January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal…
January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal…
January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and…
January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs'…
January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents…
Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56…
January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end.…
January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the…
January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity…
January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal…
January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi…
January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in…
Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti…
January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment…
January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk.…
January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal.…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee’s coordinator, Tanka Mani Sharma Dangal, submitted the report to the PM at Singha Durbar on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee report has concluded that Ncell might be involved in tax evasion due to its opaque share transactions, including those in the past. The report mentions that Ncell’s share transactions were done twenty four times in the past and those transactions were done overseas. The committee has recommended further study before taking any decision on this matter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the probe committee under coordination of former Auditor General Sharma on December 7 to investigate the issues of compliance with existing laws regarding Ncell’s share transaction and its possible impacts in foreign investment and revenue collection. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Secretary Phanindra Gautam, Joint-Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Baburam Bhandari, and President of ICAN, Sujan Kumar Kafle, were the committee members. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had fixed a deadline of one month for the committee to submit its report but the deadline was extended after the committee failed to complete the task within deadline. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19837', 'image' => '20240130120357_ncl.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 12:03:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Taskforce Recommends Amendments to a Dozen of Laws before Hosting Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the taskforce under the leadership of Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ek Narayan Aryal, in view of the upcoming Third Investment Summit scheduled for </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29 </span></span><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">in Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce submitted its report to Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal on Monday with the recommendation to amend a dozen of laws and regulations to ensure more domestic and foreign investment in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce has suggested that amendments were needed to the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076; Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075; Special Economic Zone Act 2073; Forest Act 2076 and National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the taskforce has suggested the government to amend the Lands Act 2021; Land Acquisition Act 2034; Environment Conservation Act 2076; Electronic Transaction Act 2063 and Civil Aviation Act 2053. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the taskforce has pointed out amendment to Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Regulations 2077 and Forest Regulations 2079. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In order to facilitate domestic and foreign investments, amendments to the laws would be made by taking a Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts in the parliament after a decision from the Council of Ministers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce also suggested participation of the private sector. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19836', 'image' => '20240130104018_20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:39:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs Initiate Mountain Flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash-Mansarovar', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations. A chartered airplane of Shree Airlines with 38 Indian tourists made its maiden mountain flight to Kailash Manasarovar on Monday, informed Keshav Neupane, regional director of the Siddhartha Business Group. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the flight was scheduled to begin last Saturday, thick fog weakened visibility, resulting into two days delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourism entrepreneur Neupane added that the mountain flight would help recover declining business and help identify tourism destinations for Indian tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"At least one flight for Indian tourists in the season will contribute to boost tourism activities," he said, adding that the view of the Kailash Mansarovar is alluring site indeed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Another tourism entrepreneur Dr Om Mishra expressed happiness over the success of the mountain flight conducted on Monday after a long struggle. He claimed that the mountain flights will help establish Nepalgunj as a tourist destination. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, chairman of Banke chapter of Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents (NATTA), Shreeram Sigdel, shared the new initiative is also linked to Nepalgunj's future in terms of financial upliftment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Indian tourists who reached Kailash Mansarovar in the mountain flight from Nepalgung also expressed happiness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A hotelier in Nepalgunj, Punam Bhusal, said, "It certainly helps augment tourism industry." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kailash Mansarovar, located in Tibet, is a holy site for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is visited largely by the Hindus from Nepal and India. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19834', 'image' => '20240130100952_20240129073442_Shree-Airlines_.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:08:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Endless Wait for Resumption of Iron Ore Mine in Parbat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mine has been inoperative since the year 2007 BS, and the locals express dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of concern from relevant authorities regarding the reopening of the mine. Despite a three-year effort by a squad from the Department of Mines and Geology in Lainchaur to excavate the mine, there has been no significant progress reported so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During their study, the team of geologists used electrical resistivity technology and discovered a substantial presence of iron ore in various locations—some on the surface and some beneath the earth. The ore mine spans an area of two kilometers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Local youth, Jeevan Bikram Uchchai, said that there seems to be a lack of priority for further exploration of the mine. The Department and Nepal Parbat Ore Mine Industry on December 23 , 2010 explored ways to resume the mine's operation. The mine is situated 40 kilometers away from the district headquarters Kushma Bazar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The rural municipality has shown its interest in operating the mine lately. Locals share that the equipment and utensils made from the iron extracted from this mine 73 years ago could be bought and were in use even until 1984. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the elders, unlike the iron extracted from other places, the iron ore found here does not need to be refined. The ore extracted from the mine can be directly melted to manufacture different tools and wares. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prem Bahadur Sunar, a local, said the extraction was stopped at the mine later for lack of coal supply.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The home-made implements manufactured using the iron extracted from this mine used to be sold in the villages of Baglung, Palpa and Syngja among other districts. The iron used in the cables for building bridges over the rivers in Parbat and surrounding places also came from this iron mine. The bridges using the cables made out of iron from this mine can still be seen at Modibeni and Jaimini Ghat.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is said that around 400 households used to eke out a living extracting iron ore from this mine and selling it until five decades ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ward chair Govinda Bahadur BK said the village itself is named Phalam Khani (iron mine) owing to the large number of iron mines throughout the village.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, operation of the mine here would contribute to the country's economy and scores of youths will get employment. "We are compelled to use imported iron and steel due to the inability to operate the mine that is at our doorstep," lamented Bal Bahadur Chhetri, a local. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, although several efforts were made by the then District Development Committee 20 years back for operating the mine after consulting with the central government and various geologists and mines experts, these efforts were not successful. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19833', 'image' => '20240129093604_ore.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 21:34:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20104', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Surges by 10.26%, Closing at 2104.72', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">January 29: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) dominated the turnover, conducting transactions worth Rs 60 crores and closing at a market price of Rs 670 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Union Hydro Power Limited (UNHPL) saw the most significant gain, rising by 10% and hitting the positive circuit for the day.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> On the other hand, Garima Debenture 2085 (GBBD85) experienced the highest loss at 10%, closing at a market price of Rs 886.50.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the sector indices, all sectors concluded in positive territory, except for the Banking Subindex, Microfinance, and Non-Life Insurance Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The Others Index exhibited the highest gain at 1.64%, while the Development Bank Index had the least gain at 0.07%. The Banking Subindex, Microfinance Index, and Non-Life Insurance lost 0.06%, 0.05%, and 0.11%, respectively.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19831', 'image' => '20240129033624_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:35:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20103', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Prepares Concept Paper for Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding', 'sub_title' => 'P2P will end the compulsion to rely on banks for loans', 'summary' => 'January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced the concept of 'Peer to Peer (P2P) Lending' and 'crowdfunding' and has indicated that it is going to open an alternative arrangement for loans in Nepal as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After a decade and a half of being in trend in the world, the central bank announced in the monetary policy of the fiscal year <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2079/80</span> that it will conduct a study on P2P lending and crowdfunding to increase credit access to start-up businesses. Two years after the announcement, the central bank on Sunday released a concept paper on P2P lending and crowdfunding, saying that it would be helpful to increase access to credit and raise resources for the investment of small and medium enterprises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prakash Kumar Shrestha, executive director of the research department of Nepal Rastra Bank, says that PTP lending and crowdfunding will be suitable for individuals or organizations to get the resources they need to do business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“PTP Lending is a loan transaction between individuals through technology,” he said, adding, “We are only in the initial stage of study of this provision which has been in practice for a long time in the world.” He said that it can be applied in Nepal too.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In Nepal, there is an increasing attraction towards banking venture capital and private equity funds to raise the necessary investment for start-ups and small and medium industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Siddhantraj Pandey, president of Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd, who is working in the field of alternative investment, says that the concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding, announced by the central bank, will open up new avenues.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>Until now, we have an understanding that only banks and financial institutions give loans," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the discussion about P2P lending and crowdfunding has just started in Nepal, it has already become popular in the world a decade and a half ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding became trending during the global economic recession of 2008 in order to collect investment from individual to individual as banks and financial institutions were unable to provide loans necessary for doing business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this concept, people connect through an online platform and they give and take loans through it. In order to reduce the risk of such transactions, the concept paper points out that there is a need for regulation on online platform registration, loan limits, and interest rates. It is also mentioned that the public should be informed about its use and risks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the concept paper, it is pointed out that since P2P lending and crowdfunding are new concepts in Nepal, there is a need for adequate discussion and strong regulation. In the first phase, the central bank has been suggested to give licenses to some companies for such transactions and test them and proceed only on the basis of their success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a study conducted by the central bank, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33 </span>percent of the start-up businesses in Nepal have disclosed that they raise capital from ancestral property. According to Nepal Rastra Bank's SME Financing Report <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2019</span>, the share of taking loans from banks and financial institutions for start-up businesses is only <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16 </span>percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19830', 'image' => '20240129033259_peertopeer-trading-p2p-lending-investment-loan-tiny-people-enter-into-deposit-agreement_501813-909.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:32:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20102', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Sovereign Credit Rating Begins', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings was entrusted in <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076. </span>However, at that time the rating was stopped due to the onset of coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has now urged DFID for financial assistance for the rating. As per the government’s request, the donor agency itself has asked Fitch Ratings to undertake the sovereign rating of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Nepal will not spend any amount for the rating while the donor agency will bear all the expenses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dhaniram Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings is currently working on preparing the methodology for the rating. First of all, the rating company will look at the country's economic index and all other indices. For that, the company will request for data from the Ministry of Finance, Nepal Rastra Bank, National Planning Commission, and National Statistics Office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The data requested by the rating company will have to be provided when needed," he said, adding, "There will also be a paper workshop." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The financial division of the Ministry of Finance is preparing for the paper workshop. According to Sharma, the donor agency and the rating company have promised to complete the rating work within three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The sooner Nepal furnishes the requested data, the quicker the rating results will be delivered," said Sharma. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government had announced in the budget of the fiscal year (FY) <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76</span> to conduct the sovereign credit rating of the country. Even though this subject has been included in the budget since then, the rating work has not been done until now due to concerns that the rating results would not be as expected due to the impact of the coronavirus</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Country rating is necessary to get information about investment environment, returns from investment etc. Although the Government of Nepal has been vigorously raising the issue of bringing in foreign investment, it has not been able to attract FDI due to the lack of sovereign credit rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">So far, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are not rated among the South Asian countries. India has got triple B rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The reason why Nepal has not opted for a country rating until now is due to the fear of a bad report. However, experts have been saying that the government should not back down. At present, half a dozen banks, including one microfinance, have brought loans from abroad. Most of these loans came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank Group. Apart from this, some loans have also been received from Switzerland, Germany, Dubai and Singapore.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Investors look at the credit rating of the country before investing. In order to increase investment, most countries conduct country rating from time to time. The work of rating which has not been carried out so far has been carried forward taking into consideration the upcoming investment summit. In the world, there are agencies such as Standard and Poor's (S&P) and Moody's, along with Fitch Ratings, which do credit rating of countries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19829', 'image' => '20240129025111_20240125023341_fitch-ratings-1671551049.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 14:50:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20101', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector Dissatisfied with Electricity Bill', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They have requested the government to amend the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt">and implement it instead of formulating new laws. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The energy promoters associated with Independent Power Producers of Nepal (IPPAN), Nepal Solar Power Producers Association, among others made such a request to the government during a programme organized by the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives to discuss the 'Electricity Bill </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">' submitted for decision in the Parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They argued that most of the problems in the energy sector will be solved when the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> is amended and fully implemented.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the participants during the discussion also raised questions about the relevance of the new electricity bill. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arguing the new bill proposed by the government would cause inconvenience to the private sector, they demanded that the existing law related to electricity should be amended.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They also said that the new bill is not friendly towards the private sector. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that the government is trying to control the private sector instead of encouraging it by introducing a new bill. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19828', 'image' => '20240129112235_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:22:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20100', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Oranges worth Rs 570 Million in Six Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, Nepal has imported 83,17,629 kilograms of oranges worth Rs Rs 570 million in the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Compared to the same period of last fiscal year, the import of oranges has increased by 64 percent in terms of value and 41 percent in terms of quantity this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, Nepal imported 58,76,860 kg of oranges worth Rs 348 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported oranges mostly from India, South Africa and China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the last six months, Nepal imported most of the oranges from India. The country imported 79,02,991 kg of orange worth Rs 514.7 million from India. Similarly, 364,648 kg of oranges have been imported from South Africa worth Rs 53 million. Similarly, 49,990 kg of oranges worth Rs 5.8 million have been imported from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While the country has been importing oranges worth millions of rupees from far-away countries, the farmers of rural areas of Nepal a struggling to supply oranges to the market due to the poor condition of roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A recent news report published by the state-owned RSS says that the farmers of of Jaljala rural muncicpality-1, Banskharka, in Parbat district have been facing problems in transporting oranges to the market due to the bad condition of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The farmers complained that transporting oranges in small vehicles increases the time and cost of the product.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19827', 'image' => '20240129112135_intro-1656288926.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20099', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nilgiri II Hydropower Project Completed ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is the largest hydropower project constructed in Myagdi so far. The test of power generation by pouring water into the tunnel from has also started, said Upendraraj Gautam, a representative of Nilgiri Khola Hydropower Company Limited, the promoter company of the project. A 4,275 meter long tunnel has been constructed from Chotepa to the power house in Dovilna. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the construction of Humkhola Dam and Chotepa Power House of Nilgiri I has reached its final stage. The installation of the equipment has started after the construction of the building of the power house. About 80 percent of the physical progress of the Niligiri first has been accomplished. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both the projects, with an estimated cost of Rs 13 billion, are run-of-river projects. The electricity generated from Niligiri project will be connected to the central grid through the 220 KV Dana sub-station. A transmission line of 220 KV capacity of 7.4 km distance connecting Dana substation through Chotepa-Dobilna has been constructed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19826', 'image' => '20240129105543_hydro vector.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:55:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20098', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Snowfall Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, most of the Tarai region of the country is affected by fog, according to the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will remain partly cloudy to mostly clear in the hill areas of the country this afternoon. However, there is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of high hills and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Later tonight, the weather will be partly cloudy in hill areas and mainly clear in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Daily life, health, transportation and air services may be affected as most of the places in the Tarai will be covered by fog today, says the department. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Valley has witnessed declining temperature for some days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The minimum temperature in the Kathmandu Valley was recorded at 2.1degree Celsius on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist at the Weather Forecasting Division, Min Kumar Aryal, informed that Kathmandu witnessed the lowest temperature of the year on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Jumla had the minimum temperature measured at minus 4.9 degree Celsius and Jomsom at 4.5 degree Celsius. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19825', 'image' => '20240129101109_20231120013629_20190208014800_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:10:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20097', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Process to Enlist Panauti in List of World Heritage Sites in Final Stage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">January 28: Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The UNESCO had proposed to enlist the area in the list of World Heritage Sites. All necessary processes which are to be fulfilled before enlisting in the World Heritage Sites have reached the final stage, it is said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Mayor of Panauti Municipality, Ram Sharan Bhandari, said the necessary document would be sent to UNSECO through Department of Archeology as most of the criteria of UNESCO have been fulfilled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Bhandari added preparation was underway for the discussion in local-level about whether or not the community could preserve the area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Christian Manhurt, Head of the UNESCO Office in Nepal, had inspected historical, religious and archeological heritages of Panauti after activities were forwarded to enlist Panauti in the World Heritage Sites in 2079 BS. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Panauti municipality had forwarded a process by allocating necessary budget after Manhurt informed the local people's representatives that UNESCO was ready to enlist shrines, temples and houses having uniqueness in the list of the World Heritage Sites. (RSS) <br /> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19824', 'image' => '20240129060146_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 05:59:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20095', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Improvement in Investment Environment', 'sub_title' => 'IBN Organises Workshop ahead of Third Investment Summit', 'summary' => 'January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board organized the event in collaboration with KPMG India on Friday as a preparation for the Third Investment Summit to be held in Kathmandu on </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29</span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the workshop, discussions were held on the issues of legal, procedural and regulatory reforms, as well as innovation-based initiatives to improve the investment environment in Nepal. The participants of the workshop emphasized on the improvement of the investment environment to promote investment from domestic and foreign private sectors in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Addressing the workshop, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, said that the country’s potential is largely untapped and underutilized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"For this reason, more investment is necessary for Nepal," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance Minister Mahat added that the investments made in Nepal's tourism, agricultural business and information technology sectors will give good returns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha highlighted that the private sector investments are crucial for the sustainable and inclusive growth trajectory for the graduation of Nepal into a developing country by 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said that addressing and facilitating the interest of investors investing in Nepal will send a positive message to other potential investors in the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sushil Bhatt, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said that the third investment summit will provide significant opportunities to the potential investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "By revising the investment law, necessary homework is being done to attract investment in the strategic infrastructure of connectivity and tourism, information technology and manufacturing industry," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Acting Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Neelam Dhungana Timsina informed about the amendment of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Loan Regulations, which does not require the pre-approval of Nepal Rastra Bank to finance foreign investment and the facilitation regarding repatriation of profits. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Executive Officer of KPMG in India Yezdi Nagporewalla said that the upcoming investment conference will attract investors who are looking for investment opportunities in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19823', 'image' => '20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:06:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20096', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Provides Scholarships to Engineering Students', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. This is the 10th year of the Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Awards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Under this program, the best students of Civil, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer and Mechanical Engineering faculties were awarded by Ncell, a leading private sector telecom service provider of Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Shashidhar Raj Joshi and Ncell Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Jabbor Kayumov jointly presented the scholarships to the students. Similarly, Ncell's Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Bishalmani Upadhyay, Chief Commercial Officer Umer Mohsin and Acting Chief Technology Officer Lena Keshari Kansakar were present on the occasion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kayumov said that he is proud to provide incentives to youth and students for excellence in collaboration with the country's prestigious Institute of Engineering. “It is not only a responsibility to empower the new generation but also a commitment,” he said, adding that it will support innovation, progress and positive change.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Joshi said he was proud of the students' achievements. This award program, which was started in 2071, aims to recognize young talents and appreciate their academic excellence while encouraging technical education. The amount of each scholarship and excellence award is Rs 100,000.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19822', 'image' => '20240128031829_21cc-SchAward_English.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:17:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20093', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Real Estate Transactions a Mostly Informal: Study', 'sub_title' => 'Study Finds Political Instability has Helped the Informal Economy Grow', 'summary' => 'January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. A study report published recently by the Central Department of Economics of Tribhuvan University mentions that most of the real estate transactions are done informally. According to the report, 99.97 percent of real estate transactions are informal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is mentioned in the report that since real estate transactions are done individually, the purchase and sale is done at a different amount than the price fixed by the government. The contribution of individual houses, which are considered as service sector, is not evaluated and this sector is almost completely informal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, 97.48 percent of transactions in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 50.42 percent in accommodation and food are formal. The report mentions that 62.2 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. There is 84.6 percent employment in this sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When measuring the informal economy, the study report has taken into consideration self-employed individuals who generate their own income by producing consumable goods as well as economic activities that could be either legal or illegal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is also mentioned in the report that the informal economy also contributes to the overall economy, so it is not correct to call such economy as shadow, underground, black, hidden or parallel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report shows that the share of informal transactions in Nepal's economy has been increasing in recent days due to the unstable policies of the government. The share of informal economy to Nepal's gross domestic product has reached about 43 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study has shown that the size of Nepal's informal economy is an average of 42.66 percent of the GDP in the last 19 years. Comparatively, the size of the world's informal economy is only 33 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Professor Dr Shivraj Adhikari, the head of the Department of Economics, said that during the study, it was found that the informal economy has flourished due to political instability. "One of the policies of banning imports was found to increase smuggling in the border area," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Data on the informal economy for the 10-year period covered by the report (from 2010/11 to 2020/21) also shows that its size is expanding. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, based on the national accounting method, the informal economy reached 41.31 percent in the year 2020/21, which was 37.60 percent in the year 2018/19. The study concluded that the size of informal economy exceeding 40 percent is a serious matter and should be reduced.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19820', 'image' => '20240128014357_Real estate.