Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new…
Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new…
The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been…
June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the…
June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year…
June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on…
June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this…
June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss.…
June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie…
June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research…
Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of…
The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment…
Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker…
The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation, the NEPSE had ended on a positive note…
June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as…
June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a…
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The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 25: Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The elected national council members of the CNI include Sanjaya Golchha, Raj Bahadur Shah, Bidushi Rana, Ajit Bikram Shah, Hemraj Dhakal, Aashish Agrawal Jajodiya, Manish Khemka, Dwabiraj Sharma, Dhurba Prasad Rijal, Barsha Shrestha, Hitesh Golchha, Aashish Garga, Sapana Sapkota, Birendra Raj Pandey, and Laxmi Prasad Subedi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additional elected members of the council are Gokul Bhandari, Sandip Sharada, Mohit Kediya, Amit Mor, Amit Kumar Begani, Chandra Tandan, Rohit Gupta, Nirman Chaudhary, Barun Kumar Todi, Rahul Kumar Agrawal, Sharad Kumar Tibadewala, Bikram Singhaniya, Milan Babu Malla, Dipak Agrawal, Bishal Agrawal, Saurav Dugad, Dilip Agrawal, Gopal Kumar Agrawal, and Aditya Sanghai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">From the elected national council members, seven individuals have been chosen as vice presidents of the CNI. The elected vice presidents are Nirman, Birendra Raj, Raj Bahadur, Hemraj, Rohit, Amit, and Bhim.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During a function held on Saturday, the outgoing CNI President Bishnu Kumar Agrawal administered an oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-25', 'modified' => '2023-06-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17994', 'image' => '20230625055315_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-25 05:51:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Four Killed in Okhaldhunga Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 23: The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The tragic incident took place on Thursday night following continuous rainfall, triggering the landslide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">One house belonging to Ran Bahadur Gurung of Champadevi rural municipality-8 was swept away by the landslip. In the disaster, Ran Bahadur, 36, his wife Shiva Maya, 29, their 10-year-old son Dinesh, and 18-month-old daughter Kritika lost their lives. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The bodies of Ran Bahadur and his wife were discovered in the morning, while the bodies of Dinesh and Kritika were retrieved from the debris by local residents and security personnel, according to Inspector Devendra Das from the District Police Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Additionally, the houses of Bal Bahadur Gurung and Jarsingh Gurung were also swept away by the landslide.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17993', 'image' => '20230623054814_collage (48).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 17:43:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Issues Reverse Repo for the Second Time to Mop Excess Liquidity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market.', '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"">June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market. On Thursday, the central bank mopped excess liquidity worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo of seven days.</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"">On Thursday, nine banks and financial institutions filed 59 applications to bid for the reverse repo worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.33 billion. The NRB informed that the BFIs made a maximum bid of 3.24 percent and a minimum bid of 2.73 percent for the interest rate and the average interest rate was maintained at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.01</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> 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 raising Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">28.35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo on July 20, 2021, and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.65</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through deposit collection on July 29 and August 6 last year, the central bank mopped Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion from the market through reverse repo for the first time in the current fiscal year (FY) on January 26.</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 crisis in the banking system eased due to the increase in bank deposits, the central bank has not released liquidity through instruments including repo since April. </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 last time the central bank issued repo (repurchase agreement) was on April 6 when it issued repo worth Rs 20 billion with a maturity period of 14 days.</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"">Similarly, the number of banks taking overnight repo and Permanent Liquidity Facility (SLF) is also decreasing. Banks have not taken overnight repo facility since April 26 and SLF facility since April 30</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"">After the liquidity in banks and financial institutions increased and the interbank interest rate fell below the monetary policy target, the central bank withdrew liquidity from the 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"">In the monetary policy, there is a provision to issue repo/reverse repo if the average interest rate of interbank transactions is lower than the policy rate by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points. The average interest rate of interbank transactions, which has been continuously falling since May, dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent on Tuesday. Recently, with the improvement in remittance flow, deposits in banks have increased, but due to high interest rates and lack of economic activities, loans have not been disbursed. Due to this, the interest rates of treasury bills, development bonds, interbank transactions are continuously decreasing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17992', 'image' => '20230623035328_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:52:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest not to Set Ambitions Goals in the 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82. Emphasizing structural transformation, NPC held discussion on the concept paper of the 16th Plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice Chairman of NPC, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said that preparations for the 16th plan started with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity and social justice through structural transformation. He informed that the commission is ready to finalize and publish the 16th Plan to be implemented from mid-July 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shrestha said that the work of the 16th Plan should be completed amid the challenges in the economy and the work would be carried forward with the suggestions of experts. The experts participating in the discussion held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand suggested not to set ambitious goals in the plan. According to them, it is necessary to consider the responsibility and presence of the province and municipality in the plan. Experts opined that the five-year plan should reach all three levels of government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts said that there is no coordination in the formulation of policy and its implementation. Along with this, they suggested that a plan should be made while considering the data of the 2018 census. They said that the commission should take the lead in the policy to increase private sector investment, and the policy should be adopted to increase the production of rice and other crops. Thursday's discussion was attended by stakeholders including Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ek Narayan Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Adhikari, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal, former members of the Commission Dr. Chandramani Adhikari, Dr. Ganesh Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17991', 'image' => '20230623033130_Untitled-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:30:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dragon Boat Race Kicks off in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati inaugurated the festival jointly organized by the Embassy of China in Nepal, the Pokhara Metropolitan City and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Four teams each from China and Nepal are participating in the boat race which the organisers claim to be the first of its kind in South Asia. One hundred and sixty people from all seven provinces of Nepal and those from China are participating in the competition. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Dragon Boat Team, Yuan Boat Team, SG Dragon Boat Team of Singapore, the China-Nepal Friendship Dragon Boat Team Pokhara, NARA Dragon Boat Team Nepal, NRESA Boat Team Nepal, Phewa Dragon Connect Team Nepal and Pokhara Metropolis Dragon Boat Team Nepal are vying in the boat race organized in the Phewa Lake. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eight boat race events would be held as part of the competition, including 200 metres on the first day and 500 metres on the second day. The boats to be used in the competition have been brought from China. The paraphernalia for the boat race contest were also brought from China through Kerung transit point. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The festival is being organized with the aim of attracting Chinese tourists in Nepal while strengthening the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The winning team will bag cash award of Rs 2 million, medal and certificates. A team of 60 people including deputy mayor of Lingji City of China arrived here on Wednesday in a chartered flight from China. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NTB, Chinese Embassy officials and Pokhara Metropolitan City had on May 4 signed a memorandum of understanding for organizing the boat race festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Alongside the boat races, the festival also features cultural performances and food exhibitions representing both countries. China had previously organized similar events in over 50 countries, and this competition has also been included in the Asian Games. The organizers aim to make this an annual event in Pokhara, promoting cultural exchange and harmony. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17990', 'image' => '20230623024119_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_08_boatracecometion.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:40:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18259', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Railway Service Inaugurated by PMs of India and Nepal Fail to Deliver Cargo', 'sub_title' => 'Industrialist Reluctant to Import Goods through Biratnagar ICP', 'summary' => 'June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month. However, after the train delivered goods on June 1, no other cargo train ever appeared at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Railway officials of Nepal claim that everything is ready at the ICP, while industrialists have been claiming that there is no infrastructure to bring cargo. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the Jogwani railway station, the salt and iron delivered by the cargo train coming from India are exposed to sunshine and rainwater. Goods unloaded in the open square without proper storage facility have been battered by the rain. Similarly, the sponge iron imported by Morang's Premier Steel and Sunsari's Swastik Rolling Mill is also rusting due to exposure to the monsoon rainfall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramesh Rathi, the owner of Swastik Rolling Mill, said that sponge iron reacts to water and should be protected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will take time to know the extent of the damage done by water," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen said that after six rakes of goods arrived for three days in a row, there has been a problem in managing the goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Four rakes had Salt Trading's Salt, and two rake had Premier and Swastik's sponge iron. Kamala's steel wire which came in two additional rakes was also unloaded in the yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Rathi, after the goods were unloaded and placed in the yard, they could not be transported. When it rained, Jogwani was waterlogged and the goods got damaged. There is no proper drainage system in the yard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Biratnagar site in-charge engineer Roshan Dev of the railway department however said that there is no problem with the arrival of goods at the ICP. "We are all ready, but the businessmen do not bring the goods, it is the businessmen's job to bring the goods," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that all the technical arrangements were in place at the ICP station just like the first day when the cargo train arrived.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is seen that the industrialists did not trust the new ICP yard, he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">urging the industrialists and businessmen to import their cargo through the railway yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, cargo handling at the ICP is done by Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee. The Railway Operations Department and Customs Office do the checking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashish Gajurel, executive director of the Nepal Intermodal Development Committee, informed that a structure is being built with an investment of Rs 550 million to start importing and exporting goods from the railway yard. He said that Intermodal is working on building a platform in the yard, widening the road from the yard to ICP and constructing a container parking lot.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anupam Rathi, senior vice president of Morang Trade Association and owner of Premier Steel, said that the cargo train cannot be brought to ICP until the railway department informs the businessmen that the railway yard with all the resources is ready for use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that the government must guarantees that there will not be any inconvenience in cargo handling and customs clearance. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He claimed that 1,500 sacks of sponge iron imported for his industry were destroyed at Jogwani Yard, causing a loss of Rs 4.5 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that after bringing the goods to the ICP railway yard, there were not enough transport vehicles with Nepali number plates to move the goods. Nepalese transport entrepreneurs do not allow vehicles with Indian number plates to enter the ICP. Therefore, he said that the arrangement of adequate means of transport is the first condition for the operation of cargo trains up to ICP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> "We buy 2400 tons of sponge iron for the industry at one time. We need at least 80 trucks for its transportation," he said. "It is difficult to get 80 trucks with Nepali number plates. On the other hand, if the goods are not picked up from the railway yard at the scheduled time, the detention fee is expensive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the inauguration, the railway did not formally inform any industrialists about the facilities there. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17989', 'image' => '20230623021224_1687494488.352617633_1014395823050981_6034707545646411378_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Salt Trading Corporation Bearing Massive Losses in Salt Business: CEO Shrestha', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. In a discussion with New Business Age, she said, “The company is facing massive losses in the salt business. The loss is even more in remote areas.” According to Shrestha, the company makes up for the loss in salt business from other businesses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is the first public company of Nepal which supplies iodized salt across the country. Shrestha also said that they have a stock of salt which lasts for at least six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation also imports subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizers. Around 500,000 metric tons of fertilizer is required in Nepal annually. Currently, only 60,000 to 70,000 metric tons are available. However, CEO Shrestha assured all farmers that they will get fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Shrestha, the government has allocated fertilizer quotas in different districts, which the corporation distributes accordingly. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">She however complained that the proportional system of fertilizer distribution has created problems and claims that fertilizers go to unnecessary places as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the country should opt for organic farming, Shrestha said, “'Nepal lacks proper research on organic farming. We are now working with the idea of cultivating organic chemical mixtures.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is also involved in the business of rice, lentil, and oil. Wheat trading and contract farming are also being done through the company. Stating that they are also raising the issue of sugarcane farmers, Shrestha said, “We have raised our voice with the line minister and secretary on the issue of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills do not have such a problem now. Currently, only a few mills have not paid to the farmers.