June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be…
June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be…
June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the…
June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.…
…
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various…
High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education…
June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days…
June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173…
Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance…
After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning. The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers.…
June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on…
June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border…
June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year…
June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's…
June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This situation has arisen in the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) as the province and local levels failed to give adequate concern and attention. The PLGSP is run under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and it is the main national project of the government focused on promoting federal good governance. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PLGSP commenced on the very first day of the Fiscal Year 2076/77 (16th July 2019) for a duration of four years. However, the PLGSP was formally launched only on 23<sup>rd</sup> August 2019 after being approved by the Council of Ministers.</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"">A Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) was signed between the Ministry of Finance and Development Partners including the DEID, Norway, SDC and the EU on 4th September 2019to implement the programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the Rs 14.95 billion mobilized for operating the programme from Fiscal Year 2076/77 to 2079/80 BS, only Rs 3.23 billion has been spent, according to the National Programme Directorate Manager, Bhupendra Sapkota. He shared this at a programme on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Sapkota, several provinces and local levels did not turn up for taking the assistance for implementation of the targeted programme within the stipulated time while some failed to utilize the funds properly even after taking the assistance. This has resulted in the programme running into arrears. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objectives of the programme are to strengthen provincial and local governance system and procedures with an improved inter-governmental relationship to maximize benefits of cooperative federalism and to enhance the capacity of provincial and local governments to deliver services and development outcomes effectively to the citizens. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the major activities of the project are to prepare policy, laws, strategies, directives and guidelines for federal, provincial and local governments, and to strengthen inter-governmental mechanisms for full functioning. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Establishing and strengthening the Provincial Center for Good governance (PCGG), re-structured as LDTA regional training center, at the province as a center for excellence to drive the overall capacity development activities for the local governments is also one of PLGSP's activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has contributed Rs 3.45 billion while Nepal's development partners such as the United Nations, the European Union and Norway among others have given grants of Rs 11.5 billion for the PLGSP. Out of this amount, Rs 1.89 billion was allocated to the federal government, Rs 7.22 billion to the provincial governments and Rs 5.83 billion to the local governments. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme envisaged 14 different outcomes including formulation of Acts and policies required for the new federal structures and the strengthening of inter-governmental mechanism and public finance management. It particularly aims to make the government bodies at all levels and the inter-governmental mechanisms fully functional to support the federal governance system as per the constitution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The latest meeting of the National Implementation Committee and National Fiscal Risk Advisory Sub-committee made an assessment of the achievements of the PLGSP so far and the initiatives made to achieve these outcomes. The meeting also pledged to put in maximum efforts for making the programme result-oriented in the coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting concluded that the coming year would be taken as the transitional year in the context of a big chunk of the support amount remaining to be spent even though the programme implementation term is about to terminate. Then after, the PLGSP's new action plan and framework would be determined on the basis of wide-ranging discussion with the stakeholders. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17978', 'image' => '20230622124007_plgsp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 12:39:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NATTA Draws Finance Minister's Attention over 'Expensive’ Air Tickets', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A NATTA delegation led by its president Ramesh Thapa met with Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Wednesday and requested the government to roll back its decision to levy value added tax (VAT) on air tickets. Citing that the imposition of VAT on airfare through the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 has made the air tickets costlier, the delegation warned that this might adversely impact the tourism industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As both the domestic and international airfare in Nepal are already expensive at present, the airfare would become exorbitantly high with the addition of VAT in the present situation. There is also a possibility of tourist arrivals falling down and the prospective foreign tourists opting to travel to airports in Bagdogara, Gorakhpur among other airports in India due to their proximity to the Nepal due to the high airfare in Nepal," Thapa said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He argued that the decision of imposing VAT on airfare would have a serious impact on the government's goal of bringing more than a million tourists into Nepal in the upcoming fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA said imposition of VAT only in Nepal would make the air tickets issued by Nepali travel agencies more expensive while it would be cheaper booking tickets online and in foreign countries. This will compel foreign tourists to book air tickets from foreign countries, resulting in loss of foreign currency earning and an increased risk of the government losing the tax it has been getting from the travel agencies and the loss of employment provided by the latter. