The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation…
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation…
A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office,…
September 28: Investors from 57 different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in…
September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year…
September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold…
September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable…
September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt Ltd (OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health care…
September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer…
September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in…
The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition…
September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in…
September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian…
September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary…
September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other…
September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19119', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines Banned to Fly Helicopters', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN grounded these helicopters saying that they had violated aviation rules by conducting flights in adverse weather condition in the Lukla region. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Gyanendra Bhul, Information Officer at CAAN, said that three helicopters owned by these two airlines were banned from flying due to their non-compliance with the requirement to remain grounded during adverse weather conditions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">These helicopters were observed conducting flights when the visibility was significantly less than the prescribed minimum of 100 meters, a clear violation of Visual Flight Rules (VFR). (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-29', 'modified' => '2023-09-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18847', 'image' => '20230929055844_collage (9).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-29 05:57:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19118', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kaligandaki Corridor Road Blocked by Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of the road obstruction, passengers and vehicles heading to Palpa, Butwal and other destinations from the area have been stranded. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last night, a landslide with a huge rock fell at Bishnupanjar near Ridi bazaar under Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality, blocking the road, said the police. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upon receiving the information about the landslip, a team led by Inspector Anil Thapa from the Area Police Office, Ridi, has been working at the incident site since today morning to clear debris and open the road, it has been said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Removing debris with the help of an excavator is underway, said Yadu Gyawali, chairperson of Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road leading to Burtibang of Baglung district through Ridi-Rudrabeni-Wamitaksar is busy all the time with the highest number of vehicles plying all the time. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Repair is underway to open the blocked road as soon as possible, said Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC. (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18846', 'image' => '20230928050100_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 16:59:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19117', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Receives Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 264 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Investors from 57 different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Investors from </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal. So far, foreign investors have bankrolled Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">264</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion in various sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the 'Survey Report on Foreign Direct Investment </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">' published by Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal received FDI in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, construction, electricity, gas, manufacturing sector, mining, tourism, education, finance and insurance, human health and social work, information and communication, transportation and other sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of the end of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the total amount of foreign investment in Nepal constitutes Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as loans, Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">78</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as reserve and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">141</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> 96</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as paid-up capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the central bank, the total foreign direct investment as of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">stood at Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">227</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">94</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion. Based on this report, it has been seen that foreign investment has increased in the country by Rs around Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion by the time of the survey</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank selected </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">231</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> companies which received FDI for survey in the review year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While publishing the survey report on Wednesday, Nepal Rastra Bank, mentioned that the highest amount of investment came from India.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">India, China, Ireland, Singapore and St Kitts and Nevis are among the top five countries investing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The survey showed that a large part of the foreign investment was used in the industrial sector. The report pointed out that </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">62.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in the industrial sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment in the service sector. Within the industrial sector, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32.8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment was made in the hydropower sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the production sector. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in banks and financial institutions and insurance companies under the service sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Central Bank has stated that the capacity utilization of foreign investment companies operating in Nepal is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">71.1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Also, the report mentions that the profit rate of such companies is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Bagmati Province has the highest foreign investment in the country. This province accounts for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55.4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total foreign investment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The lowest FDI is in Karnali Province. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">0.02 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the total foreign investment in the country is made in Karnali Province. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Other major investors include Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, America, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, British Virgin Iceland, Norway, Japan, Bermuda, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka etc.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18845', 'image' => '20230928012136_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:20:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19116', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Business of Non-Life Insurance Companies Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY). This figure is 8.8 percent less than the premiums collected in the corresponding period of last FY.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, the companies collected Rs 3.39 billion in insurance fees in mid-August to mid-September 2023. Experts in the insurance sector say that there is no progress in the insurance business at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the review month, non-life insurance companies have issued 195,257 insurance policies worth Rs 835 billion. As of mid-September in the current FY, insurance companies have collected Rs 7.8 billion in insurance fees. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chunky Chhetri, president of Nepal Insurers Association and Chief Executive Officer of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company, says that there is currently no growth in the insurance sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The chain effect of the recession has also affected the insurance sector," he said, adding, "Currently the vehicle business has not been able to gain pace."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Chhetri, imports-exports have also decreased. There is also a situation where banks and financial institutions have not been able to invest. Its chain effect has fallen on non-life insurance business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two small non-life insurance companies, which have been operating since last July, earned Rs 300,000 in insurance fees in the review month. In the review month, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited collected Rs 213, 000 and Protective Micro Insurance Company Limited collected 87,000 in insurance fees. The two insurance companies issued 87 insurance policies worth Rs 12.16 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Naresh Kumar Rokka, Chief Executive Officer of Rotative Micro Insurance, says that his company is currently expanding its services. According to Rokka, the company is planning to expand 15 branches in all seven provinces before Dashain.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18844', 'image' => '20230928010043_1695866167.1693207181.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:00:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19115', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Doubles the Daily Limit for Gold Import, Banks can Now Import 20 kg Gold Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import. The central bank increased the gold import quota on Wednesday by amending the Integrated Circular-2079.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NRB has mentioned in the circular that the daily limit for gold import has been fixed at 20 kg in accordance with section 4 (a) of Gold Import and Sale Distribution Procedure, 2068. This is twice the previous quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two years ago, the central bank had restricted the daily gold import quota to 10 kg in order to maintain the foreign currency reserves following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which affected the world market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Since then, the gold traders have been time and again requesting the government to increase the gold import limit saying that they could not meet the demand with the allotted quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In Nepal, only commercial banks are allowed to import gold for business purpose. The commercial banks have been importing gold and selling it to businessmen according to the quota fixed by the central bank.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18843', 'image' => '20230928124730_1695819834.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:46:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19114', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Conclave on WASH Concludes, Issuing 20-Point Kathmandu Declaration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development. The Declaration aims to promote the principles of sustainability, inclusion, equity and global access in WASH services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day event hosted by the Ministry of Water Supplies highlighted the significant contributions of WASH services to public health, environmental sustainability, social development and so on. The Declaration insists on the importance of coordination, collaboration, and regional partnerships in strengthening the capacity for wider, equitable, and sustainable WASH service system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has called for incorporating the recommendations made during the Conclave in sectorial development endeavors, development strategies and periodic plans in the concerned sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Underlining the need for comprehensive planning, enhanced regulation of WASH services at all levels, and capacity building of service providers, the Declaration highlights the importance of improved intergovernmental coordination among the three-tier government to ensure better services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It stressed the need for gender equality and social inclusion in WASH sector, calling for implementing measures to conserve water resources through integrated water resource management, groundwater recharge, and early warning systems for flood and drought preparedness in urban and rural areas. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Declaration recommended preparing a sustainable economic draft and WASH financial strategies to advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the security of investments in the WASH sector. It proposed aligning WASH investments with inclusive, green, and flexible development principles and implementing WASH programmes capable of addressing climate change and disaster-related issues. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition, advocating for the improvement of the professional rights and security of frontline sanitation workers, the event stressed the need for ensuring inter-sectorial cooperation among the three-tier government in the WASH sector, with proper utilization of communication systems. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The event was attended by over 200 people including the representatives from the three-tier government, from the private and non-government sectors, civil society, experts and the development partners.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18842', 'image' => '20230928120326_wash.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:02:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19113', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Customers of Nepal SBI Bank to get Discount at Om Hospital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt Ltd (OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health care services.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">a Memorandum of Understanding </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pvt Ltd </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> care</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent statement, the bank said its customers can avail the discount facility</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">with</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> the use of NSBL debit cards and mobile banking services at </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Md Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CFO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Nepal SBI Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Yam Bahadur Mahat, C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Om Hospital signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations amid a recent function.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dipak Kumar De, managing director and C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of NSBL, Yadvender Kant, chief operating officer of NSBL and other senior officials of </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">the bank</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital were present during the occasion</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal SBI</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said it has been </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">providing banking services through 94 branches, 22 extension counters, 7 province offices and 1 corporate office along with 122 ATMs</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> across Nepal</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18841', 'image' => '20230928111240_cover.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 11:12:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19112', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'MetLife Nepal Launches App, Organises Fair to Educate Agents about the App', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Saturday, the life insurance company said it organized "One by MetLife Mela" for all its agents after the launch of its new app - One by MetLife.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the launch of the app, MetLife Nepal claimed the company has not availed digital insurance and healthcare to Nepalis at their fingertips. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the fair organized for the agents featured live demonstrations, briefings on the app’s features, and hands-on sessions, said the company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The primary objective was to empower and educate dedicated agents about the transformative features of the app, so they can guide customers in accessing cutting-edge insurance and healthcare services for a healthier and more secure future,” reads the statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The event also underscores MetLife Nepal's commitment to professional development of its agents and their ability to provide top-notch service to customers, added the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Vice President and General Manager of MetLife Nepal, Nirmal Kajee Shrestha stated, “MetLife believes in the power of enjoyable learning experiences, so we have blended fun activities with valuable lessons in this carnival. By bringing together the best of technology and our active team, we hope to inspire our customers to take steps to live healthier for longer and build a more confident future.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18840', 'image' => '20230928105921_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:58:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19111', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Malaysian Company to Conduct Feasibility Study for Establishing Fertilizer Factory in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">IBN Chief Executive Officer Sushil Bhatta and Re-Nicola's Managing Director Bomhidi Abdelali signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations amidst a programme on Wednesday. Re-Nicola is a Malaysian company. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement, IBN shared that the board has reached an agreement with the Malaysian company to establish a chemical fertilizer factory to produce green ammonia and calcium ammonium nitrate. As per agreement, Re-Nicola will have to submit a detailed feasibility study report within 24 months of agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The chemical fertilizer factory would be established at Abukhaireni of Tanahu district. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18839', 'image' => '20230928103913_20220624091714_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:38:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Furniture Expo 2023 Begins at Bhrikutimandap', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This event, in its 9th edition, is organized by the Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association with the primary objective of promoting Nepal's furniture and furnishing market and uniting locally produced goods and services in one convenient location.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over a hundred stalls featuring furniture and furnishing material sellers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, machinery and technology providers, dealers, and others have been set up at the exhibition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Entry is free, and the organizers anticipate over 50,000 visitors to attend the expo. Additionally, the exhibition venue offers specialized consulting services for architecture and interior design. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Supply, Ramesh Rijal, emphasized the government's commitment to prioritizing policies that boost domestic production, reduce imports, and encourage exports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He underscored the need to promote the export of handicrafts rooted in Nepal's original art culture and crafted from local raw materials. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18838', 'image' => '20230928061934_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 06:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Swimming Ace Zhang Fires Olympic warning as Nepal Breaks Cricket Records', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, hosts China lead the medals table with 76 golds, far ahead of South Korea (19) and Japan (15), after adding titles in a range of sports from artistic gymnastics and chess to beach volleyball and swimming.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The home nation and Zhang in particular have been in ominous form in the pool in Hangzhou, with the Paris Olympics coming up fast, just 10 months away, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“The 25-year-old Zhang blasted the fastest time of the year to easily win the 100m butterfly gold, then helped China to come within a whisker of shattering the 4x100m mixed medley relay world record. Zhang, who has already claimed the 200m fly crown in Hangzhou to go with her Olympic gold, surged to the wall in a new Games-record 55.86sec.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That beat the 56.12 that earned her the world title in July, but she wasn't happy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It doesn't feel so good. This wasn't the record I wanted, I wanted the world record," AFP quoted her as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swedish great Sarah Sjostrom has held the world mark of 55.48 since the 2016 Rio Olympics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">China took home gold in four of the seven finals on the evening, with Japan (two) and South Korea (one) winning the others.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Nepal smashes records </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In hazy morning sunshine on day four of the Games, rampant Nepal rewrote the T20 international record books against bewildered part-timers Mongolia in a 273-run thumping in men's cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs, beating the previous highest T20 men's international innings of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019, added AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Teenager Kushal Malla, batting number three, spearheaded the onslaught by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Among the other records they racked up, Dipendra Singh Airee hit a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The powerful 23-year-old raced to his fifty off nine balls, another T20 world record and one that should stand in perpetuity because it is mathematically impossible to reach the landmark any quicker.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also the best ever.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 at the Asian Games last week, were dismissed for only 41 in 13.1 overs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Much sterner tests await for Nepal, with India and Pakistan both in the draw although the heavyweights have reportedly sent their B team as their main focus is on the Cricket World Cup.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Early celebrations </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In another gold rush for hosts China, they won the women's and men's street finals in skateboarding thanks to a couple of teenagers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 16-year-old Zhang Jie triumphed in the men's and Cui Chenxi, just 13, won the women's. But China did not have it all their own way as Japan won all three golds on offer on the day on the cycling track ahead of the hosts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan sped to victory in women's and men's team pursuit, and in women's keirin.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan's Naoki Kojima said he and his teammates were celebrating well before they crossed the line in the men's team pursuit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In other sports, Chinese table tennis legend Ma Long, 34, said he had almost certainly made his last Asian Games appearance after helping the hosts to men's team gold. Asked about the prospect of defending his Olympic title next year, Ma told AFP: "Paris is still too early to say for me."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => 'Asian, Games, Nepal, China, record, cricket, swimming, Olympics, Zhang, Kushal', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18837', 'image' => '20230927093120_983574-01-02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 21:30:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19108', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal First Team to Score over 300 in T20 Internationals ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla, batting number three, led the way by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla beat the previous quickest, by South African David Miller in 35 balls against Bangladesh in 2017, and went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. He smacked 12 sixes and eight fours. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's batsmen were rampant on a sunny morning at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, captain Rohit Paudel creaming 61 off 27 balls with six sixes. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But it was Dipendra Singh Airee who finished the innings in ridiculous fashion against the hapless Mongolian bowlers, hitting a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls. He reached his fifty off nine balls, another world record, beating India's Yuvraj Singh's 2007 effort against England which took 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also a record, beating Afghanistan's 22 against Ireland. Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 last week in the Asian Games, were dismissed for just 41. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's winning margin of 273 runs was the biggest in terms of runs ever in a T20 international. It beat the Czech Republic's 257-run margin against Turkey in 2019. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18836', 'image' => '20230927064505_Cricket Phot (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 18:43:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB under Pressure from Government as Interbank Interest Rate Drops Below the Monetary Policy Target', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While issuing the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, Nepal Rastra Bank had set a target to maintain the average interbank interest rate higher than the bank rate and lower than the deposit collection rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The upper limit of the interest rate corridor at present is the bank rate of 7.5 percent and the lower limit of the deposit collection rate is 4.5 percent. In order to maintain the interest rate within this limit, there is a provision for the central bank to use various monetary instruments.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although the interbank interest rate has fallen below the monetary policy target in the last two weeks, the central bank has not mopped excess liquidity from the market. In the monetary policy, it is mentioned that if the interest rate is higher or lower than the target, secondary market transactions and deposit collection will be opened. However, since September 13, the interbank interest rate has been consistently lower than the target. Even on Monday, the average interbank interest rate remained at 2.54 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the liquidity in the market increased and the interest rate fell below the target, the central bank collected Rs 20 billion through deposit collection tools on July 13. The deposit has matured on July 20 and has been returned to the market. Similarly, the reverse repo of Rs 20 billion with maturity period of 14 days, which was issued on July 12, also matured on July 26.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At that time, the average interbank interest rate had fallen below 1 percent. Since then, the central bank has not mopped liquidity from the market. Currently, banks and financial institutions have more than Rs 400 billion of liquidity. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Banks have not been able to invest new loans due to the slowdown in economic activities. The investment of banks, that are unable to expand credit flow, is now limited to the internal debts of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At present, the government is raising internal debt aggressively. The central bank has not even implemented the announcement of the monetary policy in order to help the government raise debt at a low cost, according to Rashtra Bank sources. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"There is a representation of the Ministry of Finance in the open market transaction committee," said a director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, "Therefore, rather than implementing monetary policy, the market is being operated in such a way as to support the government."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources claimed that even though the main goal of the central bank is to maintain the interest rate within the limits, even the monetary policy has not been implemented under the pressure of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Taking advantage of the interbank interest rate which is below the target, the government is raising domestic debt at a cheap rate. Only on Monday, the government renewed the treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.441 percent. In July last year, the interest rate of treasury bills had exceeded 12 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government, which announced that it will collect domestic debt equal to Rs 240 billion in the current year, started collecting the debt from late July. In the current year, the central bank has already raised Rs 59.21 billion loans for the government through the issuance of development bonds. Similarly, Rs 5 billion has been raised through treasury bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Deputy Spokesperson Dr Dilliram Pokharel says that the central bank did not mop liquidity from the market because current interbank interest rate is of short-term. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The inter-bank interest rate has fallen below the target after the government allowed the accumulated amount of the local level to be counted as deposits," he said, "Monetary instruments have not been issued because the liquidity is high and there is no long-term interest rate reduction." </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18835', 'image' => '20230927031503_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 15:14:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Cities of Nepal have Turned into Dumping Sites for Low-Quality Foreign Goods’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In a conversation with New Business Age, Thapa said, “Nepal's cities are not financial hubs or production centers, they are just the dumping sites of poor-quality goods from India, China, and beyond. There is neither local nor domestic production here.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Thapa, there should be a linkage between production in villages and consumption in cities, but the consumption of big cities of Nepal have linkage with Indian villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government has failed in systematic urbanization while protecting agricultural land and the policy of land classification has failed. He concluded that the government is to blame for this.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The government made a plan and started classifying land, but the work did not go according to the plan. It was entrusted to the local level, they did not understand its importance," said Thapa, "The goal was to prevent fragmentation of the arable land. However, most of the local levels classified the agricultural land as residential land.''</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa says that Nepali politicians do not understand that food security is also related to the country’s sovereignty. "No matter how strong the country is in other areas, if there is no food security and if the country is dependent on food, it cannot be considered a sovereign country," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the main reason for this is that the value of residential land is higher than that of agriculture, and there is a compulsion to take loans from the government and financial institutions to acquire such high-value land. He thinks that the government's policy has failed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa argues that industrialization in other countries took place through agriculture and urbanization, but in Nepal, urbanization went directly from agriculture to disorganization. Looking at the global environment, 54 percent of the population lives in cities. However, our settlements have turned into unorganised urbanization because the government did not give proper instructions, argues Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the government report says that 66 percent of the population lives in cities, that figure is wrong, argues Thapa. He says that this figure is only for those who live within the declared urban area, but the population living in the actual city is only 25 to 30 percent. He said that the cities of Nepal were built by the private sector and not by the government, and the cities that were built at the individual level were tailored to their small needs. According to Thapa, if the government creates policies and infrastructure, the private sector will create residential and commercial areas.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He pointed out the need to revise the urban policy formulated in 2064. According to Thapa, the systematic urbanization in each development area and corridor mentioned in the said policy should now be done at the state level.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the population, which should be decentralized due to federalism, is more concentrated in the capital in Nepal and the main reasons for this include convenience and employment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that wherever big plans are made, there will be an increase in economic activities and gradual urbanization, but in Nepal, it is like a city without a plan. People will be attracted to the city for better opportunities, employment, services and facilities. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government aims to raise taxes to cover the expenses of political parties and local governments. He said that many rural municipalities were declared as municipalities with the hope that the budget received after declaring them as cities would increase and services and facilities would be provided.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, services and opportunities were not ready even when the agriculture-based lifestyle was displaced in the hill areas. Settlements increased in the Terai due to lack of opportunities and means of survival in the hill areas. Thapa said that this has led to disaster.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the hill population can be stopped from out-bound migration, but for that the government has to come up with a policy. Thapa suggested that besides providing services, the government should build big plans, well-equipped hospitals, quality schools, universities and industries in the hill areas. This will bring employment opportunities and facilities there and the settlement will gradually return. “For this, the government should work by making a policy," he said, "Providing land to private hospitals and schools and giving tax exemptions can be a good start." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa concluded that no one raised such matters because politics is concentrated where there is large population in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He emphasized that the local and state governments should work together to manage the city in a strategic manner. Urban poverty is increasing in our cities. If it is not managed in time, there may be rebellion, warned Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“There have been many such incidents. The city is not only for the rich, but also for the poor. If the government does not look after them, who will look after them?'' he said, adding, “What has happened in Kathmandu is wrong. Management is not restriction.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He suggested that the citizens should also be aware and cooperate with the government. He added, "While talking about rights, civic duty should not be forgotten.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to a study, 70 percent of the world's carbon emissions come from urban areas. Also, 58 percent of the emission is done by the construction sector. According to Thapa, transportation is the second major cause of carbon emission followed by industries. Referring to the fact that Bhutan has started calling itself 'carbon neutral', he said that we can become neutral in carbon emissions by 2045 if we go ahead with the plan now. He suggested that we should make the best use of our own forest for this. Thapa said it was wrong to say that the environment is damaged by cutting trees. He was of the view that old trees should be cut down while planting new ones.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He connected the Kagbeni flood and the inundation in Kathmandu with the climate change that was discussed among scientists a few years ago. However, he complains that this issue has not been raised in the forum of political parties. According to him, this is a topic that should be discussed at each and every home.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18834', 'image' => '20230927024211_20220717044224_Kathmandu Valley.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 14:41:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19105', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Thrashes Mongolia in 19th Asian Games as Cricket Records Tumble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal defeated Magnolia by 273 runs in the match held at Zhejiang University of Technology’s Pingfeng cricket ground in China. This is so far the biggest-margin win in the men's cricket history of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 314 runs at the loss of three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chasing the mammoth target, Mongolia was all-out for just 41 runs in 13.1 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's bowlers, Karan KC, Avinas Bohora and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each and Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi sent one player each to the pavilion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Nepali batsmen Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi made record runs. A Kushal Malla set a new record by smashing a maiden century off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He broke the fastest-century records of David Miller (South Africa), Sudesh Bikramashekhar (Czech Republic) and Rohit Sharma (India). All three batsmen had a record of smashing century off 35 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Deependra Singh Airi made another world record by smashing half a century in nine balls. Earlier, there was a world record in the name of Indian batsman Yubraj Singh who stroke half century off 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla was unbeaten on 137 runs off 50 balls while Airi hit 52 runs off 10 balls to steer Nepal to the record win. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla stoke 12 sixes and eight fours. Likewise, Captain Rohit Kumar Poudel made 61 runs off 27 balls, Kushal Bhurtel 19 off 23 balls and Sheikh 16 runs off 17 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal will play next match against the Maldives. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18833', 'image' => '20230927014907_cric.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 13:48:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19119', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines Banned to Fly Helicopters', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN grounded these helicopters saying that they had violated aviation rules by conducting flights in adverse weather condition in the Lukla region. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Gyanendra Bhul, Information Officer at CAAN, said that three helicopters owned by these two airlines were banned from flying due to their non-compliance with the requirement to remain grounded during adverse weather conditions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">These helicopters were observed conducting flights when the visibility was significantly less than the prescribed minimum of 100 meters, a clear violation of Visual Flight Rules (VFR). (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-29', 'modified' => '2023-09-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18847', 'image' => '20230929055844_collage (9).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-29 05:57:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19118', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kaligandaki Corridor Road Blocked by Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of the road obstruction, passengers and vehicles heading to Palpa, Butwal and other destinations from the area have been stranded. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last night, a landslide with a huge rock fell at Bishnupanjar near Ridi bazaar under Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality, blocking the road, said the police. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upon receiving the information about the landslip, a team led by Inspector Anil Thapa from the Area Police Office, Ridi, has been working at the incident site since today morning to clear debris and open the road, it has been said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Removing debris with the help of an excavator is underway, said Yadu Gyawali, chairperson of Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road leading to Burtibang of Baglung district through Ridi-Rudrabeni-Wamitaksar is busy all the time with the highest number of vehicles plying all the time. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Repair is underway to open the blocked road as soon as possible, said Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC. (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18846', 'image' => '20230928050100_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 16:59:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19117', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Receives Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 264 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Investors from 57 different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Investors from </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal. So far, foreign investors have bankrolled Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">264</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion in various sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the 'Survey Report on Foreign Direct Investment </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">' published by Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal received FDI in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, construction, electricity, gas, manufacturing sector, mining, tourism, education, finance and insurance, human health and social work, information and communication, transportation and other sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of the end of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the total amount of foreign investment in Nepal constitutes Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as loans, Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">78</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as reserve and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">141</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> 96</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as paid-up capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the central bank, the total foreign direct investment as of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">stood at Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">227</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">94</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion. Based on this report, it has been seen that foreign investment has increased in the country by Rs around Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion by the time of the survey</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank selected </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">231</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> companies which received FDI for survey in the review year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While publishing the survey report on Wednesday, Nepal Rastra Bank, mentioned that the highest amount of investment came from India.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">India, China, Ireland, Singapore and St Kitts and Nevis are among the top five countries investing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The survey showed that a large part of the foreign investment was used in the industrial sector. The report pointed out that </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">62.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in the industrial sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment in the service sector. Within the industrial sector, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32.8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment was made in the hydropower sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the production sector. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in banks and financial institutions and insurance companies under the service sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Central Bank has stated that the capacity utilization of foreign investment companies operating in Nepal is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">71.1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Also, the report mentions that the profit rate of such companies is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Bagmati Province has the highest foreign investment in the country. This province accounts for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55.4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total foreign investment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The lowest FDI is in Karnali Province. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">0.02 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the total foreign investment in the country is made in Karnali Province. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Other major investors include Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, America, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, British Virgin Iceland, Norway, Japan, Bermuda, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka etc.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18845', 'image' => '20230928012136_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:20:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19116', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Business of Non-Life Insurance Companies Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY). This figure is 8.8 percent less than the premiums collected in the corresponding period of last FY.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, the companies collected Rs 3.39 billion in insurance fees in mid-August to mid-September 2023. Experts in the insurance sector say that there is no progress in the insurance business at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the review month, non-life insurance companies have issued 195,257 insurance policies worth Rs 835 billion. As of mid-September in the current FY, insurance companies have collected Rs 7.8 billion in insurance fees. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chunky Chhetri, president of Nepal Insurers Association and Chief Executive Officer of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company, says that there is currently no growth in the insurance sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The chain effect of the recession has also affected the insurance sector," he said, adding, "Currently the vehicle business has not been able to gain pace."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Chhetri, imports-exports have also decreased. There is also a situation where banks and financial institutions have not been able to invest. Its chain effect has fallen on non-life insurance business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two small non-life insurance companies, which have been operating since last July, earned Rs 300,000 in insurance fees in the review month. In the review month, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited collected Rs 213, 000 and Protective Micro Insurance Company Limited collected 87,000 in insurance fees. The two insurance companies issued 87 insurance policies worth Rs 12.16 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Naresh Kumar Rokka, Chief Executive Officer of Rotative Micro Insurance, says that his company is currently expanding its services. According to Rokka, the company is planning to expand 15 branches in all seven provinces before Dashain.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18844', 'image' => '20230928010043_1695866167.1693207181.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:00:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19115', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Doubles the Daily Limit for Gold Import, Banks can Now Import 20 kg Gold Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import. The central bank increased the gold import quota on Wednesday by amending the Integrated Circular-2079.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NRB has mentioned in the circular that the daily limit for gold import has been fixed at 20 kg in accordance with section 4 (a) of Gold Import and Sale Distribution Procedure, 2068. This is twice the previous quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two years ago, the central bank had restricted the daily gold import quota to 10 kg in order to maintain the foreign currency reserves following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which affected the world market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Since then, the gold traders have been time and again requesting the government to increase the gold import limit saying that they could not meet the demand with the allotted quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In Nepal, only commercial banks are allowed to import gold for business purpose. The commercial banks have been importing gold and selling it to businessmen according to the quota fixed by the central bank.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18843', 'image' => '20230928124730_1695819834.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:46:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19114', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Conclave on WASH Concludes, Issuing 20-Point Kathmandu Declaration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development. The Declaration aims to promote the principles of sustainability, inclusion, equity and global access in WASH services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day event hosted by the Ministry of Water Supplies highlighted the significant contributions of WASH services to public health, environmental sustainability, social development and so on. The Declaration insists on the importance of coordination, collaboration, and regional partnerships in strengthening the capacity for wider, equitable, and sustainable WASH service system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has called for incorporating the recommendations made during the Conclave in sectorial development endeavors, development strategies and periodic plans in the concerned sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Underlining the need for comprehensive planning, enhanced regulation of WASH services at all levels, and capacity building of service providers, the Declaration highlights the importance of improved intergovernmental coordination among the three-tier government to ensure better services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It stressed the need for gender equality and social inclusion in WASH sector, calling for implementing measures to conserve water resources through integrated water resource management, groundwater recharge, and early warning systems for flood and drought preparedness in urban and rural areas. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Declaration recommended preparing a sustainable economic draft and WASH financial strategies to advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the security of investments in the WASH sector. It proposed aligning WASH investments with inclusive, green, and flexible development principles and implementing WASH programmes capable of addressing climate change and disaster-related issues. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition, advocating for the improvement of the professional rights and security of frontline sanitation workers, the event stressed the need for ensuring inter-sectorial cooperation among the three-tier government in the WASH sector, with proper utilization of communication systems. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The event was attended by over 200 people including the representatives from the three-tier government, from the private and non-government sectors, civil society, experts and the development partners.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18842', 'image' => '20230928120326_wash.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:02:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19113', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Customers of Nepal SBI Bank to get Discount at Om Hospital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt Ltd (OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health care services.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">a Memorandum of Understanding </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pvt Ltd </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> care</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent statement, the bank said its customers can avail the discount facility</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">with</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> the use of NSBL debit cards and mobile banking services at </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Md Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CFO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Nepal SBI Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Yam Bahadur Mahat, C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Om Hospital signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations amid a recent function.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dipak Kumar De, managing director and C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of NSBL, Yadvender Kant, chief operating officer of NSBL and other senior officials of </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">the bank</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital were present during the occasion</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal SBI</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said it has been </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">providing banking services through 94 branches, 22 extension counters, 7 province offices and 1 corporate office along with 122 ATMs</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> across Nepal</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18841', 'image' => '20230928111240_cover.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 11:12:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19112', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'MetLife Nepal Launches App, Organises Fair to Educate Agents about the App', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Saturday, the life insurance company said it organized "One by MetLife Mela" for all its agents after the launch of its new app - One by MetLife.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the launch of the app, MetLife Nepal claimed the company has not availed digital insurance and healthcare to Nepalis at their fingertips. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the fair organized for the agents featured live demonstrations, briefings on the app’s features, and hands-on sessions, said the company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The primary objective was to empower and educate dedicated agents about the transformative features of the app, so they can guide customers in accessing cutting-edge insurance and healthcare services for a healthier and more secure future,” reads the statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The event also underscores MetLife Nepal's commitment to professional development of its agents and their ability to provide top-notch service to customers, added the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Vice President and General Manager of MetLife Nepal, Nirmal Kajee Shrestha stated, “MetLife believes in the power of enjoyable learning experiences, so we have blended fun activities with valuable lessons in this carnival. By bringing together the best of technology and our active team, we hope to inspire our customers to take steps to live healthier for longer and build a more confident future.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18840', 'image' => '20230928105921_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:58:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19111', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Malaysian Company to Conduct Feasibility Study for Establishing Fertilizer Factory in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">IBN Chief Executive Officer Sushil Bhatta and Re-Nicola's Managing Director Bomhidi Abdelali signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations amidst a programme on Wednesday. Re-Nicola is a Malaysian company. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement, IBN shared that the board has reached an agreement with the Malaysian company to establish a chemical fertilizer factory to produce green ammonia and calcium ammonium nitrate. As per agreement, Re-Nicola will have to submit a detailed feasibility study report within 24 months of agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The chemical fertilizer factory would be established at Abukhaireni of Tanahu district. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18839', 'image' => '20230928103913_20220624091714_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:38:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Furniture Expo 2023 Begins at Bhrikutimandap', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This event, in its 9th edition, is organized by the Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association with the primary objective of promoting Nepal's furniture and furnishing market and uniting locally produced goods and services in one convenient location.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over a hundred stalls featuring furniture and furnishing material sellers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, machinery and technology providers, dealers, and others have been set up at the exhibition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Entry is free, and the organizers anticipate over 50,000 visitors to attend the expo. Additionally, the exhibition venue offers specialized consulting services for architecture and interior design. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Supply, Ramesh Rijal, emphasized the government's commitment to prioritizing policies that boost domestic production, reduce imports, and encourage exports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He underscored the need to promote the export of handicrafts rooted in Nepal's original art culture and crafted from local raw materials. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18838', 'image' => '20230928061934_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 06:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Swimming Ace Zhang Fires Olympic warning as Nepal Breaks Cricket Records', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, hosts China lead the medals table with 76 golds, far ahead of South Korea (19) and Japan (15), after adding titles in a range of sports from artistic gymnastics and chess to beach volleyball and swimming.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The home nation and Zhang in particular have been in ominous form in the pool in Hangzhou, with the Paris Olympics coming up fast, just 10 months away, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“The 25-year-old Zhang blasted the fastest time of the year to easily win the 100m butterfly gold, then helped China to come within a whisker of shattering the 4x100m mixed medley relay world record. Zhang, who has already claimed the 200m fly crown in Hangzhou to go with her Olympic gold, surged to the wall in a new Games-record 55.86sec.