On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on…
On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on…
The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude…
KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this…
KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus…
KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July…
DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades…
Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory…
KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent…
KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after…
The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel…
PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris…
KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for…
KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country as the frequency of air crashes is increasing in recent years.…
KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on…
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year.…
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A total of 40,314,517 shares were exchanged, resulting in a substantial turnover of Rs. 15.81 billion. Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) led the market in turnover, achieving a value of Rs. 36.1 crores and closing at Rs. 212.40 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The NEPSE hit the positive circuit breaker twice during the intraday session due to the significant rise in the banking sector. Various policies made public by the central bank are expected to boost the profitability of commercial banks, attracting investors to commercial banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fifteen companies hit the positive circuit with a 10% increase, most of them being commercial banks, indicating significant excitement in the banking sector. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GMFBS) faced the steepest decline, falling by 9.35%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index rose by 5.82%, while the Float Index and Sensitive Float Index surged by 5.03% and 6.56%, respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, only the Microfinance sector ended in the red. The Banking Index led the gains with a 9.89% increase, while the Hotel and Tourism Index experienced the least gain, rising by 0.46%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21392', 'image' => '20240728041728_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 16:14:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Customs Investigating Birgunj ICP Officials', 'sub_title' => 'The officials have been accused of giving clearance to the import of processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil', 'summary' => 'The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Birgunj</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The department made the discovery after testing the imported palm oil on suspicion that traders might have imported the processed palm oil in the name of crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The customs office had cleared the consignment of the palm oil imported by RMC Foods Pvt. Ltd. on July 9.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The officials had given the clearance without examining the oil, against the directive of the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Dhundi Prasad Niraula, director general at the Department of Customs, confirmed that an officer and an examiner at the customs office were summoned to the department for investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Officer Sunita Paudel and examiner Ramesh Majhi were asked in writing on July 14 to come to the department within 24 hours.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“There might be involvement of more individuals. Only an officer and an examiner could not have dared it,” said a high level official at the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Investigation and Compliance Branch under the Department of Customs has been asked to move the investigation forward and submit a report within three days, according to Niraula. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Traders are found lying about their consignment as they are charged 10% import duty on crude palm oil and 15% on the processed one, department officials say.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department suspects an alliance among the customs officials and traders. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Importers can get the clearance of the goods, whose sample is under examination, by keeping the additional revenue they are liable to pay as a security. However, Paudel and Majhi had given the clearance to the processed palm oil by collecting the revenue after categorising it as crude palm oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">It was found out that an additional security of 5% was charged to the trader under the directive of Chief Customs Administrator Dilaram Panthi after the Department of Customs moved forward the investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The office document showed that around Rs. 2.2 million was collected from the trader as 5 % customs duty and VAT on July 15, a day after the department wrote the letter summoning the officials. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the attempts to reach Panthi and Paudel for their comments on the matter were unsuccessful, the Information Officer at the Department of Customs Punya Bikram Khadka and Information Officer at Birgunj Customs Raghu Lal Karna said they were not aware about the matter. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">There is a legal provision of 200% fine on anyone found guilty of lying about the category while importing the palm oil. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Meanwhile, individuals aware of the matter said that attempts were being made to protect the two officials from any proceedings as they happen to be the members of the employee union close to the ruling political party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The investigation report is yet to come despite the end of the three-day deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21391', 'image' => '20240728032715_1642659566.ICP Birgunj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:25:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Sales to Bangladesh Uncertain due to Students' Protest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement's signing would have marked the first time Nepal could export electricity to a third country besides India. Since 2021, Nepal has been exporting electricity to India through a competitive method.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A tripartite agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board was scheduled for July 28. The agreement would have allowed Nepal to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh at the rate of 6.4 US cents per unit for five years, specifically during the six months of the rainy season.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the Bangladeshi government team informed that they could not attend the signing ceremony due to the ongoing student movement in the country, causing a setback for the NEA's plan to export electricity to Bangladesh. Naveen Raj Singh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, told New Business Age, "The signing of the agreement has been postponed for an indefinite period."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh explained that the continued protests in Bangladesh have made it uncertain when the agreement will be signed. He said, "Even if they come for an agreement after the movement stops, it may take a month to make the necessary preparations." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh also mentioned that the Energy Minister of Nepal, Deepak Khadka, had invited the Energy Minister from Bangladesh and the Energy Minister and Energy Secretary from India for the agreement but the signing ceremony could not be held.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As a result, the NEA, which aims to export electricity to Bangladesh, now has to wait longer. The NEA is concerned that if the tripartite agreement is not reached soon, it will lose the opportunity to export electricity to Bangladesh during this rainy season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chandan Kumar Ghosh, spokesperson for the NEA, said, "It is not in our hands when the agreement will be made. Our desire is to be able to sell the electricity as soon as possible, but since the agreement is for a long term, there is no need to worry too much if it gets delayed for 1-2 months." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the ministry, after the agreement, 28,800 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh per month. Over the next five months, a total of 144,000 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh, earning the NEA Rs 1.23 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In addition to the tripartite agreement, the bilateral high-level mechanism meeting on energy between Nepal and Bangladesh, scheduled for July 29 and 30 in Pokhara, has also been postponed. The joint secretary level joint working group meeting was scheduled for July 29, and the secretary level joint steering committee meeting was scheduled for July 30.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the bilateral mechanism meeting, discussions or agreements were planned regarding a joint venture to build the Sunkoshi 3 hydropower project with a capacity of 683 MW. Singh previously told New Business Age that Nepal has already sent the draft agreement to Bangladesh. In past bilateral talks, the joint venture agreement was discussed between the NEA and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. According to Ghosh, the agreement has not been finalized, but Bangladesh is willing to build the project.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21390', 'image' => '20240728030832_c70a54ed.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:07:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21662', 'article_category_id' => '229', 'title' => 'Hilton Hotel Comes into Operation in Kathmandu', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.', 'content' => '<h3><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Inaugurating the hotel on Friday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his belief that the new hotel would help attract foreign tourists to Nepal. PM Oli extended his best wishes to the international chain hotel, Hilton. "I believe the operation of Hilton Hotel will contribute to Nepal's tourism and hospitality," he stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Hilton Hotel, built by the Hotel Shankar Group with an investment of Rs 8 billion, began construction seven years ago. The facility boasts 174 rooms. Hilton, an international hotel chain, operates under 24 different brands spread across 126 countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Industry (DoI) registered over 516 new hotel projects between 2014 and mid-January 2020, with investments totaling Rs 96.38 billion. About a dozen new star and deluxe hotels have come into operation in Nepal since February 2022 in the post-pandemic period.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21389', 'image' => '20240728014107_hilton.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:40:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sees Positive Circuit Breaker, Trading Closed for 20 Minutes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28. As a result, NEPSE announced that trading was suspended for 20 minutes as the index surged by four percent within one minute and 31 seconds after the start of today's trading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The positive effect of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2081/82 has been evident in the capital market. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21388', 'image' => '20240728015803_20240208034831_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:57:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mahakali Irrigation Project Sees Only 22 Percent Physical Progress in 18 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later. Initiated in the year 2006, only 28 kilometers of the main canal has been completed so far.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project, estimated to cost Rs 35 billion, has spent Rs 7.68 billion till date. Aimed at providing irrigation facilities to 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts, the project has been delayed due to various reasons, including budget constraints.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Twenty-two sub-canals are under construction in the area where the main canal has been built, but water has not yet been released into the 28-kilometer canal. Senior Engineer of the Mahakali Irrigation third phase project, Lekhnath Subedi, stated that water has not been released due to the Indian side's stance of not providing water before the formal inauguration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We have already informed our higher office about it," said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Divisional Engineer Subedi reported that the project has recorded 22 percent progress so far. According to the decision made on February 11, 2021, the canal stretching up to Malakheti of Kailali is to be completed by FY 2030/31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Only Rs 2 billion has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year, which is very negligible. If adequate budget is allocated and disputes relating to compensation distribution and the use of forest areas are addressed, the project would be completed within the stipulated deadline," Subedi added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various issues, such as lack of adequate budget, disputes over compensation distribution, and usage of forest areas, have impeded the project's progress.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 28.9 km of the 151 km main canal has been constructed under this project, which was initiated in FY 2005/06. There are 22 branch canals under construction in the areas surrounding the main canal. These branch canals are expected to provide irrigation facilities to 5,200 hectares of land by the coming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project is estimated to irrigate a total of 33,520 hectares of land in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, paddy was planted on only 43 percent of the fields in Kanchanpur district as of mid-July. Of the total 161,741 hectares of arable land in Kanchanpur, only 59,602 hectares are used for farming. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21387', 'image' => '20240728010751_mahakali_irrega4.jpg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:06:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21660', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy ‘Cautiously Accommodative’ to make the Economy Vibrant: NRB', 'sub_title' => 'Economists, however, argue it might fail to address the issues plaguing Nepal’s economy', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Kathmandu, July 28</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy eased many provisions to help the construction sector as contractors are facing financial trouble particularly due to the government's failure to pay their dues.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private sector’s demand for the working capital guideline has also been addressed by the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank on Friday (July 26) unveiled the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, 2024-25, which began on July 16. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said, while unveiling the policy, that the central bank has continued its agenda of a ‘cautiously accommodative’ monetary policy to make the economy vibrant. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the private sector has welcomed the monetary policy, economists argue it might fail to address the issues which have plagued the economy for the past few years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite the availability of excess liquidity in the banking system, stagnation in credit expansion and surge in non-performing loans have troubled the banks and financial institutions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to the central bank’s data, the credit expansion to the private sector from Banks and Financial Institutions increased by 5.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year, until mid-June. The credit expansion growth target for the last fiscal year was 11.5%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, the overall non-performing loans ratio was 3.98 in the first nine months, until mid-April, of the last fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sunil KC, CEO of NMB Bank, said that the new monetary policy has tried to identify and address the issues in the overall economy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It gives the positive vibe to support the vibrant economic activities,” said KC, who is also the president of the Nepal Bankers’ Association. “But, the monetary policy has its own limitations.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Adhikair said the new monetary policy aims to direct credit expansion towards the productive sectors to help the government achieve its target of 6% growth rate in the current fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For this purpose, the growth rate of the broad money supply and the credit to the private sector from the BFIs is projected to be 12% and 12.5%, respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To boost the demand, the new monetary policy has reduced the bank rate to 6.5% from 7% and the policy rate to 5% from 5.5%, while keeping the deposit collection rate unchanged at 3%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Bank rate, policy rate and the deposit collection rate are the upper, middle and lower limits of the NRB’s interest rate corridor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While BFIs have to pay the central bank an interest as per the bank rate for the Standing Liquidity Facility, policy rate determines the interest in case of overnight repo.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The reduction in bank rate and policy rate is expected to bring down the interest rate on credit in the long run, which contributes to credit expansion. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s construction sector is yet to revive itself from the shocks of post-Covid economic slowdown and surge in oil prices following Russia-Ukraine conflict. The construction sector too has welcomed the new monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Besides the external causes, lack of payment from the government has made the matter worse for the contractors, said Rabi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN). “Government still owes us around Rs 60 billion for the completed projects.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank has tried to address the concerns of contractors by extending the deadline for the repayment of their loans till mid-December this year. The contractors will also not be blacklisted in cases of dishonoured cheques until further provision is made regarding their credit information. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Singh, from FCAN, said the new monetary policy has attempted to address their concerns.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We had made the same demand with the same governor when the NRB was formulating a monetary policy for fiscal year 2021-22,” said Singh. “We welcome it, but it has only provided a temporary solution.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We are reeling from a lack of capital, but we cannot take additional loans for having a bad credit history. The authorities concerned can revitalise the construction industry by providing us additional loans, equal to at least 25% of our existing loans.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy, especially the one regarding the construction sector, has surprised economists.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya argued that the central bank came under pressure after the government’s budget could not help revitalise the economy. It caused everybody, including the private sector and traders, to put their hope on monetary policy, he said. “It is the first time the central bank has talked so much about the construction sector in its monetary policy.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The monetary policy diverted from its core objectives,” said Acharya. “It should have been focused on ensuring financial stability to create a favourable environment for investment.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">But people have started to regard it as a policy for expanding credit to the private sector, Acharya added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Acharya claimed our economic cycle which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic was further disrupted by the then monetary policy after more than Rs. 200 billion was supplied in the market as a refinance facility during the post-Covid period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Though there was a massive growth in credit expansion, the money was not invested in productive sectors, but in speculative sectors such as share market and real estate,” Acharya added. “What is the guarantee that credit expansion, which the new monetary policy envisions, will go to the productive sector?