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA also called for a change in the provision of the Nepali citizen having to purchase package tour from the foreign currency facility that one gets while going on a foreign tour. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat expressed his commitment that the government would take measures so that the tourism entrepreneurs would not face problems for the development of tourism sector in Nepal. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17977', 'image' => '20230622115037_AW_Ryan-Scottini-1-1-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:49:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chances of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => 'Department of Hydrology Predicts Heavy Rainfall Tonight', 'summary' => 'June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Similarly, the local wind and Westerly wind are having impact in the rest 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"">The low-pressure system that has developed over Uttar Pradesh in India is also having its influence in western Nepal, the department stated. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather is generally cloudy in the Tarai region of Koshi and Bagmati provinces as well as the Madhesh, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces at present. It is partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the regions of the country with moderate rain accompanied by lightning at a few places, said meteorologist Sanjeev Adhikari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said there is possibility of rainfall in some places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces today (June 22). The Meteorological Forecasting Division said there are chances of heavy rainfall tonight compared to the daytime. The weather bulletin issued by the division stated that light rainfall is forecast in the western parts of the country today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17976', 'image' => '20230622112432_20211018080919_20210613043257_2021SECVPF.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:23:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Glaciers Melting 65 Percent Faster than Previous Decade: Study', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 22: Scientists have warned that the Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change. This has exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, the AFP said Tuesday citing a report prepared by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The glaciers disappeared 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade, according to the ICIMOD report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"As it gets warmer, ice will melt, that was expected, but what is unexpected and very worrying is the speed," lead author Philippus Wester told AFP. "This is going much faster than we thought."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the river valleys below, the report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Based on current emissions trajectories, the glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, said the Nepal-based ICIMOD, an inter-governmental organisation that also includes member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP. These Himalayan glaciers feed 10 of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"With two billion people in Asia reliant on the water that glaciers and snow here hold, the consequences of losing this cryosphere (a frozen zone) are too vast to contemplate," AFP quoted ICIMOD's deputy chief Izabella Koziell as saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Even if global warming is limited to the 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels agreed to in the Paris climate treaty, the glaciers are expected to lose a third to a half of their volume by 2100, the peer-reviewed report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It underscores the need for urgent climate action," Wester said. "Every small increment will have huge impacts and we really, really need to work on climate mitigation... that is our plea."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Wester said improving technologies and previously classified high-resolution satellite imagery meant predictions could be made with a good degree of accuracy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP, the world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing a cascade of extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts and storms made more ferocious by rising seas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Hardest hit are the most vulnerable people and the world's poorest countries, which have done little to contribute to the fossil fuel emissions that drive up temperatures, the French news agency added.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17975', 'image' => '20230622104609_20230621091613_2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 10:43:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airfare Slashed Following NOC’s Decision to Lower Price of Aviation Fuel', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Jagannath Niraula, the spokesperson for CAAN, stated that the airfare for the Biratnagar-Nepalgunj route has been reduced by Rs 540, while the Kathmandu-Simara route now costs Rs 90 less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Furthermore, passengers traveling from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur will experience a reduction of Rs 300, while those heading to Biratnagar will see a decrease of Rs 240.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Similarly, the airfare for the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has been reduced by Rs 445, and for the Kathmandu-Nepalgunj route by Rs 325.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Passengers flying to Bhairahawa will enjoy a decrease of Rs 210, and those traveling to Surkhet will have a reduction of Rs 345. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The NOC had on Tuesday slashed the price of aviation fuel by Rs 10 per litre. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17974', 'image' => '20230622055306_collage (3).