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That beat the 56.12 that earned her the world title in July, but she wasn't happy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It doesn't feel so good. This wasn't the record I wanted, I wanted the world record," AFP quoted her as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swedish great Sarah Sjostrom has held the world mark of 55.48 since the 2016 Rio Olympics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">China took home gold in four of the seven finals on the evening, with Japan (two) and South Korea (one) winning the others.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Nepal smashes records </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In hazy morning sunshine on day four of the Games, rampant Nepal rewrote the T20 international record books against bewildered part-timers Mongolia in a 273-run thumping in men's cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs, beating the previous highest T20 men's international innings of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019, added AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Teenager Kushal Malla, batting number three, spearheaded the onslaught by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Among the other records they racked up, Dipendra Singh Airee hit a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The powerful 23-year-old raced to his fifty off nine balls, another T20 world record and one that should stand in perpetuity because it is mathematically impossible to reach the landmark any quicker.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also the best ever.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 at the Asian Games last week, were dismissed for only 41 in 13.1 overs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Much sterner tests await for Nepal, with India and Pakistan both in the draw although the heavyweights have reportedly sent their B team as their main focus is on the Cricket World Cup.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Early celebrations </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In another gold rush for hosts China, they won the women's and men's street finals in skateboarding thanks to a couple of teenagers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 16-year-old Zhang Jie triumphed in the men's and Cui Chenxi, just 13, won the women's. But China did not have it all their own way as Japan won all three golds on offer on the day on the cycling track ahead of the hosts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan sped to victory in women's and men's team pursuit, and in women's keirin.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan's Naoki Kojima said he and his teammates were celebrating well before they crossed the line in the men's team pursuit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In other sports, Chinese table tennis legend Ma Long, 34, said he had almost certainly made his last Asian Games appearance after helping the hosts to men's team gold. Asked about the prospect of defending his Olympic title next year, Ma told AFP: "Paris is still too early to say for me."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => 'Asian, Games, Nepal, China, record, cricket, swimming, Olympics, Zhang, Kushal', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18837', 'image' => '20230927093120_983574-01-02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 21:30:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19108', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal First Team to Score over 300 in T20 Internationals ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla, batting number three, led the way by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla beat the previous quickest, by South African David Miller in 35 balls against Bangladesh in 2017, and went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. He smacked 12 sixes and eight fours. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's batsmen were rampant on a sunny morning at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, captain Rohit Paudel creaming 61 off 27 balls with six sixes. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But it was Dipendra Singh Airee who finished the innings in ridiculous fashion against the hapless Mongolian bowlers, hitting a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls. He reached his fifty off nine balls, another world record, beating India's Yuvraj Singh's 2007 effort against England which took 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also a record, beating Afghanistan's 22 against Ireland. Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 last week in the Asian Games, were dismissed for just 41. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's winning margin of 273 runs was the biggest in terms of runs ever in a T20 international. It beat the Czech Republic's 257-run margin against Turkey in 2019. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18836', 'image' => '20230927064505_Cricket Phot (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 18:43:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB under Pressure from Government as Interbank Interest Rate Drops Below the Monetary Policy Target', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While issuing the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, Nepal Rastra Bank had set a target to maintain the average interbank interest rate higher than the bank rate and lower than the deposit collection rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The upper limit of the interest rate corridor at present is the bank rate of 7.5 percent and the lower limit of the deposit collection rate is 4.5 percent. In order to maintain the interest rate within this limit, there is a provision for the central bank to use various monetary instruments.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although the interbank interest rate has fallen below the monetary policy target in the last two weeks, the central bank has not mopped excess liquidity from the market. In the monetary policy, it is mentioned that if the interest rate is higher or lower than the target, secondary market transactions and deposit collection will be opened. However, since September 13, the interbank interest rate has been consistently lower than the target. Even on Monday, the average interbank interest rate remained at 2.54 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the liquidity in the market increased and the interest rate fell below the target, the central bank collected Rs 20 billion through deposit collection tools on July 13. The deposit has matured on July 20 and has been returned to the market. Similarly, the reverse repo of Rs 20 billion with maturity period of 14 days, which was issued on July 12, also matured on July 26.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At that time, the average interbank interest rate had fallen below 1 percent. Since then, the central bank has not mopped liquidity from the market. Currently, banks and financial institutions have more than Rs 400 billion of liquidity. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Banks have not been able to invest new loans due to the slowdown in economic activities. The investment of banks, that are unable to expand credit flow, is now limited to the internal debts of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At present, the government is raising internal debt aggressively. The central bank has not even implemented the announcement of the monetary policy in order to help the government raise debt at a low cost, according to Rashtra Bank sources. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"There is a representation of the Ministry of Finance in the open market transaction committee," said a director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, "Therefore, rather than implementing monetary policy, the market is being operated in such a way as to support the government."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources claimed that even though the main goal of the central bank is to maintain the interest rate within the limits, even the monetary policy has not been implemented under the pressure of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Taking advantage of the interbank interest rate which is below the target, the government is raising domestic debt at a cheap rate. Only on Monday, the government renewed the treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.441 percent. In July last year, the interest rate of treasury bills had exceeded 12 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government, which announced that it will collect domestic debt equal to Rs 240 billion in the current year, started collecting the debt from late July. In the current year, the central bank has already raised Rs 59.21 billion loans for the government through the issuance of development bonds. Similarly, Rs 5 billion has been raised through treasury bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Deputy Spokesperson Dr Dilliram Pokharel says that the central bank did not mop liquidity from the market because current interbank interest rate is of short-term. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The inter-bank interest rate has fallen below the target after the government allowed the accumulated amount of the local level to be counted as deposits," he said, "Monetary instruments have not been issued because the liquidity is high and there is no long-term interest rate reduction." </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18835', 'image' => '20230927031503_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 15:14:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Cities of Nepal have Turned into Dumping Sites for Low-Quality Foreign Goods’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In a conversation with New Business Age, Thapa said, “Nepal's cities are not financial hubs or production centers, they are just the dumping sites of poor-quality goods from India, China, and beyond. There is neither local nor domestic production here.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Thapa, there should be a linkage between production in villages and consumption in cities, but the consumption of big cities of Nepal have linkage with Indian villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government has failed in systematic urbanization while protecting agricultural land and the policy of land classification has failed. He concluded that the government is to blame for this.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The government made a plan and started classifying land, but the work did not go according to the plan. It was entrusted to the local level, they did not understand its importance," said Thapa, "The goal was to prevent fragmentation of the arable land. However, most of the local levels classified the agricultural land as residential land.''</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa says that Nepali politicians do not understand that food security is also related to the country’s sovereignty. "No matter how strong the country is in other areas, if there is no food security and if the country is dependent on food, it cannot be considered a sovereign country," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the main reason for this is that the value of residential land is higher than that of agriculture, and there is a compulsion to take loans from the government and financial institutions to acquire such high-value land. He thinks that the government's policy has failed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa argues that industrialization in other countries took place through agriculture and urbanization, but in Nepal, urbanization went directly from agriculture to disorganization. Looking at the global environment, 54 percent of the population lives in cities. However, our settlements have turned into unorganised urbanization because the government did not give proper instructions, argues Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the government report says that 66 percent of the population lives in cities, that figure is wrong, argues Thapa. He says that this figure is only for those who live within the declared urban area, but the population living in the actual city is only 25 to 30 percent. He said that the cities of Nepal were built by the private sector and not by the government, and the cities that were built at the individual level were tailored to their small needs. According to Thapa, if the government creates policies and infrastructure, the private sector will create residential and commercial areas.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He pointed out the need to revise the urban policy formulated in 2064. According to Thapa, the systematic urbanization in each development area and corridor mentioned in the said policy should now be done at the state level.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the population, which should be decentralized due to federalism, is more concentrated in the capital in Nepal and the main reasons for this include convenience and employment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that wherever big plans are made, there will be an increase in economic activities and gradual urbanization, but in Nepal, it is like a city without a plan. People will be attracted to the city for better opportunities, employment, services and facilities. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government aims to raise taxes to cover the expenses of political parties and local governments. He said that many rural municipalities were declared as municipalities with the hope that the budget received after declaring them as cities would increase and services and facilities would be provided.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, services and opportunities were not ready even when the agriculture-based lifestyle was displaced in the hill areas. Settlements increased in the Terai due to lack of opportunities and means of survival in the hill areas. Thapa said that this has led to disaster.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the hill population can be stopped from out-bound migration, but for that the government has to come up with a policy. Thapa suggested that besides providing services, the government should build big plans, well-equipped hospitals, quality schools, universities and industries in the hill areas. This will bring employment opportunities and facilities there and the settlement will gradually return. “For this, the government should work by making a policy," he said, "Providing land to private hospitals and schools and giving tax exemptions can be a good start." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa concluded that no one raised such matters because politics is concentrated where there is large population in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He emphasized that the local and state governments should work together to manage the city in a strategic manner. Urban poverty is increasing in our cities. If it is not managed in time, there may be rebellion, warned Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“There have been many such incidents. The city is not only for the rich, but also for the poor. If the government does not look after them, who will look after them?'' he said, adding, “What has happened in Kathmandu is wrong. Management is not restriction.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He suggested that the citizens should also be aware and cooperate with the government. He added, "While talking about rights, civic duty should not be forgotten.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to a study, 70 percent of the world's carbon emissions come from urban areas. Also, 58 percent of the emission is done by the construction sector. According to Thapa, transportation is the second major cause of carbon emission followed by industries. Referring to the fact that Bhutan has started calling itself 'carbon neutral', he said that we can become neutral in carbon emissions by 2045 if we go ahead with the plan now. He suggested that we should make the best use of our own forest for this. Thapa said it was wrong to say that the environment is damaged by cutting trees. He was of the view that old trees should be cut down while planting new ones.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He connected the Kagbeni flood and the inundation in Kathmandu with the climate change that was discussed among scientists a few years ago. However, he complains that this issue has not been raised in the forum of political parties. According to him, this is a topic that should be discussed at each and every home.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18834', 'image' => '20230927024211_20220717044224_Kathmandu Valley.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 14:41:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19105', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Thrashes Mongolia in 19th Asian Games as Cricket Records Tumble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal defeated Magnolia by 273 runs in the match held at Zhejiang University of Technology’s Pingfeng cricket ground in China. This is so far the biggest-margin win in the men's cricket history of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 314 runs at the loss of three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chasing the mammoth target, Mongolia was all-out for just 41 runs in 13.1 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's bowlers, Karan KC, Avinas Bohora and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each and Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi sent one player each to the pavilion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Nepali batsmen Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi made record runs. A Kushal Malla set a new record by smashing a maiden century off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He broke the fastest-century records of David Miller (South Africa), Sudesh Bikramashekhar (Czech Republic) and Rohit Sharma (India). All three batsmen had a record of smashing century off 35 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Deependra Singh Airi made another world record by smashing half a century in nine balls. Earlier, there was a world record in the name of Indian batsman Yubraj Singh who stroke half century off 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla was unbeaten on 137 runs off 50 balls while Airi hit 52 runs off 10 balls to steer Nepal to the record win. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla stoke 12 sixes and eight fours. Likewise, Captain Rohit Kumar Poudel made 61 runs off 27 balls, Kushal Bhurtel 19 off 23 balls and Sheikh 16 runs off 17 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal will play next match against the Maldives. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18833', 'image' => '20230927014907_cric.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 13:48:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19119', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines Banned to Fly Helicopters', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN grounded these helicopters saying that they had violated aviation rules by conducting flights in adverse weather condition in the Lukla region. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Gyanendra Bhul, Information Officer at CAAN, said that three helicopters owned by these two airlines were banned from flying due to their non-compliance with the requirement to remain grounded during adverse weather conditions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">These helicopters were observed conducting flights when the visibility was significantly less than the prescribed minimum of 100 meters, a clear violation of Visual Flight Rules (VFR). (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-29', 'modified' => '2023-09-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18847', 'image' => '20230929055844_collage (9).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-29 05:57:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19118', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kaligandaki Corridor Road Blocked by Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of the road obstruction, passengers and vehicles heading to Palpa, Butwal and other destinations from the area have been stranded. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last night, a landslide with a huge rock fell at Bishnupanjar near Ridi bazaar under Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality, blocking the road, said the police. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upon receiving the information about the landslip, a team led by Inspector Anil Thapa from the Area Police Office, Ridi, has been working at the incident site since today morning to clear debris and open the road, it has been said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Removing debris with the help of an excavator is underway, said Yadu Gyawali, chairperson of Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road leading to Burtibang of Baglung district through Ridi-Rudrabeni-Wamitaksar is busy all the time with the highest number of vehicles plying all the time. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Repair is underway to open the blocked road as soon as possible, said Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC. (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18846', 'image' => '20230928050100_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 16:59:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19117', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Receives Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 264 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Investors from 57 different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Investors from </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal. So far, foreign investors have bankrolled Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">264</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion in various sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the 'Survey Report on Foreign Direct Investment </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">' published by Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal received FDI in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, construction, electricity, gas, manufacturing sector, mining, tourism, education, finance and insurance, human health and social work, information and communication, transportation and other sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of the end of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the total amount of foreign investment in Nepal constitutes Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as loans, Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">78</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as reserve and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">141</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> 96</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as paid-up capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the central bank, the total foreign direct investment as of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">stood at Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">227</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">94</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion. Based on this report, it has been seen that foreign investment has increased in the country by Rs around Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion by the time of the survey</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank selected </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">231</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> companies which received FDI for survey in the review year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While publishing the survey report on Wednesday, Nepal Rastra Bank, mentioned that the highest amount of investment came from India.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">India, China, Ireland, Singapore and St Kitts and Nevis are among the top five countries investing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The survey showed that a large part of the foreign investment was used in the industrial sector. The report pointed out that </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">62.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in the industrial sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment in the service sector. Within the industrial sector, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32.8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment was made in the hydropower sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the production sector. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in banks and financial institutions and insurance companies under the service sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Central Bank has stated that the capacity utilization of foreign investment companies operating in Nepal is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">71.1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Also, the report mentions that the profit rate of such companies is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Bagmati Province has the highest foreign investment in the country. This province accounts for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55.4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total foreign investment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The lowest FDI is in Karnali Province. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">0.02 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the total foreign investment in the country is made in Karnali Province. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Other major investors include Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, America, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, British Virgin Iceland, Norway, Japan, Bermuda, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka etc.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18845', 'image' => '20230928012136_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:20:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19116', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Business of Non-Life Insurance Companies Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY). This figure is 8.8 percent less than the premiums collected in the corresponding period of last FY.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, the companies collected Rs 3.39 billion in insurance fees in mid-August to mid-September 2023. Experts in the insurance sector say that there is no progress in the insurance business at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the review month, non-life insurance companies have issued 195,257 insurance policies worth Rs 835 billion. As of mid-September in the current FY, insurance companies have collected Rs 7.8 billion in insurance fees. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chunky Chhetri, president of Nepal Insurers Association and Chief Executive Officer of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company, says that there is currently no growth in the insurance sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The chain effect of the recession has also affected the insurance sector," he said, adding, "Currently the vehicle business has not been able to gain pace."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Chhetri, imports-exports have also decreased. There is also a situation where banks and financial institutions have not been able to invest. Its chain effect has fallen on non-life insurance business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two small non-life insurance companies, which have been operating since last July, earned Rs 300,000 in insurance fees in the review month. In the review month, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited collected Rs 213, 000 and Protective Micro Insurance Company Limited collected 87,000 in insurance fees. The two insurance companies issued 87 insurance policies worth Rs 12.16 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Naresh Kumar Rokka, Chief Executive Officer of Rotative Micro Insurance, says that his company is currently expanding its services. According to Rokka, the company is planning to expand 15 branches in all seven provinces before Dashain.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18844', 'image' => '20230928010043_1695866167.1693207181.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:00:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19115', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Doubles the Daily Limit for Gold Import, Banks can Now Import 20 kg Gold Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import. The central bank increased the gold import quota on Wednesday by amending the Integrated Circular-2079.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NRB has mentioned in the circular that the daily limit for gold import has been fixed at 20 kg in accordance with section 4 (a) of Gold Import and Sale Distribution Procedure, 2068. This is twice the previous quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two years ago, the central bank had restricted the daily gold import quota to 10 kg in order to maintain the foreign currency reserves following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which affected the world market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Since then, the gold traders have been time and again requesting the government to increase the gold import limit saying that they could not meet the demand with the allotted quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In Nepal, only commercial banks are allowed to import gold for business purpose. The commercial banks have been importing gold and selling it to businessmen according to the quota fixed by the central bank.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18843', 'image' => '20230928124730_1695819834.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:46:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19114', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Conclave on WASH Concludes, Issuing 20-Point Kathmandu Declaration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development. The Declaration aims to promote the principles of sustainability, inclusion, equity and global access in WASH services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day event hosted by the Ministry of Water Supplies highlighted the significant contributions of WASH services to public health, environmental sustainability, social development and so on. The Declaration insists on the importance of coordination, collaboration, and regional partnerships in strengthening the capacity for wider, equitable, and sustainable WASH service system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has called for incorporating the recommendations made during the Conclave in sectorial development endeavors, development strategies and periodic plans in the concerned sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Underlining the need for comprehensive planning, enhanced regulation of WASH services at all levels, and capacity building of service providers, the Declaration highlights the importance of improved intergovernmental coordination among the three-tier government to ensure better services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It stressed the need for gender equality and social inclusion in WASH sector, calling for implementing measures to conserve water resources through integrated water resource management, groundwater recharge, and early warning systems for flood and drought preparedness in urban and rural areas. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Declaration recommended preparing a sustainable economic draft and WASH financial strategies to advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the security of investments in the WASH sector. It proposed aligning WASH investments with inclusive, green, and flexible development principles and implementing WASH programmes capable of addressing climate change and disaster-related issues. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition, advocating for the improvement of the professional rights and security of frontline sanitation workers, the event stressed the need for ensuring inter-sectorial cooperation among the three-tier government in the WASH sector, with proper utilization of communication systems. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The event was attended by over 200 people including the representatives from the three-tier government, from the private and non-government sectors, civil society, experts and the development partners.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18842', 'image' => '20230928120326_wash.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:02:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19113', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Customers of Nepal SBI Bank to get Discount at Om Hospital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt Ltd (OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health care services.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">a Memorandum of Understanding </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pvt Ltd </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> care</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent statement, the bank said its customers can avail the discount facility</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">with</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> the use of NSBL debit cards and mobile banking services at </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Md Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CFO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Nepal SBI Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Yam Bahadur Mahat, C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Om Hospital signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations amid a recent function.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dipak Kumar De, managing director and C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of NSBL, Yadvender Kant, chief operating officer of NSBL and other senior officials of </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">the bank</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital were present during the occasion</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal SBI</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said it has been </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">providing banking services through 94 branches, 22 extension counters, 7 province offices and 1 corporate office along with 122 ATMs</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> across Nepal</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18841', 'image' => '20230928111240_cover.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 11:12:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19112', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'MetLife Nepal Launches App, Organises Fair to Educate Agents about the App', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Saturday, the life insurance company said it organized "One by MetLife Mela" for all its agents after the launch of its new app - One by MetLife.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the launch of the app, MetLife Nepal claimed the company has not availed digital insurance and healthcare to Nepalis at their fingertips. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the fair organized for the agents featured live demonstrations, briefings on the app’s features, and hands-on sessions, said the company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The primary objective was to empower and educate dedicated agents about the transformative features of the app, so they can guide customers in accessing cutting-edge insurance and healthcare services for a healthier and more secure future,” reads the statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The event also underscores MetLife Nepal's commitment to professional development of its agents and their ability to provide top-notch service to customers, added the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Vice President and General Manager of MetLife Nepal, Nirmal Kajee Shrestha stated, “MetLife believes in the power of enjoyable learning experiences, so we have blended fun activities with valuable lessons in this carnival. By bringing together the best of technology and our active team, we hope to inspire our customers to take steps to live healthier for longer and build a more confident future.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18840', 'image' => '20230928105921_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:58:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19111', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Malaysian Company to Conduct Feasibility Study for Establishing Fertilizer Factory in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">IBN Chief Executive Officer Sushil Bhatta and Re-Nicola's Managing Director Bomhidi Abdelali signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations amidst a programme on Wednesday. Re-Nicola is a Malaysian company. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement, IBN shared that the board has reached an agreement with the Malaysian company to establish a chemical fertilizer factory to produce green ammonia and calcium ammonium nitrate. As per agreement, Re-Nicola will have to submit a detailed feasibility study report within 24 months of agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The chemical fertilizer factory would be established at Abukhaireni of Tanahu district. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18839', 'image' => '20230928103913_20220624091714_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:38:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Furniture Expo 2023 Begins at Bhrikutimandap', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This event, in its 9th edition, is organized by the Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association with the primary objective of promoting Nepal's furniture and furnishing market and uniting locally produced goods and services in one convenient location.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over a hundred stalls featuring furniture and furnishing material sellers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, machinery and technology providers, dealers, and others have been set up at the exhibition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Entry is free, and the organizers anticipate over 50,000 visitors to attend the expo. Additionally, the exhibition venue offers specialized consulting services for architecture and interior design. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Supply, Ramesh Rijal, emphasized the government's commitment to prioritizing policies that boost domestic production, reduce imports, and encourage exports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He underscored the need to promote the export of handicrafts rooted in Nepal's original art culture and crafted from local raw materials. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18838', 'image' => '20230928061934_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 06:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Swimming Ace Zhang Fires Olympic warning as Nepal Breaks Cricket Records', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, hosts China lead the medals table with 76 golds, far ahead of South Korea (19) and Japan (15), after adding titles in a range of sports from artistic gymnastics and chess to beach volleyball and swimming.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The home nation and Zhang in particular have been in ominous form in the pool in Hangzhou, with the Paris Olympics coming up fast, just 10 months away, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“The 25-year-old Zhang blasted the fastest time of the year to easily win the 100m butterfly gold, then helped China to come within a whisker of shattering the 4x100m mixed medley relay world record. Zhang, who has already claimed the 200m fly crown in Hangzhou to go with her Olympic gold, surged to the wall in a new Games-record 55.86sec.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That beat the 56.12 that earned her the world title in July, but she wasn't happy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It doesn't feel so good. This wasn't the record I wanted, I wanted the world record," AFP quoted her as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swedish great Sarah Sjostrom has held the world mark of 55.48 since the 2016 Rio Olympics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">China took home gold in four of the seven finals on the evening, with Japan (two) and South Korea (one) winning the others.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Nepal smashes records </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In hazy morning sunshine on day four of the Games, rampant Nepal rewrote the T20 international record books against bewildered part-timers Mongolia in a 273-run thumping in men's cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs, beating the previous highest T20 men's international innings of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019, added AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Teenager Kushal Malla, batting number three, spearheaded the onslaught by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Among the other records they racked up, Dipendra Singh Airee hit a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The powerful 23-year-old raced to his fifty off nine balls, another T20 world record and one that should stand in perpetuity because it is mathematically impossible to reach the landmark any quicker.