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy also scrapped the Rs. 200 million cap on the share mortgage loans for institutional investors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Acharya suspects that big investors will increase their investment in share market by taking loans. “The same cycle might repeat if the money goes to the unproductive sector.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Below are other key highlights of the new monetary policy:</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Reduction in loan loss provision on performing loans from 1.2% to 1.1% to ease the pressure on the bank's capital fund. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To coordinate with the government for making necessary laws for the establishment of a separate mechanism for regulation and monitoring of the cooperatives.</span></span></span></span><br /> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank says it will facilitate the government to return as much as Rs. 500,000 each to depositors of problematic cooperatives, by recovering them from the directors’ properties.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has postponed the deadline for credit integration under the working capital loans by 1 year.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The Rs. 10 million cap fixed for micro, cottage and small industry will be reviewed,” reads the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Existing provisions will be reviewed to include industries supporting agriculture, producing farming tools, and sectors related to information technology, tourism and domestic production on the list of sectors which are getting up to Rs. 20 million loan with interest rate at premiums not exceeding 2% on the base rate.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private equity and venture capital firms will not be blacklisted if any institution they had invested in gets blacklisted for not being able to repay its debt.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For the purpose of establishing an Asset Management Company to manage the non-performing and non-banking assets of BFIs, a draft of the Asset Management Act will be made and presented to the government.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A guideline will be prepared for the maximum utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in the financial sector after carrying out required study and identifying risks.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The aspiring Nepali migrant workers having labour permits will be provided a collateral-free loan, after assurance that they will send the money home to a bank account.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has encouraged microfinance institutions for merger and acquisitions. It has also made a provision for rescheduling of loans by paying a certain percent of interest, for customers who are unable to pay their loans at such institutions.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increment in the foreign exchange limit for Draft/ Telex Transfer (TT) facilities in the import of goods from $35,000 to $50,000</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increase in import limit through ‘Document Against payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ from existing $60,000 to $100,000</span></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Central bank to move forward the work of designing the Wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Necessary infrastructure to be prepared to fully operate the National Payment Switch.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Required facilitation will be provided for debt restructuring and risk management to entrepreneurs and businesses making regular payments of their loans despite their businesses being shut down.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">BFIs will be able to count certain amounts from regulatory reserves as Tier 2 Capital, in line with the provisions of the Capital Adequacy Framework, 2015, in such a way that total capital fund will not be more than twice the primary capital fund.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy has also made a provision that banking related operations of a partner company in a joint venture will not be affected if another partner company gets blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21386', 'image' => '20240728121053_20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 12:07:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21659', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Road Accidents in Kathmandu Valley Down by 16 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, the number of accidents decreased by 16.8 percent, and human fatalities fell by 6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Bishwaraj Khadka reported that 177 people died in 8,881 road accidents in FY 2023/24, while 187 people died in 10,675 road accidents in the previous fiscal year. In FY 2022/23, 191 people lost their lives in 10,733 road accidents.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Khadka attributed the reduction in road accidents to various factors, including public awareness programs, strict security checks, and various traffic campaigns, which, he argued, made traffic management more effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Plans to enhance traffic management to further reduce road accidents have been proposed for the current fiscal year. Public awareness programs encouraged road users to comply with traffic rules and take road safety seriously. These campaigns have directly benefited 477,303 people so far, said SP Khadka.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Office Chief SSP Jivan Kumar Shrestha added that the campaigns also helped reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs, non-compliance with lane discipline, and over-speeding. Traffic police took action against over one million traffic rule violators, collecting over Rs 720 million in fines.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Regular patrols are conducted in inner streets, narrow roads, and river corridors, while traffic beats have been expanded in several places, SSP Shrestha noted. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21385', 'image' => '20240728113509_20240103104030_KTM eight by six - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:34:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21657', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bhedetar Hoteliers Thrilled by Sky Walk Tower Launch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 28: The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Wonders Amusement Parks and Attractions Pvt. Ltd. has invested Rs 200 million to operate the Sky Walk Tower on 11 ropani (1.38 hectares) of land in Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the tower now operational, tourism activities in the area are expected to increase, according to local tourism entrepreneurs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tumaraj Limbu, the president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar, expressed his belief that the launch of the tower will invigorate tourism activities.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "The inauguration of the tower has already attracted more tourists, and we expect the hotel business to improve," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Shrestha, the operator of Arun Top Hotel, who has been in the hotel business for a long time, mentioned that the increased tourist traffic would also benefit the sale of local agricultural products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lilaraj Lawati, former president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar and operator of Lawati Corner Hotel, highlighted that the project would significantly support more than a hundred large hotels operating in the area.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the summer, many tourists from the Terai region visit Bhedetar. The area, situated in the Chure hills, offers panoramic views of the Himalayas, hills, and the Terai plains. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Hotel Association, over 2,000 tourists from various parts of eastern India and Nepal visit Bhedetar daily for sightseeing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Jitendra Rumdali Rai, the chairman of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, stated that the operation of the tower would contribute to the development of tourism in the area. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Currently, there are over 200 small and large hotels in operation in Bhedetar. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21383', 'image' => '20240728070427_collage (78).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 07:01:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21656', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'France's High-Speed Railway Hit by 'Sabotage' during Olympics ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of "sabotage". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight," the national train operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "heavily disrupted" and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are conducted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them", the statement said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The southeastern line was not affected as "a malicious act was foiled". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">- Olympics under heavy security - </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The attacks were launched as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The parade on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At Paris's Montparnasse train station, dozens of passengers were waiting for more information about their trips after delays of 30 minutes to almost two hours were announced. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29," read one of the signs in the departure hall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We arrived around 7:00 am but we were told that we might not be able to leave before Monday," said 27-year-old student Jocelyn, who had planned to travel to Bretagne and refused to give her full name. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We expected it to be a bit chaotic in Paris with the opening ceremony scheduled for this evening, but we didn't think it could be this bad," she said. –AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => 'Olympics, France, Paris, sabotage, railway', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21382', 'image' => '20240727100040_parisOlympics_0.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:59:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21655', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy Encourages Microfinance Institutions for Merger', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.</span><br /> The monetary policy has prioritized protecting clients' interest in response to the complaints regarding service of such institutions. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said necessary regulatory arrangements would be placed keeping the protection of clients' interest based on international good practices in priority.<br /> The monetary policy has made arrangements of contemporary review on regulatory arrangement related to interest rate on loan and services charged by microfinance institutions, as well as rescheduling the loan by paying a certain percent of interest for customers who are unable to pay their loans to the microfinance institutions. -RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21381', 'image' => '20240727094527_20220713054958_merger.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21653', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nine Aircrafts Crashed in Nepal in Twelve Years Killing 205', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country as the frequency of air crashes is increasing in recent years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country, according to the records of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal</span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. Since the crash of the Sita Air aircraft in September 2012, Nepal Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Goma Air, US-Bangla, Summit Air, Tara Air, Yeti Airlines and Saurya Airlines have met with fatal accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the review period, 205 people lost their lives in plane crashes. Among all the crashes, the Yeti ATR-72 crash in January last year, in Pokhara, had the highest casualties. Altogether 72 people including the crew members died in the incident, which is the biggest air disaster involving a domestic aircraft in Nepal in terms of human casualties.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">All the crashes saw passengers killed except the Turkish Airlines runway excursion incident in TIA.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <table cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Number of crashes with casualties and injuries in 12 years</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Date Airlines Number of Casualties and Injuries</span></strong></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 2024 Saurya 18 fatalities and 1 injured</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 2023 Yeti 72 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2022</span> Tara 22 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 2019</span> Summit 3 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2017 US-Bangla 51 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2017</span> Goma(Summit) 2 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2014 Turkish 1 minor injury</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2013 NAC 18 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 2012 Sita 19 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em>Source: CAAN</em></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21380', 'image' => '20240726030923_-1x-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 15:08:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21654', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub Hosts Third Global Talk on Sustainable Agriculture', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday. The theme of the session was “Policies for Progress: Enabling Environments for Sustainable Agriculture.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The keynote speaker for the event was Vanshica Kant, a climate, social, and human development expert from the Asian Development Bank’s Delhi Office, reads a statement issued by the Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub. Her presentation focused on the critical need for sustainable agriculture, citing that 25-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from this sector and that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the organisers of the event, the session featured a panel discussion titled “Strategic Pathways for Achieving Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal: Policy, Implementation, and Collaboration.” The diverse panel included Brinda Kathayat, member of the Federal Parliament; Ashmita Gautam from the FAO; Sunita Nhempahuki, founder of R&D Innovative Solution; and Dr Krishna P Poudel, an agricultural policy analyst and activist.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kant advocated for innovative financing and cooperative models to transition towards sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture. “We must establish innovative financing and co-operation models for sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture to facilitate this transition,” she said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In her remarks, MP Kathayat stressed the importance of sustainable agriculture for Nepal and called for greater attention and sectoral collaboration. “There hasn’t been adequate attention given to this sector. That must change for this sector to thrive and be an economic driver,” Kathayat emphasized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, was established in 2012. It currently engages over 30 active shapers across five projects focusing on mental health, climate change, heritage promotion, and political leadership.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21379', 'image' => '20240726050453_global.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 17:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21650', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB unveils Monetary Policy 2024/25', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Policy Rate reduced to 5 percent, Bank Rate to 6.5 percent</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Credit Expansion Target of 12.5 percent for FY 2024/25</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Existing Maximum Margin Loan Limit for Institutional Investors Abolished</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Asset Management Company to be Established</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Flexible Approach for Construction Businesses</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>NewBiz Report</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">26 </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. While announcing the new monetary policy on Friday, Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the policy rate has been reduced from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. Similarly, the bank rate has been reduced from 7 percent to 6.5 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bankhas set a credit expansion target of 12.5 percent for the current fiscal year. This is an increase from last year's target of 11 percent, of which only half was achieved. Unveiling the Monetary Policy 2024/25, the central bank has lowered the upper limit of the interest rate corridor from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. This adjustment is expected to result in a reduction in interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has introduced flexibility in margin loans by abolishing the Rs 200million limit for the institutional investors. Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, during the announcement of the new monetary policy, stated that the existing maximum loan limit of Rs 200 million for margin lending to institutional investors primarily focused on capital market investments will be abolished.Top of Form</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has announced the establishment of an asset management company. Governor Adhikari stated that a draft of the Asset Management Act will be prepared and submitted to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The new company will focus on managing non-banking assets and non-performing assets of banks and financial institutions. In response to the increase in bad loans, the central bank has advocated for this new structure to better address these challenges. The Asset Management Company (AMC) aims to manage distressed assets and mitigate the impact of bad loans on the banking sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced a more flexible approach for the construction sector. In its latest monetary policy announcement on Friday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari stated that the interest payment period for loans extended to construction businesses will be extended until mid-December 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the new policy, construction businesses will not be blacklisted solely due to check dishonor, unless specified otherwise by credit notification provisions. Additionally, measures will be implemented to ensure that the banking activities of other joint venture (JV) partners are not disrupted by the blacklisting of any single JV partner. Should the Government of Nepal extend the construction period, arrangements will be made to renew the guarantees provided by banks and financial institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank will begin developing the design characteristics of a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), drawing from studies of central bank electronic currencies.Governor Adhikari also announced that preparations will be made for the necessary infrastructure and institutional framework to fully operationalize the National Payment Switch.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21378', 'image' => '20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 13:29:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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' => '21666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rise in Banking Sector Propels NEPSE to Grow by 113.42 Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 28: On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new monetary policy by the NRB has emboldened investors, being described as flexible, convenient, and investment-friendly. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the removal of the 200 million cap on institutional investors' loans against shares has added more excitement to the stock market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session, 318 scrips were traded through 163,810 transactions on the NEPSE. A total of 40,314,517 shares were exchanged, resulting in a substantial turnover of Rs. 15.81 billion. Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) led the market in turnover, achieving a value of Rs. 36.1 crores and closing at Rs. 212.40 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The NEPSE hit the positive circuit breaker twice during the intraday session due to the significant rise in the banking sector. Various policies made public by the central bank are expected to boost the profitability of commercial banks, attracting investors to commercial banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fifteen companies hit the positive circuit with a 10% increase, most of them being commercial banks, indicating significant excitement in the banking sector. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GMFBS) faced the steepest decline, falling by 9.35%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index rose by 5.82%, while the Float Index and Sensitive Float Index surged by 5.03% and 6.56%, respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, only the Microfinance sector ended in the red. The Banking Index led the gains with a 9.89% increase, while the Hotel and Tourism Index experienced the least gain, rising by 0.46%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21392', 'image' => '20240728041728_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 16:14:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Customs Investigating Birgunj ICP Officials', 'sub_title' => 'The officials have been accused of giving clearance to the import of processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil', 'summary' => 'The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Birgunj</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The department made the discovery after testing the imported palm oil on suspicion that traders might have imported the processed palm oil in the name of crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The customs office had cleared the consignment of the palm oil imported by RMC Foods Pvt. Ltd. on July 9.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The officials had given the clearance without examining the oil, against the directive of the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Dhundi Prasad Niraula, director general at the Department of Customs, confirmed that an officer and an examiner at the customs office were summoned to the department for investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Officer Sunita Paudel and examiner Ramesh Majhi were asked in writing on July 14 to come to the department within 24 hours.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“There might be involvement of more individuals. Only an officer and an examiner could not have dared it,” said a high level official at the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Investigation and Compliance Branch under the Department of Customs has been asked to move the investigation forward and submit a report within three days, according to Niraula. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Traders are found lying about their consignment as they are charged 10% import duty on crude palm oil and 15% on the processed one, department officials say.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department suspects an alliance among the customs officials and traders. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Importers can get the clearance of the goods, whose sample is under examination, by keeping the additional revenue they are liable to pay as a security. However, Paudel and Majhi had given the clearance to the processed palm oil by collecting the revenue after categorising it as crude palm oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">It was found out that an additional security of 5% was charged to the trader under the directive of Chief Customs Administrator Dilaram Panthi after the Department of Customs moved forward the investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The office document showed that around Rs. 2.2 million was collected from the trader as 5 % customs duty and VAT on July 15, a day after the department wrote the letter summoning the officials. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the attempts to reach Panthi and Paudel for their comments on the matter were unsuccessful, the Information Officer at the Department of Customs Punya Bikram Khadka and Information Officer at Birgunj Customs Raghu Lal Karna said they were not aware about the matter. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">There is a legal provision of 200% fine on anyone found guilty of lying about the category while importing the palm oil. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Meanwhile, individuals aware of the matter said that attempts were being made to protect the two officials from any proceedings as they happen to be the members of the employee union close to the ruling political party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The investigation report is yet to come despite the end of the three-day deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21391', 'image' => '20240728032715_1642659566.ICP Birgunj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:25:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Sales to Bangladesh Uncertain due to Students' Protest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement's signing would have marked the first time Nepal could export electricity to a third country besides India. Since 2021, Nepal has been exporting electricity to India through a competitive method.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A tripartite agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board was scheduled for July 28. The agreement would have allowed Nepal to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh at the rate of 6.4 US cents per unit for five years, specifically during the six months of the rainy season.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the Bangladeshi government team informed that they could not attend the signing ceremony due to the ongoing student movement in the country, causing a setback for the NEA's plan to export electricity to Bangladesh. Naveen Raj Singh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, told New Business Age, "The signing of the agreement has been postponed for an indefinite period."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh explained that the continued protests in Bangladesh have made it uncertain when the agreement will be signed. He said, "Even if they come for an agreement after the movement stops, it may take a month to make the necessary preparations." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh also mentioned that the Energy Minister of Nepal, Deepak Khadka, had invited the Energy Minister from Bangladesh and the Energy Minister and Energy Secretary from India for the agreement but the signing ceremony could not be held.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As a result, the NEA, which aims to export electricity to Bangladesh, now has to wait longer. The NEA is concerned that if the tripartite agreement is not reached soon, it will lose the opportunity to export electricity to Bangladesh during this rainy season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chandan Kumar Ghosh, spokesperson for the NEA, said, "It is not in our hands when the agreement will be made. Our desire is to be able to sell the electricity as soon as possible, but since the agreement is for a long term, there is no need to worry too much if it gets delayed for 1-2 months." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the ministry, after the agreement, 28,800 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh per month. Over the next five months, a total of 144,000 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh, earning the NEA Rs 1.23 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In addition to the tripartite agreement, the bilateral high-level mechanism meeting on energy between Nepal and Bangladesh, scheduled for July 29 and 30 in Pokhara, has also been postponed. The joint secretary level joint working group meeting was scheduled for July 29, and the secretary level joint steering committee meeting was scheduled for July 30.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the bilateral mechanism meeting, discussions or agreements were planned regarding a joint venture to build the Sunkoshi 3 hydropower project with a capacity of 683 MW. Singh previously told New Business Age that Nepal has already sent the draft agreement to Bangladesh. In past bilateral talks, the joint venture agreement was discussed between the NEA and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. According to Ghosh, the agreement has not been finalized, but Bangladesh is willing to build the project.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21390', 'image' => '20240728030832_c70a54ed.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:07:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21662', 'article_category_id' => '229', 'title' => 'Hilton Hotel Comes into Operation in Kathmandu', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.', 'content' => '<h3><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Inaugurating the hotel on Friday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his belief that the new hotel would help attract foreign tourists to Nepal. PM Oli extended his best wishes to the international chain hotel, Hilton. "I believe the operation of Hilton Hotel will contribute to Nepal's tourism and hospitality," he stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Hilton Hotel, built by the Hotel Shankar Group with an investment of Rs 8 billion, began construction seven years ago. The facility boasts 174 rooms. Hilton, an international hotel chain, operates under 24 different brands spread across 126 countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Industry (DoI) registered over 516 new hotel projects between 2014 and mid-January 2020, with investments totaling Rs 96.38 billion. About a dozen new star and deluxe hotels have come into operation in Nepal since February 2022 in the post-pandemic period.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21389', 'image' => '20240728014107_hilton.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:40:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sees Positive Circuit Breaker, Trading Closed for 20 Minutes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28. As a result, NEPSE announced that trading was suspended for 20 minutes as the index surged by four percent within one minute and 31 seconds after the start of today's trading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The positive effect of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2081/82 has been evident in the capital market. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21388', 'image' => '20240728015803_20240208034831_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:57:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mahakali Irrigation Project Sees Only 22 Percent Physical Progress in 18 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later. Initiated in the year 2006, only 28 kilometers of the main canal has been completed so far.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project, estimated to cost Rs 35 billion, has spent Rs 7.68 billion till date. Aimed at providing irrigation facilities to 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts, the project has been delayed due to various reasons, including budget constraints.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Twenty-two sub-canals are under construction in the area where the main canal has been built, but water has not yet been released into the 28-kilometer canal. Senior Engineer of the Mahakali Irrigation third phase project, Lekhnath Subedi, stated that water has not been released due to the Indian side's stance of not providing water before the formal inauguration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We have already informed our higher office about it," said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Divisional Engineer Subedi reported that the project has recorded 22 percent progress so far. According to the decision made on February 11, 2021, the canal stretching up to Malakheti of Kailali is to be completed by FY 2030/31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Only Rs 2 billion has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year, which is very negligible. If adequate budget is allocated and disputes relating to compensation distribution and the use of forest areas are addressed, the project would be completed within the stipulated deadline," Subedi added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various issues, such as lack of adequate budget, disputes over compensation distribution, and usage of forest areas, have impeded the project's progress.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 28.9 km of the 151 km main canal has been constructed under this project, which was initiated in FY 2005/06. There are 22 branch canals under construction in the areas surrounding the main canal. These branch canals are expected to provide irrigation facilities to 5,200 hectares of land by the coming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project is estimated to irrigate a total of 33,520 hectares of land in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, paddy was planted on only 43 percent of the fields in Kanchanpur district as of mid-July. Of the total 161,741 hectares of arable land in Kanchanpur, only 59,602 hectares are used for farming. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21387', 'image' => '20240728010751_mahakali_irrega4.jpg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:06:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21660', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy ‘Cautiously Accommodative’ to make the Economy Vibrant: NRB', 'sub_title' => 'Economists, however, argue it might fail to address the issues plaguing Nepal’s economy', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Kathmandu, July 28</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy eased many provisions to help the construction sector as contractors are facing financial trouble particularly due to the government's failure to pay their dues.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private sector’s demand for the working capital guideline has also been addressed by the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank on Friday (July 26) unveiled the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, 2024-25, which began on July 16. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said, while unveiling the policy, that the central bank has continued its agenda of a ‘cautiously accommodative’ monetary policy to make the economy vibrant. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the private sector has welcomed the monetary policy, economists argue it might fail to address the issues which have plagued the economy for the past few years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite the availability of excess liquidity in the banking system, stagnation in credit expansion and surge in non-performing loans have troubled the banks and financial institutions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to the central bank’s data, the credit expansion to the private sector from Banks and Financial Institutions increased by 5.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year, until mid-June. The credit expansion growth target for the last fiscal year was 11.5%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, the overall non-performing loans ratio was 3.98 in the first nine months, until mid-April, of the last fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sunil KC, CEO of NMB Bank, said that the new monetary policy has tried to identify and address the issues in the overall economy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It gives the positive vibe to support the vibrant economic activities,” said KC, who is also the president of the Nepal Bankers’ Association. “But, the monetary policy has its own limitations.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Adhikair said the new monetary policy aims to direct credit expansion towards the productive sectors to help the government achieve its target of 6% growth rate in the current fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For this purpose, the growth rate of the broad money supply and the credit to the private sector from the BFIs is projected to be 12% and 12.5%, respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To boost the demand, the new monetary policy has reduced the bank rate to 6.5% from 7% and the policy rate to 5% from 5.5%, while keeping the deposit collection rate unchanged at 3%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Bank rate, policy rate and the deposit collection rate are the upper, middle and lower limits of the NRB’s interest rate corridor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While BFIs have to pay the central bank an interest as per the bank rate for the Standing Liquidity Facility, policy rate determines the interest in case of overnight repo.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The reduction in bank rate and policy rate is expected to bring down the interest rate on credit in the long run, which contributes to credit expansion. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s construction sector is yet to revive itself from the shocks of post-Covid economic slowdown and surge in oil prices following Russia-Ukraine conflict. The construction sector too has welcomed the new monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Besides the external causes, lack of payment from the government has made the matter worse for the contractors, said Rabi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN). “Government still owes us around Rs 60 billion for the completed projects.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank has tried to address the concerns of contractors by extending the deadline for the repayment of their loans till mid-December this year. The contractors will also not be blacklisted in cases of dishonoured cheques until further provision is made regarding their credit information. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Singh, from FCAN, said the new monetary policy has attempted to address their concerns.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We had made the same demand with the same governor when the NRB was formulating a monetary policy for fiscal year 2021-22,” said Singh. “We welcome it, but it has only provided a temporary solution.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We are reeling from a lack of capital, but we cannot take additional loans for having a bad credit history. The authorities concerned can revitalise the construction industry by providing us additional loans, equal to at least 25% of our existing loans.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy, especially the one regarding the construction sector, has surprised economists.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya argued that the central bank came under pressure after the government’s budget could not help revitalise the economy. It caused everybody, including the private sector and traders, to put their hope on monetary policy, he said. “It is the first time the central bank has talked so much about the construction sector in its monetary policy.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The monetary policy diverted from its core objectives,” said Acharya. “It should have been focused on ensuring financial stability to create a favourable environment for investment.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">But people have started to regard it as a policy for expanding credit to the private sector, Acharya added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Acharya claimed our economic cycle which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic was further disrupted by the then monetary policy after more than Rs. 200 billion was supplied in the market as a refinance facility during the post-Covid period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Though there was a massive growth in credit expansion, the money was not invested in productive sectors, but in speculative sectors such as share market and real estate,” Acharya added. “What is the guarantee that credit expansion, which the new monetary policy envisions, will go to the productive sector?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy also scrapped the Rs. 200 million cap on the share mortgage loans for institutional investors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Acharya suspects that big investors will increase their investment in share market by taking loans. “The same cycle might repeat if the money goes to the unproductive sector.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Below are other key highlights of the new monetary policy:</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Reduction in loan loss provision on performing loans from 1.2% to 1.1% to ease the pressure on the bank's capital fund. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To coordinate with the government for making necessary laws for the establishment of a separate mechanism for regulation and monitoring of the cooperatives.