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are about a thousand employees in the Salt Trading Corporation with about 90 percent women in packing section. Shrestha, who is also the vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and president of Women’s Chamber, said that she is mainly teaching banking, finance and taxation to women through the Chamber.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17988', 'image' => '20230623124611_Salt-Trading-Corporation-Limited.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 12:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18257', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'High Court Orders KMC not to Ban Indian Film Show ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On behalf of the Nepal Film Association, advocate Pritam Ghimire had filed a writ petition at the High Court against KMC's decision to ban the Indian film shows since Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response to the writ petition, a single bench of Judge Dhir Bahadur Chand asked KMC to lift the ban on film show. It was an interlocutory order, according to deputy registrar, Mandira Shahi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both sides have been summoned by the court for discussion on the matter on June 27. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC had banned the screening of Indian films expressing concern that a dialogue in 'Adipurush' that states 'Sita is India's daughter' must be corrected before its show. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, KMC Mayor Balendra Shah has commented via social media that he would not abide by the law and court order in matters related to sovereignty and independence of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I am ready to face any action, but I won't let the show run if the film dialogue is not corrected," he warned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17987', 'image' => '20230623113834_hammer-802301-1920-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:37:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18256', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Lamjung ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake measuring 4 in the Richter scale rattled several districts including Lamjung, Tanahun and Gorkha. The eastern and western hill regions in the country have recorded earthquake frequent in recent months. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17986', 'image' => '20230623111227_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:11:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18255', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Trade Deficit Reaches Rs 1337 Billion in 11 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">June 23: Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">According to the latest data released by the Department of Customs, Nepal’s imports stood at nearly Rs 1481 billion, while exports amounted to Rs 143.58 billion till the end of the eleventh month of the current fiscal year. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">This represents a decrease in foreign trade volume compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">During the review period of the current fiscal year, imports have decreased by 16.01 percent, and exports have declined by 22.74 percent. Consequently, the country's trade deficit has also decreased by 15.21 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Imports accounted for 91.16 percent of Nepal's foreign trade, while exports constituted 8.84 percent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Nepal's trade deficit with India, its largest trading partner, stands at Rs 838.85 billion, highlighting the significant gap. Similarly, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 1.52 billion, whereas imports from China amounted to goods worth Rs 202.37 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> Other countries contributing to Nepal's trade deficit include Indonesia, UAE, and Argentina. On the positive side, Nepal enjoys a trade surplus with countries like Denmark, Norway, Algeria, Niger, Cambodia, and Uruguay, among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">The key imports for Nepal encompass diesel, petrol, LP gas, raw soybean, coal, and crude palm oil.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> In terms of exports, the Department identified carpet, palm oil, soybean oil, and cardamom as the top goods shipped out of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17985', 'image' => '20230623061337_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 06:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18254', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Apex Court Orders to Implement Citizenship Act', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A division bench consisting of Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Kumar Regmi made the decision to discontinue the previous interim order issued by the Supreme Court, which had halted the authentication of the bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On June 4, Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma issued a show cause notice and interlocutory order regarding the implementation of the amendment to the act. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bill was certified by President Ram Chandra Paudel on May 31, following a recommendation from the Council of Ministers. However, senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane filed a writ petition against the certification.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17984', 'image' => '20230623055304_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 05:46:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18253', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ultima Lifestyle Launches Ultima Dynamite Speaker', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 22: Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With the aim of enhancing experience of listening to music and providing a more refined concept, Ultima has launched its high-quality speaker for all music lovers in the Nepali market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Recently, the Bluetooth calling smartwatch "Watch Magic" with a low cost achieved a new milestone in the history of Nepali e-commerce. With 230 units sold from Nepal's largest e-commerce platform, Daraz, the smartwatch set a new record in its sales.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ultima Dynamite speaker comes with a 1800 mAh Li-polymer battery, providing excellent playback for up to 11 hours. It also features IPX6 rating for water and shock resistance, making it an excellent companion for picnics, hiking, camping, and various indoor and outdoor activities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, this compact speaker is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology and microSD card compatibility.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Due to its compact design, it can be easily carried in a bag or pocket, making it convenient to take anywhere. Amit Agrawal, the founder of Ultima, focused on innovation and customer satisfaction, stated, "We are confident that this speaker will showcase our commitment to the latest technology in the audio industry and meet the expectations of our customers."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">After its launch, Ultima will further establish its authority in the market of accessories by providing affordable, high-quality products. The Ultima Dynamite is priced at Rs 2,599. However, as a special launch offer, the first 100 customers can purchase this speaker for only Rs 1,999 from Daraz starting from June 22. Additionally, the speaker will be available online and offline from June 24 onwards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Ultima has collaborated with Khalti, Nepal's leading digital wallet provider, for all Ultima product sales. This collaboration enables customers to purchase all Ultima products from the "Khalti Bazaar." For this special collaboration, Ultima is also running pre-booking offers and other gift-related promotions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Khalti users can now pre-book the Ultima Dynamite speaker for just Rs 1, and customers who have pre-booked can purchase the speaker for only Rs 1,999. The pre-booking will start from June 22 and continue until June 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sale of Ultima Dynamite will commence from June 24. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17983', 'image' => '20230622052755_collage (46).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 17:26:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18252', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Becomes Positive After Three Days’ Correction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation, the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">June 22: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation throughout </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">the day , the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Following the nine days’ rise, the NEPSE had experienced correction for three consecutive days since investors booked their profit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">For the past few days, investors have been attracted towards companies listed under Hotel and Tourism sector. With the rise of tourist influx, hotels have become first choices for the investors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Seasoned investors and experts say that NEPSE’s coming journey would be positive due to the liquidity piling up in the banking system.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 276 scrips traded hands via 56,556 transactions. A total of 8,008,246 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 3.44 billion in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 3.49 Arba.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) shares traded the most and had the highest turnover of Rs. 29.63 crores closing at a market price of Rs. 513.30 per share. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Six scrips hit the positive circuit today.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Conversely, Citizens Mutual Fund -1 (CMF1) lost the highest 8.41% today. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only four sector indices closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">"Hotel and Tourism" gained the highest 8.65% while "Hydropower" lost the highest 1.60% today. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The sensitive index decreased by 0.08 percent, while the sensitive float index decreased by 0.28 percent. However, the float index increased by 0.23 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17982', 'image' => '20230622043313_collage (44).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 16:31:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18251', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trend of Spending Budget in the Eleventh Hour Continues Unabated', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Within a span of just 4 days, the government earlier this week spent about Rs 14 billion under different headings. According to the government expenditure data from last Friday to Monday, a total budget of 13.87 billion was released. As in the previous fiscal years, this is a sign that a big budget is going to be spent in the last month of the current fiscal year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, which keeps track of the government's income and expenditure, since the last month of the current FY has already started, the pressure for disbursements of budget has started to increase. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As of Monday, the government's capital expenditure was only 40 per cent, while current expenditure was more than 74 per cent. In recent days, both the current and capital expenses are being spent more than in the previous months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to stop the trend of spending development budget especially in the 11<sup>th</sup> hour, a mandatory provision was made in the constitution to announce the budget on the 15th of Jestha (May 29). On top of that, the parliamentary committees have repeatedly given instructions that no more than 10 per cent of the total budget can be spent in a month. However, the trend of spending excessive amounts of budget in the last month has not stopped.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, when the budget was announced at the end of a fiscal year, it would take another three months to get the budget endorsed by the parliament. The selection of contractors and the compliance with the public procurement law would take another five months, and contracts would be awarded in the eighth month. Then the capital budget would be spent in the last month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to prevent the same situation, even if there is a mandatory provision in the constitution to bring the budget on Jestha 15, there has been no improvement in the expenditure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the trend of last-minute development did not stop, the Finance Committee and the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament have instructed the government not to spend more than 10 per cent of the budget in the last month of the year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, recent facts have shown that nothing from the constitution to the parliamentary committee could stop the 11<sup>th</sup> hour development. Around 20 to 25 per cent of the total budget is spent in the last month alone. As the same trend has been repeated this year too, serious questions have been raised about the functioning of the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MP and economist Dr Swarnim Wagh said that it is unfortunate that capital expenditure is only 45 per cent in the current fiscal year. He believes that even if the government makes some policy reforms in the upcoming budget, those policies will not make a fundamental difference and they will be purely ritualistic in nature.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Why was the development budget not spent before?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the previous budget, this year too, the Ministry of Finance had instructed that the contract process should be completed by the third month of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Accordingly, in the action plans submitted by each ministry to the Prime Minister's Office and the details updated by the ministries in the Budget Information System (BIS), it was mentioned that all the contract processes will be completed by the first quarter. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure said that when the government agencies did not show readiness to prepare the tender documents in time, the budget expenditure was affected.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Budget deficit of Rs 3 billion </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the government data, only 65.56 per cent of the allocated budget has been spent till June 15. During this period, the government's total income only covered the cost of paying salaries and allowances to the employees. There is a situation where the government has to look for a loan to pay the interest and principle of the loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, in the 11th month of the current year, the government has spent Rs 877 billion, which was mostly spent on salaries and allowances of employees, while the government collected revenue of Rs 836 billion. The total expenditure of the government is Rs 1176 billion. Therefore, there is a budget deficit of around Rs 300 billion.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17981', 'image' => '20230622020249_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 14:02:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18249', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mission Onion Fails, as Price Skyrockets in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill. Due to the halt in imports, there is a shortage of onions in the market and the prices have skyrocketed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts in the agricultural sector say that if the onion mission program launched by the government 16 years ago had been successful, the situation would have been different today.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government launched the Mission Onion campaign in 2007 to increase onion production in the country with the belief that onions that can be grown in abundance in the country to minimize the growing imports. Today, the government officials running the mission are themselves unaware of the program.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had started the program of providing subsidies for seeds, fertilizer and irrigation to the farmers to substitute import by increasing the domestic production of onion in Rupandehi, Saptari, Siraha, Banke, Bardia, Jhapa and other districts. Unfortunately, the campaign failed within five years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">When New Business Age contacted the officials of National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development about the situation of mission onion, they responded that there is no record of the program with the center. They replied that they had been in the center for only a few years and that the program was conducted by the Department of Agriculture long ago, so they did not know anything about it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Information Officer of the Department of Agriculture, Sunil Kumar Singh, tried to avoid discussing the issue saying the spokesperson needs to be contacted for the details. He admitted that he was not aware of the matter. The spokesman of the department, Januka Pandit on the other hand, could not be contacted at all. According to the National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development, the annual demand for onion in Nepal is 401,686 metric tons. In FY 2078/79, 298,000 metric tons of onions were produced in Nepal. Looking at the production and consumption, it does not seem possible to meet the domestic demand with domestically produced onions alone. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs department, in the last 5 years, 966,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 26.10 billion have been imported into Nepal. In the 10 months of the current fiscal year, 155,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 5.79 billion have been imported.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17979', 'image' => '20230622012432_onion.