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also the best ever.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 at the Asian Games last week, were dismissed for only 41 in 13.1 overs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Much sterner tests await for Nepal, with India and Pakistan both in the draw although the heavyweights have reportedly sent their B team as their main focus is on the Cricket World Cup.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Early celebrations </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In another gold rush for hosts China, they won the women's and men's street finals in skateboarding thanks to a couple of teenagers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 16-year-old Zhang Jie triumphed in the men's and Cui Chenxi, just 13, won the women's. But China did not have it all their own way as Japan won all three golds on offer on the day on the cycling track ahead of the hosts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan sped to victory in women's and men's team pursuit, and in women's keirin.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan's Naoki Kojima said he and his teammates were celebrating well before they crossed the line in the men's team pursuit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In other sports, Chinese table tennis legend Ma Long, 34, said he had almost certainly made his last Asian Games appearance after helping the hosts to men's team gold. Asked about the prospect of defending his Olympic title next year, Ma told AFP: "Paris is still too early to say for me."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => 'Asian, Games, Nepal, China, record, cricket, swimming, Olympics, Zhang, Kushal', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18837', 'image' => '20230927093120_983574-01-02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 21:30:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19108', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal First Team to Score over 300 in T20 Internationals ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla, batting number three, led the way by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla beat the previous quickest, by South African David Miller in 35 balls against Bangladesh in 2017, and went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. He smacked 12 sixes and eight fours. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's batsmen were rampant on a sunny morning at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, captain Rohit Paudel creaming 61 off 27 balls with six sixes. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But it was Dipendra Singh Airee who finished the innings in ridiculous fashion against the hapless Mongolian bowlers, hitting a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls. He reached his fifty off nine balls, another world record, beating India's Yuvraj Singh's 2007 effort against England which took 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also a record, beating Afghanistan's 22 against Ireland. Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 last week in the Asian Games, were dismissed for just 41. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's winning margin of 273 runs was the biggest in terms of runs ever in a T20 international. It beat the Czech Republic's 257-run margin against Turkey in 2019. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18836', 'image' => '20230927064505_Cricket Phot (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 18:43:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB under Pressure from Government as Interbank Interest Rate Drops Below the Monetary Policy Target', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While issuing the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, Nepal Rastra Bank had set a target to maintain the average interbank interest rate higher than the bank rate and lower than the deposit collection rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The upper limit of the interest rate corridor at present is the bank rate of 7.5 percent and the lower limit of the deposit collection rate is 4.5 percent. In order to maintain the interest rate within this limit, there is a provision for the central bank to use various monetary instruments.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although the interbank interest rate has fallen below the monetary policy target in the last two weeks, the central bank has not mopped excess liquidity from the market. In the monetary policy, it is mentioned that if the interest rate is higher or lower than the target, secondary market transactions and deposit collection will be opened. However, since September 13, the interbank interest rate has been consistently lower than the target. Even on Monday, the average interbank interest rate remained at 2.54 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the liquidity in the market increased and the interest rate fell below the target, the central bank collected Rs 20 billion through deposit collection tools on July 13. The deposit has matured on July 20 and has been returned to the market. Similarly, the reverse repo of Rs 20 billion with maturity period of 14 days, which was issued on July 12, also matured on July 26.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At that time, the average interbank interest rate had fallen below 1 percent. Since then, the central bank has not mopped liquidity from the market. Currently, banks and financial institutions have more than Rs 400 billion of liquidity. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Banks have not been able to invest new loans due to the slowdown in economic activities. The investment of banks, that are unable to expand credit flow, is now limited to the internal debts of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At present, the government is raising internal debt aggressively. The central bank has not even implemented the announcement of the monetary policy in order to help the government raise debt at a low cost, according to Rashtra Bank sources. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"There is a representation of the Ministry of Finance in the open market transaction committee," said a director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, "Therefore, rather than implementing monetary policy, the market is being operated in such a way as to support the government."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources claimed that even though the main goal of the central bank is to maintain the interest rate within the limits, even the monetary policy has not been implemented under the pressure of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Taking advantage of the interbank interest rate which is below the target, the government is raising domestic debt at a cheap rate. Only on Monday, the government renewed the treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.441 percent. In July last year, the interest rate of treasury bills had exceeded 12 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government, which announced that it will collect domestic debt equal to Rs 240 billion in the current year, started collecting the debt from late July. In the current year, the central bank has already raised Rs 59.21 billion loans for the government through the issuance of development bonds. Similarly, Rs 5 billion has been raised through treasury bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Deputy Spokesperson Dr Dilliram Pokharel says that the central bank did not mop liquidity from the market because current interbank interest rate is of short-term. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The inter-bank interest rate has fallen below the target after the government allowed the accumulated amount of the local level to be counted as deposits," he said, "Monetary instruments have not been issued because the liquidity is high and there is no long-term interest rate reduction." </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18835', 'image' => '20230927031503_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 15:14:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Cities of Nepal have Turned into Dumping Sites for Low-Quality Foreign Goods’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In a conversation with New Business Age, Thapa said, “Nepal's cities are not financial hubs or production centers, they are just the dumping sites of poor-quality goods from India, China, and beyond. There is neither local nor domestic production here.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Thapa, there should be a linkage between production in villages and consumption in cities, but the consumption of big cities of Nepal have linkage with Indian villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government has failed in systematic urbanization while protecting agricultural land and the policy of land classification has failed. He concluded that the government is to blame for this.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The government made a plan and started classifying land, but the work did not go according to the plan. It was entrusted to the local level, they did not understand its importance," said Thapa, "The goal was to prevent fragmentation of the arable land. However, most of the local levels classified the agricultural land as residential land.''</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa says that Nepali politicians do not understand that food security is also related to the country’s sovereignty. "No matter how strong the country is in other areas, if there is no food security and if the country is dependent on food, it cannot be considered a sovereign country," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the main reason for this is that the value of residential land is higher than that of agriculture, and there is a compulsion to take loans from the government and financial institutions to acquire such high-value land. He thinks that the government's policy has failed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa argues that industrialization in other countries took place through agriculture and urbanization, but in Nepal, urbanization went directly from agriculture to disorganization. Looking at the global environment, 54 percent of the population lives in cities. However, our settlements have turned into unorganised urbanization because the government did not give proper instructions, argues Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the government report says that 66 percent of the population lives in cities, that figure is wrong, argues Thapa. He says that this figure is only for those who live within the declared urban area, but the population living in the actual city is only 25 to 30 percent. He said that the cities of Nepal were built by the private sector and not by the government, and the cities that were built at the individual level were tailored to their small needs. According to Thapa, if the government creates policies and infrastructure, the private sector will create residential and commercial areas.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He pointed out the need to revise the urban policy formulated in 2064. According to Thapa, the systematic urbanization in each development area and corridor mentioned in the said policy should now be done at the state level.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the population, which should be decentralized due to federalism, is more concentrated in the capital in Nepal and the main reasons for this include convenience and employment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that wherever big plans are made, there will be an increase in economic activities and gradual urbanization, but in Nepal, it is like a city without a plan. People will be attracted to the city for better opportunities, employment, services and facilities. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government aims to raise taxes to cover the expenses of political parties and local governments. He said that many rural municipalities were declared as municipalities with the hope that the budget received after declaring them as cities would increase and services and facilities would be provided.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, services and opportunities were not ready even when the agriculture-based lifestyle was displaced in the hill areas. Settlements increased in the Terai due to lack of opportunities and means of survival in the hill areas. Thapa said that this has led to disaster.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the hill population can be stopped from out-bound migration, but for that the government has to come up with a policy. Thapa suggested that besides providing services, the government should build big plans, well-equipped hospitals, quality schools, universities and industries in the hill areas. This will bring employment opportunities and facilities there and the settlement will gradually return. “For this, the government should work by making a policy," he said, "Providing land to private hospitals and schools and giving tax exemptions can be a good start." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa concluded that no one raised such matters because politics is concentrated where there is large population in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He emphasized that the local and state governments should work together to manage the city in a strategic manner. Urban poverty is increasing in our cities. If it is not managed in time, there may be rebellion, warned Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“There have been many such incidents. The city is not only for the rich, but also for the poor. If the government does not look after them, who will look after them?'' he said, adding, “What has happened in Kathmandu is wrong. Management is not restriction.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He suggested that the citizens should also be aware and cooperate with the government. He added, "While talking about rights, civic duty should not be forgotten.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to a study, 70 percent of the world's carbon emissions come from urban areas. Also, 58 percent of the emission is done by the construction sector. According to Thapa, transportation is the second major cause of carbon emission followed by industries. Referring to the fact that Bhutan has started calling itself 'carbon neutral', he said that we can become neutral in carbon emissions by 2045 if we go ahead with the plan now. He suggested that we should make the best use of our own forest for this. Thapa said it was wrong to say that the environment is damaged by cutting trees. He was of the view that old trees should be cut down while planting new ones.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He connected the Kagbeni flood and the inundation in Kathmandu with the climate change that was discussed among scientists a few years ago. However, he complains that this issue has not been raised in the forum of political parties. According to him, this is a topic that should be discussed at each and every home.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18834', 'image' => '20230927024211_20220717044224_Kathmandu Valley.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 14:41:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19105', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Thrashes Mongolia in 19th Asian Games as Cricket Records Tumble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal defeated Magnolia by 273 runs in the match held at Zhejiang University of Technology’s Pingfeng cricket ground in China. This is so far the biggest-margin win in the men's cricket history of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 314 runs at the loss of three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chasing the mammoth target, Mongolia was all-out for just 41 runs in 13.1 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's bowlers, Karan KC, Avinas Bohora and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each and Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi sent one player each to the pavilion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Nepali batsmen Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi made record runs. A Kushal Malla set a new record by smashing a maiden century off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He broke the fastest-century records of David Miller (South Africa), Sudesh Bikramashekhar (Czech Republic) and Rohit Sharma (India). All three batsmen had a record of smashing century off 35 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Deependra Singh Airi made another world record by smashing half a century in nine balls. Earlier, there was a world record in the name of Indian batsman Yubraj Singh who stroke half century off 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla was unbeaten on 137 runs off 50 balls while Airi hit 52 runs off 10 balls to steer Nepal to the record win. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla stoke 12 sixes and eight fours. Likewise, Captain Rohit Kumar Poudel made 61 runs off 27 balls, Kushal Bhurtel 19 off 23 balls and Sheikh 16 runs off 17 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal will play next match against the Maldives. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18833', 'image' => '20230927014907_cric.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 13:48:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19119', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines Banned to Fly Helicopters', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has banned the operation of 'AS-350 B 3 E' helicopters belonging to two airline companies, Shree Airlines and Fishtail Airlines. This action has been taken due to serious violations of aviation regulations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">CAAN grounded these helicopters saying that they had violated aviation rules by conducting flights in adverse weather condition in the Lukla region. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> Gyanendra Bhul, Information Officer at CAAN, said that three helicopters owned by these two airlines were banned from flying due to their non-compliance with the requirement to remain grounded during adverse weather conditions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">These helicopters were observed conducting flights when the visibility was significantly less than the prescribed minimum of 100 meters, a clear violation of Visual Flight Rules (VFR). (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-29', 'modified' => '2023-09-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18847', 'image' => '20230929055844_collage (9).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-29 05:57:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19118', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Kaligandaki Corridor Road Blocked by Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: A landslide has obstructed the Kaligandaki corridor road. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road has been completely closed since last night after a huge landslide fell on the Ridi-Rudrabeni road section under the Kaligandaki corridor, said the district police office, Gulmi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As a result of the road obstruction, passengers and vehicles heading to Palpa, Butwal and other destinations from the area have been stranded. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last night, a landslide with a huge rock fell at Bishnupanjar near Ridi bazaar under Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality, blocking the road, said the police. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Upon receiving the information about the landslip, a team led by Inspector Anil Thapa from the Area Police Office, Ridi, has been working at the incident site since today morning to clear debris and open the road, it has been said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Removing debris with the help of an excavator is underway, said Yadu Gyawali, chairperson of Ruruchhetra Rural Municipality. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The road leading to Burtibang of Baglung district through Ridi-Rudrabeni-Wamitaksar is busy all the time with the highest number of vehicles plying all the time. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Repair is underway to open the blocked road as soon as possible, said Chief District Officer Tek Bahadur KC. (RSS) </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18846', 'image' => '20230928050100_collage (8).