</span></span></span></span><br /> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank says it will facilitate the government to return as much as Rs. 500,000 each to depositors of problematic cooperatives, by recovering them from the directors’ properties.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has postponed the deadline for credit integration under the working capital loans by 1 year.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The Rs. 10 million cap fixed for micro, cottage and small industry will be reviewed,” reads the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Existing provisions will be reviewed to include industries supporting agriculture, producing farming tools, and sectors related to information technology, tourism and domestic production on the list of sectors which are getting up to Rs. 20 million loan with interest rate at premiums not exceeding 2% on the base rate.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private equity and venture capital firms will not be blacklisted if any institution they had invested in gets blacklisted for not being able to repay its debt.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For the purpose of establishing an Asset Management Company to manage the non-performing and non-banking assets of BFIs, a draft of the Asset Management Act will be made and presented to the government.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A guideline will be prepared for the maximum utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in the financial sector after carrying out required study and identifying risks.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The aspiring Nepali migrant workers having labour permits will be provided a collateral-free loan, after assurance that they will send the money home to a bank account.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has encouraged microfinance institutions for merger and acquisitions. It has also made a provision for rescheduling of loans by paying a certain percent of interest, for customers who are unable to pay their loans at such institutions.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increment in the foreign exchange limit for Draft/ Telex Transfer (TT) facilities in the import of goods from $35,000 to $50,000</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increase in import limit through ‘Document Against payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ from existing $60,000 to $100,000</span></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Central bank to move forward the work of designing the Wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Necessary infrastructure to be prepared to fully operate the National Payment Switch.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Required facilitation will be provided for debt restructuring and risk management to entrepreneurs and businesses making regular payments of their loans despite their businesses being shut down.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">BFIs will be able to count certain amounts from regulatory reserves as Tier 2 Capital, in line with the provisions of the Capital Adequacy Framework, 2015, in such a way that total capital fund will not be more than twice the primary capital fund.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy has also made a provision that banking related operations of a partner company in a joint venture will not be affected if another partner company gets blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21386', 'image' => '20240728121053_20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 12:07:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21659', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Road Accidents in Kathmandu Valley Down by 16 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, the number of accidents decreased by 16.8 percent, and human fatalities fell by 6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Bishwaraj Khadka reported that 177 people died in 8,881 road accidents in FY 2023/24, while 187 people died in 10,675 road accidents in the previous fiscal year. In FY 2022/23, 191 people lost their lives in 10,733 road accidents.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Khadka attributed the reduction in road accidents to various factors, including public awareness programs, strict security checks, and various traffic campaigns, which, he argued, made traffic management more effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Plans to enhance traffic management to further reduce road accidents have been proposed for the current fiscal year. Public awareness programs encouraged road users to comply with traffic rules and take road safety seriously. These campaigns have directly benefited 477,303 people so far, said SP Khadka.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Office Chief SSP Jivan Kumar Shrestha added that the campaigns also helped reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs, non-compliance with lane discipline, and over-speeding. Traffic police took action against over one million traffic rule violators, collecting over Rs 720 million in fines.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Regular patrols are conducted in inner streets, narrow roads, and river corridors, while traffic beats have been expanded in several places, SSP Shrestha noted. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21385', 'image' => '20240728113509_20240103104030_KTM eight by six - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:34:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21657', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bhedetar Hoteliers Thrilled by Sky Walk Tower Launch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 28: The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Wonders Amusement Parks and Attractions Pvt. Ltd. has invested Rs 200 million to operate the Sky Walk Tower on 11 ropani (1.38 hectares) of land in Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the tower now operational, tourism activities in the area are expected to increase, according to local tourism entrepreneurs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tumaraj Limbu, the president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar, expressed his belief that the launch of the tower will invigorate tourism activities.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "The inauguration of the tower has already attracted more tourists, and we expect the hotel business to improve," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Shrestha, the operator of Arun Top Hotel, who has been in the hotel business for a long time, mentioned that the increased tourist traffic would also benefit the sale of local agricultural products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lilaraj Lawati, former president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar and operator of Lawati Corner Hotel, highlighted that the project would significantly support more than a hundred large hotels operating in the area.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the summer, many tourists from the Terai region visit Bhedetar. The area, situated in the Chure hills, offers panoramic views of the Himalayas, hills, and the Terai plains. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Hotel Association, over 2,000 tourists from various parts of eastern India and Nepal visit Bhedetar daily for sightseeing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Jitendra Rumdali Rai, the chairman of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, stated that the operation of the tower would contribute to the development of tourism in the area. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Currently, there are over 200 small and large hotels in operation in Bhedetar. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21383', 'image' => '20240728070427_collage (78).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 07:01:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21656', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'France's High-Speed Railway Hit by 'Sabotage' during Olympics ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of "sabotage". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight," the national train operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "heavily disrupted" and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are conducted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them", the statement said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The southeastern line was not affected as "a malicious act was foiled". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">- Olympics under heavy security - </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The attacks were launched as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The parade on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At Paris's Montparnasse train station, dozens of passengers were waiting for more information about their trips after delays of 30 minutes to almost two hours were announced. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29," read one of the signs in the departure hall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We arrived around 7:00 am but we were told that we might not be able to leave before Monday," said 27-year-old student Jocelyn, who had planned to travel to Bretagne and refused to give her full name. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We expected it to be a bit chaotic in Paris with the opening ceremony scheduled for this evening, but we didn't think it could be this bad," she said. –AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => 'Olympics, France, Paris, sabotage, railway', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21382', 'image' => '20240727100040_parisOlympics_0.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:59:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21655', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy Encourages Microfinance Institutions for Merger', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.</span><br /> The monetary policy has prioritized protecting clients' interest in response to the complaints regarding service of such institutions. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said necessary regulatory arrangements would be placed keeping the protection of clients' interest based on international good practices in priority.<br /> The monetary policy has made arrangements of contemporary review on regulatory arrangement related to interest rate on loan and services charged by microfinance institutions, as well as rescheduling the loan by paying a certain percent of interest for customers who are unable to pay their loans to the microfinance institutions. -RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21381', 'image' => '20240727094527_20220713054958_merger.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21653', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nine Aircrafts Crashed in Nepal in Twelve Years Killing 205', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country as the frequency of air crashes is increasing in recent years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country, according to the records of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal</span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. Since the crash of the Sita Air aircraft in September 2012, Nepal Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Goma Air, US-Bangla, Summit Air, Tara Air, Yeti Airlines and Saurya Airlines have met with fatal accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the review period, 205 people lost their lives in plane crashes. Among all the crashes, the Yeti ATR-72 crash in January last year, in Pokhara, had the highest casualties. Altogether 72 people including the crew members died in the incident, which is the biggest air disaster involving a domestic aircraft in Nepal in terms of human casualties.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">All the crashes saw passengers killed except the Turkish Airlines runway excursion incident in TIA.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <table cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Number of crashes with casualties and injuries in 12 years</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Date Airlines Number of Casualties and Injuries</span></strong></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 2024 Saurya 18 fatalities and 1 injured</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 2023 Yeti 72 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2022</span> Tara 22 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 2019</span> Summit 3 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2017 US-Bangla 51 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2017</span> Goma(Summit) 2 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2014 Turkish 1 minor injury</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2013 NAC 18 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 2012 Sita 19 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em>Source: CAAN</em></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21380', 'image' => '20240726030923_-1x-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 15:08:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21654', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub Hosts Third Global Talk on Sustainable Agriculture', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday. The theme of the session was “Policies for Progress: Enabling Environments for Sustainable Agriculture.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The keynote speaker for the event was Vanshica Kant, a climate, social, and human development expert from the Asian Development Bank’s Delhi Office, reads a statement issued by the Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub. Her presentation focused on the critical need for sustainable agriculture, citing that 25-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from this sector and that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the organisers of the event, the session featured a panel discussion titled “Strategic Pathways for Achieving Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal: Policy, Implementation, and Collaboration.” The diverse panel included Brinda Kathayat, member of the Federal Parliament; Ashmita Gautam from the FAO; Sunita Nhempahuki, founder of R&D Innovative Solution; and Dr Krishna P Poudel, an agricultural policy analyst and activist.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kant advocated for innovative financing and cooperative models to transition towards sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture. “We must establish innovative financing and co-operation models for sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture to facilitate this transition,” she said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In her remarks, MP Kathayat stressed the importance of sustainable agriculture for Nepal and called for greater attention and sectoral collaboration. “There hasn’t been adequate attention given to this sector. That must change for this sector to thrive and be an economic driver,” Kathayat emphasized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, was established in 2012. It currently engages over 30 active shapers across five projects focusing on mental health, climate change, heritage promotion, and political leadership.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21379', 'image' => '20240726050453_global.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 17:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21650', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB unveils Monetary Policy 2024/25', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Policy Rate reduced to 5 percent, Bank Rate to 6.5 percent</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Credit Expansion Target of 12.5 percent for FY 2024/25</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Existing Maximum Margin Loan Limit for Institutional Investors Abolished</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Asset Management Company to be Established</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Flexible Approach for Construction Businesses</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>NewBiz Report</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">26 </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. While announcing the new monetary policy on Friday, Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the policy rate has been reduced from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. Similarly, the bank rate has been reduced from 7 percent to 6.5 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bankhas set a credit expansion target of 12.5 percent for the current fiscal year. This is an increase from last year's target of 11 percent, of which only half was achieved. Unveiling the Monetary Policy 2024/25, the central bank has lowered the upper limit of the interest rate corridor from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. This adjustment is expected to result in a reduction in interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has introduced flexibility in margin loans by abolishing the Rs 200million limit for the institutional investors. Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, during the announcement of the new monetary policy, stated that the existing maximum loan limit of Rs 200 million for margin lending to institutional investors primarily focused on capital market investments will be abolished.Top of Form</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has announced the establishment of an asset management company. Governor Adhikari stated that a draft of the Asset Management Act will be prepared and submitted to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The new company will focus on managing non-banking assets and non-performing assets of banks and financial institutions. In response to the increase in bad loans, the central bank has advocated for this new structure to better address these challenges. The Asset Management Company (AMC) aims to manage distressed assets and mitigate the impact of bad loans on the banking sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced a more flexible approach for the construction sector. In its latest monetary policy announcement on Friday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari stated that the interest payment period for loans extended to construction businesses will be extended until mid-December 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the new policy, construction businesses will not be blacklisted solely due to check dishonor, unless specified otherwise by credit notification provisions. Additionally, measures will be implemented to ensure that the banking activities of other joint venture (JV) partners are not disrupted by the blacklisting of any single JV partner. Should the Government of Nepal extend the construction period, arrangements will be made to renew the guarantees provided by banks and financial institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank will begin developing the design characteristics of a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), drawing from studies of central bank electronic currencies.Governor Adhikari also announced that preparations will be made for the necessary infrastructure and institutional framework to fully operationalize the National Payment Switch.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21378', 'image' => '20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 13:29:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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' => '21666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rise in Banking Sector Propels NEPSE to Grow by 113.42 Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">July 28: On the first trading day following the announcement of the Monetary Policy for 2024/25 by Nepal Rastra Bank, the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index gained 113.42 points, or 4.41%, closing at 2,681.56 on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The new monetary policy by the NRB has emboldened investors, being described as flexible, convenient, and investment-friendly. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additionally, the removal of the 200 million cap on institutional investors' loans against shares has added more excitement to the stock market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session, 318 scrips were traded through 163,810 transactions on the NEPSE. A total of 40,314,517 shares were exchanged, resulting in a substantial turnover of Rs. 15.81 billion. Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) led the market in turnover, achieving a value of Rs. 36.1 crores and closing at Rs. 212.40 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The NEPSE hit the positive circuit breaker twice during the intraday session due to the significant rise in the banking sector. Various policies made public by the central bank are expected to boost the profitability of commercial banks, attracting investors to commercial banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fifteen companies hit the positive circuit with a 10% increase, most of them being commercial banks, indicating significant excitement in the banking sector. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GMFBS) faced the steepest decline, falling by 9.35%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index rose by 5.82%, while the Float Index and Sensitive Float Index surged by 5.03% and 6.56%, respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, only the Microfinance sector ended in the red. The Banking Index led the gains with a 9.89% increase, while the Hotel and Tourism Index experienced the least gain, rising by 0.46%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21392', 'image' => '20240728041728_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 16:14:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Customs Investigating Birgunj ICP Officials', 'sub_title' => 'The officials have been accused of giving clearance to the import of processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil', 'summary' => 'The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Birgunj</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The department made the discovery after testing the imported palm oil on suspicion that traders might have imported the processed palm oil in the name of crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The customs office had cleared the consignment of the palm oil imported by RMC Foods Pvt. Ltd. on July 9.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The officials had given the clearance without examining the oil, against the directive of the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Dhundi Prasad Niraula, director general at the Department of Customs, confirmed that an officer and an examiner at the customs office were summoned to the department for investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Officer Sunita Paudel and examiner Ramesh Majhi were asked in writing on July 14 to come to the department within 24 hours.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“There might be involvement of more individuals. Only an officer and an examiner could not have dared it,” said a high level official at the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Investigation and Compliance Branch under the Department of Customs has been asked to move the investigation forward and submit a report within three days, according to Niraula. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Traders are found lying about their consignment as they are charged 10% import duty on crude palm oil and 15% on the processed one, department officials say.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department suspects an alliance among the customs officials and traders. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Importers can get the clearance of the goods, whose sample is under examination, by keeping the additional revenue they are liable to pay as a security. However, Paudel and Majhi had given the clearance to the processed palm oil by collecting the revenue after categorising it as crude palm oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">It was found out that an additional security of 5% was charged to the trader under the directive of Chief Customs Administrator Dilaram Panthi after the Department of Customs moved forward the investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The office document showed that around Rs. 2.2 million was collected from the trader as 5 % customs duty and VAT on July 15, a day after the department wrote the letter summoning the officials. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the attempts to reach Panthi and Paudel for their comments on the matter were unsuccessful, the Information Officer at the Department of Customs Punya Bikram Khadka and Information Officer at Birgunj Customs Raghu Lal Karna said they were not aware about the matter. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">There is a legal provision of 200% fine on anyone found guilty of lying about the category while importing the palm oil. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Meanwhile, individuals aware of the matter said that attempts were being made to protect the two officials from any proceedings as they happen to be the members of the employee union close to the ruling political party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The investigation report is yet to come despite the end of the three-day deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21391', 'image' => '20240728032715_1642659566.ICP Birgunj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:25:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Sales to Bangladesh Uncertain due to Students' Protest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement's signing would have marked the first time Nepal could export electricity to a third country besides India. Since 2021, Nepal has been exporting electricity to India through a competitive method.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A tripartite agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board was scheduled for July 28. The agreement would have allowed Nepal to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh at the rate of 6.4 US cents per unit for five years, specifically during the six months of the rainy season.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the Bangladeshi government team informed that they could not attend the signing ceremony due to the ongoing student movement in the country, causing a setback for the NEA's plan to export electricity to Bangladesh. Naveen Raj Singh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, told New Business Age, "The signing of the agreement has been postponed for an indefinite period."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh explained that the continued protests in Bangladesh have made it uncertain when the agreement will be signed. He said, "Even if they come for an agreement after the movement stops, it may take a month to make the necessary preparations." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh also mentioned that the Energy Minister of Nepal, Deepak Khadka, had invited the Energy Minister from Bangladesh and the Energy Minister and Energy Secretary from India for the agreement but the signing ceremony could not be held.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As a result, the NEA, which aims to export electricity to Bangladesh, now has to wait longer. The NEA is concerned that if the tripartite agreement is not reached soon, it will lose the opportunity to export electricity to Bangladesh during this rainy season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chandan Kumar Ghosh, spokesperson for the NEA, said, "It is not in our hands when the agreement will be made. Our desire is to be able to sell the electricity as soon as possible, but since the agreement is for a long term, there is no need to worry too much if it gets delayed for 1-2 months." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the ministry, after the agreement, 28,800 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh per month. Over the next five months, a total of 144,000 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh, earning the NEA Rs 1.23 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In addition to the tripartite agreement, the bilateral high-level mechanism meeting on energy between Nepal and Bangladesh, scheduled for July 29 and 30 in Pokhara, has also been postponed. The joint secretary level joint working group meeting was scheduled for July 29, and the secretary level joint steering committee meeting was scheduled for July 30.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the bilateral mechanism meeting, discussions or agreements were planned regarding a joint venture to build the Sunkoshi 3 hydropower project with a capacity of 683 MW. Singh previously told New Business Age that Nepal has already sent the draft agreement to Bangladesh. In past bilateral talks, the joint venture agreement was discussed between the NEA and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. According to Ghosh, the agreement has not been finalized, but Bangladesh is willing to build the project.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21390', 'image' => '20240728030832_c70a54ed.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:07:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21662', 'article_category_id' => '229', 'title' => 'Hilton Hotel Comes into Operation in Kathmandu', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.', 'content' => '<h3><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Inaugurating the hotel on Friday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his belief that the new hotel would help attract foreign tourists to Nepal. PM Oli extended his best wishes to the international chain hotel, Hilton. "I believe the operation of Hilton Hotel will contribute to Nepal's tourism and hospitality," he stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Hilton Hotel, built by the Hotel Shankar Group with an investment of Rs 8 billion, began construction seven years ago. The facility boasts 174 rooms. Hilton, an international hotel chain, operates under 24 different brands spread across 126 countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Industry (DoI) registered over 516 new hotel projects between 2014 and mid-January 2020, with investments totaling Rs 96.38 billion. About a dozen new star and deluxe hotels have come into operation in Nepal since February 2022 in the post-pandemic period.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21389', 'image' => '20240728014107_hilton.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:40:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sees Positive Circuit Breaker, Trading Closed for 20 Minutes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28. As a result, NEPSE announced that trading was suspended for 20 minutes as the index surged by four percent within one minute and 31 seconds after the start of today's trading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The positive effect of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2081/82 has been evident in the capital market. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21388', 'image' => '20240728015803_20240208034831_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:57:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mahakali Irrigation Project Sees Only 22 Percent Physical Progress in 18 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later. Initiated in the year 2006, only 28 kilometers of the main canal has been completed so far.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project, estimated to cost Rs 35 billion, has spent Rs 7.68 billion till date. Aimed at providing irrigation facilities to 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts, the project has been delayed due to various reasons, including budget constraints.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Twenty-two sub-canals are under construction in the area where the main canal has been built, but water has not yet been released into the 28-kilometer canal. Senior Engineer of the Mahakali Irrigation third phase project, Lekhnath Subedi, stated that water has not been released due to the Indian side's stance of not providing water before the formal inauguration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We have already informed our higher office about it," said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Divisional Engineer Subedi reported that the project has recorded 22 percent progress so far. According to the decision made on February 11, 2021, the canal stretching up to Malakheti of Kailali is to be completed by FY 2030/31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Only Rs 2 billion has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year, which is very negligible. If adequate budget is allocated and disputes relating to compensation distribution and the use of forest areas are addressed, the project would be completed within the stipulated deadline," Subedi added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various issues, such as lack of adequate budget, disputes over compensation distribution, and usage of forest areas, have impeded the project's progress.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 28.9 km of the 151 km main canal has been constructed under this project, which was initiated in FY 2005/06. There are 22 branch canals under construction in the areas surrounding the main canal. These branch canals are expected to provide irrigation facilities to 5,200 hectares of land by the coming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project is estimated to irrigate a total of 33,520 hectares of land in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, paddy was planted on only 43 percent of the fields in Kanchanpur district as of mid-July. Of the total 161,741 hectares of arable land in Kanchanpur, only 59,602 hectares are used for farming. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21387', 'image' => '20240728010751_mahakali_irrega4.jpg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:06:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21660', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy ‘Cautiously Accommodative’ to make the Economy Vibrant: NRB', 'sub_title' => 'Economists, however, argue it might fail to address the issues plaguing Nepal’s economy', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Kathmandu, July 28</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy eased many provisions to help the construction sector as contractors are facing financial trouble particularly due to the government's failure to pay their dues.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private sector’s demand for the working capital guideline has also been addressed by the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank on Friday (July 26) unveiled the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, 2024-25, which began on July 16. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said, while unveiling the policy, that the central bank has continued its agenda of a ‘cautiously accommodative’ monetary policy to make the economy vibrant. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the private sector has welcomed the monetary policy, economists argue it might fail to address the issues which have plagued the economy for the past few years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite the availability of excess liquidity in the banking system, stagnation in credit expansion and surge in non-performing loans have troubled the banks and financial institutions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to the central bank’s data, the credit expansion to the private sector from Banks and Financial Institutions increased by 5.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year, until mid-June. The credit expansion growth target for the last fiscal year was 11.5%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, the overall non-performing loans ratio was 3.98 in the first nine months, until mid-April, of the last fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sunil KC, CEO of NMB Bank, said that the new monetary policy has tried to identify and address the issues in the overall economy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It gives the positive vibe to support the vibrant economic activities,” said KC, who is also the president of the Nepal Bankers’ Association. “But, the monetary policy has its own limitations.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Adhikair said the new monetary policy aims to direct credit expansion towards the productive sectors to help the government achieve its target of 6% growth rate in the current fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For this purpose, the growth rate of the broad money supply and the credit to the private sector from the BFIs is projected to be 12% and 12.5%, respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To boost the demand, the new monetary policy has reduced the bank rate to 6.5% from 7% and the policy rate to 5% from 5.5%, while keeping the deposit collection rate unchanged at 3%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Bank rate, policy rate and the deposit collection rate are the upper, middle and lower limits of the NRB’s interest rate corridor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While BFIs have to pay the central bank an interest as per the bank rate for the Standing Liquidity Facility, policy rate determines the interest in case of overnight repo.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The reduction in bank rate and policy rate is expected to bring down the interest rate on credit in the long run, which contributes to credit expansion. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s construction sector is yet to revive itself from the shocks of post-Covid economic slowdown and surge in oil prices following Russia-Ukraine conflict. The construction sector too has welcomed the new monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Besides the external causes, lack of payment from the government has made the matter worse for the contractors, said Rabi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN). “Government still owes us around Rs 60 billion for the completed projects.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank has tried to address the concerns of contractors by extending the deadline for the repayment of their loans till mid-December this year. The contractors will also not be blacklisted in cases of dishonoured cheques until further provision is made regarding their credit information. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Singh, from FCAN, said the new monetary policy has attempted to address their concerns.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We had made the same demand with the same governor when the NRB was formulating a monetary policy for fiscal year 2021-22,” said Singh. “We welcome it, but it has only provided a temporary solution.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We are reeling from a lack of capital, but we cannot take additional loans for having a bad credit history. The authorities concerned can revitalise the construction industry by providing us additional loans, equal to at least 25% of our existing loans.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy, especially the one regarding the construction sector, has surprised economists.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya argued that the central bank came under pressure after the government’s budget could not help revitalise the economy. It caused everybody, including the private sector and traders, to put their hope on monetary policy, he said. “It is the first time the central bank has talked so much about the construction sector in its monetary policy.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The monetary policy diverted from its core objectives,” said Acharya. “It should have been focused on ensuring financial stability to create a favourable environment for investment.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">But people have started to regard it as a policy for expanding credit to the private sector, Acharya added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Acharya claimed our economic cycle which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic was further disrupted by the then monetary policy after more than Rs. 200 billion was supplied in the market as a refinance facility during the post-Covid period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Though there was a massive growth in credit expansion, the money was not invested in productive sectors, but in speculative sectors such as share market and real estate,” Acharya added. “What is the guarantee that credit expansion, which the new monetary policy envisions, will go to the productive sector?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy also scrapped the Rs. 200 million cap on the share mortgage loans for institutional investors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Acharya suspects that big investors will increase their investment in share market by taking loans. “The same cycle might repeat if the money goes to the unproductive sector.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Below are other key highlights of the new monetary policy:</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Reduction in loan loss provision on performing loans from 1.2% to 1.1% to ease the pressure on the bank's capital fund. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To coordinate with the government for making necessary laws for the establishment of a separate mechanism for regulation and monitoring of the cooperatives.</span></span></span></span><br /> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank says it will facilitate the government to return as much as Rs. 500,000 each to depositors of problematic cooperatives, by recovering them from the directors’ properties.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has postponed the deadline for credit integration under the working capital loans by 1 year.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The Rs. 10 million cap fixed for micro, cottage and small industry will be reviewed,” reads the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Existing provisions will be reviewed to include industries supporting agriculture, producing farming tools, and sectors related to information technology, tourism and domestic production on the list of sectors which are getting up to Rs. 20 million loan with interest rate at premiums not exceeding 2% on the base rate.