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 13:23:09', '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' => '18264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rajesh Kumar Agrawal Elected CNI President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 25: Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The elected national council members of the CNI include Sanjaya Golchha, Raj Bahadur Shah, Bidushi Rana, Ajit Bikram Shah, Hemraj Dhakal, Aashish Agrawal Jajodiya, Manish Khemka, Dwabiraj Sharma, Dhurba Prasad Rijal, Barsha Shrestha, Hitesh Golchha, Aashish Garga, Sapana Sapkota, Birendra Raj Pandey, and Laxmi Prasad Subedi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additional elected members of the council are Gokul Bhandari, Sandip Sharada, Mohit Kediya, Amit Mor, Amit Kumar Begani, Chandra Tandan, Rohit Gupta, Nirman Chaudhary, Barun Kumar Todi, Rahul Kumar Agrawal, Sharad Kumar Tibadewala, Bikram Singhaniya, Milan Babu Malla, Dipak Agrawal, Bishal Agrawal, Saurav Dugad, Dilip Agrawal, Gopal Kumar Agrawal, and Aditya Sanghai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">From the elected national council members, seven individuals have been chosen as vice presidents of the CNI. The elected vice presidents are Nirman, Birendra Raj, Raj Bahadur, Hemraj, Rohit, Amit, and Bhim.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During a function held on Saturday, the outgoing CNI President Bishnu Kumar Agrawal administered an oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-25', 'modified' => '2023-06-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17994', 'image' => '20230625055315_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-25 05:51:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Four Killed in Okhaldhunga Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 23: The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The tragic incident took place on Thursday night following continuous rainfall, triggering the landslide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">One house belonging to Ran Bahadur Gurung of Champadevi rural municipality-8 was swept away by the landslip. In the disaster, Ran Bahadur, 36, his wife Shiva Maya, 29, their 10-year-old son Dinesh, and 18-month-old daughter Kritika lost their lives. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The bodies of Ran Bahadur and his wife were discovered in the morning, while the bodies of Dinesh and Kritika were retrieved from the debris by local residents and security personnel, according to Inspector Devendra Das from the District Police Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Additionally, the houses of Bal Bahadur Gurung and Jarsingh Gurung were also swept away by the landslide.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17993', 'image' => '20230623054814_collage (48).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 17:43:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Issues Reverse Repo for the Second Time to Mop Excess Liquidity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market.', '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"">June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market. On Thursday, the central bank mopped excess liquidity worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo of seven days.</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"">On Thursday, nine banks and financial institutions filed 59 applications to bid for the reverse repo worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.33 billion. The NRB informed that the BFIs made a maximum bid of 3.24 percent and a minimum bid of 2.73 percent for the interest rate and the average interest rate was maintained at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.01</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> 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 raising Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">28.35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo on July 20, 2021, and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.65</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through deposit collection on July 29 and August 6 last year, the central bank mopped Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion from the market through reverse repo for the first time in the current fiscal year (FY) on January 26.</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 crisis in the banking system eased due to the increase in bank deposits, the central bank has not released liquidity through instruments including repo since April. </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 last time the central bank issued repo (repurchase agreement) was on April 6 when it issued repo worth Rs 20 billion with a maturity period of 14 days.</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"">Similarly, the number of banks taking overnight repo and Permanent Liquidity Facility (SLF) is also decreasing. Banks have not taken overnight repo facility since April 26 and SLF facility since April 30</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"">After the liquidity in banks and financial institutions increased and the interbank interest rate fell below the monetary policy target, the central bank withdrew liquidity from the 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"">In the monetary policy, there is a provision to issue repo/reverse repo if the average interest rate of interbank transactions is lower than the policy rate by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points. The average interest rate of interbank transactions, which has been continuously falling since May, dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent on Tuesday. Recently, with the improvement in remittance flow, deposits in banks have increased, but due to high interest rates and lack of economic activities, loans have not been disbursed. Due to this, the interest rates of treasury bills, development bonds, interbank transactions are continuously decreasing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17992', 'image' => '20230623035328_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:52:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest not to Set Ambitions Goals in the 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82. Emphasizing structural transformation, NPC held discussion on the concept paper of the 16th Plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice Chairman of NPC, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said that preparations for the 16th plan started with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity and social justice through structural transformation. He informed that the commission is ready to finalize and publish the 16th Plan to be implemented from mid-July 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shrestha said that the work of the 16th Plan should be completed amid the challenges in the economy and the work would be carried forward with the suggestions of experts. The experts participating in the discussion held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand suggested not to set ambitious goals in the plan. According to them, it is necessary to consider the responsibility and presence of the province and municipality in the plan. Experts opined that the five-year plan should reach all three levels of government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts said that there is no coordination in the formulation of policy and its implementation. Along with this, they suggested that a plan should be made while considering the data of the 2018 census. They said that the commission should take the lead in the policy to increase private sector investment, and the policy should be adopted to increase the production of rice and other crops. Thursday's discussion was attended by stakeholders including Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ek Narayan Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Adhikari, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal, former members of the Commission Dr. Chandramani Adhikari, Dr. Ganesh Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17991', 'image' => '20230623033130_Untitled-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:30:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dragon Boat Race Kicks off in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati inaugurated the festival jointly organized by the Embassy of China in Nepal, the Pokhara Metropolitan City and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Four teams each from China and Nepal are participating in the boat race which the organisers claim to be the first of its kind in South Asia. One hundred and sixty people from all seven provinces of Nepal and those from China are participating in the competition. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Dragon Boat Team, Yuan Boat Team, SG Dragon Boat Team of Singapore, the China-Nepal Friendship Dragon Boat Team Pokhara, NARA Dragon Boat Team Nepal, NRESA Boat Team Nepal, Phewa Dragon Connect Team Nepal and Pokhara Metropolis Dragon Boat Team Nepal are vying in the boat race organized in the Phewa Lake. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eight boat race events would be held as part of the competition, including 200 metres on the first day and 500 metres on the second day. The boats to be used in the competition have been brought from China. The paraphernalia for the boat race contest were also brought from China through Kerung transit point. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The festival is being organized with the aim of attracting Chinese tourists in Nepal while strengthening the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The winning team will bag cash award of Rs 2 million, medal and certificates. A team of 60 people including deputy mayor of Lingji City of China arrived here on Wednesday in a chartered flight from China. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NTB, Chinese Embassy officials and Pokhara Metropolitan City had on May 4 signed a memorandum of understanding for organizing the boat race festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Alongside the boat races, the festival also features cultural performances and food exhibitions representing both countries. China had previously organized similar events in over 50 countries, and this competition has also been included in the Asian Games. The organizers aim to make this an annual event in Pokhara, promoting cultural exchange and harmony. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17990', 'image' => '20230623024119_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_08_boatracecometion.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:40:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18259', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Railway Service Inaugurated by PMs of India and Nepal Fail to Deliver Cargo', 'sub_title' => 'Industrialist Reluctant to Import Goods through Biratnagar ICP', 'summary' => 'June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month. However, after the train delivered goods on June 1, no other cargo train ever appeared at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Railway officials of Nepal claim that everything is ready at the ICP, while industrialists have been claiming that there is no infrastructure to bring cargo. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the Jogwani railway station, the salt and iron delivered by the cargo train coming from India are exposed to sunshine and rainwater. Goods unloaded in the open square without proper storage facility have been battered by the rain. Similarly, the sponge iron imported by Morang's Premier Steel and Sunsari's Swastik Rolling Mill is also rusting due to exposure to the monsoon rainfall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramesh Rathi, the owner of Swastik Rolling Mill, said that sponge iron reacts to water and should be protected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will take time to know the extent of the damage done by water," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen said that after six rakes of goods arrived for three days in a row, there has been a problem in managing the goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Four rakes had Salt Trading's Salt, and two rake had Premier and Swastik's sponge iron. Kamala's steel wire which came in two additional rakes was also unloaded in the yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Rathi, after the goods were unloaded and placed in the yard, they could not be transported. When it rained, Jogwani was waterlogged and the goods got damaged. There is no proper drainage system in the yard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Biratnagar site in-charge engineer Roshan Dev of the railway department however said that there is no problem with the arrival of goods at the ICP. "We are all ready, but the businessmen do not bring the goods, it is the businessmen's job to bring the goods," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that all the technical arrangements were in place at the ICP station just like the first day when the cargo train arrived.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is seen that the industrialists did not trust the new ICP yard, he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">urging the industrialists and businessmen to import their cargo through the railway yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, cargo handling at the ICP is done by Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee. The Railway Operations Department and Customs Office do the checking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashish Gajurel, executive director of the Nepal Intermodal Development Committee, informed that a structure is being built with an investment of Rs 550 million to start importing and exporting goods from the railway yard. He said that Intermodal is working on building a platform in the yard, widening the road from the yard to ICP and constructing a container parking lot.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anupam Rathi, senior vice president of Morang Trade Association and owner of Premier Steel, said that the cargo train cannot be brought to ICP until the railway department informs the businessmen that the railway yard with all the resources is ready for use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that the government must guarantees that there will not be any inconvenience in cargo handling and customs clearance. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He claimed that 1,500 sacks of sponge iron imported for his industry were destroyed at Jogwani Yard, causing a loss of Rs 4.5 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that after bringing the goods to the ICP railway yard, there were not enough transport vehicles with Nepali number plates to move the goods. Nepalese transport entrepreneurs do not allow vehicles with Indian number plates to enter the ICP. Therefore, he said that the arrangement of adequate means of transport is the first condition for the operation of cargo trains up to ICP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> "We buy 2400 tons of sponge iron for the industry at one time. We need at least 80 trucks for its transportation," he said. "It is difficult to get 80 trucks with Nepali number plates. On the other hand, if the goods are not picked up from the railway yard at the scheduled time, the detention fee is expensive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the inauguration, the railway did not formally inform any industrialists about the facilities there. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17989', 'image' => '20230623021224_1687494488.352617633_1014395823050981_6034707545646411378_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Salt Trading Corporation Bearing Massive Losses in Salt Business: CEO Shrestha', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. In a discussion with New Business Age, she said, “The company is facing massive losses in the salt business. The loss is even more in remote areas.” According to Shrestha, the company makes up for the loss in salt business from other businesses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is the first public company of Nepal which supplies iodized salt across the country. Shrestha also said that they have a stock of salt which lasts for at least six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation also imports subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizers. Around 500,000 metric tons of fertilizer is required in Nepal annually. Currently, only 60,000 to 70,000 metric tons are available. However, CEO Shrestha assured all farmers that they will get fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Shrestha, the government has allocated fertilizer quotas in different districts, which the corporation distributes accordingly. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">She however complained that the proportional system of fertilizer distribution has created problems and claims that fertilizers go to unnecessary places as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the country should opt for organic farming, Shrestha said, “'Nepal lacks proper research on organic farming. We are now working with the idea of cultivating organic chemical mixtures.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is also involved in the business of rice, lentil, and oil. Wheat trading and contract farming are also being done through the company. Stating that they are also raising the issue of sugarcane farmers, Shrestha said, “We have raised our voice with the line minister and secretary on the issue of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills do not have such a problem now. Currently, only a few mills have not paid to the farmers.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are about a thousand employees in the Salt Trading Corporation with about 90 percent women in packing section. Shrestha, who is also the vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and president of Women’s Chamber, said that she is mainly teaching banking, finance and taxation to women through the Chamber.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17988', 'image' => '20230623124611_Salt-Trading-Corporation-Limited.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 12:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18257', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'High Court Orders KMC not to Ban Indian Film Show ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On behalf of the Nepal Film Association, advocate Pritam Ghimire had filed a writ petition at the High Court against KMC's decision to ban the Indian film shows since Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response to the writ petition, a single bench of Judge Dhir Bahadur Chand asked KMC to lift the ban on film show. It was an interlocutory order, according to deputy registrar, Mandira Shahi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both sides have been summoned by the court for discussion on the matter on June 27. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC had banned the screening of Indian films expressing concern that a dialogue in 'Adipurush' that states 'Sita is India's daughter' must be corrected before its show. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, KMC Mayor Balendra Shah has commented via social media that he would not abide by the law and court order in matters related to sovereignty and independence of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I am ready to face any action, but I won't let the show run if the film dialogue is not corrected," he warned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17987', 'image' => '20230623113834_hammer-802301-1920-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:37:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18256', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Lamjung ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake measuring 4 in the Richter scale rattled several districts including Lamjung, Tanahun and Gorkha. The eastern and western hill regions in the country have recorded earthquake frequent in recent months. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17986', 'image' => '20230623111227_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:11:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18255', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Trade Deficit Reaches Rs 1337 Billion in 11 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">June 23: Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">According to the latest data released by the Department of Customs, Nepal’s imports stood at nearly Rs 1481 billion, while exports amounted to Rs 143.58 billion till the end of the eleventh month of the current fiscal year. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">This represents a decrease in foreign trade volume compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">During the review period of the current fiscal year, imports have decreased by 16.01 percent, and exports have declined by 22.74 percent. Consequently, the country's trade deficit has also decreased by 15.21 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Imports accounted for 91.16 percent of Nepal's foreign trade, while exports constituted 8.84 percent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Nepal's trade deficit with India, its largest trading partner, stands at Rs 838.85 billion, highlighting the significant gap. Similarly, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 1.52 billion, whereas imports from China amounted to goods worth Rs 202.37 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> Other countries contributing to Nepal's trade deficit include Indonesia, UAE, and Argentina. On the positive side, Nepal enjoys a trade surplus with countries like Denmark, Norway, Algeria, Niger, Cambodia, and Uruguay, among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">The key imports for Nepal encompass diesel, petrol, LP gas, raw soybean, coal, and crude palm oil.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> In terms of exports, the Department identified carpet, palm oil, soybean oil, and cardamom as the top goods shipped out of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17985', 'image' => '20230623061337_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 06:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18254', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Apex Court Orders to Implement Citizenship Act', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A division bench consisting of Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Kumar Regmi made the decision to discontinue the previous interim order issued by the Supreme Court, which had halted the authentication of the bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On June 4, Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma issued a show cause notice and interlocutory order regarding the implementation of the amendment to the act. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bill was certified by President Ram Chandra Paudel on May 31, following a recommendation from the Council of Ministers. However, senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane filed a writ petition against the certification.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17984', 'image' => '20230623055304_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 05:46:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18253', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ultima Lifestyle Launches Ultima Dynamite Speaker', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 22: Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With the aim of enhancing experience of listening to music and providing a more refined concept, Ultima has launched its high-quality speaker for all music lovers in the Nepali market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Recently, the Bluetooth calling smartwatch "Watch Magic" with a low cost achieved a new milestone in the history of Nepali e-commerce. With 230 units sold from Nepal's largest e-commerce platform, Daraz, the smartwatch set a new record in its sales.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ultima Dynamite speaker comes with a 1800 mAh Li-polymer battery, providing excellent playback for up to 11 hours. It also features IPX6 rating for water and shock resistance, making it an excellent companion for picnics, hiking, camping, and various indoor and outdoor activities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, this compact speaker is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology and microSD card compatibility.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Due to its compact design, it can be easily carried in a bag or pocket, making it convenient to take anywhere. Amit Agrawal, the founder of Ultima, focused on innovation and customer satisfaction, stated, "We are confident that this speaker will showcase our commitment to the latest technology in the audio industry and meet the expectations of our customers."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">After its launch, Ultima will further establish its authority in the market of accessories by providing affordable, high-quality products. The Ultima Dynamite is priced at Rs 2,599. However, as a special launch offer, the first 100 customers can purchase this speaker for only Rs 1,999 from Daraz starting from June 22. Additionally, the speaker will be available online and offline from June 24 onwards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Ultima has collaborated with Khalti, Nepal's leading digital wallet provider, for all Ultima product sales. This collaboration enables customers to purchase all Ultima products from the "Khalti Bazaar." For this special collaboration, Ultima is also running pre-booking offers and other gift-related promotions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Khalti users can now pre-book the Ultima Dynamite speaker for just Rs 1, and customers who have pre-booked can purchase the speaker for only Rs 1,999. The pre-booking will start from June 22 and continue until June 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sale of Ultima Dynamite will commence from June 24. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17983', 'image' => '20230622052755_collage (46).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 17:26:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18252', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Becomes Positive After Three Days’ Correction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation, the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">June 22: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation throughout </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">the day , the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Following the nine days’ rise, the NEPSE had experienced correction for three consecutive days since investors booked their profit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">For the past few days, investors have been attracted towards companies listed under Hotel and Tourism sector. With the rise of tourist influx, hotels have become first choices for the investors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Seasoned investors and experts say that NEPSE’s coming journey would be positive due to the liquidity piling up in the banking system.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 276 scrips traded hands via 56,556 transactions. A total of 8,008,246 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 3.44 billion in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 3.49 Arba.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) shares traded the most and had the highest turnover of Rs. 29.63 crores closing at a market price of Rs. 513.30 per share. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Six scrips hit the positive circuit today.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Conversely, Citizens Mutual Fund -1 (CMF1) lost the highest 8.41% today. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only four sector indices closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">"Hotel and Tourism" gained the highest 8.65% while "Hydropower" lost the highest 1.60% today. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The sensitive index decreased by 0.08 percent, while the sensitive float index decreased by 0.28 percent. However, the float index increased by 0.23 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17982', 'image' => '20230622043313_collage (44).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 16:31:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18251', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trend of Spending Budget in the Eleventh Hour Continues Unabated', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Within a span of just 4 days, the government earlier this week spent about Rs 14 billion under different headings. According to the government expenditure data from last Friday to Monday, a total budget of 13.87 billion was released. As in the previous fiscal years, this is a sign that a big budget is going to be spent in the last month of the current fiscal year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, which keeps track of the government's income and expenditure, since the last month of the current FY has already started, the pressure for disbursements of budget has started to increase. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As of Monday, the government's capital expenditure was only 40 per cent, while current expenditure was more than 74 per cent. In recent days, both the current and capital expenses are being spent more than in the previous months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to stop the trend of spending development budget especially in the 11<sup>th</sup> hour, a mandatory provision was made in the constitution to announce the budget on the 15th of Jestha (May 29). On top of that, the parliamentary committees have repeatedly given instructions that no more than 10 per cent of the total budget can be spent in a month. However, the trend of spending excessive amounts of budget in the last month has not stopped.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, when the budget was announced at the end of a fiscal year, it would take another three months to get the budget endorsed by the parliament. The selection of contractors and the compliance with the public procurement law would take another five months, and contracts would be awarded in the eighth month. Then the capital budget would be spent in the last month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to prevent the same situation, even if there is a mandatory provision in the constitution to bring the budget on Jestha 15, there has been no improvement in the expenditure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the trend of last-minute development did not stop, the Finance Committee and the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament have instructed the government not to spend more than 10 per cent of the budget in the last month of the year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, recent facts have shown that nothing from the constitution to the parliamentary committee could stop the 11<sup>th</sup> hour development. Around 20 to 25 per cent of the total budget is spent in the last month alone. As the same trend has been repeated this year too, serious questions have been raised about the functioning of the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MP and economist Dr Swarnim Wagh said that it is unfortunate that capital expenditure is only 45 per cent in the current fiscal year. He believes that even if the government makes some policy reforms in the upcoming budget, those policies will not make a fundamental difference and they will be purely ritualistic in nature.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Why was the development budget not spent before?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the previous budget, this year too, the Ministry of Finance had instructed that the contract process should be completed by the third month of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Accordingly, in the action plans submitted by each ministry to the Prime Minister's Office and the details updated by the ministries in the Budget Information System (BIS), it was mentioned that all the contract processes will be completed by the first quarter. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure said that when the government agencies did not show readiness to prepare the tender documents in time, the budget expenditure was affected.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Budget deficit of Rs 3 billion </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the government data, only 65.56 per cent of the allocated budget has been spent till June 15. During this period, the government's total income only covered the cost of paying salaries and allowances to the employees. There is a situation where the government has to look for a loan to pay the interest and principle of the loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, in the 11th month of the current year, the government has spent Rs 877 billion, which was mostly spent on salaries and allowances of employees, while the government collected revenue of Rs 836 billion. The total expenditure of the government is Rs 1176 billion. Therefore, there is a budget deficit of around Rs 300 billion.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17981', 'image' => '20230622020249_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 14:02:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18249', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mission Onion Fails, as Price Skyrockets in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill. Due to the halt in imports, there is a shortage of onions in the market and the prices have skyrocketed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts in the agricultural sector say that if the onion mission program launched by the government 16 years ago had been successful, the situation would have been different today.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government launched the Mission Onion campaign in 2007 to increase onion production in the country with the belief that onions that can be grown in abundance in the country to minimize the growing imports. Today, the government officials running the mission are themselves unaware of the program.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had started the program of providing subsidies for seeds, fertilizer and irrigation to the farmers to substitute import by increasing the domestic production of onion in Rupandehi, Saptari, Siraha, Banke, Bardia, Jhapa and other districts. Unfortunately, the campaign failed within five years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">When New Business Age contacted the officials of National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development about the situation of mission onion, they responded that there is no record of the program with the center. They replied that they had been in the center for only a few years and that the program was conducted by the Department of Agriculture long ago, so they did not know anything about it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Information Officer of the Department of Agriculture, Sunil Kumar Singh, tried to avoid discussing the issue saying the spokesperson needs to be contacted for the details. He admitted that he was not aware of the matter. The spokesman of the department, Januka Pandit on the other hand, could not be contacted at all. According to the National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development, the annual demand for onion in Nepal is 401,686 metric tons. In FY 2078/79, 298,000 metric tons of onions were produced in Nepal. Looking at the production and consumption, it does not seem possible to meet the domestic demand with domestically produced onions alone. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs department, in the last 5 years, 966,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 26.10 billion have been imported into Nepal. In the 10 months of the current fiscal year, 155,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 5.79 billion have been imported.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17979', 'image' => '20230622012432_onion.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 13:23:09', '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' => '18264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rajesh Kumar Agrawal Elected CNI President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 25: Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The elected national council members of the CNI include Sanjaya Golchha, Raj Bahadur Shah, Bidushi Rana, Ajit Bikram Shah, Hemraj Dhakal, Aashish Agrawal Jajodiya, Manish Khemka, Dwabiraj Sharma, Dhurba Prasad Rijal, Barsha Shrestha, Hitesh Golchha, Aashish Garga, Sapana Sapkota, Birendra Raj Pandey, and Laxmi Prasad Subedi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additional elected members of the council are Gokul Bhandari, Sandip Sharada, Mohit Kediya, Amit Mor, Amit Kumar Begani, Chandra Tandan, Rohit Gupta, Nirman Chaudhary, Barun Kumar Todi, Rahul Kumar Agrawal, Sharad Kumar Tibadewala, Bikram Singhaniya, Milan Babu Malla, Dipak Agrawal, Bishal Agrawal, Saurav Dugad, Dilip Agrawal, Gopal Kumar Agrawal, and Aditya Sanghai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">From the elected national council members, seven individuals have been chosen as vice presidents of the CNI. The elected vice presidents are Nirman, Birendra Raj, Raj Bahadur, Hemraj, Rohit, Amit, and Bhim.