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 16:59:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19117', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Receives Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs 264 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Investors from 57 different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Investors from </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">57</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> different countries have injected Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal. So far, foreign investors have bankrolled Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">264</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion in various sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the 'Survey Report on Foreign Direct Investment </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">' published by Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Nepal received FDI in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, construction, electricity, gas, manufacturing sector, mining, tourism, education, finance and insurance, human health and social work, information and communication, transportation and other sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of the end of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2078/79</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, the total amount of foreign investment in Nepal constitutes Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as loans, Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">83</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">78</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as reserve and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">141</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> 96</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion as paid-up capital.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the central bank, the total foreign direct investment as of FY </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2077/78</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">stood at Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">227</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">94</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion. Based on this report, it has been seen that foreign investment has increased in the country by Rs around Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion by the time of the survey</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank selected </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">231</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> companies which received FDI for survey in the review year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While publishing the survey report on Wednesday, Nepal Rastra Bank, mentioned that the highest amount of investment came from India.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">India, China, Ireland, Singapore and St Kitts and Nevis are among the top five countries investing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The survey showed that a large part of the foreign investment was used in the industrial sector. The report pointed out that </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">62.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in the industrial sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">37.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment in the service sector. Within the industrial sector, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">32.8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the investment was made in the hydropower sector and </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in the production sector. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">25.6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total investment was made in banks and financial institutions and insurance companies under the service sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Central Bank has stated that the capacity utilization of foreign investment companies operating in Nepal is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">71.1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Also, the report mentions that the profit rate of such companies is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14.3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Bagmati Province has the highest foreign investment in the country. This province accounts for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55.4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent of the total foreign investment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The lowest FDI is in Karnali Province. According to the report, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">0.02 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">percent of the total foreign investment in the country is made in Karnali Province. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Other major investors include Australia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, America, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, the UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, British Virgin Iceland, Norway, Japan, Bermuda, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka etc.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18845', 'image' => '20230928012136_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:20:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19116', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Business of Non-Life Insurance Companies Slumps', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Non-life insurance companies earned insurance premiums of Rs 3.3 billion in the Nepali month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) in the current fiscal year (FY). This figure is 8.8 percent less than the premiums collected in the corresponding period of last FY.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, the companies collected Rs 3.39 billion in insurance fees in mid-August to mid-September 2023. Experts in the insurance sector say that there is no progress in the insurance business at present.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the review month, non-life insurance companies have issued 195,257 insurance policies worth Rs 835 billion. As of mid-September in the current FY, insurance companies have collected Rs 7.8 billion in insurance fees. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chunky Chhetri, president of Nepal Insurers Association and Chief Executive Officer of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company, says that there is currently no growth in the insurance sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The chain effect of the recession has also affected the insurance sector," he said, adding, "Currently the vehicle business has not been able to gain pace."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Chhetri, imports-exports have also decreased. There is also a situation where banks and financial institutions have not been able to invest. Its chain effect has fallen on non-life insurance business.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two small non-life insurance companies, which have been operating since last July, earned Rs 300,000 in insurance fees in the review month. In the review month, Nepal Micro Insurance Company Limited collected Rs 213, 000 and Protective Micro Insurance Company Limited collected 87,000 in insurance fees. The two insurance companies issued 87 insurance policies worth Rs 12.16 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Naresh Kumar Rokka, Chief Executive Officer of Rotative Micro Insurance, says that his company is currently expanding its services. According to Rokka, the company is planning to expand 15 branches in all seven provinces before Dashain.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18844', 'image' => '20230928010043_1695866167.1693207181.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 13:00:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19115', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Doubles the Daily Limit for Gold Import, Banks can Now Import 20 kg Gold Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal Rastra Bank has increased the daily limit for gold import. The central bank increased the gold import quota on Wednesday by amending the Integrated Circular-2079.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The NRB has mentioned in the circular that the daily limit for gold import has been fixed at 20 kg in accordance with section 4 (a) of Gold Import and Sale Distribution Procedure, 2068. This is twice the previous quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Two years ago, the central bank had restricted the daily gold import quota to 10 kg in order to maintain the foreign currency reserves following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic which affected the world market.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Since then, the gold traders have been time and again requesting the government to increase the gold import limit saying that they could not meet the demand with the allotted quota.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In Nepal, only commercial banks are allowed to import gold for business purpose. The commercial banks have been importing gold and selling it to businessmen according to the quota fixed by the central bank.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18843', 'image' => '20230928124730_1695819834.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:46:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19114', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'National Conclave on WASH Concludes, Issuing 20-Point Kathmandu Declaration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 28: The National Conclave on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concluded on Wednesday, issuing a 20-point declaration with commitments to achieving the national goals of sustainable development. The Declaration aims to promote the principles of sustainability, inclusion, equity and global access in WASH services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day event hosted by the Ministry of Water Supplies highlighted the significant contributions of WASH services to public health, environmental sustainability, social development and so on. The Declaration insists on the importance of coordination, collaboration, and regional partnerships in strengthening the capacity for wider, equitable, and sustainable WASH service system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has called for incorporating the recommendations made during the Conclave in sectorial development endeavors, development strategies and periodic plans in the concerned sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Underlining the need for comprehensive planning, enhanced regulation of WASH services at all levels, and capacity building of service providers, the Declaration highlights the importance of improved intergovernmental coordination among the three-tier government to ensure better services. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It stressed the need for gender equality and social inclusion in WASH sector, calling for implementing measures to conserve water resources through integrated water resource management, groundwater recharge, and early warning systems for flood and drought preparedness in urban and rural areas. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Declaration recommended preparing a sustainable economic draft and WASH financial strategies to advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure the security of investments in the WASH sector. It proposed aligning WASH investments with inclusive, green, and flexible development principles and implementing WASH programmes capable of addressing climate change and disaster-related issues. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition, advocating for the improvement of the professional rights and security of frontline sanitation workers, the event stressed the need for ensuring inter-sectorial cooperation among the three-tier government in the WASH sector, with proper utilization of communication systems. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The event was attended by over 200 people including the representatives from the three-tier government, from the private and non-government sectors, civil society, experts and the development partners.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18842', 'image' => '20230928120326_wash.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 12:02:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19113', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Customers of Nepal SBI Bank to get Discount at Om Hospital', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center Pvt Ltd (OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health care services.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) has signed </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">a Memorandum of Understanding </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(MoU) with Om Hospital and Research Center </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pvt Ltd </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(OMHRC) to provide discounts to all its debit card holders for health</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> care</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> services. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a recent statement, the bank said its customers can avail the discount facility</span> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">with</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> the use of NSBL debit cards and mobile banking services at </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Md Rizwan Alam, Deputy CEO and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CFO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Nepal SBI Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Yam Bahadur Mahat, C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of Om Hospital signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations amid a recent function.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dipak Kumar De, managing director and C</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">EO</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> of NSBL, Yadvender Kant, chief operating officer of NSBL and other senior officials of </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">the bank</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> and </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Om Hospital were present during the occasion</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal SBI</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> Bank </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">said it has been </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">providing banking services through 94 branches, 22 extension counters, 7 province offices and 1 corporate office along with 122 ATMs</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> across Nepal</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18841', 'image' => '20230928111240_cover.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 11:12:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19112', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'MetLife Nepal Launches App, Organises Fair to Educate Agents about the App', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 28: MetLife Nepal recently hosted a fair for all its agents to “reinforce a shared commitment” to serving customers and helping them lead a healthier, longer lives.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Saturday, the life insurance company said it organized "One by MetLife Mela" for all its agents after the launch of its new app - One by MetLife.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">With the launch of the app, MetLife Nepal claimed the company has not availed digital insurance and healthcare to Nepalis at their fingertips. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the fair organized for the agents featured live demonstrations, briefings on the app’s features, and hands-on sessions, said the company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The primary objective was to empower and educate dedicated agents about the transformative features of the app, so they can guide customers in accessing cutting-edge insurance and healthcare services for a healthier and more secure future,” reads the statement.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The event also underscores MetLife Nepal's commitment to professional development of its agents and their ability to provide top-notch service to customers, added the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Vice President and General Manager of MetLife Nepal, Nirmal Kajee Shrestha stated, “MetLife believes in the power of enjoyable learning experiences, so we have blended fun activities with valuable lessons in this carnival. By bringing together the best of technology and our active team, we hope to inspire our customers to take steps to live healthier for longer and build a more confident future.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18840', 'image' => '20230928105921_Untitled.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:58:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19111', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Malaysian Company to Conduct Feasibility Study for Establishing Fertilizer Factory in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: The Investment Board, Nepal has signed an agreement with a Malaysian company to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a chemical fertilizer factory in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">IBN Chief Executive Officer Sushil Bhatta and Re-Nicola's Managing Director Bomhidi Abdelali signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations amidst a programme on Wednesday. Re-Nicola is a Malaysian company. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement, IBN shared that the board has reached an agreement with the Malaysian company to establish a chemical fertilizer factory to produce green ammonia and calcium ammonium nitrate. As per agreement, Re-Nicola will have to submit a detailed feasibility study report within 24 months of agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The chemical fertilizer factory would be established at Abukhaireni of Tanahu district. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18839', 'image' => '20230928103913_20220624091714_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 10:38:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19110', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Furniture Expo 2023 Begins at Bhrikutimandap', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">September 28: The Furniture and Furnishing Expo 2023 commenced on September 27 at the Bhrikutimandap exhibition hall. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This event, in its 9th edition, is organized by the Nepal Furniture and Furnishing Association with the primary objective of promoting Nepal's furniture and furnishing market and uniting locally produced goods and services in one convenient location.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Over a hundred stalls featuring furniture and furnishing material sellers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, machinery and technology providers, dealers, and others have been set up at the exhibition.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Entry is free, and the organizers anticipate over 50,000 visitors to attend the expo. Additionally, the exhibition venue offers specialized consulting services for architecture and interior design. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Supply, Ramesh Rijal, emphasized the government's commitment to prioritizing policies that boost domestic production, reduce imports, and encourage exports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He underscored the need to promote the export of handicrafts rooted in Nepal's original art culture and crafted from local raw materials. (RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-28', 'modified' => '2023-09-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18838', 'image' => '20230928061934_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-28 06:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19109', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Swimming Ace Zhang Fires Olympic warning as Nepal Breaks Cricket Records', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">September 27: World champion swimmer Zhang Yufei sent a major message to her Paris 2024 rivals on Wednesday at the Asian Games as Nepal smashed multiple records in cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, hosts China lead the medals table with 76 golds, far ahead of South Korea (19) and Japan (15), after adding titles in a range of sports from artistic gymnastics and chess to beach volleyball and swimming.