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private equity and venture capital firms will not be blacklisted if any institution they had invested in gets blacklisted for not being able to repay its debt.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For the purpose of establishing an Asset Management Company to manage the non-performing and non-banking assets of BFIs, a draft of the Asset Management Act will be made and presented to the government.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A guideline will be prepared for the maximum utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in the financial sector after carrying out required study and identifying risks.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The aspiring Nepali migrant workers having labour permits will be provided a collateral-free loan, after assurance that they will send the money home to a bank account.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has encouraged microfinance institutions for merger and acquisitions. It has also made a provision for rescheduling of loans by paying a certain percent of interest, for customers who are unable to pay their loans at such institutions.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increment in the foreign exchange limit for Draft/ Telex Transfer (TT) facilities in the import of goods from $35,000 to $50,000</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increase in import limit through ‘Document Against payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ from existing $60,000 to $100,000</span></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Central bank to move forward the work of designing the Wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Necessary infrastructure to be prepared to fully operate the National Payment Switch.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Required facilitation will be provided for debt restructuring and risk management to entrepreneurs and businesses making regular payments of their loans despite their businesses being shut down.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">BFIs will be able to count certain amounts from regulatory reserves as Tier 2 Capital, in line with the provisions of the Capital Adequacy Framework, 2015, in such a way that total capital fund will not be more than twice the primary capital fund.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy has also made a provision that banking related operations of a partner company in a joint venture will not be affected if another partner company gets blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21386', 'image' => '20240728121053_20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 12:07:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21659', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Road Accidents in Kathmandu Valley Down by 16 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, the number of accidents decreased by 16.8 percent, and human fatalities fell by 6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Bishwaraj Khadka reported that 177 people died in 8,881 road accidents in FY 2023/24, while 187 people died in 10,675 road accidents in the previous fiscal year. In FY 2022/23, 191 people lost their lives in 10,733 road accidents.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Khadka attributed the reduction in road accidents to various factors, including public awareness programs, strict security checks, and various traffic campaigns, which, he argued, made traffic management more effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Plans to enhance traffic management to further reduce road accidents have been proposed for the current fiscal year. Public awareness programs encouraged road users to comply with traffic rules and take road safety seriously. These campaigns have directly benefited 477,303 people so far, said SP Khadka.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Office Chief SSP Jivan Kumar Shrestha added that the campaigns also helped reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs, non-compliance with lane discipline, and over-speeding. Traffic police took action against over one million traffic rule violators, collecting over Rs 720 million in fines.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Regular patrols are conducted in inner streets, narrow roads, and river corridors, while traffic beats have been expanded in several places, SSP Shrestha noted. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21385', 'image' => '20240728113509_20240103104030_KTM eight by six - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:34:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21657', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bhedetar Hoteliers Thrilled by Sky Walk Tower Launch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 28: The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Wonders Amusement Parks and Attractions Pvt. Ltd. has invested Rs 200 million to operate the Sky Walk Tower on 11 ropani (1.38 hectares) of land in Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the tower now operational, tourism activities in the area are expected to increase, according to local tourism entrepreneurs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tumaraj Limbu, the president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar, expressed his belief that the launch of the tower will invigorate tourism activities.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "The inauguration of the tower has already attracted more tourists, and we expect the hotel business to improve," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Shrestha, the operator of Arun Top Hotel, who has been in the hotel business for a long time, mentioned that the increased tourist traffic would also benefit the sale of local agricultural products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lilaraj Lawati, former president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar and operator of Lawati Corner Hotel, highlighted that the project would significantly support more than a hundred large hotels operating in the area.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the summer, many tourists from the Terai region visit Bhedetar. The area, situated in the Chure hills, offers panoramic views of the Himalayas, hills, and the Terai plains. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Hotel Association, over 2,000 tourists from various parts of eastern India and Nepal visit Bhedetar daily for sightseeing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Jitendra Rumdali Rai, the chairman of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, stated that the operation of the tower would contribute to the development of tourism in the area. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Currently, there are over 200 small and large hotels in operation in Bhedetar. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21383', 'image' => '20240728070427_collage (78).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 07:01:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21656', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'France's High-Speed Railway Hit by 'Sabotage' during Olympics ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of "sabotage". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight," the national train operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "heavily disrupted" and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are conducted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them", the statement said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The southeastern line was not affected as "a malicious act was foiled". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">- Olympics under heavy security - </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The attacks were launched as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The parade on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At Paris's Montparnasse train station, dozens of passengers were waiting for more information about their trips after delays of 30 minutes to almost two hours were announced. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29," read one of the signs in the departure hall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We arrived around 7:00 am but we were told that we might not be able to leave before Monday," said 27-year-old student Jocelyn, who had planned to travel to Bretagne and refused to give her full name. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We expected it to be a bit chaotic in Paris with the opening ceremony scheduled for this evening, but we didn't think it could be this bad," she said. –AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => 'Olympics, France, Paris, sabotage, railway', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21382', 'image' => '20240727100040_parisOlympics_0.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:59:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21655', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy Encourages Microfinance Institutions for Merger', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.</span><br /> The monetary policy has prioritized protecting clients' interest in response to the complaints regarding service of such institutions. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said necessary regulatory arrangements would be placed keeping the protection of clients' interest based on international good practices in priority.<br /> The monetary policy has made arrangements of contemporary review on regulatory arrangement related to interest rate on loan and services charged by microfinance institutions, as well as rescheduling the loan by paying a certain percent of interest for customers who are unable to pay their loans to the microfinance institutions. -RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21381', 'image' => '20240727094527_20220713054958_merger.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21653', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nine Aircrafts Crashed in Nepal in Twelve Years Killing 205', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country as the frequency of air crashes is increasing in recent years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country, according to the records of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal</span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. Since the crash of the Sita Air aircraft in September 2012, Nepal Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Goma Air, US-Bangla, Summit Air, Tara Air, Yeti Airlines and Saurya Airlines have met with fatal accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the review period, 205 people lost their lives in plane crashes. Among all the crashes, the Yeti ATR-72 crash in January last year, in Pokhara, had the highest casualties. Altogether 72 people including the crew members died in the incident, which is the biggest air disaster involving a domestic aircraft in Nepal in terms of human casualties.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">All the crashes saw passengers killed except the Turkish Airlines runway excursion incident in TIA.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <table cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Number of crashes with casualties and injuries in 12 years</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Date Airlines Number of Casualties and Injuries</span></strong></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 2024 Saurya 18 fatalities and 1 injured</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 2023 Yeti 72 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2022</span> Tara 22 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 2019</span> Summit 3 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2017 US-Bangla 51 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2017</span> Goma(Summit) 2 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2014 Turkish 1 minor injury</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2013 NAC 18 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 2012 Sita 19 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em>Source: CAAN</em></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21380', 'image' => '20240726030923_-1x-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 15:08:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21654', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub Hosts Third Global Talk on Sustainable Agriculture', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday. The theme of the session was “Policies for Progress: Enabling Environments for Sustainable Agriculture.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The keynote speaker for the event was Vanshica Kant, a climate, social, and human development expert from the Asian Development Bank’s Delhi Office, reads a statement issued by the Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub. Her presentation focused on the critical need for sustainable agriculture, citing that 25-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from this sector and that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the organisers of the event, the session featured a panel discussion titled “Strategic Pathways for Achieving Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal: Policy, Implementation, and Collaboration.” The diverse panel included Brinda Kathayat, member of the Federal Parliament; Ashmita Gautam from the FAO; Sunita Nhempahuki, founder of R&D Innovative Solution; and Dr Krishna P Poudel, an agricultural policy analyst and activist.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kant advocated for innovative financing and cooperative models to transition towards sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture. “We must establish innovative financing and co-operation models for sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture to facilitate this transition,” she said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In her remarks, MP Kathayat stressed the importance of sustainable agriculture for Nepal and called for greater attention and sectoral collaboration. “There hasn’t been adequate attention given to this sector. That must change for this sector to thrive and be an economic driver,” Kathayat emphasized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, was established in 2012. It currently engages over 30 active shapers across five projects focusing on mental health, climate change, heritage promotion, and political leadership.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21379', 'image' => '20240726050453_global.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 17:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21650', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB unveils Monetary Policy 2024/25', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Policy Rate reduced to 5 percent, Bank Rate to 6.5 percent</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Credit Expansion Target of 12.5 percent for FY 2024/25</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Existing Maximum Margin Loan Limit for Institutional Investors Abolished</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Asset Management Company to be Established</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Flexible Approach for Construction Businesses</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>NewBiz Report</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">26 </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. While announcing the new monetary policy on Friday, Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the policy rate has been reduced from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. Similarly, the bank rate has been reduced from 7 percent to 6.5 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bankhas set a credit expansion target of 12.5 percent for the current fiscal year. This is an increase from last year's target of 11 percent, of which only half was achieved. Unveiling the Monetary Policy 2024/25, the central bank has lowered the upper limit of the interest rate corridor from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. This adjustment is expected to result in a reduction in interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has introduced flexibility in margin loans by abolishing the Rs 200million limit for the institutional investors. Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, during the announcement of the new monetary policy, stated that the existing maximum loan limit of Rs 200 million for margin lending to institutional investors primarily focused on capital market investments will be abolished.Top of Form</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has announced the establishment of an asset management company. Governor Adhikari stated that a draft of the Asset Management Act will be prepared and submitted to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The new company will focus on managing non-banking assets and non-performing assets of banks and financial institutions. In response to the increase in bad loans, the central bank has advocated for this new structure to better address these challenges. The Asset Management Company (AMC) aims to manage distressed assets and mitigate the impact of bad loans on the banking sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced a more flexible approach for the construction sector. In its latest monetary policy announcement on Friday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari stated that the interest payment period for loans extended to construction businesses will be extended until mid-December 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the new policy, construction businesses will not be blacklisted solely due to check dishonor, unless specified otherwise by credit notification provisions. Additionally, measures will be implemented to ensure that the banking activities of other joint venture (JV) partners are not disrupted by the blacklisting of any single JV partner. Should the Government of Nepal extend the construction period, arrangements will be made to renew the guarantees provided by banks and financial institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank will begin developing the design characteristics of a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), drawing from studies of central bank electronic currencies.Governor Adhikari also announced that preparations will be made for the necessary infrastructure and institutional framework to fully operationalize the National Payment Switch.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21378', 'image' => '20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 13:29:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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