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During a function held on Saturday, the outgoing CNI President Bishnu Kumar Agrawal administered an oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-25', 'modified' => '2023-06-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17994', 'image' => '20230625055315_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-25 05:51:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Four Killed in Okhaldhunga Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 23: The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The tragic incident took place on Thursday night following continuous rainfall, triggering the landslide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">One house belonging to Ran Bahadur Gurung of Champadevi rural municipality-8 was swept away by the landslip. In the disaster, Ran Bahadur, 36, his wife Shiva Maya, 29, their 10-year-old son Dinesh, and 18-month-old daughter Kritika lost their lives. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The bodies of Ran Bahadur and his wife were discovered in the morning, while the bodies of Dinesh and Kritika were retrieved from the debris by local residents and security personnel, according to Inspector Devendra Das from the District Police Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Additionally, the houses of Bal Bahadur Gurung and Jarsingh Gurung were also swept away by the landslide.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17993', 'image' => '20230623054814_collage (48).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 17:43:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Issues Reverse Repo for the Second Time to Mop Excess Liquidity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market.', '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"">June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market. On Thursday, the central bank mopped excess liquidity worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo of seven days.</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"">On Thursday, nine banks and financial institutions filed 59 applications to bid for the reverse repo worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.33 billion. The NRB informed that the BFIs made a maximum bid of 3.24 percent and a minimum bid of 2.73 percent for the interest rate and the average interest rate was maintained at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.01</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> 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 raising Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">28.35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo on July 20, 2021, and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.65</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through deposit collection on July 29 and August 6 last year, the central bank mopped Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion from the market through reverse repo for the first time in the current fiscal year (FY) on January 26.</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 crisis in the banking system eased due to the increase in bank deposits, the central bank has not released liquidity through instruments including repo since April. </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 last time the central bank issued repo (repurchase agreement) was on April 6 when it issued repo worth Rs 20 billion with a maturity period of 14 days.</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"">Similarly, the number of banks taking overnight repo and Permanent Liquidity Facility (SLF) is also decreasing. Banks have not taken overnight repo facility since April 26 and SLF facility since April 30</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"">After the liquidity in banks and financial institutions increased and the interbank interest rate fell below the monetary policy target, the central bank withdrew liquidity from the 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"">In the monetary policy, there is a provision to issue repo/reverse repo if the average interest rate of interbank transactions is lower than the policy rate by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points. The average interest rate of interbank transactions, which has been continuously falling since May, dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent on Tuesday. Recently, with the improvement in remittance flow, deposits in banks have increased, but due to high interest rates and lack of economic activities, loans have not been disbursed. Due to this, the interest rates of treasury bills, development bonds, interbank transactions are continuously decreasing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17992', 'image' => '20230623035328_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:52:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest not to Set Ambitions Goals in the 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82. Emphasizing structural transformation, NPC held discussion on the concept paper of the 16th Plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice Chairman of NPC, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said that preparations for the 16th plan started with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity and social justice through structural transformation. He informed that the commission is ready to finalize and publish the 16th Plan to be implemented from mid-July 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shrestha said that the work of the 16th Plan should be completed amid the challenges in the economy and the work would be carried forward with the suggestions of experts. The experts participating in the discussion held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand suggested not to set ambitious goals in the plan. According to them, it is necessary to consider the responsibility and presence of the province and municipality in the plan. Experts opined that the five-year plan should reach all three levels of government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts said that there is no coordination in the formulation of policy and its implementation. Along with this, they suggested that a plan should be made while considering the data of the 2018 census. They said that the commission should take the lead in the policy to increase private sector investment, and the policy should be adopted to increase the production of rice and other crops. Thursday's discussion was attended by stakeholders including Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ek Narayan Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Adhikari, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal, former members of the Commission Dr. Chandramani Adhikari, Dr. Ganesh Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17991', 'image' => '20230623033130_Untitled-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:30:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dragon Boat Race Kicks off in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati inaugurated the festival jointly organized by the Embassy of China in Nepal, the Pokhara Metropolitan City and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Four teams each from China and Nepal are participating in the boat race which the organisers claim to be the first of its kind in South Asia. One hundred and sixty people from all seven provinces of Nepal and those from China are participating in the competition. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Dragon Boat Team, Yuan Boat Team, SG Dragon Boat Team of Singapore, the China-Nepal Friendship Dragon Boat Team Pokhara, NARA Dragon Boat Team Nepal, NRESA Boat Team Nepal, Phewa Dragon Connect Team Nepal and Pokhara Metropolis Dragon Boat Team Nepal are vying in the boat race organized in the Phewa Lake. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eight boat race events would be held as part of the competition, including 200 metres on the first day and 500 metres on the second day. The boats to be used in the competition have been brought from China. The paraphernalia for the boat race contest were also brought from China through Kerung transit point. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The festival is being organized with the aim of attracting Chinese tourists in Nepal while strengthening the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The winning team will bag cash award of Rs 2 million, medal and certificates. A team of 60 people including deputy mayor of Lingji City of China arrived here on Wednesday in a chartered flight from China. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NTB, Chinese Embassy officials and Pokhara Metropolitan City had on May 4 signed a memorandum of understanding for organizing the boat race festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Alongside the boat races, the festival also features cultural performances and food exhibitions representing both countries. China had previously organized similar events in over 50 countries, and this competition has also been included in the Asian Games. The organizers aim to make this an annual event in Pokhara, promoting cultural exchange and harmony. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17990', 'image' => '20230623024119_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_08_boatracecometion.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:40:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18259', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Railway Service Inaugurated by PMs of India and Nepal Fail to Deliver Cargo', 'sub_title' => 'Industrialist Reluctant to Import Goods through Biratnagar ICP', 'summary' => 'June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month. However, after the train delivered goods on June 1, no other cargo train ever appeared at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Railway officials of Nepal claim that everything is ready at the ICP, while industrialists have been claiming that there is no infrastructure to bring cargo. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the Jogwani railway station, the salt and iron delivered by the cargo train coming from India are exposed to sunshine and rainwater. Goods unloaded in the open square without proper storage facility have been battered by the rain. Similarly, the sponge iron imported by Morang's Premier Steel and Sunsari's Swastik Rolling Mill is also rusting due to exposure to the monsoon rainfall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramesh Rathi, the owner of Swastik Rolling Mill, said that sponge iron reacts to water and should be protected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will take time to know the extent of the damage done by water," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen said that after six rakes of goods arrived for three days in a row, there has been a problem in managing the goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Four rakes had Salt Trading's Salt, and two rake had Premier and Swastik's sponge iron. Kamala's steel wire which came in two additional rakes was also unloaded in the yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Rathi, after the goods were unloaded and placed in the yard, they could not be transported. When it rained, Jogwani was waterlogged and the goods got damaged. There is no proper drainage system in the yard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Biratnagar site in-charge engineer Roshan Dev of the railway department however said that there is no problem with the arrival of goods at the ICP. "We are all ready, but the businessmen do not bring the goods, it is the businessmen's job to bring the goods," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that all the technical arrangements were in place at the ICP station just like the first day when the cargo train arrived.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is seen that the industrialists did not trust the new ICP yard, he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">urging the industrialists and businessmen to import their cargo through the railway yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, cargo handling at the ICP is done by Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee. The Railway Operations Department and Customs Office do the checking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashish Gajurel, executive director of the Nepal Intermodal Development Committee, informed that a structure is being built with an investment of Rs 550 million to start importing and exporting goods from the railway yard. He said that Intermodal is working on building a platform in the yard, widening the road from the yard to ICP and constructing a container parking lot.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anupam Rathi, senior vice president of Morang Trade Association and owner of Premier Steel, said that the cargo train cannot be brought to ICP until the railway department informs the businessmen that the railway yard with all the resources is ready for use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that the government must guarantees that there will not be any inconvenience in cargo handling and customs clearance. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He claimed that 1,500 sacks of sponge iron imported for his industry were destroyed at Jogwani Yard, causing a loss of Rs 4.5 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that after bringing the goods to the ICP railway yard, there were not enough transport vehicles with Nepali number plates to move the goods. Nepalese transport entrepreneurs do not allow vehicles with Indian number plates to enter the ICP. Therefore, he said that the arrangement of adequate means of transport is the first condition for the operation of cargo trains up to ICP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> "We buy 2400 tons of sponge iron for the industry at one time. We need at least 80 trucks for its transportation," he said. "It is difficult to get 80 trucks with Nepali number plates. On the other hand, if the goods are not picked up from the railway yard at the scheduled time, the detention fee is expensive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the inauguration, the railway did not formally inform any industrialists about the facilities there. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17989', 'image' => '20230623021224_1687494488.352617633_1014395823050981_6034707545646411378_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Salt Trading Corporation Bearing Massive Losses in Salt Business: CEO Shrestha', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. In a discussion with New Business Age, she said, “The company is facing massive losses in the salt business. The loss is even more in remote areas.” According to Shrestha, the company makes up for the loss in salt business from other businesses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is the first public company of Nepal which supplies iodized salt across the country. Shrestha also said that they have a stock of salt which lasts for at least six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation also imports subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizers. Around 500,000 metric tons of fertilizer is required in Nepal annually. Currently, only 60,000 to 70,000 metric tons are available. However, CEO Shrestha assured all farmers that they will get fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Shrestha, the government has allocated fertilizer quotas in different districts, which the corporation distributes accordingly. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">She however complained that the proportional system of fertilizer distribution has created problems and claims that fertilizers go to unnecessary places as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the country should opt for organic farming, Shrestha said, “'Nepal lacks proper research on organic farming. We are now working with the idea of cultivating organic chemical mixtures.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is also involved in the business of rice, lentil, and oil. Wheat trading and contract farming are also being done through the company. Stating that they are also raising the issue of sugarcane farmers, Shrestha said, “We have raised our voice with the line minister and secretary on the issue of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills do not have such a problem now. Currently, only a few mills have not paid to the farmers.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are about a thousand employees in the Salt Trading Corporation with about 90 percent women in packing section. Shrestha, who is also the vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and president of Women’s Chamber, said that she is mainly teaching banking, finance and taxation to women through the Chamber.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17988', 'image' => '20230623124611_Salt-Trading-Corporation-Limited.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 12:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18257', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'High Court Orders KMC not to Ban Indian Film Show ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On behalf of the Nepal Film Association, advocate Pritam Ghimire had filed a writ petition at the High Court against KMC's decision to ban the Indian film shows since Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response to the writ petition, a single bench of Judge Dhir Bahadur Chand asked KMC to lift the ban on film show. It was an interlocutory order, according to deputy registrar, Mandira Shahi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both sides have been summoned by the court for discussion on the matter on June 27. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC had banned the screening of Indian films expressing concern that a dialogue in 'Adipurush' that states 'Sita is India's daughter' must be corrected before its show. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, KMC Mayor Balendra Shah has commented via social media that he would not abide by the law and court order in matters related to sovereignty and independence of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I am ready to face any action, but I won't let the show run if the film dialogue is not corrected," he warned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17987', 'image' => '20230623113834_hammer-802301-1920-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:37:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18256', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Lamjung ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake measuring 4 in the Richter scale rattled several districts including Lamjung, Tanahun and Gorkha. The eastern and western hill regions in the country have recorded earthquake frequent in recent months. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17986', 'image' => '20230623111227_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:11:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18255', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Trade Deficit Reaches Rs 1337 Billion in 11 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">June 23: Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">According to the latest data released by the Department of Customs, Nepal’s imports stood at nearly Rs 1481 billion, while exports amounted to Rs 143.58 billion till the end of the eleventh month of the current fiscal year. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">This represents a decrease in foreign trade volume compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">During the review period of the current fiscal year, imports have decreased by 16.01 percent, and exports have declined by 22.74 percent. Consequently, the country's trade deficit has also decreased by 15.21 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Imports accounted for 91.16 percent of Nepal's foreign trade, while exports constituted 8.84 percent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Nepal's trade deficit with India, its largest trading partner, stands at Rs 838.85 billion, highlighting the significant gap. Similarly, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 1.52 billion, whereas imports from China amounted to goods worth Rs 202.37 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> Other countries contributing to Nepal's trade deficit include Indonesia, UAE, and Argentina. On the positive side, Nepal enjoys a trade surplus with countries like Denmark, Norway, Algeria, Niger, Cambodia, and Uruguay, among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">The key imports for Nepal encompass diesel, petrol, LP gas, raw soybean, coal, and crude palm oil.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> In terms of exports, the Department identified carpet, palm oil, soybean oil, and cardamom as the top goods shipped out of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17985', 'image' => '20230623061337_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 06:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18254', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Apex Court Orders to Implement Citizenship Act', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A division bench consisting of Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Kumar Regmi made the decision to discontinue the previous interim order issued by the Supreme Court, which had halted the authentication of the bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On June 4, Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma issued a show cause notice and interlocutory order regarding the implementation of the amendment to the act. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bill was certified by President Ram Chandra Paudel on May 31, following a recommendation from the Council of Ministers. However, senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane filed a writ petition against the certification.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17984', 'image' => '20230623055304_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 05:46:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18253', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ultima Lifestyle Launches Ultima Dynamite Speaker', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 22: Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With the aim of enhancing experience of listening to music and providing a more refined concept, Ultima has launched its high-quality speaker for all music lovers in the Nepali market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Recently, the Bluetooth calling smartwatch "Watch Magic" with a low cost achieved a new milestone in the history of Nepali e-commerce. With 230 units sold from Nepal's largest e-commerce platform, Daraz, the smartwatch set a new record in its sales.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ultima Dynamite speaker comes with a 1800 mAh Li-polymer battery, providing excellent playback for up to 11 hours. It also features IPX6 rating for water and shock resistance, making it an excellent companion for picnics, hiking, camping, and various indoor and outdoor activities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, this compact speaker is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology and microSD card compatibility.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Due to its compact design, it can be easily carried in a bag or pocket, making it convenient to take anywhere. Amit Agrawal, the founder of Ultima, focused on innovation and customer satisfaction, stated, "We are confident that this speaker will showcase our commitment to the latest technology in the audio industry and meet the expectations of our customers."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">After its launch, Ultima will further establish its authority in the market of accessories by providing affordable, high-quality products. The Ultima Dynamite is priced at Rs 2,599. However, as a special launch offer, the first 100 customers can purchase this speaker for only Rs 1,999 from Daraz starting from June 22. Additionally, the speaker will be available online and offline from June 24 onwards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Ultima has collaborated with Khalti, Nepal's leading digital wallet provider, for all Ultima product sales. This collaboration enables customers to purchase all Ultima products from the "Khalti Bazaar." For this special collaboration, Ultima is also running pre-booking offers and other gift-related promotions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Khalti users can now pre-book the Ultima Dynamite speaker for just Rs 1, and customers who have pre-booked can purchase the speaker for only Rs 1,999. The pre-booking will start from June 22 and continue until June 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sale of Ultima Dynamite will commence from June 24. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17983', 'image' => '20230622052755_collage (46).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 17:26:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18252', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Becomes Positive After Three Days’ Correction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation, the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">June 22: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation throughout </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">the day , the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Following the nine days’ rise, the NEPSE had experienced correction for three consecutive days since investors booked their profit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">For the past few days, investors have been attracted towards companies listed under Hotel and Tourism sector. With the rise of tourist influx, hotels have become first choices for the investors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Seasoned investors and experts say that NEPSE’s coming journey would be positive due to the liquidity piling up in the banking system.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 276 scrips traded hands via 56,556 transactions. A total of 8,008,246 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 3.44 billion in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 3.49 Arba.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) shares traded the most and had the highest turnover of Rs. 29.63 crores closing at a market price of Rs. 513.30 per share. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Six scrips hit the positive circuit today.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Conversely, Citizens Mutual Fund -1 (CMF1) lost the highest 8.41% today. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only four sector indices closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">"Hotel and Tourism" gained the highest 8.65% while "Hydropower" lost the highest 1.60% today. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The sensitive index decreased by 0.08 percent, while the sensitive float index decreased by 0.28 percent. However, the float index increased by 0.23 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17982', 'image' => '20230622043313_collage (44).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 16:31:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18251', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trend of Spending Budget in the Eleventh Hour Continues Unabated', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Within a span of just 4 days, the government earlier this week spent about Rs 14 billion under different headings. According to the government expenditure data from last Friday to Monday, a total budget of 13.87 billion was released. As in the previous fiscal years, this is a sign that a big budget is going to be spent in the last month of the current fiscal year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, which keeps track of the government's income and expenditure, since the last month of the current FY has already started, the pressure for disbursements of budget has started to increase. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As of Monday, the government's capital expenditure was only 40 per cent, while current expenditure was more than 74 per cent. In recent days, both the current and capital expenses are being spent more than in the previous months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to stop the trend of spending development budget especially in the 11<sup>th</sup> hour, a mandatory provision was made in the constitution to announce the budget on the 15th of Jestha (May 29). On top of that, the parliamentary committees have repeatedly given instructions that no more than 10 per cent of the total budget can be spent in a month. However, the trend of spending excessive amounts of budget in the last month has not stopped.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, when the budget was announced at the end of a fiscal year, it would take another three months to get the budget endorsed by the parliament. The selection of contractors and the compliance with the public procurement law would take another five months, and contracts would be awarded in the eighth month. Then the capital budget would be spent in the last month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to prevent the same situation, even if there is a mandatory provision in the constitution to bring the budget on Jestha 15, there has been no improvement in the expenditure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the trend of last-minute development did not stop, the Finance Committee and the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament have instructed the government not to spend more than 10 per cent of the budget in the last month of the year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, recent facts have shown that nothing from the constitution to the parliamentary committee could stop the 11<sup>th</sup> hour development. Around 20 to 25 per cent of the total budget is spent in the last month alone. As the same trend has been repeated this year too, serious questions have been raised about the functioning of the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MP and economist Dr Swarnim Wagh said that it is unfortunate that capital expenditure is only 45 per cent in the current fiscal year. He believes that even if the government makes some policy reforms in the upcoming budget, those policies will not make a fundamental difference and they will be purely ritualistic in nature.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Why was the development budget not spent before?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the previous budget, this year too, the Ministry of Finance had instructed that the contract process should be completed by the third month of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Accordingly, in the action plans submitted by each ministry to the Prime Minister's Office and the details updated by the ministries in the Budget Information System (BIS), it was mentioned that all the contract processes will be completed by the first quarter. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure said that when the government agencies did not show readiness to prepare the tender documents in time, the budget expenditure was affected.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Budget deficit of Rs 3 billion </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the government data, only 65.56 per cent of the allocated budget has been spent till June 15. During this period, the government's total income only covered the cost of paying salaries and allowances to the employees. There is a situation where the government has to look for a loan to pay the interest and principle of the loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, in the 11th month of the current year, the government has spent Rs 877 billion, which was mostly spent on salaries and allowances of employees, while the government collected revenue of Rs 836 billion. The total expenditure of the government is Rs 1176 billion. Therefore, there is a budget deficit of around Rs 300 billion.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17981', 'image' => '20230622020249_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 14:02:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18249', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mission Onion Fails, as Price Skyrockets in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill. Due to the halt in imports, there is a shortage of onions in the market and the prices have skyrocketed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts in the agricultural sector say that if the onion mission program launched by the government 16 years ago had been successful, the situation would have been different today.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government launched the Mission Onion campaign in 2007 to increase onion production in the country with the belief that onions that can be grown in abundance in the country to minimize the growing imports. Today, the government officials running the mission are themselves unaware of the program.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had started the program of providing subsidies for seeds, fertilizer and irrigation to the farmers to substitute import by increasing the domestic production of onion in Rupandehi, Saptari, Siraha, Banke, Bardia, Jhapa and other districts. Unfortunately, the campaign failed within five years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">When New Business Age contacted the officials of National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development about the situation of mission onion, they responded that there is no record of the program with the center. They replied that they had been in the center for only a few years and that the program was conducted by the Department of Agriculture long ago, so they did not know anything about it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Information Officer of the Department of Agriculture, Sunil Kumar Singh, tried to avoid discussing the issue saying the spokesperson needs to be contacted for the details. He admitted that he was not aware of the matter. The spokesman of the department, Januka Pandit on the other hand, could not be contacted at all. According to the National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development, the annual demand for onion in Nepal is 401,686 metric tons. In FY 2078/79, 298,000 metric tons of onions were produced in Nepal. Looking at the production and consumption, it does not seem possible to meet the domestic demand with domestically produced onions alone. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs department, in the last 5 years, 966,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 26.10 billion have been imported into Nepal. In the 10 months of the current fiscal year, 155,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 5.79 billion have been imported.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17979', 'image' => '20230622012432_onion.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 13:23:09', '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