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 05:48:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Interim Order Issued Not to Stop HISSAN Edufair', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 21: High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Spokesperson and Deputy-Registrar of the High Court Patan, Mandira Shahi said that a division bench of judges Tek Prasad Dhungana and Ramesh Dhakal on Wednesday issued such an order. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The Kathmandu Metropolitan City had abruptly closed the Edufair, which was taking place at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu since June 15, citing various reasons. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">However, the Higher Secondary Schools' Association Nepal (HISSAN) had filed a writ petition at the High Court Patan to challenge the decision of the KMC to halt the fair. (RSS) </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17973', 'image' => '20230622060756_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 06:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lawmakers Urge Govt to Speed up Relief Work in Flood-Ravaged Taplejung, Panchthar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They also demanded restoring the road connectivity in those districts as soon as possible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmaker Urmila Thebe drew the government's attention towards the big loss of lives and properties in Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, among other districts in the eastern parts of the country due to the rain-induced disaster. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She called on the government to speed up the search and rescue of those people who have gone missing in the floods and landslides. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ishwaridevi Neupane drew the attention of the parliament and the government on the plights of people who are still devoid of the citizenship certificate and urged for addressing their problems promptly. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Urmila Majhi voiced the problem faced by the people in Lamjung due to the frequent power outages despite the district having over a dozen hydropower plants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eknath Dhakal urged the government to take measures for the integrated development of tourism in Gorkha district while Kaluram Rai demanded the government to ensure social justice to the people with disabilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ganesh Parajuli urged the government to adopt preparedness to deal with flooding and landslides in vulnerable places of Tarai and hill districts. </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"">Gomalav Sapkota said the government should take steps to end sexual harassment and violence against women in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chandra Bahadur Bishwokarma called for reducing incidents of racial discrimination and untouchability against backward and Dalit communities in districts including Siraha and Baitadi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Others including Kushum Devi Thapa, Tshering Lama Tamang, Jwala Kumari Sah, Tshering Damdul Lama (Bhote), Kiran Kumar Shah, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Juli Kumari Mahato, Ganga Karki and Chanda Karki drew the attention of the government to the contemporary issues of the country. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17971', 'image' => '20230621083955_DSC05808.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 20:39:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Public Debt Surpasses Rs 2,173 Billion ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the statistic presented by the Public Debt Management Office, Nepal has been obliged to pay its public debt amounting over Rs 1099 billion 720 million towards internal debt and over Rs 1073 billion 520 million towards external debt as of May 15 of the current fiscal year 2023/24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This statistics was unveiled amid concerns that the public debt would continue increasing due to the deficit budget announced by the government and thereby further increasing the burden of obligation to pay the principle and interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has set a target of collecting additional Rs 452.75 billion of loan to meet the budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year out of which Rs 240 billion is aimed to be collected through internal loans and Rs 212.75 billion through external loans. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal’s public debt liability was Rs 2013 billion 296 million 640 thousand until mid-July last year when the current fiscal year 2023/24 had begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Public debt amounting to Rs 159 billion 950 million and 800 thousand was added to the country's debt portfolio in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the ratio of public debt to the GDP appeared to be 44.79 per cent while considering Nepal's Gross Domestic Production (GDP) at Rs 4851 billion 620 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmakers have been raising the issue in the parliament that the increasing ratio of the public debt to the GDP and the low capital formation have been weakening the economic growth rate in the country and thereby spurring the likelihood of economic crisis in the country in coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the government raised the public debt of Rs 300.06 billion in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year while it paid principal and interest amounting to Rs 205 billion 170 million in the review period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As of May 15 of the current fiscal year, the government’s spending in the repayment of principal and interest of public debt exceeded the capital expenditure by around Rs 52.08 billion. The government has spent Rs 153 billion 80 million as a capital expenditure in the corresponding period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The budget deficit was being met by rising loans amid dismal revenue collection. On the other hand, as the principle and interest of the loans were increasing every year, a large part of the annual budget is being spent on it. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the latest census unveiled by the National Statistic Office in 2021, the total population of Nepal is 29,164,778. Comparing the total public debt with the total population, the per capita debt comes to stand at Rs 74,516. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17970', 'image' => '20230621065206_20220412112511_economictrends_3_0.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 18:51:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NBA and IIN Agree to Run Joint Curriculum on ESG', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 21: Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the agreement, NBA and IIN will jointly operate the implementation of a certified ESG program targeting professionals within Nepal's financial sector. The curriculum is certified by the School of Management of the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary objective of this program is to enhance the capacity of employees working in banks and financial institutions, equipping them with the knowledge and skills related to social, environmental, and good governance aspects of ESG. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ultimate aim is to prepare a skilled workforce capable of contributing to sustainable development and effective governance. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil K.C., President of the Nepal Bankers' Association, and Bibek Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) had signed the agreement. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17969', 'image' => '20230621052207_collage (43).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 17:20:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18238', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hetauda Cement Industry Resumes Operations After Temporary Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning. The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 21: After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. The closure was necessitated by the breakdown of equipment in the industry's oven and a coal shortage, according to industry management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">To address the coal shortage, the industry's General Manager, Basanta Raj Pandey, said that they had imported high-quality coal through a bidding process from India, Indonesia, and Bhutan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has already received 1,800 metric tonnes of coal in the first and second installments, with the remaining 1,200 metric tonnes scheduled to be imported within the next month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meantime, the government-owned cement industry has reported a loss of over Rs 111 million by the end of the current fiscal year, 2022/23. The total accumulated loss for the industry now stands at Rs 900 million, according to the management.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17968', 'image' => '20230621042255_collage (41).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 16:21:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18237', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs of Birgunj Protest against Police High-handedness', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday. The businessmen took such a drastic step against the police highhandedness in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Transport entrepreneur Balkrishna Pokharel said they had previously brought the matter to the attention of the local administration but were forced to close the business after there was no hearing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessman complained that the police have been impounding vehicles that have undergone all the due customs procedures and handing them over to the Revenue Investigation Department in the name of investigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The vehicles seized by the police in in a tip-off get stopped for at least 15 days by the office for revenue investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If nothing is found, should the police check the credibility of their information or not? Pokharel questioned, adding, "It does not mean that there should not be an investigation into revenue leakage. However, investigations are done to cause unnecessary hassles for the businessmen.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anil Kumar Agarwal, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a program organized in Birgunj on Monday that the vehicle that passed the customs clearance is seized from the road. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The stakeholders have been expressing displeasure saying that it is discouraging legitimate business in the name of investigation. The businessmen claim that the transporters have suffered losses when the goods with the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill get seized and kept for 15 days in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The importers are not ready to keep their goods in detention when their documents and procedures are all correct. We have to suffer a loss at the rate of Rs 3,000 per day," said Pokhrel.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Earlier, the businessman had submitted a memorandum to the chief district officer of Parsa and demanded to address their demand within 4 days. After the deadline of 4 days expired on Monday, the businessman decided to hand over their keys to the CDO.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17967', 'image' => '20230621021932_Birgunjjjjjjjjjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:17:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Low Taxes will Discourage Illegal Imports: Stakeholders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas. Traders say that unauthorized imports will not stop as long as the tax to be paid by consumers in the domestic market is higher than in the Indian market. They say that domestic products cannot compete with Indian products as long as the domestic consumers have to pay more taxes for similar products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that because India has recently reformed the tax system through the Goods and Services Tax (GST), unauthorized imports have increased in Nepal. Analyst and industrialist Jagdish Prasad Agarwal claims that informal business will not stop as long as higher taxes are imposed on domestic goods as compared to goods produced in India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that unauthorized imports from India will not stop until the markets in border areas have goods at affordable rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a need for radical reform in the revenue system,” says Agarwal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A study report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) some time ago revealed the fact that 35 percent of