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A total of 40,314,517 shares were exchanged, resulting in a substantial turnover of Rs. 15.81 billion. Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) led the market in turnover, achieving a value of Rs. 36.1 crores and closing at Rs. 212.40 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The NEPSE hit the positive circuit breaker twice during the intraday session due to the significant rise in the banking sector. Various policies made public by the central bank are expected to boost the profitability of commercial banks, attracting investors to commercial banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fifteen companies hit the positive circuit with a 10% increase, most of them being commercial banks, indicating significant excitement in the banking sector. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Ganapati Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GMFBS) faced the steepest decline, falling by 9.35%.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Sensitive Index rose by 5.82%, while the Float Index and Sensitive Float Index surged by 5.03% and 6.56%, respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, only the Microfinance sector ended in the red. The Banking Index led the gains with a 9.89% increase, while the Hotel and Tourism Index experienced the least gain, rising by 0.46%.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21392', 'image' => '20240728041728_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 16:14:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Customs Investigating Birgunj ICP Officials', 'sub_title' => 'The officials have been accused of giving clearance to the import of processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil', 'summary' => 'The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Birgunj</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department of Customs has started an investigation against the officials at the Integrated Check Post in Birgunj who had given clearance to the processed palm oil by categorising it as crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The department made the discovery after testing the imported palm oil on suspicion that traders might have imported the processed palm oil in the name of crude oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The customs office had cleared the consignment of the palm oil imported by RMC Foods Pvt. Ltd. on July 9.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The officials had given the clearance without examining the oil, against the directive of the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Dhundi Prasad Niraula, director general at the Department of Customs, confirmed that an officer and an examiner at the customs office were summoned to the department for investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Officer Sunita Paudel and examiner Ramesh Majhi were asked in writing on July 14 to come to the department within 24 hours.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“There might be involvement of more individuals. Only an officer and an examiner could not have dared it,” said a high level official at the department. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Investigation and Compliance Branch under the Department of Customs has been asked to move the investigation forward and submit a report within three days, according to Niraula. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Traders are found lying about their consignment as they are charged 10% import duty on crude palm oil and 15% on the processed one, department officials say.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The Department suspects an alliance among the customs officials and traders. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Importers can get the clearance of the goods, whose sample is under examination, by keeping the additional revenue they are liable to pay as a security. However, Paudel and Majhi had given the clearance to the processed palm oil by collecting the revenue after categorising it as crude palm oil.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">It was found out that an additional security of 5% was charged to the trader under the directive of Chief Customs Administrator Dilaram Panthi after the Department of Customs moved forward the investigation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The office document showed that around Rs. 2.2 million was collected from the trader as 5 % customs duty and VAT on July 15, a day after the department wrote the letter summoning the officials. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the attempts to reach Panthi and Paudel for their comments on the matter were unsuccessful, the Information Officer at the Department of Customs Punya Bikram Khadka and Information Officer at Birgunj Customs Raghu Lal Karna said they were not aware about the matter. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">There is a legal provision of 200% fine on anyone found guilty of lying about the category while importing the palm oil. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Meanwhile, individuals aware of the matter said that attempts were being made to protect the two officials from any proceedings as they happen to be the members of the employee union close to the ruling political party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The investigation report is yet to come despite the end of the three-day deadline.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21391', 'image' => '20240728032715_1642659566.ICP Birgunj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:25:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Electricity Sales to Bangladesh Uncertain due to Students' Protest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Due to ongoing violent protests in Bangladesh, the scheduled agreement between Bangladesh and Nepal for the purchase and sale of electricity, planned for July 28, has been postponed, raising doubts about electricity exports to Bangladesh this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement's signing would have marked the first time Nepal could export electricity to a third country besides India. Since 2021, Nepal has been exporting electricity to India through a competitive method.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A tripartite agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board was scheduled for July 28. The agreement would have allowed Nepal to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh at the rate of 6.4 US cents per unit for five years, specifically during the six months of the rainy season.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the Bangladeshi government team informed that they could not attend the signing ceremony due to the ongoing student movement in the country, causing a setback for the NEA's plan to export electricity to Bangladesh. Naveen Raj Singh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, told New Business Age, "The signing of the agreement has been postponed for an indefinite period."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh explained that the continued protests in Bangladesh have made it uncertain when the agreement will be signed. He said, "Even if they come for an agreement after the movement stops, it may take a month to make the necessary preparations." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Singh also mentioned that the Energy Minister of Nepal, Deepak Khadka, had invited the Energy Minister from Bangladesh and the Energy Minister and Energy Secretary from India for the agreement but the signing ceremony could not be held.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As a result, the NEA, which aims to export electricity to Bangladesh, now has to wait longer. The NEA is concerned that if the tripartite agreement is not reached soon, it will lose the opportunity to export electricity to Bangladesh during this rainy season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chandan Kumar Ghosh, spokesperson for the NEA, said, "It is not in our hands when the agreement will be made. Our desire is to be able to sell the electricity as soon as possible, but since the agreement is for a long term, there is no need to worry too much if it gets delayed for 1-2 months." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the ministry, after the agreement, 28,800 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh per month. Over the next five months, a total of 144,000 megawatt hours of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh, earning the NEA Rs 1.23 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In addition to the tripartite agreement, the bilateral high-level mechanism meeting on energy between Nepal and Bangladesh, scheduled for July 29 and 30 in Pokhara, has also been postponed. The joint secretary level joint working group meeting was scheduled for July 29, and the secretary level joint steering committee meeting was scheduled for July 30.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the bilateral mechanism meeting, discussions or agreements were planned regarding a joint venture to build the Sunkoshi 3 hydropower project with a capacity of 683 MW. Singh previously told New Business Age that Nepal has already sent the draft agreement to Bangladesh. In past bilateral talks, the joint venture agreement was discussed between the NEA and the Bangladesh Power Development Board. According to Ghosh, the agreement has not been finalized, but Bangladesh is willing to build the project.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21390', 'image' => '20240728030832_c70a54ed.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 15:07:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21662', 'article_category_id' => '229', 'title' => 'Hilton Hotel Comes into Operation in Kathmandu', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.', 'content' => '<h3><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Hilton Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, has come into operation since Friday, marking a significant addition to Nepal's hospitality industry as the sector rebounds from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Inaugurating the hotel on Friday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his belief that the new hotel would help attract foreign tourists to Nepal. PM Oli extended his best wishes to the international chain hotel, Hilton. "I believe the operation of Hilton Hotel will contribute to Nepal's tourism and hospitality," he stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Hilton Hotel, built by the Hotel Shankar Group with an investment of Rs 8 billion, began construction seven years ago. The facility boasts 174 rooms. Hilton, an international hotel chain, operates under 24 different brands spread across 126 countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Industry (DoI) registered over 516 new hotel projects between 2014 and mid-January 2020, with investments totaling Rs 96.38 billion. About a dozen new star and deluxe hotels have come into operation in Nepal since February 2022 in the post-pandemic period.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21389', 'image' => '20240728014107_hilton.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:40:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Sees Positive Circuit Breaker, Trading Closed for 20 Minutes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) imposed a positive circuit breaker today, July 28. As a result, NEPSE announced that trading was suspended for 20 minutes as the index surged by four percent within one minute and 31 seconds after the start of today's trading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The positive effect of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2081/82 has been evident in the capital market. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21388', 'image' => '20240728015803_20240208034831_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:57:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mahakali Irrigation Project Sees Only 22 Percent Physical Progress in 18 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DODHARA CHANDANI, July 28: The Mahakali Irrigation Project, which started 18 years ago, has achieved only 22 percent physical progress. Locals are distressed as the construction of this national pride project remains incomplete nearly two decades later. Initiated in the year 2006, only 28 kilometers of the main canal has been completed so far.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project, estimated to cost Rs 35 billion, has spent Rs 7.68 billion till date. Aimed at providing irrigation facilities to 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts, the project has been delayed due to various reasons, including budget constraints.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Twenty-two sub-canals are under construction in the area where the main canal has been built, but water has not yet been released into the 28-kilometer canal. Senior Engineer of the Mahakali Irrigation third phase project, Lekhnath Subedi, stated that water has not been released due to the Indian side's stance of not providing water before the formal inauguration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We have already informed our higher office about it," said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Divisional Engineer Subedi reported that the project has recorded 22 percent progress so far. According to the decision made on February 11, 2021, the canal stretching up to Malakheti of Kailali is to be completed by FY 2030/31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Only Rs 2 billion has been allocated for the project in the current fiscal year, which is very negligible. If adequate budget is allocated and disputes relating to compensation distribution and the use of forest areas are addressed, the project would be completed within the stipulated deadline," Subedi added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various issues, such as lack of adequate budget, disputes over compensation distribution, and usage of forest areas, have impeded the project's progress.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 28.9 km of the 151 km main canal has been constructed under this project, which was initiated in FY 2005/06. There are 22 branch canals under construction in the areas surrounding the main canal. These branch canals are expected to provide irrigation facilities to 5,200 hectares of land by the coming fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The project is estimated to irrigate a total of 33,520 hectares of land in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Due to the lack of irrigation facilities, paddy was planted on only 43 percent of the fields in Kanchanpur district as of mid-July. Of the total 161,741 hectares of arable land in Kanchanpur, only 59,602 hectares are used for farming. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21387', 'image' => '20240728010751_mahakali_irrega4.jpg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 13:06:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21660', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy ‘Cautiously Accommodative’ to make the Economy Vibrant: NRB', 'sub_title' => 'Economists, however, argue it might fail to address the issues plaguing Nepal’s economy', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Kathmandu, July 28</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari heeded to the pressure from all sides as he unveiled a ‘flexible’ monetary policy paving the way for more credit expansion and regulatory relaxation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy eased many provisions to help the construction sector as contractors are facing financial trouble particularly due to the government's failure to pay their dues.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private sector’s demand for the working capital guideline has also been addressed by the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank on Friday (July 26) unveiled the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, 2024-25, which began on July 16. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said, while unveiling the policy, that the central bank has continued its agenda of a ‘cautiously accommodative’ monetary policy to make the economy vibrant. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While the private sector has welcomed the monetary policy, economists argue it might fail to address the issues which have plagued the economy for the past few years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite the availability of excess liquidity in the banking system, stagnation in credit expansion and surge in non-performing loans have troubled the banks and financial institutions.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">According to the central bank’s data, the credit expansion to the private sector from Banks and Financial Institutions increased by 5.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year, until mid-June. The credit expansion growth target for the last fiscal year was 11.5%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, the overall non-performing loans ratio was 3.98 in the first nine months, until mid-April, of the last fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sunil KC, CEO of NMB Bank, said that the new monetary policy has tried to identify and address the issues in the overall economy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It gives the positive vibe to support the vibrant economic activities,” said KC, who is also the president of the Nepal Bankers’ Association. “But, the monetary policy has its own limitations.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Governor Adhikair said the new monetary policy aims to direct credit expansion towards the productive sectors to help the government achieve its target of 6% growth rate in the current fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For this purpose, the growth rate of the broad money supply and the credit to the private sector from the BFIs is projected to be 12% and 12.5%, respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To boost the demand, the new monetary policy has reduced the bank rate to 6.5% from 7% and the policy rate to 5% from 5.5%, while keeping the deposit collection rate unchanged at 3%.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Bank rate, policy rate and the deposit collection rate are the upper, middle and lower limits of the NRB’s interest rate corridor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While BFIs have to pay the central bank an interest as per the bank rate for the Standing Liquidity Facility, policy rate determines the interest in case of overnight repo.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The reduction in bank rate and policy rate is expected to bring down the interest rate on credit in the long run, which contributes to credit expansion. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s construction sector is yet to revive itself from the shocks of post-Covid economic slowdown and surge in oil prices following Russia-Ukraine conflict. The construction sector too has welcomed the new monetary policy.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Besides the external causes, lack of payment from the government has made the matter worse for the contractors, said Rabi Singh, president of the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN). “Government still owes us around Rs 60 billion for the completed projects.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank has tried to address the concerns of contractors by extending the deadline for the repayment of their loans till mid-December this year. The contractors will also not be blacklisted in cases of dishonoured cheques until further provision is made regarding their credit information. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Singh, from FCAN, said the new monetary policy has attempted to address their concerns.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We had made the same demand with the same governor when the NRB was formulating a monetary policy for fiscal year 2021-22,” said Singh. “We welcome it, but it has only provided a temporary solution.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“We are reeling from a lack of capital, but we cannot take additional loans for having a bad credit history. The authorities concerned can revitalise the construction industry by providing us additional loans, equal to at least 25% of our existing loans.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy, especially the one regarding the construction sector, has surprised economists.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya argued that the central bank came under pressure after the government’s budget could not help revitalise the economy. It caused everybody, including the private sector and traders, to put their hope on monetary policy, he said. “It is the first time the central bank has talked so much about the construction sector in its monetary policy.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The monetary policy diverted from its core objectives,” said Acharya. “It should have been focused on ensuring financial stability to create a favourable environment for investment.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">But people have started to regard it as a policy for expanding credit to the private sector, Acharya added.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Acharya claimed our economic cycle which was hit hard by the Covid pandemic was further disrupted by the then monetary policy after more than Rs. 200 billion was supplied in the market as a refinance facility during the post-Covid period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Though there was a massive growth in credit expansion, the money was not invested in productive sectors, but in speculative sectors such as share market and real estate,” Acharya added. “What is the guarantee that credit expansion, which the new monetary policy envisions, will go to the productive sector?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy also scrapped the Rs. 200 million cap on the share mortgage loans for institutional investors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Economist Acharya suspects that big investors will increase their investment in share market by taking loans. “The same cycle might repeat if the money goes to the unproductive sector.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Below are other key highlights of the new monetary policy:</span></span></strong></span></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Reduction in loan loss provision on performing loans from 1.2% to 1.1% to ease the pressure on the bank's capital fund. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">To coordinate with the government for making necessary laws for the establishment of a separate mechanism for regulation and monitoring of the cooperatives.</span></span></span></span><br /> </li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The central bank says it will facilitate the government to return as much as Rs. 500,000 each to depositors of problematic cooperatives, by recovering them from the directors’ properties.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has postponed the deadline for credit integration under the working capital loans by 1 year.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“The Rs. 10 million cap fixed for micro, cottage and small industry will be reviewed,” reads the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Existing provisions will be reviewed to include industries supporting agriculture, producing farming tools, and sectors related to information technology, tourism and domestic production on the list of sectors which are getting up to Rs. 20 million loan with interest rate at premiums not exceeding 2% on the base rate.