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 13:42:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Probe Committee Formed to Investigate Ncell Share Transaction Submits Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee’s coordinator, Tanka Mani Sharma Dangal, submitted the report to the PM at Singha Durbar on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee report has concluded that Ncell might be involved in tax evasion due to its opaque share transactions, including those in the past. The report mentions that Ncell’s share transactions were done twenty four times in the past and those transactions were done overseas. The committee has recommended further study before taking any decision on this matter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the probe committee under coordination of former Auditor General Sharma on December 7 to investigate the issues of compliance with existing laws regarding Ncell’s share transaction and its possible impacts in foreign investment and revenue collection. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Secretary Phanindra Gautam, Joint-Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Baburam Bhandari, and President of ICAN, Sujan Kumar Kafle, were the committee members. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had fixed a deadline of one month for the committee to submit its report but the deadline was extended after the committee failed to complete the task within deadline. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19837', 'image' => '20240130120357_ncl.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 12:03:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Taskforce Recommends Amendments to a Dozen of Laws before Hosting Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the taskforce under the leadership of Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ek Narayan Aryal, in view of the upcoming Third Investment Summit scheduled for </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29 </span></span><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">in Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce submitted its report to Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal on Monday with the recommendation to amend a dozen of laws and regulations to ensure more domestic and foreign investment in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce has suggested that amendments were needed to the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076; Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075; Special Economic Zone Act 2073; Forest Act 2076 and National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the taskforce has suggested the government to amend the Lands Act 2021; Land Acquisition Act 2034; Environment Conservation Act 2076; Electronic Transaction Act 2063 and Civil Aviation Act 2053. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the taskforce has pointed out amendment to Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Regulations 2077 and Forest Regulations 2079. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In order to facilitate domestic and foreign investments, amendments to the laws would be made by taking a Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts in the parliament after a decision from the Council of Ministers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce also suggested participation of the private sector. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19836', 'image' => '20240130104018_20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:39:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs Initiate Mountain Flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash-Mansarovar', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations. A chartered airplane of Shree Airlines with 38 Indian tourists made its maiden mountain flight to Kailash Manasarovar on Monday, informed Keshav Neupane, regional director of the Siddhartha Business Group. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the flight was scheduled to begin last Saturday, thick fog weakened visibility, resulting into two days delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourism entrepreneur Neupane added that the mountain flight would help recover declining business and help identify tourism destinations for Indian tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"At least one flight for Indian tourists in the season will contribute to boost tourism activities," he said, adding that the view of the Kailash Mansarovar is alluring site indeed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Another tourism entrepreneur Dr Om Mishra expressed happiness over the success of the mountain flight conducted on Monday after a long struggle. He claimed that the mountain flights will help establish Nepalgunj as a tourist destination. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, chairman of Banke chapter of Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents (NATTA), Shreeram Sigdel, shared the new initiative is also linked to Nepalgunj's future in terms of financial upliftment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Indian tourists who reached Kailash Mansarovar in the mountain flight from Nepalgung also expressed happiness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A hotelier in Nepalgunj, Punam Bhusal, said, "It certainly helps augment tourism industry." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kailash Mansarovar, located in Tibet, is a holy site for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is visited largely by the Hindus from Nepal and India. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19834', 'image' => '20240130100952_20240129073442_Shree-Airlines_.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:08:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Endless Wait for Resumption of Iron Ore Mine in Parbat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mine has been inoperative since the year 2007 BS, and the locals express dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of concern from relevant authorities regarding the reopening of the mine. Despite a three-year effort by a squad from the Department of Mines and Geology in Lainchaur to excavate the mine, there has been no significant progress reported so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During their study, the team of geologists used electrical resistivity technology and discovered a substantial presence of iron ore in various locations—some on the surface and some beneath the earth. The ore mine spans an area of two kilometers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Local youth, Jeevan Bikram Uchchai, said that there seems to be a lack of priority for further exploration of the mine. The Department and Nepal Parbat Ore Mine Industry on December 23 , 2010 explored ways to resume the mine's operation. The mine is situated 40 kilometers away from the district headquarters Kushma Bazar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The rural municipality has shown its interest in operating the mine lately. Locals share that the equipment and utensils made from the iron extracted from this mine 73 years ago could be bought and were in use even until 1984. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the elders, unlike the iron extracted from other places, the iron ore found here does not need to be refined. The ore extracted from the mine can be directly melted to manufacture different tools and wares. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prem Bahadur Sunar, a local, said the extraction was stopped at the mine later for lack of coal supply.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The home-made implements manufactured using the iron extracted from this mine used to be sold in the villages of Baglung, Palpa and Syngja among other districts. The iron used in the cables for building bridges over the rivers in Parbat and surrounding places also came from this iron mine. The bridges using the cables made out of iron from this mine can still be seen at Modibeni and Jaimini Ghat.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is said that around 400 households used to eke out a living extracting iron ore from this mine and selling it until five decades ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ward chair Govinda Bahadur BK said the village itself is named Phalam Khani (iron mine) owing to the large number of iron mines throughout the village.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, operation of the mine here would contribute to the country's economy and scores of youths will get employment. "We are compelled to use imported iron and steel due to the inability to operate the mine that is at our doorstep," lamented Bal Bahadur Chhetri, a local. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, although several efforts were made by the then District Development Committee 20 years back for operating the mine after consulting with the central government and various geologists and mines experts, these efforts were not successful. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19833', 'image' => '20240129093604_ore.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 21:34:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20104', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Surges by 10.26%, Closing at 2104.72', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">January 29: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) dominated the turnover, conducting transactions worth Rs 60 crores and closing at a market price of Rs 670 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Union Hydro Power Limited (UNHPL) saw the most significant gain, rising by 10% and hitting the positive circuit for the day.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> On the other hand, Garima Debenture 2085 (GBBD85) experienced the highest loss at 10%, closing at a market price of Rs 886.50.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the sector indices, all sectors concluded in positive territory, except for the Banking Subindex, Microfinance, and Non-Life Insurance Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The Others Index exhibited the highest gain at 1.64%, while the Development Bank Index had the least gain at 0.07%. The Banking Subindex, Microfinance Index, and Non-Life Insurance lost 0.06%, 0.05%, and 0.11%, respectively.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19831', 'image' => '20240129033624_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:35:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20103', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Prepares Concept Paper for Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding', 'sub_title' => 'P2P will end the compulsion to rely on banks for loans', 'summary' => 'January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced the concept of 'Peer to Peer (P2P) Lending' and 'crowdfunding' and has indicated that it is going to open an alternative arrangement for loans in Nepal as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After a decade and a half of being in trend in the world, the central bank announced in the monetary policy of the fiscal year <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2079/80</span> that it will conduct a study on P2P lending and crowdfunding to increase credit access to start-up businesses. Two years after the announcement, the central bank on Sunday released a concept paper on P2P lending and crowdfunding, saying that it would be helpful to increase access to credit and raise resources for the investment of small and medium enterprises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prakash Kumar Shrestha, executive director of the research department of Nepal Rastra Bank, says that PTP lending and crowdfunding will be suitable for individuals or organizations to get the resources they need to do business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“PTP Lending is a loan transaction between individuals through technology,” he said, adding, “We are only in the initial stage of study of this provision which has been in practice for a long time in the world.” He said that it can be applied in Nepal too.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In Nepal, there is an increasing attraction towards banking venture capital and private equity funds to raise the necessary investment for start-ups and small and medium industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Siddhantraj Pandey, president of Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd, who is working in the field of alternative investment, says that the concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding, announced by the central bank, will open up new avenues.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>Until now, we have an understanding that only banks and financial institutions give loans," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the discussion about P2P lending and crowdfunding has just started in Nepal, it has already become popular in the world a decade and a half ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding became trending during the global economic recession of 2008 in order to collect investment from individual to individual as banks and financial institutions were unable to provide loans necessary for doing business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this concept, people connect through an online platform and they give and take loans through it. In order to reduce the risk of such transactions, the concept paper points out that there is a need for regulation on online platform registration, loan limits, and interest rates. It is also mentioned that the public should be informed about its use and risks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the concept paper, it is pointed out that since P2P lending and crowdfunding are new concepts in Nepal, there is a need for adequate discussion and strong regulation. In the first phase, the central bank has been suggested to give licenses to some companies for such transactions and test them and proceed only on the basis of their success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a study conducted by the central bank, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33 </span>percent of the start-up businesses in Nepal have disclosed that they raise capital from ancestral property. According to Nepal Rastra Bank's SME Financing Report <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2019</span>, the share of taking loans from banks and financial institutions for start-up businesses is only <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16 </span>percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19830', 'image' => '20240129033259_peertopeer-trading-p2p-lending-investment-loan-tiny-people-enter-into-deposit-agreement_501813-909.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:32:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20102', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Sovereign Credit Rating Begins', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings was entrusted in <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076. </span>However, at that time the rating was stopped due to the onset of coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has now urged DFID for financial assistance for the rating. As per the government’s request, the donor agency itself has asked Fitch Ratings to undertake the sovereign rating of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Nepal will not spend any amount for the rating while the donor agency will bear all the expenses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dhaniram Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings is currently working on preparing the methodology for the rating. First of all, the rating company will look at the country's economic index and all other indices. For that, the company will request for data from the Ministry of Finance, Nepal Rastra Bank, National Planning Commission, and National Statistics Office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The data requested by the rating company will have to be provided when needed," he said, adding, "There will also be a paper workshop." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The financial division of the Ministry of Finance is preparing for the paper workshop. According to Sharma, the donor agency and the rating company have promised to complete the rating work within three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The sooner Nepal furnishes the requested data, the quicker the rating results will be delivered," said Sharma. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government had announced in the budget of the fiscal year (FY) <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76</span> to conduct the sovereign credit rating of the country. Even though this subject has been included in the budget since then, the rating work has not been done until now due to concerns that the rating results would not be as expected due to the impact of the coronavirus</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Country rating is necessary to get information about investment environment, returns from investment etc. Although the Government of Nepal has been vigorously raising the issue of bringing in foreign investment, it has not been able to attract FDI due to the lack of sovereign credit rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">So far, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are not rated among the South Asian countries. India has got triple B rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The reason why Nepal has not opted for a country rating until now is due to the fear of a bad report. However, experts have been saying that the government should not back down. At present, half a dozen banks, including one microfinance, have brought loans from abroad. Most of these loans came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank Group. Apart from this, some loans have also been received from Switzerland, Germany, Dubai and Singapore.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Investors look at the credit rating of the country before investing. In order to increase investment, most countries conduct country rating from time to time. The work of rating which has not been carried out so far has been carried forward taking into consideration the upcoming investment summit. In the world, there are agencies such as Standard and Poor's (S&P) and Moody's, along with Fitch Ratings, which do credit rating of countries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19829', 'image' => '20240129025111_20240125023341_fitch-ratings-1671551049.