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The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 25: Rajesh Kumar Agrawal has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). The CNI's 20th annual general meeting, which took place on Saturday, elected new leadership.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The elected national council members of the CNI include Sanjaya Golchha, Raj Bahadur Shah, Bidushi Rana, Ajit Bikram Shah, Hemraj Dhakal, Aashish Agrawal Jajodiya, Manish Khemka, Dwabiraj Sharma, Dhurba Prasad Rijal, Barsha Shrestha, Hitesh Golchha, Aashish Garga, Sapana Sapkota, Birendra Raj Pandey, and Laxmi Prasad Subedi.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Additional elected members of the council are Gokul Bhandari, Sandip Sharada, Mohit Kediya, Amit Mor, Amit Kumar Begani, Chandra Tandan, Rohit Gupta, Nirman Chaudhary, Barun Kumar Todi, Rahul Kumar Agrawal, Sharad Kumar Tibadewala, Bikram Singhaniya, Milan Babu Malla, Dipak Agrawal, Bishal Agrawal, Saurav Dugad, Dilip Agrawal, Gopal Kumar Agrawal, and Aditya Sanghai.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">From the elected national council members, seven individuals have been chosen as vice presidents of the CNI. The elected vice presidents are Nirman, Birendra Raj, Raj Bahadur, Hemraj, Rohit, Amit, and Bhim.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During a function held on Saturday, the outgoing CNI President Bishnu Kumar Agrawal administered an oath of office and secrecy to the newly elected CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-25', 'modified' => '2023-06-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17994', 'image' => '20230625055315_collage.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-25 05:51:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Four Killed in Okhaldhunga Landslide', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 23: The death toll from the Okhaldhunga landslide has reached four as the bodies of two missing individuals have been recovered. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The tragic incident took place on Thursday night following continuous rainfall, triggering the landslide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">One house belonging to Ran Bahadur Gurung of Champadevi rural municipality-8 was swept away by the landslip. In the disaster, Ran Bahadur, 36, his wife Shiva Maya, 29, their 10-year-old son Dinesh, and 18-month-old daughter Kritika lost their lives. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The bodies of Ran Bahadur and his wife were discovered in the morning, while the bodies of Dinesh and Kritika were retrieved from the debris by local residents and security personnel, according to Inspector Devendra Das from the District Police Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Additionally, the houses of Bal Bahadur Gurung and Jarsingh Gurung were also swept away by the landslide.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17993', 'image' => '20230623054814_collage (48).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 17:43:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Issues Reverse Repo for the Second Time to Mop Excess Liquidity', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market.', '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"">June 23: After the inter-bank interest rate fell below the target, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) released reverse repo for the second time to mop excess liquidity from the market. On Thursday, the central bank mopped excess liquidity worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">10</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo of seven days.</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"">On Thursday, nine banks and financial institutions filed 59 applications to bid for the reverse repo worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.33 billion. The NRB informed that the BFIs made a maximum bid of 3.24 percent and a minimum bid of 2.73 percent for the interest rate and the average interest rate was maintained at </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3.01</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> 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 raising Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">28.35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through reverse repo on July 20, 2021, and Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.65</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion through deposit collection on July 29 and August 6 last year, the central bank mopped Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion from the market through reverse repo for the first time in the current fiscal year (FY) on January 26.</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 crisis in the banking system eased due to the increase in bank deposits, the central bank has not released liquidity through instruments including repo since April. </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 last time the central bank issued repo (repurchase agreement) was on April 6 when it issued repo worth Rs 20 billion with a maturity period of 14 days.</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"">Similarly, the number of banks taking overnight repo and Permanent Liquidity Facility (SLF) is also decreasing. Banks have not taken overnight repo facility since April 26 and SLF facility since April 30</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"">After the liquidity in banks and financial institutions increased and the interbank interest rate fell below the monetary policy target, the central bank withdrew liquidity from the 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"">In the monetary policy, there is a provision to issue repo/reverse repo if the average interest rate of interbank transactions is lower than the policy rate by more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points. The average interest rate of interbank transactions, which has been continuously falling since May, dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent on Tuesday. Recently, with the improvement in remittance flow, deposits in banks have increased, but due to high interest rates and lack of economic activities, loans have not been disbursed. Due to this, the interest rates of treasury bills, development bonds, interbank transactions are continuously decreasing.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17992', 'image' => '20230623035328_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:52:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Experts Suggest not to Set Ambitions Goals in the 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82. Emphasizing structural transformation, NPC held discussion on the concept paper of the 16th Plan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice Chairman of NPC, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said that preparations for the 16th plan started with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity and social justice through structural transformation. He informed that the commission is ready to finalize and publish the 16th Plan to be implemented from mid-July 2024.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shrestha said that the work of the 16th Plan should be completed amid the challenges in the economy and the work would be carried forward with the suggestions of experts. The experts participating in the discussion held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand suggested not to set ambitious goals in the plan. According to them, it is necessary to consider the responsibility and presence of the province and municipality in the plan. Experts opined that the five-year plan should reach all three levels of government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts said that there is no coordination in the formulation of policy and its implementation. Along with this, they suggested that a plan should be made while considering the data of the 2018 census. They said that the commission should take the lead in the policy to increase private sector investment, and the policy should be adopted to increase the production of rice and other crops. Thursday's discussion was attended by stakeholders including Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ek Narayan Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Adhikari, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal, former members of the Commission Dr. Chandramani Adhikari, Dr. Ganesh Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17991', 'image' => '20230623033130_Untitled-2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 15:30:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dragon Boat Race Kicks off in Pokhara ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival kicked off in Pokhara amid a grand ceremony on Friday.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati inaugurated the festival jointly organized by the Embassy of China in Nepal, the Pokhara Metropolitan City and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Four teams each from China and Nepal are participating in the boat race which the organisers claim to be the first of its kind in South Asia. One hundred and sixty people from all seven provinces of Nepal and those from China are participating in the competition. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Dragon Boat Team, Yuan Boat Team, SG Dragon Boat Team of Singapore, the China-Nepal Friendship Dragon Boat Team Pokhara, NARA Dragon Boat Team Nepal, NRESA Boat Team Nepal, Phewa Dragon Connect Team Nepal and Pokhara Metropolis Dragon Boat Team Nepal are vying in the boat race organized in the Phewa Lake. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eight boat race events would be held as part of the competition, including 200 metres on the first day and 500 metres on the second day. The boats to be used in the competition have been brought from China. The paraphernalia for the boat race contest were also brought from China through Kerung transit point. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The festival is being organized with the aim of attracting Chinese tourists in Nepal while strengthening the cultural and people-to-people relations between the two countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The winning team will bag cash award of Rs 2 million, medal and certificates. A team of 60 people including deputy mayor of Lingji City of China arrived here on Wednesday in a chartered flight from China. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NTB, Chinese Embassy officials and Pokhara Metropolitan City had on May 4 signed a memorandum of understanding for organizing the boat race festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Alongside the boat races, the festival also features cultural performances and food exhibitions representing both countries. China had previously organized similar events in over 50 countries, and this competition has also been included in the Asian Games. The organizers aim to make this an annual event in Pokhara, promoting cultural exchange and harmony. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17990', 'image' => '20230623024119_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_08_boatracecometion.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:40:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18259', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Railway Service Inaugurated by PMs of India and Nepal Fail to Deliver Cargo', 'sub_title' => 'Industrialist Reluctant to Import Goods through Biratnagar ICP', 'summary' => 'June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi flagged off a train departing to Biratnagar ICP from India during an official ceremony at Hyderabad House in Delhi earlier this month. However, after the train delivered goods on June 1, no other cargo train ever appeared at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) again.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Railway officials of Nepal claim that everything is ready at the ICP, while industrialists have been claiming that there is no infrastructure to bring cargo. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At the Jogwani railway station, the salt and iron delivered by the cargo train coming from India are exposed to sunshine and rainwater. Goods unloaded in the open square without proper storage facility have been battered by the rain. Similarly, the sponge iron imported by Morang's Premier Steel and Sunsari's Swastik Rolling Mill is also rusting due to exposure to the monsoon rainfall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ramesh Rathi, the owner of Swastik Rolling Mill, said that sponge iron reacts to water and should be protected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It will take time to know the extent of the damage done by water," he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen said that after six rakes of goods arrived for three days in a row, there has been a problem in managing the goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Four rakes had Salt Trading's Salt, and two rake had Premier and Swastik's sponge iron. Kamala's steel wire which came in two additional rakes was also unloaded in the yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Rathi, after the goods were unloaded and placed in the yard, they could not be transported. When it rained, Jogwani was waterlogged and the goods got damaged. There is no proper drainage system in the yard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Biratnagar site in-charge engineer Roshan Dev of the railway department however said that there is no problem with the arrival of goods at the ICP. "We are all ready, but the businessmen do not bring the goods, it is the businessmen's job to bring the goods," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that all the technical arrangements were in place at the ICP station just like the first day when the cargo train arrived.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is seen that the industrialists did not trust the new ICP yard, he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">urging the industrialists and businessmen to import their cargo through the railway yard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, cargo handling at the ICP is done by Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee. The Railway Operations Department and Customs Office do the checking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashish Gajurel, executive director of the Nepal Intermodal Development Committee, informed that a structure is being built with an investment of Rs 550 million to start importing and exporting goods from the railway yard. He said that Intermodal is working on building a platform in the yard, widening the road from the yard to ICP and constructing a container parking lot.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anupam Rathi, senior vice president of Morang Trade Association and owner of Premier Steel, said that the cargo train cannot be brought to ICP until the railway department informs the businessmen that the railway yard with all the resources is ready for use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that the government must guarantees that there will not be any inconvenience in cargo handling and customs clearance. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He claimed that 1,500 sacks of sponge iron imported for his industry were destroyed at Jogwani Yard, causing a loss of Rs 4.5 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi said that after bringing the goods to the ICP railway yard, there were not enough transport vehicles with Nepali number plates to move the goods. Nepalese transport entrepreneurs do not allow vehicles with Indian number plates to enter the ICP. Therefore, he said that the arrangement of adequate means of transport is the first condition for the operation of cargo trains up to ICP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> "We buy 2400 tons of sponge iron for the industry at one time. We need at least 80 trucks for its transportation," he said. "It is difficult to get 80 trucks with Nepali number plates. On the other hand, if the goods are not picked up from the railway yard at the scheduled time, the detention fee is expensive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the inauguration, the railway did not formally inform any industrialists about the facilities there. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17989', 'image' => '20230623021224_1687494488.352617633_1014395823050981_6034707545646411378_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 14:11:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Salt Trading Corporation Bearing Massive Losses in Salt Business: CEO Shrestha', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 23: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation Limited, Urmila Shrestha, says that the company is trading salt at a loss. In a discussion with New Business Age, she said, “The company is facing massive losses in the salt business. The loss is even more in remote areas.” According to Shrestha, the company makes up for the loss in salt business from other businesses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is the first public company of Nepal which supplies iodized salt across the country. Shrestha also said that they have a stock of salt which lasts for at least six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation also imports subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizers. Around 500,000 metric tons of fertilizer is required in Nepal annually. Currently, only 60,000 to 70,000 metric tons are available. However, CEO Shrestha assured all farmers that they will get fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Shrestha, the government has allocated fertilizer quotas in different districts, which the corporation distributes accordingly. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">She however complained that the proportional system of fertilizer distribution has created problems and claims that fertilizers go to unnecessary places as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the country should opt for organic farming, Shrestha said, “'Nepal lacks proper research on organic farming. We are now working with the idea of cultivating organic chemical mixtures.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Salt Trading Corporation is also involved in the business of rice, lentil, and oil. Wheat trading and contract farming are also being done through the company. Stating that they are also raising the issue of sugarcane farmers, Shrestha said, “We have raised our voice with the line minister and secretary on the issue of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills do not have such a problem now. Currently, only a few mills have not paid to the farmers.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are about a thousand employees in the Salt Trading Corporation with about 90 percent women in packing section. Shrestha, who is also the vice-president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and president of Women’s Chamber, said that she is mainly teaching banking, finance and taxation to women through the Chamber.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17988', 'image' => '20230623124611_Salt-Trading-Corporation-Limited.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 12:45:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18257', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'High Court Orders KMC not to Ban Indian Film Show ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: The High Court, Patan has issued an interlocutory order against Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to not ban the screening of Indian films in movie halls. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On behalf of the Nepal Film Association, advocate Pritam Ghimire had filed a writ petition at the High Court against KMC's decision to ban the Indian film shows since Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In response to the writ petition, a single bench of Judge Dhir Bahadur Chand asked KMC to lift the ban on film show. It was an interlocutory order, according to deputy registrar, Mandira Shahi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Both sides have been summoned by the court for discussion on the matter on June 27. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC had banned the screening of Indian films expressing concern that a dialogue in 'Adipurush' that states 'Sita is India's daughter' must be corrected before its show. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, KMC Mayor Balendra Shah has commented via social media that he would not abide by the law and court order in matters related to sovereignty and independence of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"I am ready to face any action, but I won't let the show run if the film dialogue is not corrected," he warned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17987', 'image' => '20230623113834_hammer-802301-1920-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:37:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18256', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Jolts Lamjung ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 23: An earthquake was recorded at Bhalayakharka of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung district at 5:55 this morning, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake measuring 4 in the Richter scale rattled several districts including Lamjung, Tanahun and Gorkha. The eastern and western hill regions in the country have recorded earthquake frequent in recent months. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17986', 'image' => '20230623111227_earth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 11:11:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18255', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Trade Deficit Reaches Rs 1337 Billion in 11 Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">June 23: Nepal’s current trade deficit has reached Rs 1337.39 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2022/23.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">According to the latest data released by the Department of Customs, Nepal’s imports stood at nearly Rs 1481 billion, while exports amounted to Rs 143.58 billion till the end of the eleventh month of the current fiscal year. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">This represents a decrease in foreign trade volume compared to the previous fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">During the review period of the current fiscal year, imports have decreased by 16.01 percent, and exports have declined by 22.74 percent. Consequently, the country's trade deficit has also decreased by 15.21 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Imports accounted for 91.16 percent of Nepal's foreign trade, while exports constituted 8.84 percent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">Nepal's trade deficit with India, its largest trading partner, stands at Rs 838.85 billion, highlighting the significant gap. Similarly, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 1.52 billion, whereas imports from China amounted to goods worth Rs 202.37 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> Other countries contributing to Nepal's trade deficit include Indonesia, UAE, and Argentina. On the positive side, Nepal enjoys a trade surplus with countries like Denmark, Norway, Algeria, Niger, Cambodia, and Uruguay, among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt">The key imports for Nepal encompass diesel, petrol, LP gas, raw soybean, coal, and crude palm oil.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:15.0pt"> In terms of exports, the Department identified carpet, palm oil, soybean oil, and cardamom as the top goods shipped out of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17985', 'image' => '20230623061337_collage (7).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 06:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18254', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Apex Court Orders to Implement Citizenship Act', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the interim order that had prevented the implementation of the Citizenship Act amendment bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A division bench consisting of Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Kumar Regmi made the decision to discontinue the previous interim order issued by the Supreme Court, which had halted the authentication of the bill. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">On June 4, Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma issued a show cause notice and interlocutory order regarding the implementation of the amendment to the act. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bill was certified by President Ram Chandra Paudel on May 31, following a recommendation from the Council of Ministers. However, senior advocates Surendra Bhandari and Bal Krishna Neupane filed a writ petition against the certification.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-23', 'modified' => '2023-06-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17984', 'image' => '20230623055304_collage (5).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-23 05:46:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18253', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ultima Lifestyle Launches Ultima Dynamite Speaker', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 22: Ultima Lifestyle, a fast-growing lifestyle accessories brand, has introduced its new "Ultima Dynamite" speaker under its speaker category.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">With the aim of enhancing experience of listening to music and providing a more refined concept, Ultima has launched its high-quality speaker for all music lovers in the Nepali market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Recently, the Bluetooth calling smartwatch "Watch Magic" with a low cost achieved a new milestone in the history of Nepali e-commerce. With 230 units sold from Nepal's largest e-commerce platform, Daraz, the smartwatch set a new record in its sales.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Ultima Dynamite speaker comes with a 1800 mAh Li-polymer battery, providing excellent playback for up to 11 hours. It also features IPX6 rating for water and shock resistance, making it an excellent companion for picnics, hiking, camping, and various indoor and outdoor activities.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Additionally, this compact speaker is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology and microSD card compatibility.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Due to its compact design, it can be easily carried in a bag or pocket, making it convenient to take anywhere. Amit Agrawal, the founder of Ultima, focused on innovation and customer satisfaction, stated, "We are confident that this speaker will showcase our commitment to the latest technology in the audio industry and meet the expectations of our customers."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">After its launch, Ultima will further establish its authority in the market of accessories by providing affordable, high-quality products. The Ultima Dynamite is priced at Rs 2,599. However, as a special launch offer, the first 100 customers can purchase this speaker for only Rs 1,999 from Daraz starting from June 22. Additionally, the speaker will be available online and offline from June 24 onwards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Ultima has collaborated with Khalti, Nepal's leading digital wallet provider, for all Ultima product sales. This collaboration enables customers to purchase all Ultima products from the "Khalti Bazaar." For this special collaboration, Ultima is also running pre-booking offers and other gift-related promotions.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Khalti users can now pre-book the Ultima Dynamite speaker for just Rs 1, and customers who have pre-booked can purchase the speaker for only Rs 1,999. The pre-booking will start from June 22 and continue until June 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sale of Ultima Dynamite will commence from June 24. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17983', 'image' => '20230622052755_collage (46).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 17:26:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18252', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Becomes Positive After Three Days’ Correction', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation, the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">June 22: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) increased by 4.75 points and closed at 2055.53 points on the last trading day on Thursday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Though the benchmark index had witnessed fluctuation throughout </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">the day , the NEPSE had ended on a positive note today. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Following the nine days’ rise, the NEPSE had experienced correction for three consecutive days since investors booked their profit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">For the past few days, investors have been attracted towards companies listed under Hotel and Tourism sector. With the rise of tourist influx, hotels have become first choices for the investors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Seasoned investors and experts say that NEPSE’s coming journey would be positive due to the liquidity piling up in the banking system.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">A total of 276 scrips traded hands via 56,556 transactions. A total of 8,008,246 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 3.44 billion in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 3.49 Arba.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Soaltee Hotel Limited (SHL) shares traded the most and had the highest turnover of Rs. 29.63 crores closing at a market price of Rs. 513.30 per share. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Six scrips hit the positive circuit today.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Conversely, Citizens Mutual Fund -1 (CMF1) lost the highest 8.41% today. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">Only four sector indices closed in the green zone. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Open Sans",sans-serif">"Hotel and Tourism" gained the highest 8.65% while "Hydropower" lost the highest 1.60% today. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The sensitive index decreased by 0.08 percent, while the sensitive float index decreased by 0.28 percent. However, the float index increased by 0.23 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17982', 'image' => '20230622043313_collage (44).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 16:31:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18251', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trend of Spending Budget in the Eleventh Hour Continues Unabated', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: The practice of spending a large amount of budget at the end of the fiscal year has been repeated this year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Within a span of just 4 days, the government earlier this week spent about Rs 14 billion under different headings. According to the government expenditure data from last Friday to Monday, a total budget of 13.87 billion was released. As in the previous fiscal years, this is a sign that a big budget is going to be spent in the last month of the current fiscal year as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, which keeps track of the government's income and expenditure, since the last month of the current FY has already started, the pressure for disbursements of budget has started to increase. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As of Monday, the government's capital expenditure was only 40 per cent, while current expenditure was more than 74 per cent. In recent days, both the current and capital expenses are being spent more than in the previous months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to stop the trend of spending development budget especially in the 11<sup>th</sup> hour, a mandatory provision was made in the constitution to announce the budget on the 15th of Jestha (May 29). On top of that, the parliamentary committees have repeatedly given instructions that no more than 10 per cent of the total budget can be spent in a month. However, the trend of spending excessive amounts of budget in the last month has not stopped.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, when the budget was announced at the end of a fiscal year, it would take another three months to get the budget endorsed by the parliament. The selection of contractors and the compliance with the public procurement law would take another five months, and contracts would be awarded in the eighth month. Then the capital budget would be spent in the last month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to prevent the same situation, even if there is a mandatory provision in the constitution to bring the budget on Jestha 15, there has been no improvement in the expenditure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Since the trend of last-minute development did not stop, the Finance Committee and the Public Accounts Committee of the parliament have instructed the government not to spend more than 10 per cent of the budget in the last month of the year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, recent facts have shown that nothing from the constitution to the parliamentary committee could stop the 11<sup>th</sup> hour development. Around 20 to 25 per cent of the total budget is spent in the last month alone. As the same trend has been repeated this year too, serious questions have been raised about the functioning of the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MP and economist Dr Swarnim Wagh said that it is unfortunate that capital expenditure is only 45 per cent in the current fiscal year. He believes that even if the government makes some policy reforms in the upcoming budget, those policies will not make a fundamental difference and they will be purely ritualistic in nature.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Why was the development budget not spent before?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As in the previous budget, this year too, the Ministry of Finance had instructed that the contract process should be completed by the third month of the fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Accordingly, in the action plans submitted by each ministry to the Prime Minister's Office and the details updated by the ministries in the Budget Information System (BIS), it was mentioned that all the contract processes will be completed by the first quarter. However, a senior official of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure said that when the government agencies did not show readiness to prepare the tender documents in time, the budget expenditure was affected.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong>Budget deficit of Rs 3 billion </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the government data, only 65.56 per cent of the allocated budget has been spent till June 15. During this period, the government's total income only covered the cost of paying salaries and allowances to the employees. There is a situation where the government has to look for a loan to pay the interest and principle of the loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Finance Comptroller General's Office, in the 11th month of the current year, the government has spent Rs 877 billion, which was mostly spent on salaries and allowances of employees, while the government collected revenue of Rs 836 billion. The total expenditure of the government is Rs 1176 billion. Therefore, there is a budget deficit of around Rs 300 billion.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17981', 'image' => '20230622020249_1683767264.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 14:02:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18249', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mission Onion Fails, as Price Skyrockets in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 22: With the government's decision to impose VAT on onion from the fiscal year (FY 2023/24), its import has come to a standstill. Due to the halt in imports, there is a shortage of onions in the market and the prices have skyrocketed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts in the agricultural sector say that if the onion mission program launched by the government 16 years ago had been successful, the situation would have been different today.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government launched the Mission Onion campaign in 2007 to increase onion production in the country with the belief that onions that can be grown in abundance in the country to minimize the growing imports. Today, the government officials running the mission are themselves unaware of the program.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had started the program of providing subsidies for seeds, fertilizer and irrigation to the farmers to substitute import by increasing the domestic production of onion in Rupandehi, Saptari, Siraha, Banke, Bardia, Jhapa and other districts. Unfortunately, the campaign failed within five years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">When New Business Age contacted the officials of National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development about the situation of mission onion, they responded that there is no record of the program with the center. They replied that they had been in the center for only a few years and that the program was conducted by the Department of Agriculture long ago, so they did not know anything about it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Information Officer of the Department of Agriculture, Sunil Kumar Singh, tried to avoid discussing the issue saying the spokesperson needs to be contacted for the details. He admitted that he was not aware of the matter. The spokesman of the department, Januka Pandit on the other hand, could not be contacted at all. According to the National Center for Potato, Vegetable and Spice Crops Development, the annual demand for onion in Nepal is 401,686 metric tons. In FY 2078/79, 298,000 metric tons of onions were produced in Nepal. Looking at the production and consumption, it does not seem possible to meet the domestic demand with domestically produced onions alone. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the customs department, in the last 5 years, 966,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 26.10 billion have been imported into Nepal. In the 10 months of the current fiscal year, 155,000 metric tons of onions worth Rs 5.79 billion have been imported.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17979', 'image' => '20230622012432_onion.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 13:23:09', '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
