact on the economy and the financial sector. The current situation is not normal as before, the economy is in crisis. There are also problems in the banking sector including the liquidity crisis. At this point, the suspension of the governor could have unpleasant consequences,&rdquo; said Dahal.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the entire banking and financial sector is concerned over the incident.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;The banks have a history of CEOs facing injustice on issues related to credit flow and recovery. Now the governor of NRB has been treated unfairly,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">&ldquo;It is normal to have difference of opinion between the finance ministry and the central bank. This also happens abroad but not to this level. The issue should have been resolved through discussion. However, the government has done injustice by suspending an honest governor,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Likewise, president of Nepal Financial Institutions Association, Saroj Kaji Tuladhar said that the incident will have a psychological impact on the financial sector. He said that, in particular, it will affect financial stability.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, chairman of the Microfinance Bankers Association, Prakash Raj Sharma, said that the development of the financial sector and services would be affected due to this incident. Stating that it will also have an impact on the recovery of the troubled economy, he said that the financial sector would not support this decision of the government under any circumstances.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15071',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Government Suspends NRB Governor Adhikari',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">April 9: The government has suspended Nepal Rastra Bank&rsquo;s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari accusing him of failing to accomplish his responsibilities as the governor of the central bank. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">After repeated calls for bailing out the economy from crisis, the Ministry of Finance on Friday handed over the suspension letter to Governor Adhikari.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The ministry has assigned the responsibility of Officiating Governor to Deputy Governor Neelam Dhungana. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday (April 7) had decided to investigative into the alleged role of Governor Adhikari in leaking sensitive information of NRB. The Cabinet meeting has formed a committee under the coordination of former Supreme Court Justice Purushottam Bhandari to investigate the matter. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a month.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A source at the finance ministry said that Governor Adhikari was suspended so that he would not be able to destroy evidences. If he emerges clean after the&nbsp;investigation, Adhikari will reassume his duties as NRB governor. However, if he is found guilty the prospect of Adhikari returning back to the top job will effectively come to an end.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Adhikari was appointed as the governor of NRB by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli. He was praised for adopting a private sector-friendly policy to uplift the economy battered by Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">However, after the formation of the new government, it was revealed that he did not enjoy good relation with incumbent Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. Both Sharma and Adhikari had publicly denied their relation had soured.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">During a programme on Friday, Finance Minister Sharma had accused Adhikari, without mentioning his name, of being involved in leaking vital information to the media.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">While Finance Minister dismissed rumors that the country&rsquo;s economy was in crisis as mentioned in the media, Governor Adhikari maintained that the country was following the footsteps of Sri Lanka.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15067',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB Attempts to Prevent Foreign Exchange Reserves from Further Decline',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 8: With the decline in inflow of remittance and high trade deficit, the central bank is focused on preparing a strategy to preserve the stock of foreign exchange reserves.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a strategy to prevent the foreign exchange reserves from further declining, fearing that the country will not be able to import medicines, food and other essential commodities if the situation goes out of hand.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Nepal&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves have been under pressure since the beginning of the current fiscal year. In order to increase foreign exchange reserves, NRB facilitated deposit of foreign currency by non-resident Nepalis and also increased the interest rate on savings made through remittance. As the policy did not work, the central bank resorted to a strategy of tightening the screws on areas where foreign exchange is spent.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Last Monday, NRB called the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and instructed them not to open LCs for import of luxurious goods. Earlier, the NRB had twice issued a circular stating that 100 percent cash margin should be maintained for importing 47 different types of goods. Besides, imports of gold and silver were also limited.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">As the policy to tighten imports didn&rsquo;t have much effect, the NRB verbally instructed the banks not to open LCs for some time. Since the NRB does not have the right to stop the import, it has tried to discourage the banks by verbally urging them not to open LCs.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatt says that the focus is now on preserving the foreign exchange reserves so that there won&#39;t be problems in importing essential goods. &ldquo;The pressure on foreign exchange reserves has been mounting since the beginning of the current fiscal year,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We want to stop importing luxury items, including gold and silver, for a while as we might have a problem buying essential medicines.