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 14:50:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20101', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector Dissatisfied with Electricity Bill', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They have requested the government to amend the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt">and implement it instead of formulating new laws. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The energy promoters associated with Independent Power Producers of Nepal (IPPAN), Nepal Solar Power Producers Association, among others made such a request to the government during a programme organized by the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives to discuss the 'Electricity Bill </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">' submitted for decision in the Parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They argued that most of the problems in the energy sector will be solved when the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> is amended and fully implemented.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the participants during the discussion also raised questions about the relevance of the new electricity bill. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arguing the new bill proposed by the government would cause inconvenience to the private sector, they demanded that the existing law related to electricity should be amended.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They also said that the new bill is not friendly towards the private sector. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that the government is trying to control the private sector instead of encouraging it by introducing a new bill. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19828', 'image' => '20240129112235_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:22:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20100', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Oranges worth Rs 570 Million in Six Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, Nepal has imported 83,17,629 kilograms of oranges worth Rs Rs 570 million in the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Compared to the same period of last fiscal year, the import of oranges has increased by 64 percent in terms of value and 41 percent in terms of quantity this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, Nepal imported 58,76,860 kg of oranges worth Rs 348 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported oranges mostly from India, South Africa and China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the last six months, Nepal imported most of the oranges from India. The country imported 79,02,991 kg of orange worth Rs 514.7 million from India. Similarly, 364,648 kg of oranges have been imported from South Africa worth Rs 53 million. Similarly, 49,990 kg of oranges worth Rs 5.8 million have been imported from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While the country has been importing oranges worth millions of rupees from far-away countries, the farmers of rural areas of Nepal a struggling to supply oranges to the market due to the poor condition of roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A recent news report published by the state-owned RSS says that the farmers of of Jaljala rural muncicpality-1, Banskharka, in Parbat district have been facing problems in transporting oranges to the market due to the bad condition of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The farmers complained that transporting oranges in small vehicles increases the time and cost of the product.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19827', 'image' => '20240129112135_intro-1656288926.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20099', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nilgiri II Hydropower Project Completed ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is the largest hydropower project constructed in Myagdi so far. The test of power generation by pouring water into the tunnel from has also started, said Upendraraj Gautam, a representative of Nilgiri Khola Hydropower Company Limited, the promoter company of the project. A 4,275 meter long tunnel has been constructed from Chotepa to the power house in Dovilna. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the construction of Humkhola Dam and Chotepa Power House of Nilgiri I has reached its final stage. The installation of the equipment has started after the construction of the building of the power house. About 80 percent of the physical progress of the Niligiri first has been accomplished. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both the projects, with an estimated cost of Rs 13 billion, are run-of-river projects. The electricity generated from Niligiri project will be connected to the central grid through the 220 KV Dana sub-station. A transmission line of 220 KV capacity of 7.4 km distance connecting Dana substation through Chotepa-Dobilna has been constructed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19826', 'image' => '20240129105543_hydro vector.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:55:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20098', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Snowfall Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, most of the Tarai region of the country is affected by fog, according to the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will remain partly cloudy to mostly clear in the hill areas of the country this afternoon. However, there is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of high hills and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Later tonight, the weather will be partly cloudy in hill areas and mainly clear in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Daily life, health, transportation and air services may be affected as most of the places in the Tarai will be covered by fog today, says the department. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Valley has witnessed declining temperature for some days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The minimum temperature in the Kathmandu Valley was recorded at 2.1degree Celsius on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist at the Weather Forecasting Division, Min Kumar Aryal, informed that Kathmandu witnessed the lowest temperature of the year on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Jumla had the minimum temperature measured at minus 4.9 degree Celsius and Jomsom at 4.5 degree Celsius. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19825', 'image' => '20240129101109_20231120013629_20190208014800_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:10:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20097', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Process to Enlist Panauti in List of World Heritage Sites in Final Stage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">January 28: Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The UNESCO had proposed to enlist the area in the list of World Heritage Sites. All necessary processes which are to be fulfilled before enlisting in the World Heritage Sites have reached the final stage, it is said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Mayor of Panauti Municipality, Ram Sharan Bhandari, said the necessary document would be sent to UNSECO through Department of Archeology as most of the criteria of UNESCO have been fulfilled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Bhandari added preparation was underway for the discussion in local-level about whether or not the community could preserve the area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Christian Manhurt, Head of the UNESCO Office in Nepal, had inspected historical, religious and archeological heritages of Panauti after activities were forwarded to enlist Panauti in the World Heritage Sites in 2079 BS. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Panauti municipality had forwarded a process by allocating necessary budget after Manhurt informed the local people's representatives that UNESCO was ready to enlist shrines, temples and houses having uniqueness in the list of the World Heritage Sites. (RSS) <br /> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19824', 'image' => '20240129060146_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 05:59:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20095', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Improvement in Investment Environment', 'sub_title' => 'IBN Organises Workshop ahead of Third Investment Summit', 'summary' => 'January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board organized the event in collaboration with KPMG India on Friday as a preparation for the Third Investment Summit to be held in Kathmandu on </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29</span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the workshop, discussions were held on the issues of legal, procedural and regulatory reforms, as well as innovation-based initiatives to improve the investment environment in Nepal. The participants of the workshop emphasized on the improvement of the investment environment to promote investment from domestic and foreign private sectors in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Addressing the workshop, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, said that the country’s potential is largely untapped and underutilized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"For this reason, more investment is necessary for Nepal," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance Minister Mahat added that the investments made in Nepal's tourism, agricultural business and information technology sectors will give good returns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha highlighted that the private sector investments are crucial for the sustainable and inclusive growth trajectory for the graduation of Nepal into a developing country by 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said that addressing and facilitating the interest of investors investing in Nepal will send a positive message to other potential investors in the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sushil Bhatt, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said that the third investment summit will provide significant opportunities to the potential investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "By revising the investment law, necessary homework is being done to attract investment in the strategic infrastructure of connectivity and tourism, information technology and manufacturing industry," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Acting Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Neelam Dhungana Timsina informed about the amendment of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Loan Regulations, which does not require the pre-approval of Nepal Rastra Bank to finance foreign investment and the facilitation regarding repatriation of profits. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Executive Officer of KPMG in India Yezdi Nagporewalla said that the upcoming investment conference will attract investors who are looking for investment opportunities in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19823', 'image' => '20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:06:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20096', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Provides Scholarships to Engineering Students', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. This is the 10th year of the Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Awards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Under this program, the best students of Civil, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer and Mechanical Engineering faculties were awarded by Ncell, a leading private sector telecom service provider of Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Shashidhar Raj Joshi and Ncell Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Jabbor Kayumov jointly presented the scholarships to the students. Similarly, Ncell's Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Bishalmani Upadhyay, Chief Commercial Officer Umer Mohsin and Acting Chief Technology Officer Lena Keshari Kansakar were present on the occasion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kayumov said that he is proud to provide incentives to youth and students for excellence in collaboration with the country's prestigious Institute of Engineering. “It is not only a responsibility to empower the new generation but also a commitment,” he said, adding that it will support innovation, progress and positive change.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Joshi said he was proud of the students' achievements. This award program, which was started in 2071, aims to recognize young talents and appreciate their academic excellence while encouraging technical education. The amount of each scholarship and excellence award is Rs 100,000.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19822', 'image' => '20240128031829_21cc-SchAward_English.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:17:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20093', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Real Estate Transactions a Mostly Informal: Study', 'sub_title' => 'Study Finds Political Instability has Helped the Informal Economy Grow', 'summary' => 'January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. A study report published recently by the Central Department of Economics of Tribhuvan University mentions that most of the real estate transactions are done informally. According to the report, 99.97 percent of real estate transactions are informal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is mentioned in the report that since real estate transactions are done individually, the purchase and sale is done at a different amount than the price fixed by the government. The contribution of individual houses, which are considered as service sector, is not evaluated and this sector is almost completely informal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, 97.48 percent of transactions in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 50.42 percent in accommodation and food are formal. The report mentions that 62.2 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. There is 84.6 percent employment in this sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When measuring the informal economy, the study report has taken into consideration self-employed individuals who generate their own income by producing consumable goods as well as economic activities that could be either legal or illegal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is also mentioned in the report that the informal economy also contributes to the overall economy, so it is not correct to call such economy as shadow, underground, black, hidden or parallel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report shows that the share of informal transactions in Nepal's economy has been increasing in recent days due to the unstable policies of the government. The share of informal economy to Nepal's gross domestic product has reached about 43 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study has shown that the size of Nepal's informal economy is an average of 42.66 percent of the GDP in the last 19 years. Comparatively, the size of the world's informal economy is only 33 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Professor Dr Shivraj Adhikari, the head of the Department of Economics, said that during the study, it was found that the informal economy has flourished due to political instability. "One of the policies of banning imports was found to increase smuggling in the border area," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Data on the informal economy for the 10-year period covered by the report (from 2010/11 to 2020/21) also shows that its size is expanding. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, based on the national accounting method, the informal economy reached 41.31 percent in the year 2020/21, which was 37.60 percent in the year 2018/19. The study concluded that the size of informal economy exceeding 40 percent is a serious matter and should be reduced.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19820', 'image' => '20240128014357_Real estate.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 13:42:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Probe Committee Formed to Investigate Ncell Share Transaction Submits Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee’s coordinator, Tanka Mani Sharma Dangal, submitted the report to the PM at Singha Durbar on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee report has concluded that Ncell might be involved in tax evasion due to its opaque share transactions, including those in the past. The report mentions that Ncell’s share transactions were done twenty four times in the past and those transactions were done overseas. The committee has recommended further study before taking any decision on this matter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the probe committee under coordination of former Auditor General Sharma on December 7 to investigate the issues of compliance with existing laws regarding Ncell’s share transaction and its possible impacts in foreign investment and revenue collection. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Secretary Phanindra Gautam, Joint-Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Baburam Bhandari, and President of ICAN, Sujan Kumar Kafle, were the committee members. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had fixed a deadline of one month for the committee to submit its report but the deadline was extended after the committee failed to complete the task within deadline. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19837', 'image' => '20240130120357_ncl.