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The private equity and venture capital firms will not be blacklisted if any institution they had invested in gets blacklisted for not being able to repay its debt.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">For the purpose of establishing an Asset Management Company to manage the non-performing and non-banking assets of BFIs, a draft of the Asset Management Act will be made and presented to the government.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A guideline will be prepared for the maximum utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in the financial sector after carrying out required study and identifying risks.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The aspiring Nepali migrant workers having labour permits will be provided a collateral-free loan, after assurance that they will send the money home to a bank account.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The monetary policy has encouraged microfinance institutions for merger and acquisitions. It has also made a provision for rescheduling of loans by paying a certain percent of interest, for customers who are unable to pay their loans at such institutions.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increment in the foreign exchange limit for Draft/ Telex Transfer (TT) facilities in the import of goods from $35,000 to $50,000</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Increase in import limit through ‘Document Against payment’ and ‘Document Against Acceptance’ from existing $60,000 to $100,000</span></span></span></span></li> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Central bank to move forward the work of designing the Wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC)</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Necessary infrastructure to be prepared to fully operate the National Payment Switch.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Required facilitation will be provided for debt restructuring and risk management to entrepreneurs and businesses making regular payments of their loans despite their businesses being shut down.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">BFIs will be able to count certain amounts from regulatory reserves as Tier 2 Capital, in line with the provisions of the Capital Adequacy Framework, 2015, in such a way that total capital fund will not be more than twice the primary capital fund.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The new monetary policy has also made a provision that banking related operations of a partner company in a joint venture will not be affected if another partner company gets blacklisted.</span></span></span></span></li> </ul> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21386', 'image' => '20240728121053_20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 12:07:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21659', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Road Accidents in Kathmandu Valley Down by 16 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, July 28: Amid growing concerns over road accidents and fatalities across the country, the Kathmandu Valley has seen a decline in road incidents in recent years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, the number of accidents decreased by 16.8 percent, and human fatalities fell by 6 percent compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Bishwaraj Khadka reported that 177 people died in 8,881 road accidents in FY 2023/24, while 187 people died in 10,675 road accidents in the previous fiscal year. In FY 2022/23, 191 people lost their lives in 10,733 road accidents.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SP Khadka attributed the reduction in road accidents to various factors, including public awareness programs, strict security checks, and various traffic campaigns, which, he argued, made traffic management more effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Plans to enhance traffic management to further reduce road accidents have been proposed for the current fiscal year. Public awareness programs encouraged road users to comply with traffic rules and take road safety seriously. These campaigns have directly benefited 477,303 people so far, said SP Khadka.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Office Chief SSP Jivan Kumar Shrestha added that the campaigns also helped reduce road accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotic drugs, non-compliance with lane discipline, and over-speeding. Traffic police took action against over one million traffic rule violators, collecting over Rs 720 million in fines.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Regular patrols are conducted in inner streets, narrow roads, and river corridors, while traffic beats have been expanded in several places, SSP Shrestha noted. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21385', 'image' => '20240728113509_20240103104030_KTM eight by six - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:34:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21657', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bhedetar Hoteliers Thrilled by Sky Walk Tower Launch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">July 28: The launch of the Sky Walk Tower in the tourist site of Bhedetar has brought a lot of excitement among local hotel owners. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Wonders Amusement Parks and Attractions Pvt. Ltd. has invested Rs 200 million to operate the Sky Walk Tower on 11 ropani (1.38 hectares) of land in Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality-6, Dhankuta.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With the tower now operational, tourism activities in the area are expected to increase, according to local tourism entrepreneurs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tumaraj Limbu, the president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar, expressed his belief that the launch of the tower will invigorate tourism activities.</span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> "The inauguration of the tower has already attracted more tourists, and we expect the hotel business to improve," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ramesh Shrestha, the operator of Arun Top Hotel, who has been in the hotel business for a long time, mentioned that the increased tourist traffic would also benefit the sale of local agricultural products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lilaraj Lawati, former president of the Hotel Association Bhedetar and operator of Lawati Corner Hotel, highlighted that the project would significantly support more than a hundred large hotels operating in the area.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the summer, many tourists from the Terai region visit Bhedetar. The area, situated in the Chure hills, offers panoramic views of the Himalayas, hills, and the Terai plains. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Hotel Association, over 2,000 tourists from various parts of eastern India and Nepal visit Bhedetar daily for sightseeing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Jitendra Rumdali Rai, the chairman of Sangurigadhi Rural Municipality, stated that the operation of the tower would contribute to the development of tourism in the area. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Currently, there are over 200 small and large hotels in operation in Bhedetar. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21383', 'image' => '20240728070427_collage (78).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 07:01:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21656', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'France's High-Speed Railway Hit by 'Sabotage' during Olympics ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PARIS: France's high-speed rail network was hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF said Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A source close to the investigation told AFP the attacks were coordinated acts of "sabotage". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"SNCF was the victim of several simultaneous malicious acts overnight," the national train operator said, adding that the attacks affected its Atlantic, northern and eastern lines. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Arson attacks were started to damage our facilities," it said, adding that traffic on the affected lines was "heavily disrupted" and the situation would last through the weekend as repairs are conducted. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trains were being diverted to different tracks "but we will have to cancel a large number of them", the statement said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The southeastern line was not affected as "a malicious act was foiled". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SNCF urged passengers to postpone their trips and stay away from train stations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">- Olympics under heavy security - </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The attacks were launched as Paris was under heavy security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The parade on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the river Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It will be the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside the main athletics stadium, a decision fraught with danger at a time when France is on its highest alert for terror attacks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At Paris's Montparnasse train station, dozens of passengers were waiting for more information about their trips after delays of 30 minutes to almost two hours were announced. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29," read one of the signs in the departure hall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We arrived around 7:00 am but we were told that we might not be able to leave before Monday," said 27-year-old student Jocelyn, who had planned to travel to Bretagne and refused to give her full name. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We expected it to be a bit chaotic in Paris with the opening ceremony scheduled for this evening, but we didn't think it could be this bad," she said. –AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => 'Olympics, France, Paris, sabotage, railway', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21382', 'image' => '20240727100040_parisOlympics_0.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:59:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21655', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Monetary Policy Encourages Microfinance Institutions for Merger', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has unveiled the monetary policy of the current fiscal year with a target of encouraging the microfinance institutions for merger.</span><br /> The monetary policy has prioritized protecting clients' interest in response to the complaints regarding service of such institutions. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said necessary regulatory arrangements would be placed keeping the protection of clients' interest based on international good practices in priority.<br /> The monetary policy has made arrangements of contemporary review on regulatory arrangement related to interest rate on loan and services charged by microfinance institutions, as well as rescheduling the loan by paying a certain percent of interest for customers who are unable to pay their loans to the microfinance institutions. -RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-27', 'modified' => '2024-07-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21381', 'image' => '20240727094527_20220713054958_merger.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-27 09:44:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21653', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nine Aircrafts Crashed in Nepal in Twelve Years Killing 205', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country as the frequency of air crashes is increasing in recent years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 26: In the last 12 years, there have been nine air crashes across the country, according to the records of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal</span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. Since the crash of the Sita Air aircraft in September 2012, Nepal Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Goma Air, US-Bangla, Summit Air, Tara Air, Yeti Airlines and Saurya Airlines have met with fatal accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the review period, 205 people lost their lives in plane crashes. Among all the crashes, the Yeti ATR-72 crash in January last year, in Pokhara, had the highest casualties. Altogether 72 people including the crew members died in the incident, which is the biggest air disaster involving a domestic aircraft in Nepal in terms of human casualties.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">All the crashes saw passengers killed except the Turkish Airlines runway excursion incident in TIA.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <table cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:1px solid black; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Number of crashes with casualties and injuries in 12 years</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Date Airlines Number of Casualties and Injuries</span></strong></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">July 2024 Saurya 18 fatalities and 1 injured</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 2023 Yeti 72 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2022</span> Tara 22 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 2019</span> Summit 3 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2017 US-Bangla 51 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">May 2017</span> Goma(Summit) 2 fatalities</span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2014 Turkish 1 minor injury</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">February 2013 NAC 18 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-bottom:1px solid black; border-left:1px solid black; border-right:1px solid black; border-top:none; vertical-align:top; width:623px"> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">October 2012 Sita 19 fatalities</span></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em>Source: CAAN</em></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21380', 'image' => '20240726030923_-1x-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 15:08:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21654', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub Hosts Third Global Talk on Sustainable Agriculture', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, supported by GIZ Nepal, hosted the third session of its Global Talk Series under the GRAPE Project on Wednesday. The theme of the session was “Policies for Progress: Enabling Environments for Sustainable Agriculture.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The keynote speaker for the event was Vanshica Kant, a climate, social, and human development expert from the Asian Development Bank’s Delhi Office, reads a statement issued by the Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub. Her presentation focused on the critical need for sustainable agriculture, citing that 25-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from this sector and that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the organisers of the event, the session featured a panel discussion titled “Strategic Pathways for Achieving Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal: Policy, Implementation, and Collaboration.” The diverse panel included Brinda Kathayat, member of the Federal Parliament; Ashmita Gautam from the FAO; Sunita Nhempahuki, founder of R&D Innovative Solution; and Dr Krishna P Poudel, an agricultural policy analyst and activist.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Kant advocated for innovative financing and cooperative models to transition towards sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture. “We must establish innovative financing and co-operation models for sustainable, inclusive, and equitable agriculture to facilitate this transition,” she said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In her remarks, MP Kathayat stressed the importance of sustainable agriculture for Nepal and called for greater attention and sectoral collaboration. “There hasn’t been adequate attention given to this sector. That must change for this sector to thrive and be an economic driver,” Kathayat emphasized.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Global Shapers Kathmandu Hub, part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, was established in 2012. It currently engages over 30 active shapers across five projects focusing on mental health, climate change, heritage promotion, and political leadership.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21379', 'image' => '20240726050453_global.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 17:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21650', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB unveils Monetary Policy 2024/25', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Policy Rate reduced to 5 percent, Bank Rate to 6.5 percent</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Credit Expansion Target of 12.5 percent for FY 2024/25</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Existing Maximum Margin Loan Limit for Institutional Investors Abolished</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Asset Management Company to be Established</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>-- Flexible Approach for Construction Businesses</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>NewBiz Report</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July </span><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">26 </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has reduced the policy rate for the current fiscal year. While announcing the new monetary policy on Friday, Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the policy rate has been reduced from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. Similarly, the bank rate has been reduced from 7 percent to 6.5 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bankhas set a credit expansion target of 12.5 percent for the current fiscal year. This is an increase from last year's target of 11 percent, of which only half was achieved. Unveiling the Monetary Policy 2024/25, the central bank has lowered the upper limit of the interest rate corridor from 7 percent to 6.5 percent. This adjustment is expected to result in a reduction in interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has introduced flexibility in margin loans by abolishing the Rs 200million limit for the institutional investors. Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, during the announcement of the new monetary policy, stated that the existing maximum loan limit of Rs 200 million for margin lending to institutional investors primarily focused on capital market investments will be abolished.Top of Form</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The central bank has announced the establishment of an asset management company. Governor Adhikari stated that a draft of the Asset Management Act will be prepared and submitted to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The new company will focus on managing non-banking assets and non-performing assets of banks and financial institutions. In response to the increase in bad loans, the central bank has advocated for this new structure to better address these challenges. The Asset Management Company (AMC) aims to manage distressed assets and mitigate the impact of bad loans on the banking sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has introduced a more flexible approach for the construction sector. In its latest monetary policy announcement on Friday, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari stated that the interest payment period for loans extended to construction businesses will be extended until mid-December 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the new policy, construction businesses will not be blacklisted solely due to check dishonor, unless specified otherwise by credit notification provisions. Additionally, measures will be implemented to ensure that the banking activities of other joint venture (JV) partners are not disrupted by the blacklisting of any single JV partner. Should the Government of Nepal extend the construction period, arrangements will be made to renew the guarantees provided by banks and financial institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank will begin developing the design characteristics of a wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), drawing from studies of central bank electronic currencies.Governor Adhikari also announced that preparations will be made for the necessary infrastructure and institutional framework to fully operationalize the National Payment Switch.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21378', 'image' => '20240726013059_424955047_772567931571772_1015407410200493500_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 13:29:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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