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The home nation and Zhang in particular have been in ominous form in the pool in Hangzhou, with the Paris Olympics coming up fast, just 10 months away, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“The 25-year-old Zhang blasted the fastest time of the year to easily win the 100m butterfly gold, then helped China to come within a whisker of shattering the 4x100m mixed medley relay world record. Zhang, who has already claimed the 200m fly crown in Hangzhou to go with her Olympic gold, surged to the wall in a new Games-record 55.86sec.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That beat the 56.12 that earned her the world title in July, but she wasn't happy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It doesn't feel so good. This wasn't the record I wanted, I wanted the world record," AFP quoted her as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swedish great Sarah Sjostrom has held the world mark of 55.48 since the 2016 Rio Olympics.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">China took home gold in four of the seven finals on the evening, with Japan (two) and South Korea (one) winning the others.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Nepal smashes records </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In hazy morning sunshine on day four of the Games, rampant Nepal rewrote the T20 international record books against bewildered part-timers Mongolia in a 273-run thumping in men's cricket.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs, beating the previous highest T20 men's international innings of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019, added AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Teenager Kushal Malla, batting number three, spearheaded the onslaught by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Among the other records they racked up, Dipendra Singh Airee hit a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The powerful 23-year-old raced to his fifty off nine balls, another T20 world record and one that should stand in perpetuity because it is mathematically impossible to reach the landmark any quicker.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also the best ever.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 at the Asian Games last week, were dismissed for only 41 in 13.1 overs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Much sterner tests await for Nepal, with India and Pakistan both in the draw although the heavyweights have reportedly sent their B team as their main focus is on the Cricket World Cup.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Early celebrations </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In another gold rush for hosts China, they won the women's and men's street finals in skateboarding thanks to a couple of teenagers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 16-year-old Zhang Jie triumphed in the men's and Cui Chenxi, just 13, won the women's. But China did not have it all their own way as Japan won all three golds on offer on the day on the cycling track ahead of the hosts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan sped to victory in women's and men's team pursuit, and in women's keirin.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Japan's Naoki Kojima said he and his teammates were celebrating well before they crossed the line in the men's team pursuit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In other sports, Chinese table tennis legend Ma Long, 34, said he had almost certainly made his last Asian Games appearance after helping the hosts to men's team gold. Asked about the prospect of defending his Olympic title next year, Ma told AFP: "Paris is still too early to say for me."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => 'Asian, Games, Nepal, China, record, cricket, swimming, Olympics, Zhang, Kushal', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18837', 'image' => '20230927093120_983574-01-02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 21:30:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19108', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal First Team to Score over 300 in T20 Internationals ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal became the first men's team in history to score more than 300 runs in T20 international cricket on Wednesday as they rewrote the record books against Mongolia at the Asian Games. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They bludgeoned 314-3 in their 20 overs in Hangzhou, beating the previous highest of 278-3 by Afghanistan against Ireland in 2019. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla, batting number three, led the way by crashing the fastest T20 international century, off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla beat the previous quickest, by South African David Miller in 35 balls against Bangladesh in 2017, and went on to finish on 137 not out off just 50 balls. He smacked 12 sixes and eight fours. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's batsmen were rampant on a sunny morning at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, captain Rohit Paudel creaming 61 off 27 balls with six sixes. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">But it was Dipendra Singh Airee who finished the innings in ridiculous fashion against the hapless Mongolian bowlers, hitting a scarcely believable eight sixes in an unbeaten 52 off 10 balls. He reached his fifty off nine balls, another world record, beating India's Yuvraj Singh's 2007 effort against England which took 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's 26 sixes in the innings was also a record, beating Afghanistan's 22 against Ireland. Mongolia, whose women's team were bowled out for just 15 last week in the Asian Games, were dismissed for just 41. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's winning margin of 273 runs was the biggest in terms of runs ever in a T20 international. It beat the Czech Republic's 257-run margin against Turkey in 2019. – AFP/RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18836', 'image' => '20230927064505_Cricket Phot (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 18:43:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19107', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB under Pressure from Government as Interbank Interest Rate Drops Below the Monetary Policy Target', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Amid criticism that the Nepal Rastra Bank has not been supportive in making the economy vibrant, it has been found that the central bank has fixed the inter-bank rate lower than the target set in the monetary policy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">While issuing the monetary policy for the current fiscal year, Nepal Rastra Bank had set a target to maintain the average interbank interest rate higher than the bank rate and lower than the deposit collection rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The upper limit of the interest rate corridor at present is the bank rate of 7.5 percent and the lower limit of the deposit collection rate is 4.5 percent. In order to maintain the interest rate within this limit, there is a provision for the central bank to use various monetary instruments.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Although the interbank interest rate has fallen below the monetary policy target in the last two weeks, the central bank has not mopped excess liquidity from the market. In the monetary policy, it is mentioned that if the interest rate is higher or lower than the target, secondary market transactions and deposit collection will be opened. However, since September 13, the interbank interest rate has been consistently lower than the target. Even on Monday, the average interbank interest rate remained at 2.54 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">After the liquidity in the market increased and the interest rate fell below the target, the central bank collected Rs 20 billion through deposit collection tools on July 13. The deposit has matured on July 20 and has been returned to the market. Similarly, the reverse repo of Rs 20 billion with maturity period of 14 days, which was issued on July 12, also matured on July 26.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At that time, the average interbank interest rate had fallen below 1 percent. Since then, the central bank has not mopped liquidity from the market. Currently, banks and financial institutions have more than Rs 400 billion of liquidity. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Banks have not been able to invest new loans due to the slowdown in economic activities. The investment of banks, that are unable to expand credit flow, is now limited to the internal debts of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">At present, the government is raising internal debt aggressively. The central bank has not even implemented the announcement of the monetary policy in order to help the government raise debt at a low cost, according to Rashtra Bank sources. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"There is a representation of the Ministry of Finance in the open market transaction committee," said a director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, "Therefore, rather than implementing monetary policy, the market is being operated in such a way as to support the government."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sources claimed that even though the main goal of the central bank is to maintain the interest rate within the limits, even the monetary policy has not been implemented under the pressure of the government.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Taking advantage of the interbank interest rate which is below the target, the government is raising domestic debt at a cheap rate. Only on Monday, the government renewed the treasury bills at an interest rate of 3.441 percent. In July last year, the interest rate of treasury bills had exceeded 12 percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The government, which announced that it will collect domestic debt equal to Rs 240 billion in the current year, started collecting the debt from late July. In the current year, the central bank has already raised Rs 59.21 billion loans for the government through the issuance of development bonds. Similarly, Rs 5 billion has been raised through treasury bills.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Deputy Spokesperson Dr Dilliram Pokharel says that the central bank did not mop liquidity from the market because current interbank interest rate is of short-term. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"The inter-bank interest rate has fallen below the target after the government allowed the accumulated amount of the local level to be counted as deposits," he said, "Monetary instruments have not been issued because the liquidity is high and there is no long-term interest rate reduction." </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18835', 'image' => '20230927031503_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 15:14:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19106', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Cities of Nepal have Turned into Dumping Sites for Low-Quality Foreign Goods’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 27: Kishore Thapa, an urban development expert and former government secretary, has said that Nepal's cities have turned into a dumping ground for low-quality goods produced in India, China and other countries. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In a conversation with New Business Age, Thapa said, “Nepal's cities are not financial hubs or production centers, they are just the dumping sites of poor-quality goods from India, China, and beyond. There is neither local nor domestic production here.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Thapa, there should be a linkage between production in villages and consumption in cities, but the consumption of big cities of Nepal have linkage with Indian villages.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government has failed in systematic urbanization while protecting agricultural land and the policy of land classification has failed. He concluded that the government is to blame for this.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“The government made a plan and started classifying land, but the work did not go according to the plan. It was entrusted to the local level, they did not understand its importance," said Thapa, "The goal was to prevent fragmentation of the arable land. However, most of the local levels classified the agricultural land as residential land.''</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa says that Nepali politicians do not understand that food security is also related to the country’s sovereignty. "No matter how strong the country is in other areas, if there is no food security and if the country is dependent on food, it cannot be considered a sovereign country," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the main reason for this is that the value of residential land is higher than that of agriculture, and there is a compulsion to take loans from the government and financial institutions to acquire such high-value land. He thinks that the government's policy has failed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa argues that industrialization in other countries took place through agriculture and urbanization, but in Nepal, urbanization went directly from agriculture to disorganization. Looking at the global environment, 54 percent of the population lives in cities. However, our settlements have turned into unorganised urbanization because the government did not give proper instructions, argues Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even though the government report says that 66 percent of the population lives in cities, that figure is wrong, argues Thapa. He says that this figure is only for those who live within the declared urban area, but the population living in the actual city is only 25 to 30 percent. He said that the cities of Nepal were built by the private sector and not by the government, and the cities that were built at the individual level were tailored to their small needs. According to Thapa, if the government creates policies and infrastructure, the private sector will create residential and commercial areas.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He pointed out the need to revise the urban policy formulated in 2064. According to Thapa, the systematic urbanization in each development area and corridor mentioned in the said policy should now be done at the state level.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the population, which should be decentralized due to federalism, is more concentrated in the capital in Nepal and the main reasons for this include convenience and employment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that wherever big plans are made, there will be an increase in economic activities and gradual urbanization, but in Nepal, it is like a city without a plan. People will be attracted to the city for better opportunities, employment, services and facilities. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the government aims to raise taxes to cover the expenses of political parties and local governments. He said that many rural municipalities were declared as municipalities with the hope that the budget received after declaring them as cities would increase and services and facilities would be provided.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to him, services and opportunities were not ready even when the agriculture-based lifestyle was displaced in the hill areas. Settlements increased in the Terai due to lack of opportunities and means of survival in the hill areas. Thapa said that this has led to disaster.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He said that the hill population can be stopped from out-bound migration, but for that the government has to come up with a policy. Thapa suggested that besides providing services, the government should build big plans, well-equipped hospitals, quality schools, universities and industries in the hill areas. This will bring employment opportunities and facilities there and the settlement will gradually return. “For this, the government should work by making a policy," he said, "Providing land to private hospitals and schools and giving tax exemptions can be a good start." </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Thapa concluded that no one raised such matters because politics is concentrated where there is large population in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He emphasized that the local and state governments should work together to manage the city in a strategic manner. Urban poverty is increasing in our cities. If it is not managed in time, there may be rebellion, warned Thapa. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">“There have been many such incidents. The city is not only for the rich, but also for the poor. If the government does not look after them, who will look after them?'' he said, adding, “What has happened in Kathmandu is wrong. Management is not restriction.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He suggested that the citizens should also be aware and cooperate with the government. He added, "While talking about rights, civic duty should not be forgotten.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to a study, 70 percent of the world's carbon emissions come from urban areas. Also, 58 percent of the emission is done by the construction sector. According to Thapa, transportation is the second major cause of carbon emission followed by industries. Referring to the fact that Bhutan has started calling itself 'carbon neutral', he said that we can become neutral in carbon emissions by 2045 if we go ahead with the plan now. He suggested that we should make the best use of our own forest for this. Thapa said it was wrong to say that the environment is damaged by cutting trees. He was of the view that old trees should be cut down while planting new ones.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">He connected the Kagbeni flood and the inundation in Kathmandu with the climate change that was discussed among scientists a few years ago. However, he complains that this issue has not been raised in the forum of political parties. According to him, this is a topic that should be discussed at each and every home.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18834', 'image' => '20230927024211_20220717044224_Kathmandu Valley.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 14:41:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '19105', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Thrashes Mongolia in 19th Asian Games as Cricket Records Tumble', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 27: Nepal registered a record win against Mongolia in its first match in men's cricket tournament under the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal defeated Magnolia by 273 runs in the match held at Zhejiang University of Technology’s Pingfeng cricket ground in China. This is so far the biggest-margin win in the men's cricket history of Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Invited to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 314 runs at the loss of three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chasing the mammoth target, Mongolia was all-out for just 41 runs in 13.1 overs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal's bowlers, Karan KC, Avinas Bohora and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each and Sompal Kami, Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi sent one player each to the pavilion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Nepali batsmen Kushal Bhurtel and Deependra Singh Airi made record runs. A Kushal Malla set a new record by smashing a maiden century off 34 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He broke the fastest-century records of David Miller (South Africa), Sudesh Bikramashekhar (Czech Republic) and Rohit Sharma (India). All three batsmen had a record of smashing century off 35 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Deependra Singh Airi made another world record by smashing half a century in nine balls. Earlier, there was a world record in the name of Indian batsman Yubraj Singh who stroke half century off 12 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Kushal Malla was unbeaten on 137 runs off 50 balls while Airi hit 52 runs off 10 balls to steer Nepal to the record win. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Malla stoke 12 sixes and eight fours. Likewise, Captain Rohit Kumar Poudel made 61 runs off 27 balls, Kushal Bhurtel 19 off 23 balls and Sheikh 16 runs off 17 balls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal will play next match against the Maldives. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-09-27', 'modified' => '2023-09-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '18833', 'image' => '20230927014907_cric.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-09-27 13:48:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