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 12:03:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Taskforce Recommends Amendments to a Dozen of Laws before Hosting Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the taskforce under the leadership of Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ek Narayan Aryal, in view of the upcoming Third Investment Summit scheduled for </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29 </span></span><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">in Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce submitted its report to Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal on Monday with the recommendation to amend a dozen of laws and regulations to ensure more domestic and foreign investment in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce has suggested that amendments were needed to the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076; Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075; Special Economic Zone Act 2073; Forest Act 2076 and National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the taskforce has suggested the government to amend the Lands Act 2021; Land Acquisition Act 2034; Environment Conservation Act 2076; Electronic Transaction Act 2063 and Civil Aviation Act 2053. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the taskforce has pointed out amendment to Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Regulations 2077 and Forest Regulations 2079. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In order to facilitate domestic and foreign investments, amendments to the laws would be made by taking a Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts in the parliament after a decision from the Council of Ministers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce also suggested participation of the private sector. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19836', 'image' => '20240130104018_20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:39:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs Initiate Mountain Flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash-Mansarovar', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations. A chartered airplane of Shree Airlines with 38 Indian tourists made its maiden mountain flight to Kailash Manasarovar on Monday, informed Keshav Neupane, regional director of the Siddhartha Business Group. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the flight was scheduled to begin last Saturday, thick fog weakened visibility, resulting into two days delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourism entrepreneur Neupane added that the mountain flight would help recover declining business and help identify tourism destinations for Indian tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"At least one flight for Indian tourists in the season will contribute to boost tourism activities," he said, adding that the view of the Kailash Mansarovar is alluring site indeed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Another tourism entrepreneur Dr Om Mishra expressed happiness over the success of the mountain flight conducted on Monday after a long struggle. He claimed that the mountain flights will help establish Nepalgunj as a tourist destination. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, chairman of Banke chapter of Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents (NATTA), Shreeram Sigdel, shared the new initiative is also linked to Nepalgunj's future in terms of financial upliftment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Indian tourists who reached Kailash Mansarovar in the mountain flight from Nepalgung also expressed happiness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A hotelier in Nepalgunj, Punam Bhusal, said, "It certainly helps augment tourism industry." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kailash Mansarovar, located in Tibet, is a holy site for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is visited largely by the Hindus from Nepal and India. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19834', 'image' => '20240130100952_20240129073442_Shree-Airlines_.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:08:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Endless Wait for Resumption of Iron Ore Mine in Parbat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mine has been inoperative since the year 2007 BS, and the locals express dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of concern from relevant authorities regarding the reopening of the mine. Despite a three-year effort by a squad from the Department of Mines and Geology in Lainchaur to excavate the mine, there has been no significant progress reported so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During their study, the team of geologists used electrical resistivity technology and discovered a substantial presence of iron ore in various locations—some on the surface and some beneath the earth. The ore mine spans an area of two kilometers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Local youth, Jeevan Bikram Uchchai, said that there seems to be a lack of priority for further exploration of the mine. The Department and Nepal Parbat Ore Mine Industry on December 23 , 2010 explored ways to resume the mine's operation. The mine is situated 40 kilometers away from the district headquarters Kushma Bazar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The rural municipality has shown its interest in operating the mine lately. Locals share that the equipment and utensils made from the iron extracted from this mine 73 years ago could be bought and were in use even until 1984. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the elders, unlike the iron extracted from other places, the iron ore found here does not need to be refined. The ore extracted from the mine can be directly melted to manufacture different tools and wares. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prem Bahadur Sunar, a local, said the extraction was stopped at the mine later for lack of coal supply.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The home-made implements manufactured using the iron extracted from this mine used to be sold in the villages of Baglung, Palpa and Syngja among other districts. The iron used in the cables for building bridges over the rivers in Parbat and surrounding places also came from this iron mine. The bridges using the cables made out of iron from this mine can still be seen at Modibeni and Jaimini Ghat.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is said that around 400 households used to eke out a living extracting iron ore from this mine and selling it until five decades ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ward chair Govinda Bahadur BK said the village itself is named Phalam Khani (iron mine) owing to the large number of iron mines throughout the village.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, operation of the mine here would contribute to the country's economy and scores of youths will get employment. "We are compelled to use imported iron and steel due to the inability to operate the mine that is at our doorstep," lamented Bal Bahadur Chhetri, a local. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, although several efforts were made by the then District Development Committee 20 years back for operating the mine after consulting with the central government and various geologists and mines experts, these efforts were not successful. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19833', 'image' => '20240129093604_ore.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 21:34:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20104', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Surges by 10.26%, Closing at 2104.72', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">January 29: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) dominated the turnover, conducting transactions worth Rs 60 crores and closing at a market price of Rs 670 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Union Hydro Power Limited (UNHPL) saw the most significant gain, rising by 10% and hitting the positive circuit for the day.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> On the other hand, Garima Debenture 2085 (GBBD85) experienced the highest loss at 10%, closing at a market price of Rs 886.50.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the sector indices, all sectors concluded in positive territory, except for the Banking Subindex, Microfinance, and Non-Life Insurance Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The Others Index exhibited the highest gain at 1.64%, while the Development Bank Index had the least gain at 0.07%. The Banking Subindex, Microfinance Index, and Non-Life Insurance lost 0.06%, 0.05%, and 0.11%, respectively.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19831', 'image' => '20240129033624_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:35:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20103', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Prepares Concept Paper for Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding', 'sub_title' => 'P2P will end the compulsion to rely on banks for loans', 'summary' => 'January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced the concept of 'Peer to Peer (P2P) Lending' and 'crowdfunding' and has indicated that it is going to open an alternative arrangement for loans in Nepal as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After a decade and a half of being in trend in the world, the central bank announced in the monetary policy of the fiscal year <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2079/80</span> that it will conduct a study on P2P lending and crowdfunding to increase credit access to start-up businesses. Two years after the announcement, the central bank on Sunday released a concept paper on P2P lending and crowdfunding, saying that it would be helpful to increase access to credit and raise resources for the investment of small and medium enterprises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prakash Kumar Shrestha, executive director of the research department of Nepal Rastra Bank, says that PTP lending and crowdfunding will be suitable for individuals or organizations to get the resources they need to do business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“PTP Lending is a loan transaction between individuals through technology,” he said, adding, “We are only in the initial stage of study of this provision which has been in practice for a long time in the world.” He said that it can be applied in Nepal too.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In Nepal, there is an increasing attraction towards banking venture capital and private equity funds to raise the necessary investment for start-ups and small and medium industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Siddhantraj Pandey, president of Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd, who is working in the field of alternative investment, says that the concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding, announced by the central bank, will open up new avenues.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>Until now, we have an understanding that only banks and financial institutions give loans," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the discussion about P2P lending and crowdfunding has just started in Nepal, it has already become popular in the world a decade and a half ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding became trending during the global economic recession of 2008 in order to collect investment from individual to individual as banks and financial institutions were unable to provide loans necessary for doing business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this concept, people connect through an online platform and they give and take loans through it. In order to reduce the risk of such transactions, the concept paper points out that there is a need for regulation on online platform registration, loan limits, and interest rates. It is also mentioned that the public should be informed about its use and risks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the concept paper, it is pointed out that since P2P lending and crowdfunding are new concepts in Nepal, there is a need for adequate discussion and strong regulation. In the first phase, the central bank has been suggested to give licenses to some companies for such transactions and test them and proceed only on the basis of their success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a study conducted by the central bank, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33 </span>percent of the start-up businesses in Nepal have disclosed that they raise capital from ancestral property. According to Nepal Rastra Bank's SME Financing Report <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2019</span>, the share of taking loans from banks and financial institutions for start-up businesses is only <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16 </span>percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19830', 'image' => '20240129033259_peertopeer-trading-p2p-lending-investment-loan-tiny-people-enter-into-deposit-agreement_501813-909.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:32:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20102', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Sovereign Credit Rating Begins', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings was entrusted in <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076. </span>However, at that time the rating was stopped due to the onset of coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has now urged DFID for financial assistance for the rating. As per the government’s request, the donor agency itself has asked Fitch Ratings to undertake the sovereign rating of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Nepal will not spend any amount for the rating while the donor agency will bear all the expenses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dhaniram Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings is currently working on preparing the methodology for the rating. First of all, the rating company will look at the country's economic index and all other indices. For that, the company will request for data from the Ministry of Finance, Nepal Rastra Bank, National Planning Commission, and National Statistics Office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The data requested by the rating company will have to be provided when needed," he said, adding, "There will also be a paper workshop." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The financial division of the Ministry of Finance is preparing for the paper workshop. According to Sharma, the donor agency and the rating company have promised to complete the rating work within three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The sooner Nepal furnishes the requested data, the quicker the rating results will be delivered," said Sharma. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government had announced in the budget of the fiscal year (FY) <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76</span> to conduct the sovereign credit rating of the country. Even though this subject has been included in the budget since then, the rating work has not been done until now due to concerns that the rating results would not be as expected due to the impact of the coronavirus</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Country rating is necessary to get information about investment environment, returns from investment etc. Although the Government of Nepal has been vigorously raising the issue of bringing in foreign investment, it has not been able to attract FDI due to the lack of sovereign credit rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">So far, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are not rated among the South Asian countries. India has got triple B rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The reason why Nepal has not opted for a country rating until now is due to the fear of a bad report. However, experts have been saying that the government should not back down. At present, half a dozen banks, including one microfinance, have brought loans from abroad. Most of these loans came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank Group. Apart from this, some loans have also been received from Switzerland, Germany, Dubai and Singapore.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Investors look at the credit rating of the country before investing. In order to increase investment, most countries conduct country rating from time to time. The work of rating which has not been carried out so far has been carried forward taking into consideration the upcoming investment summit. In the world, there are agencies such as Standard and Poor's (S&P) and Moody's, along with Fitch Ratings, which do credit rating of countries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19829', 'image' => '20240129025111_20240125023341_fitch-ratings-1671551049.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 14:50:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20101', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector Dissatisfied with Electricity Bill', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They have requested the government to amend the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt">and implement it instead of formulating new laws. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The energy promoters associated with Independent Power Producers of Nepal (IPPAN), Nepal Solar Power Producers Association, among others made such a request to the government during a programme organized by the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives to discuss the 'Electricity Bill </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">' submitted for decision in the Parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They argued that most of the problems in the energy sector will be solved when the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> is amended and fully implemented.