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">On Tuesday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari briefed Finance Minister Janardan Sharma about the state of foreign exchange reserves and suggested that imports of some goods should be stopped for the time being.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Even though the NRB has implemented cash margin provision, bankers have been suggesting to stop opening new LCs for some time.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB currently has foreign exchange reserves to support imports of goods and services for six and a half months. Until one year ago, there was enough reserve to support a year of import of goods and services. It is said that reaching foreign exchange reserves that support imports for less than six months would be very dangerous to the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">In the monetary policy, the NRB had set a target of maintaining the foreign exchange reserves that would support imports for up to seven months. The country&#39;s balance of payments is at a loss of Rs 247 billion. The trade deficit has exceeded Rs 1.15 trillion.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15064',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'Overall Economy not in a Tailspin: NRB   ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.    ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 8:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">At a time when news reports have been warning of economic slump in the country, the central bank of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), has said the overall economic situation of the country was not in tailspin.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Speaking at a programme organized in the capital on Thursday, Executive Director and Spokesperson of NRB Dr Gunakar Bhatta insisted that although the economy witnessed some stress due to liquidity and inflation, the pillars of economy were still strong. He admitted that Nepal&#39;s economy has been affected by the impact of Russia-Ukraine war. It affected our supply system, he added.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Bhatta further informed that although the foreign exchange reserves were slightly lower than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, there was no need to panic at all. As the COVID-19 impact is subsiding, positive changes would be seen in economy, Bhatta assured.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span><br />
<span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The government has tightened the import of luxurious goods, said Bhatta, adding, &quot;Currently, we have the reserves sufficient to import goods and services for six and half months.&quot; -- RSS&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '15056',
			'article_category_id' => '267',
			'title' => 'NRB under Pressure due to Declining Foreign Exchange Reserves  ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">April 6: Nepal Rastra Bank is under pressure due to the continuous decline in foreign exchange reserves. The central bank has failed to improve the situation even after making policy arrangements to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">During last July, the country&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 1.39 trillion. It has come down to Rs 1.17 trillion in January this year. Foreign exchange reserves are declining due to decline in foreign exchange earnings including remittances and also because of high imports.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Although the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has adopted a policy of discouraging imports in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (FY) to stop the decline in foreign exchange reserves, it has not made any substantial effects.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Meanwhile, NRB on Monday summoned the chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks and verbally instructed them not to open LC (letter of credit) for import of luxurious goods.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">However, deputy spokesperson of NRB Narayan Prasad Pokhrel claims that the current state of the economy is not so weak as it seems to be. &quot;Our foreign exchange reserves have not diminished much due to the policy intervention of the central bank,&quot; he said, &quot;There&#39;s no need to panic, we&#39;re just trying to be alert.&quot;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Pokharel informed that since NRB is not the body responsible to stop imports, it has not instructed to stop imports but there was only a general discussion on loans provided by banks for imports. &quot;We can&#39;t stop the import,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">He said that the NRB had discussed the loan situation with the CEOs of the bank and urged them to be cautious while opening LC.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">NRB had adopted a policy of discouraging loans for &nbsp;import from the second quarter of the current fiscal year. On November 26, 2021, the central bank set a limit for import of silver. As per the decision, commercial banks cannot import silver more than USD 35,000 at a time. The bank also issued a directive which reduced the gold import quota by 50 percent and to discourage the import of luxury goods. The&nbsp; central bank also made it mandatory for having a cash margin of 100 percent for opening LCs to import 47 types of goods.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Similarly, in order to increase the foreign exchange reserves, the NRB has made the provision of opening an account in dollars for non-resident Nepalis but the foreign exchange reserves have not increased.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Bankers, on the other hand, have been suggesting to ban imports of luxury goods. &quot;The demand for LC is high now. We have no right to stop it. If you want to stop it, it is time to stop it,&quot; said Anil Keshari Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Despite the negative economic indicators, the government has so far been criticized for failing to adopt a policy to protect the economy.&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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FOREX

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

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

Bullion

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

Update : 2020-03-25

Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association

Petroleum

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