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the participants during the discussion also raised questions about the relevance of the new electricity bill. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arguing the new bill proposed by the government would cause inconvenience to the private sector, they demanded that the existing law related to electricity should be amended.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They also said that the new bill is not friendly towards the private sector. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that the government is trying to control the private sector instead of encouraging it by introducing a new bill. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19828', 'image' => '20240129112235_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:22:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20100', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Oranges worth Rs 570 Million in Six Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, Nepal has imported 83,17,629 kilograms of oranges worth Rs Rs 570 million in the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Compared to the same period of last fiscal year, the import of oranges has increased by 64 percent in terms of value and 41 percent in terms of quantity this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, Nepal imported 58,76,860 kg of oranges worth Rs 348 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported oranges mostly from India, South Africa and China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the last six months, Nepal imported most of the oranges from India. The country imported 79,02,991 kg of orange worth Rs 514.7 million from India. Similarly, 364,648 kg of oranges have been imported from South Africa worth Rs 53 million. Similarly, 49,990 kg of oranges worth Rs 5.8 million have been imported from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While the country has been importing oranges worth millions of rupees from far-away countries, the farmers of rural areas of Nepal a struggling to supply oranges to the market due to the poor condition of roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A recent news report published by the state-owned RSS says that the farmers of of Jaljala rural muncicpality-1, Banskharka, in Parbat district have been facing problems in transporting oranges to the market due to the bad condition of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The farmers complained that transporting oranges in small vehicles increases the time and cost of the product.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19827', 'image' => '20240129112135_intro-1656288926.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20099', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nilgiri II Hydropower Project Completed ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is the largest hydropower project constructed in Myagdi so far. The test of power generation by pouring water into the tunnel from has also started, said Upendraraj Gautam, a representative of Nilgiri Khola Hydropower Company Limited, the promoter company of the project. A 4,275 meter long tunnel has been constructed from Chotepa to the power house in Dovilna. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the construction of Humkhola Dam and Chotepa Power House of Nilgiri I has reached its final stage. The installation of the equipment has started after the construction of the building of the power house. About 80 percent of the physical progress of the Niligiri first has been accomplished. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both the projects, with an estimated cost of Rs 13 billion, are run-of-river projects. The electricity generated from Niligiri project will be connected to the central grid through the 220 KV Dana sub-station. A transmission line of 220 KV capacity of 7.4 km distance connecting Dana substation through Chotepa-Dobilna has been constructed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19826', 'image' => '20240129105543_hydro vector.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:55:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20098', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Snowfall Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, most of the Tarai region of the country is affected by fog, according to the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will remain partly cloudy to mostly clear in the hill areas of the country this afternoon. However, there is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of high hills and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Later tonight, the weather will be partly cloudy in hill areas and mainly clear in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Daily life, health, transportation and air services may be affected as most of the places in the Tarai will be covered by fog today, says the department. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Valley has witnessed declining temperature for some days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The minimum temperature in the Kathmandu Valley was recorded at 2.1degree Celsius on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist at the Weather Forecasting Division, Min Kumar Aryal, informed that Kathmandu witnessed the lowest temperature of the year on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Jumla had the minimum temperature measured at minus 4.9 degree Celsius and Jomsom at 4.5 degree Celsius. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19825', 'image' => '20240129101109_20231120013629_20190208014800_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:10:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20097', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Process to Enlist Panauti in List of World Heritage Sites in Final Stage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">January 28: Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The UNESCO had proposed to enlist the area in the list of World Heritage Sites. All necessary processes which are to be fulfilled before enlisting in the World Heritage Sites have reached the final stage, it is said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Mayor of Panauti Municipality, Ram Sharan Bhandari, said the necessary document would be sent to UNSECO through Department of Archeology as most of the criteria of UNESCO have been fulfilled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Bhandari added preparation was underway for the discussion in local-level about whether or not the community could preserve the area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Christian Manhurt, Head of the UNESCO Office in Nepal, had inspected historical, religious and archeological heritages of Panauti after activities were forwarded to enlist Panauti in the World Heritage Sites in 2079 BS. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Panauti municipality had forwarded a process by allocating necessary budget after Manhurt informed the local people's representatives that UNESCO was ready to enlist shrines, temples and houses having uniqueness in the list of the World Heritage Sites. (RSS) <br /> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19824', 'image' => '20240129060146_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 05:59:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20095', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Improvement in Investment Environment', 'sub_title' => 'IBN Organises Workshop ahead of Third Investment Summit', 'summary' => 'January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board organized the event in collaboration with KPMG India on Friday as a preparation for the Third Investment Summit to be held in Kathmandu on </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29</span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the workshop, discussions were held on the issues of legal, procedural and regulatory reforms, as well as innovation-based initiatives to improve the investment environment in Nepal. The participants of the workshop emphasized on the improvement of the investment environment to promote investment from domestic and foreign private sectors in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Addressing the workshop, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, said that the country’s potential is largely untapped and underutilized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"For this reason, more investment is necessary for Nepal," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance Minister Mahat added that the investments made in Nepal's tourism, agricultural business and information technology sectors will give good returns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha highlighted that the private sector investments are crucial for the sustainable and inclusive growth trajectory for the graduation of Nepal into a developing country by 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said that addressing and facilitating the interest of investors investing in Nepal will send a positive message to other potential investors in the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sushil Bhatt, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said that the third investment summit will provide significant opportunities to the potential investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "By revising the investment law, necessary homework is being done to attract investment in the strategic infrastructure of connectivity and tourism, information technology and manufacturing industry," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Acting Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Neelam Dhungana Timsina informed about the amendment of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Loan Regulations, which does not require the pre-approval of Nepal Rastra Bank to finance foreign investment and the facilitation regarding repatriation of profits. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Executive Officer of KPMG in India Yezdi Nagporewalla said that the upcoming investment conference will attract investors who are looking for investment opportunities in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19823', 'image' => '20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:06:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20096', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Provides Scholarships to Engineering Students', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. This is the 10th year of the Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Awards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Under this program, the best students of Civil, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer and Mechanical Engineering faculties were awarded by Ncell, a leading private sector telecom service provider of Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Shashidhar Raj Joshi and Ncell Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Jabbor Kayumov jointly presented the scholarships to the students. Similarly, Ncell's Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Bishalmani Upadhyay, Chief Commercial Officer Umer Mohsin and Acting Chief Technology Officer Lena Keshari Kansakar were present on the occasion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kayumov said that he is proud to provide incentives to youth and students for excellence in collaboration with the country's prestigious Institute of Engineering. “It is not only a responsibility to empower the new generation but also a commitment,” he said, adding that it will support innovation, progress and positive change.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Joshi said he was proud of the students' achievements. This award program, which was started in 2071, aims to recognize young talents and appreciate their academic excellence while encouraging technical education. The amount of each scholarship and excellence award is Rs 100,000.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19822', 'image' => '20240128031829_21cc-SchAward_English.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:17:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20093', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Real Estate Transactions a Mostly Informal: Study', 'sub_title' => 'Study Finds Political Instability has Helped the Informal Economy Grow', 'summary' => 'January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. A study report published recently by the Central Department of Economics of Tribhuvan University mentions that most of the real estate transactions are done informally. According to the report, 99.97 percent of real estate transactions are informal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is mentioned in the report that since real estate transactions are done individually, the purchase and sale is done at a different amount than the price fixed by the government. The contribution of individual houses, which are considered as service sector, is not evaluated and this sector is almost completely informal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, 97.48 percent of transactions in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 50.42 percent in accommodation and food are formal. The report mentions that 62.2 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. There is 84.6 percent employment in this sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When measuring the informal economy, the study report has taken into consideration self-employed individuals who generate their own income by producing consumable goods as well as economic activities that could be either legal or illegal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is also mentioned in the report that the informal economy also contributes to the overall economy, so it is not correct to call such economy as shadow, underground, black, hidden or parallel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report shows that the share of informal transactions in Nepal's economy has been increasing in recent days due to the unstable policies of the government. The share of informal economy to Nepal's gross domestic product has reached about 43 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study has shown that the size of Nepal's informal economy is an average of 42.66 percent of the GDP in the last 19 years. Comparatively, the size of the world's informal economy is only 33 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Professor Dr Shivraj Adhikari, the head of the Department of Economics, said that during the study, it was found that the informal economy has flourished due to political instability. "One of the policies of banning imports was found to increase smuggling in the border area," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Data on the informal economy for the 10-year period covered by the report (from 2010/11 to 2020/21) also shows that its size is expanding. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, based on the national accounting method, the informal economy reached 41.31 percent in the year 2020/21, which was 37.60 percent in the year 2018/19. The study concluded that the size of informal economy exceeding 40 percent is a serious matter and should be reduced.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19820', 'image' => '20240128014357_Real estate.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 13:42:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Probe Committee Formed to Investigate Ncell Share Transaction Submits Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A probe committee formed to investigate the sale and purchase of shares of Ncell, a private sector telecommunication service provider of Nepal, has submitted its report to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee’s coordinator, Tanka Mani Sharma Dangal, submitted the report to the PM at Singha Durbar on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The committee report has concluded that Ncell might be involved in tax evasion due to its opaque share transactions, including those in the past. The report mentions that Ncell’s share transactions were done twenty four times in the past and those transactions were done overseas. The committee has recommended further study before taking any decision on this matter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the probe committee under coordination of former Auditor General Sharma on December 7 to investigate the issues of compliance with existing laws regarding Ncell’s share transaction and its possible impacts in foreign investment and revenue collection. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Secretary Phanindra Gautam, Joint-Secretary of the Finance Ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Baburam Bhandari, and President of ICAN, Sujan Kumar Kafle, were the committee members. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had fixed a deadline of one month for the committee to submit its report but the deadline was extended after the committee failed to complete the task within deadline. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19837', 'image' => '20240130120357_ncl.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 12:03:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Taskforce Recommends Amendments to a Dozen of Laws before Hosting Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: A taskforce formed by the government to recommend legal reforms to create environment conducive for investment has recommended amendments to a dozen of Acts and Regulations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government had formed the taskforce under the leadership of Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Ek Narayan Aryal, in view of the upcoming Third Investment Summit scheduled for </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29 </span></span><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">in Kathmandu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce submitted its report to Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal on Monday with the recommendation to amend a dozen of laws and regulations to ensure more domestic and foreign investment in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce has suggested that amendments were needed to the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076; Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075; Special Economic Zone Act 2073; Forest Act 2076 and National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the taskforce has suggested the government to amend the Lands Act 2021; Land Acquisition Act 2034; Environment Conservation Act 2076; Electronic Transaction Act 2063 and Civil Aviation Act 2053. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the taskforce has pointed out amendment to Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Regulations 2077 and Forest Regulations 2079. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In order to facilitate domestic and foreign investments, amendments to the laws would be made by taking a Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts in the parliament after a decision from the Council of Ministers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce also suggested participation of the private sector. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19836', 'image' => '20240130104018_20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:39:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs Initiate Mountain Flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash-Mansarovar', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 30: Mountain flights from Nepalgunj to Kailash Mansarovar have started at the initiative of tourism entrepreneurs' associations. A chartered airplane of Shree Airlines with 38 Indian tourists made its maiden mountain flight to Kailash Manasarovar on Monday, informed Keshav Neupane, regional director of the Siddhartha Business Group. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the flight was scheduled to begin last Saturday, thick fog weakened visibility, resulting into two days delay. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourism entrepreneur Neupane added that the mountain flight would help recover declining business and help identify tourism destinations for Indian tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"At least one flight for Indian tourists in the season will contribute to boost tourism activities," he said, adding that the view of the Kailash Mansarovar is alluring site indeed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Another tourism entrepreneur Dr Om Mishra expressed happiness over the success of the mountain flight conducted on Monday after a long struggle. He claimed that the mountain flights will help establish Nepalgunj as a tourist destination. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, chairman of Banke chapter of Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents (NATTA), Shreeram Sigdel, shared the new initiative is also linked to Nepalgunj's future in terms of financial upliftment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Indian tourists who reached Kailash Mansarovar in the mountain flight from Nepalgung also expressed happiness. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A hotelier in Nepalgunj, Punam Bhusal, said, "It certainly helps augment tourism industry." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kailash Mansarovar, located in Tibet, is a holy site for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is visited largely by the Hindus from Nepal and India. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-30', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19834', 'image' => '20240130100952_20240129073442_Shree-Airlines_.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-30 10:08:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Endless Wait for Resumption of Iron Ore Mine in Parbat', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 29: The closure of the iron ore mine in Mahashila rural municipality-6, Parbat since a long time has left the local residents disappointed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mine has been inoperative since the year 2007 BS, and the locals express dissatisfaction with the apparent lack of concern from relevant authorities regarding the reopening of the mine. Despite a three-year effort by a squad from the Department of Mines and Geology in Lainchaur to excavate the mine, there has been no significant progress reported so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During their study, the team of geologists used electrical resistivity technology and discovered a substantial presence of iron ore in various locations—some on the surface and some beneath the earth. The ore mine spans an area of two kilometers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Local youth, Jeevan Bikram Uchchai, said that there seems to be a lack of priority for further exploration of the mine. The Department and Nepal Parbat Ore Mine Industry on December 23 , 2010 explored ways to resume the mine's operation. The mine is situated 40 kilometers away from the district headquarters Kushma Bazar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The rural municipality has shown its interest in operating the mine lately. Locals share that the equipment and utensils made from the iron extracted from this mine 73 years ago could be bought and were in use even until 1984. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the elders, unlike the iron extracted from other places, the iron ore found here does not need to be refined. The ore extracted from the mine can be directly melted to manufacture different tools and wares. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prem Bahadur Sunar, a local, said the extraction was stopped at the mine later for lack of coal supply.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The home-made implements manufactured using the iron extracted from this mine used to be sold in the villages of Baglung, Palpa and Syngja among other districts. The iron used in the cables for building bridges over the rivers in Parbat and surrounding places also came from this iron mine. The bridges using the cables made out of iron from this mine can still be seen at Modibeni and Jaimini Ghat.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is said that around 400 households used to eke out a living extracting iron ore from this mine and selling it until five decades ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ward chair Govinda Bahadur BK said the village itself is named Phalam Khani (iron mine) owing to the large number of iron mines throughout the village.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, operation of the mine here would contribute to the country's economy and scores of youths will get employment. "We are compelled to use imported iron and steel due to the inability to operate the mine that is at our doorstep," lamented Bal Bahadur Chhetri, a local. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, although several efforts were made by the then District Development Committee 20 years back for operating the mine after consulting with the central government and various geologists and mines experts, these efforts were not successful. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19833', 'image' => '20240129093604_ore.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 21:34:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20104', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Surges by 10.26%, Closing at 2104.72', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">January 29: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index experienced a double-digit growth of 10.26%, closing at 2104.72 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Throughout today’s trading session, 311 scrips were traded on the NEPSE, involving 103,153 transactions. The total of 12,322,705 shares were exchanged, with a total value of Rs 4.56 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Himalayan Reinsurance Limited (HRL) dominated the turnover, conducting transactions worth Rs 60 crores and closing at a market price of Rs 670 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Union Hydro Power Limited (UNHPL) saw the most significant gain, rising by 10% and hitting the positive circuit for the day.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> On the other hand, Garima Debenture 2085 (GBBD85) experienced the highest loss at 10%, closing at a market price of Rs 886.50.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the sector indices, all sectors concluded in positive territory, except for the Banking Subindex, Microfinance, and Non-Life Insurance Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> The Others Index exhibited the highest gain at 1.64%, while the Development Bank Index had the least gain at 0.07%. The Banking Subindex, Microfinance Index, and Non-Life Insurance lost 0.06%, 0.05%, and 0.11%, respectively.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19831', 'image' => '20240129033624_collage (31).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:35:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20103', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Prepares Concept Paper for Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding', 'sub_title' => 'P2P will end the compulsion to rely on banks for loans', 'summary' => 'January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The situation of having to rely solely on banks and financial institutions (BFIs) for loans required by the industries is now going to end. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has announced the concept of 'Peer to Peer (P2P) Lending' and 'crowdfunding' and has indicated that it is going to open an alternative arrangement for loans in Nepal as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After a decade and a half of being in trend in the world, the central bank announced in the monetary policy of the fiscal year <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2079/80</span> that it will conduct a study on P2P lending and crowdfunding to increase credit access to start-up businesses. Two years after the announcement, the central bank on Sunday released a concept paper on P2P lending and crowdfunding, saying that it would be helpful to increase access to credit and raise resources for the investment of small and medium enterprises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prakash Kumar Shrestha, executive director of the research department of Nepal Rastra Bank, says that PTP lending and crowdfunding will be suitable for individuals or organizations to get the resources they need to do business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“PTP Lending is a loan transaction between individuals through technology,” he said, adding, “We are only in the initial stage of study of this provision which has been in practice for a long time in the world.” He said that it can be applied in Nepal too.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In Nepal, there is an increasing attraction towards banking venture capital and private equity funds to raise the necessary investment for start-ups and small and medium industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Siddhantraj Pandey, president of Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd, who is working in the field of alternative investment, says that the concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding, announced by the central bank, will open up new avenues.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>Until now, we have an understanding that only banks and financial institutions give loans," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the discussion about P2P lending and crowdfunding has just started in Nepal, it has already become popular in the world a decade and a half ago. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The concept of P2P lending and crowdfunding became trending during the global economic recession of 2008 in order to collect investment from individual to individual as banks and financial institutions were unable to provide loans necessary for doing business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this concept, people connect through an online platform and they give and take loans through it. In order to reduce the risk of such transactions, the concept paper points out that there is a need for regulation on online platform registration, loan limits, and interest rates. It is also mentioned that the public should be informed about its use and risks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the concept paper, it is pointed out that since P2P lending and crowdfunding are new concepts in Nepal, there is a need for adequate discussion and strong regulation. In the first phase, the central bank has been suggested to give licenses to some companies for such transactions and test them and proceed only on the basis of their success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a study conducted by the central bank, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33 </span>percent of the start-up businesses in Nepal have disclosed that they raise capital from ancestral property. According to Nepal Rastra Bank's SME Financing Report <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2019</span>, the share of taking loans from banks and financial institutions for start-up businesses is only <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">16 </span>percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19830', 'image' => '20240129033259_peertopeer-trading-p2p-lending-investment-loan-tiny-people-enter-into-deposit-agreement_501813-909.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 15:32:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20102', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Sovereign Credit Rating Begins', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: Fitch Ratings, an international rating company, has started Nepal's sovereign credit rating. DFID has pledged to bear all the expenses of the rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings was entrusted in <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2076. </span>However, at that time the rating was stopped due to the onset of coronavirus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has now urged DFID for financial assistance for the rating. As per the government’s request, the donor agency itself has asked Fitch Ratings to undertake the sovereign rating of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Nepal will not spend any amount for the rating while the donor agency will bear all the expenses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dhaniram Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Fitch Ratings is currently working on preparing the methodology for the rating. First of all, the rating company will look at the country's economic index and all other indices. For that, the company will request for data from the Ministry of Finance, Nepal Rastra Bank, National Planning Commission, and National Statistics Office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The data requested by the rating company will have to be provided when needed," he said, adding, "There will also be a paper workshop." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The financial division of the Ministry of Finance is preparing for the paper workshop. According to Sharma, the donor agency and the rating company have promised to complete the rating work within three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"</span>The sooner Nepal furnishes the requested data, the quicker the rating results will be delivered," said Sharma. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government had announced in the budget of the fiscal year (FY) <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2075/76</span> to conduct the sovereign credit rating of the country. Even though this subject has been included in the budget since then, the rating work has not been done until now due to concerns that the rating results would not be as expected due to the impact of the coronavirus</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Country rating is necessary to get information about investment environment, returns from investment etc. Although the Government of Nepal has been vigorously raising the issue of bringing in foreign investment, it has not been able to attract FDI due to the lack of sovereign credit rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">So far, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are not rated among the South Asian countries. India has got triple B rating.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The reason why Nepal has not opted for a country rating until now is due to the fear of a bad report. However, experts have been saying that the government should not back down. At present, half a dozen banks, including one microfinance, have brought loans from abroad. Most of these loans came from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank Group. Apart from this, some loans have also been received from Switzerland, Germany, Dubai and Singapore.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Investors look at the credit rating of the country before investing. In order to increase investment, most countries conduct country rating from time to time. The work of rating which has not been carried out so far has been carried forward taking into consideration the upcoming investment summit. In the world, there are agencies such as Standard and Poor's (S&P) and Moody's, along with Fitch Ratings, which do credit rating of countries.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19829', 'image' => '20240129025111_20240125023341_fitch-ratings-1671551049.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 14:50:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20101', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Private Sector Dissatisfied with Electricity Bill', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">January 29: The private sector power producers have expressed concerns about the new electricity bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They have requested the government to amend the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span> <span style="font-size:14.0pt">and implement it instead of formulating new laws. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The energy promoters associated with Independent Power Producers of Nepal (IPPAN), Nepal Solar Power Producers Association, among others made such a request to the government during a programme organized by the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives to discuss the 'Electricity Bill </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2080</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">' submitted for decision in the Parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They argued that most of the problems in the energy sector will be solved when the Electricity Act </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2049</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> is amended and fully implemented.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Most of the participants during the discussion also raised questions about the relevance of the new electricity bill. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arguing the new bill proposed by the government would cause inconvenience to the private sector, they demanded that the existing law related to electricity should be amended.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">They also said that the new bill is not friendly towards the private sector. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that the government is trying to control the private sector instead of encouraging it by introducing a new bill. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19828', 'image' => '20240129112235_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:22:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20100', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Oranges worth Rs 570 Million in Six Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 29: The import of oranges has increased in this fiscal year compared to last fiscal year. Nepal has imported oranges worth more than Rs 570 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, Nepal has imported 83,17,629 kilograms of oranges worth Rs Rs 570 million in the review period. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Compared to the same period of last fiscal year, the import of oranges has increased by 64 percent in terms of value and 41 percent in terms of quantity this year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, Nepal imported 58,76,860 kg of oranges worth Rs 348 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported oranges mostly from India, South Africa and China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In the last six months, Nepal imported most of the oranges from India. The country imported 79,02,991 kg of orange worth Rs 514.7 million from India. Similarly, 364,648 kg of oranges have been imported from South Africa worth Rs 53 million. Similarly, 49,990 kg of oranges worth Rs 5.8 million have been imported from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While the country has been importing oranges worth millions of rupees from far-away countries, the farmers of rural areas of Nepal a struggling to supply oranges to the market due to the poor condition of roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A recent news report published by the state-owned RSS says that the farmers of of Jaljala rural muncicpality-1, Banskharka, in Parbat district have been facing problems in transporting oranges to the market due to the bad condition of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The farmers complained that transporting oranges in small vehicles increases the time and cost of the product.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19827', 'image' => '20240129112135_intro-1656288926.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 11:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20099', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Nilgiri II Hydropower Project Completed ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The construction of Nilgiri Khola II Cascade hydropower project with a capacity of 71 MW has been completed in Narchang, Annapurna rural municipality-4, of Myagdi district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is the largest hydropower project constructed in Myagdi so far. The test of power generation by pouring water into the tunnel from has also started, said Upendraraj Gautam, a representative of Nilgiri Khola Hydropower Company Limited, the promoter company of the project. A 4,275 meter long tunnel has been constructed from Chotepa to the power house in Dovilna. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the construction of Humkhola Dam and Chotepa Power House of Nilgiri I has reached its final stage. The installation of the equipment has started after the construction of the building of the power house. About 80 percent of the physical progress of the Niligiri first has been accomplished. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both the projects, with an estimated cost of Rs 13 billion, are run-of-river projects. The electricity generated from Niligiri project will be connected to the central grid through the 220 KV Dana sub-station. A transmission line of 220 KV capacity of 7.4 km distance connecting Dana substation through Chotepa-Dobilna has been constructed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19826', 'image' => '20240129105543_hydro vector.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:55:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20098', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Possibility of Snowfall Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 29: The weather in the hill areas of the country is cloudy today (Monday) while it is clear in the rest of Nepal. This is due to the partial effect of the westerly winds in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, most of the Tarai region of the country is affected by fog, according to the Weather Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will remain partly cloudy to mostly clear in the hill areas of the country this afternoon. However, there is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of high hills and mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali provinces. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Later tonight, the weather will be partly cloudy in hill areas and mainly clear in the rest of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Daily life, health, transportation and air services may be affected as most of the places in the Tarai will be covered by fog today, says the department. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Valley has witnessed declining temperature for some days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The minimum temperature in the Kathmandu Valley was recorded at 2.1degree Celsius on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist at the Weather Forecasting Division, Min Kumar Aryal, informed that Kathmandu witnessed the lowest temperature of the year on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Jumla had the minimum temperature measured at minus 4.9 degree Celsius and Jomsom at 4.5 degree Celsius. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19825', 'image' => '20240129101109_20231120013629_20190208014800_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 10:10:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20097', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Process to Enlist Panauti in List of World Heritage Sites in Final Stage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">January 28: Panauti, a historical, religious, cultural and archeological city in Kavrepalanchowk, has reached the final stage of being enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The work to complete the criteria of UNESCO to enlist specially ward no 7 of Panauti has reached the final phase, according to Panauti Municipality. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The UNESCO had proposed to enlist the area in the list of World Heritage Sites. All necessary processes which are to be fulfilled before enlisting in the World Heritage Sites have reached the final stage, it is said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Mayor of Panauti Municipality, Ram Sharan Bhandari, said the necessary document would be sent to UNSECO through Department of Archeology as most of the criteria of UNESCO have been fulfilled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Bhandari added preparation was underway for the discussion in local-level about whether or not the community could preserve the area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Christian Manhurt, Head of the UNESCO Office in Nepal, had inspected historical, religious and archeological heritages of Panauti after activities were forwarded to enlist Panauti in the World Heritage Sites in 2079 BS. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Panauti municipality had forwarded a process by allocating necessary budget after Manhurt informed the local people's representatives that UNESCO was ready to enlist shrines, temples and houses having uniqueness in the list of the World Heritage Sites. (RSS) <br /> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-29', 'modified' => '2024-01-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19824', 'image' => '20240129060146_collage (18).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-29 05:59:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20095', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Improvement in Investment Environment', 'sub_title' => 'IBN Organises Workshop ahead of Third Investment Summit', 'summary' => 'January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: The Investment Board Nepal organized a workshop in collaboration with Indian companies as a preparation for the upcoming Third Investment Summit. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The board organized the event in collaboration with KPMG India on Friday as a preparation for the Third Investment Summit to be held in Kathmandu on </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28 and 29</span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the workshop, discussions were held on the issues of legal, procedural and regulatory reforms, as well as innovation-based initiatives to improve the investment environment in Nepal. The participants of the workshop emphasized on the improvement of the investment environment to promote investment from domestic and foreign private sectors in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Addressing the workshop, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, said that the country’s potential is largely untapped and underutilized. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"For this reason, more investment is necessary for Nepal," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance Minister Mahat added that the investments made in Nepal's tourism, agricultural business and information technology sectors will give good returns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha highlighted that the private sector investments are crucial for the sustainable and inclusive growth trajectory for the graduation of Nepal into a developing country by 2026.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said that addressing and facilitating the interest of investors investing in Nepal will send a positive message to other potential investors in the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sushil Bhatt, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, said that the third investment summit will provide significant opportunities to the potential investors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "By revising the investment law, necessary homework is being done to attract investment in the strategic infrastructure of connectivity and tourism, information technology and manufacturing industry," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Acting Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Neelam Dhungana Timsina informed about the amendment of the Foreign Investment and Foreign Loan Regulations, which does not require the pre-approval of Nepal Rastra Bank to finance foreign investment and the facilitation regarding repatriation of profits. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chief Executive Officer of KPMG in India Yezdi Nagporewalla said that the upcoming investment conference will attract investors who are looking for investment opportunities in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19823', 'image' => '20240128030807_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:06:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20096', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Provides Scholarships to Engineering Students', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 28: Ncell has awarded 'Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Award' to the best students studying in five faculties of the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk. This is the 10th year of the Ncell Scholarship and Excellence Awards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Under this program, the best students of Civil, Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer and Mechanical Engineering faculties were awarded by Ncell, a leading private sector telecom service provider of Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Shashidhar Raj Joshi and Ncell Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Jabbor Kayumov jointly presented the scholarships to the students. Similarly, Ncell's Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Bishalmani Upadhyay, Chief Commercial Officer Umer Mohsin and Acting Chief Technology Officer Lena Keshari Kansakar were present on the occasion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kayumov said that he is proud to provide incentives to youth and students for excellence in collaboration with the country's prestigious Institute of Engineering. “It is not only a responsibility to empower the new generation but also a commitment,” he said, adding that it will support innovation, progress and positive change.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dean of the Institute of Engineering Prof. Dr. Joshi said he was proud of the students' achievements. This award program, which was started in 2071, aims to recognize young talents and appreciate their academic excellence while encouraging technical education. The amount of each scholarship and excellence award is Rs 100,000.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19822', 'image' => '20240128031829_21cc-SchAward_English.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 15:17:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20093', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Real Estate Transactions a Mostly Informal: Study', 'sub_title' => 'Study Finds Political Instability has Helped the Informal Economy Grow', 'summary' => 'January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 28: Real estate transactions are found to be almost entirely informal. A study report published recently by the Central Department of Economics of Tribhuvan University mentions that most of the real estate transactions are done informally. According to the report, 99.97 percent of real estate transactions are informal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is mentioned in the report that since real estate transactions are done individually, the purchase and sale is done at a different amount than the price fixed by the government. The contribution of individual houses, which are considered as service sector, is not evaluated and this sector is almost completely informal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, 97.48 percent of transactions in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 50.42 percent in accommodation and food are formal. The report mentions that 62.2 percent of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. There is 84.6 percent employment in this sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When measuring the informal economy, the study report has taken into consideration self-employed individuals who generate their own income by producing consumable goods as well as economic activities that could be either legal or illegal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is also mentioned in the report that the informal economy also contributes to the overall economy, so it is not correct to call such economy as shadow, underground, black, hidden or parallel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report shows that the share of informal transactions in Nepal's economy has been increasing in recent days due to the unstable policies of the government. The share of informal economy to Nepal's gross domestic product has reached about 43 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study has shown that the size of Nepal's informal economy is an average of 42.66 percent of the GDP in the last 19 years. Comparatively, the size of the world's informal economy is only 33 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Professor Dr Shivraj Adhikari, the head of the Department of Economics, said that during the study, it was found that the informal economy has flourished due to political instability. "One of the policies of banning imports was found to increase smuggling in the border area," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Data on the informal economy for the 10-year period covered by the report (from 2010/11 to 2020/21) also shows that its size is expanding. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, based on the national accounting method, the informal economy reached 41.31 percent in the year 2020/21, which was 37.60 percent in the year 2018/19. The study concluded that the size of informal economy exceeding 40 percent is a serious matter and should be reduced.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-01-28', 'modified' => '2024-01-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '19820', 'image' => '20240128014357_Real estate.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-01-28 13:42:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