the total value of goods imported from India is unauthorized imports worth Rs 400 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control such illegal imports, the government has deployed border security personnel to curb smuggling through the open border and to boost revenue collection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the illegal imports have not stopped. In some cases, the illegal trade of daily consumable goods, clothes, dishes, electronic materials etc is flourishing under the political protection and in collusion with the government bodies responsible for curbing such acts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Such unauthorized imports are not only harming the government’s treasury, but also pushing the business of domestic industries and importers on the bring of crisis. Experts say that being a landlocked country, the cost of production in Nepal is also higher than that of India, so the unauthorized import of cheap products from India is taking place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, president of Madhesh Province chapter of FNCCI said, “We have high production costs due to rise in prices of raw materials and transportation cost. If the government does not radically reform the revenue system, illegal imports will not be stopped.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani claims that smuggling will not come under control until the government collects customs duties, value added tax (VAT) and other charges equal to GST.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In India, the government has reduced the prices of consumer goods by implementing multi-rate GST. There, such tax is applicable from 5 to 28 percent. As the GST is less on daily consumption and essential goods and more on luxury goods, the goods of general consumption are available at cheaper prices in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In Nepal, 13 percent VAT is levied from general consumption goods to luxury items. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17966', 'image' => '20230621021736_20220531105551_taxxxxx.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:16:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18235', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Preparing to Announce Tight Monetary Policy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB is still under pressure as inflation is still above the target limit. As the world economy has not yet improved, NRB is preparing to continue the tight policy fearing that an expansionary monetary policy will relax economic activity resulting in pressure on reinvestment situation, and foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB has set the deadline of June 26 for collecting suggestions for the monetary policy from stakeholders and is preparing to release the monetary policy by the third week of July.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been saying in public functions that the central bank will not be as lenient as it was in the past and there will not be any concessions and facilities like that in the past. He has hinted that the monetary policy will be tightened in the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a recent program, Governor Adhikari made it clear that the facilities given for revitalizing the economy affected by Covid-19 cannot be provided again. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The side effects of the facilities given to improve the economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to surface now. Therefore, corrective measure is necessary. The same facilities cannot be given again,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to revive the Covid-19-affected economy, NRB had adopted a flexible and expansionary monetary policy in FY 2077/78 and 2078/79. As a result, the cash flow in the market increased and the economy became vibrant, but the investment was used in unproductive sectors and imports, and the indicators of the economy turned negative. Therefore, the NRB changed its policy in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of NRB said that in the upcoming monetary policy, there will be concession programs for specific sectors rather than providing facilities to everyone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A senior official at NRB said, “It is not possible to give inclusive concessions to everyone like in the past. After assessing the impact of the decline in economic activities, concession programs can only come for the areas that are in trouble.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the third quarter review of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has provisions for restructuring and rescheduling loans as well as re-financing facilities for borrowers associated with economic sectors that have been experiencing negative growth for the last two quarters. According to the review, NRB issued instructions to banks, financial institutions to reschedule loans for hotels and restaurants, animal husbandry, construction sector and loans up to 50 million in all other sectors on the basis of need and justification by analyzing the cash flow and income of the industry/business at the request of the debtor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, the condition is that the loan should be in the active category till March and 10 percent of the outstanding interest should be paid. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17965', 'image' => '20230621014419_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:43:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18234', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Death Toll from Natural Disaster Rises to 10 while 26 People Still Missing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Responding to the concerns raised by lawmakers in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha presented this figure. Likewise, six people have been injured and 26 have gone missing while 54 houses have been completely damaged. Further details of the losses are awaited, said DPM Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monsoon that entered Nepal on June 14 has affected the eastern parts of Nepal. "Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar and Tapeljung have suffered the most," the minister informed the house. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing his sorrow over the loss of lives and property to the disasters, he wished for quick health recovery of the injured and also promised to intensify the search operation for the missing. </span><br /> DPM and<span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Home Minister Shrestha said that the District Security Committee, District Management Committee, Local Disaster Management Committee, local representatives, political parties, civil society, local community and media in the respective districts are working collaboratively for the rescue and relief efforts and for the search of the missing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Hewa and Piluwa rivers in Chainpur municipality of Sankhuwasabha have posed a constant threat to nearby settlements due to incessant monsoon rains. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The flood has significantly damaged the under-construction Super Hewa Hydropower Project based in Dhobhane of Chainpur-4, resulting in the missing of 21 individuals: 18 hydropower workers and three others. Likewise, three people were rescued alive and they are under medical treatment. The body of one was retrieved from the site," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the minister, floods swept away seven houses in Chainpur, putting 11 houses at high risk of possible disaster. Likewise, it has completely damaged two motorable bridges and two suspension bridges along the Hewa River with causing partial damages to one cemented bridge.</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"">As per the Disaster Survivor Rescue and Relief Criteria, 2077 BS, the government is preparing to hand over Rs 200,000 to the families of those killed in the disaster and an additional Rs 100,000 for the death of more than one member of the same family.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The affected family shall get Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 as an immediate relief. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17964', 'image' => '20230621084108_SB-Khadbari_IMG_3580.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:05:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18233', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pokhara Welcomes First International Flight at its New Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday. </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"">Airport authorities and the excited locals gave a warm welcome to a chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines on Wednesday morning. The airport offered a water canon salute to the aircraft, a traditional sign of respect and honor for the first aircraft of international flight to descent at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese airline company has announced to start direct chartered flights to Pokhara.</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"">According to Bikram Gautam, the head of the airport, the Airbus A-319 of Sichuan Airlines, which took off from Chendu’s Tianfu International Airport in China, landed at Pokhara International Airport at 9:30 am on Wednesday. </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"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati said that he was excited to welcome the chartered flight from China to Pokhara International Airport. He expressed on social media that he was happy to hear that all the hotels in Pokhara were full of tourists.</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"">A total of 135 passengers including a Nepali delegation led by the Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chinese sportspersons and tourists, who will be attending the 'Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival' at Phewa Lake in Pokhara next weekend, reportedly arrived in Pokhara in the aircraft.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu at noon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 1 this year. The airport was built with an investment of Rs 22 billion. On the opening day of the airport, Himalaya Airlines conducted a test flight. Since then, no international flight has taken place at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17963', 'image' => '20230621115344_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_06_20230621122528_IMG_1747 - Copy.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 11:53:00', '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' => '18248', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Big Chunk of Foreign Assistance for PLGSP Remains Unspent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This situation has arisen in the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) as the province and local levels failed to give adequate concern and attention. The PLGSP is run under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and it is the main national project of the government focused on promoting federal good governance. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PLGSP commenced on the very first day of the Fiscal Year 2076/77 (16th July 2019) for a duration of four years. However, the PLGSP was formally launched only on 23<sup>rd</sup> August 2019 after being approved by the Council of Ministers.</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"">A Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) was signed between the Ministry of Finance and Development Partners including the DEID, Norway, SDC and the EU on 4th September 2019to implement the programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the Rs 14.95 billion mobilized for operating the programme from Fiscal Year 2076/77 to 2079/80 BS, only Rs 3.23 billion has been spent, according to the National Programme Directorate Manager, Bhupendra Sapkota. He shared this at a programme on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Sapkota, several provinces and local levels did not turn up for taking the assistance for implementation of the targeted programme within the stipulated time while some failed to utilize the funds properly even after taking the assistance. This has resulted in the programme running into arrears. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objectives of the programme are to strengthen provincial and local governance system and procedures with an improved inter-governmental relationship to maximize benefits of cooperative federalism and to enhance the capacity of provincial and local governments to deliver services and development outcomes effectively to the citizens. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the major activities of the project are to prepare policy, laws, strategies, directives and guidelines for federal, provincial and local governments, and to strengthen inter-governmental mechanisms for full functioning. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Establishing and strengthening the Provincial Center for Good governance (PCGG), re-structured as LDTA regional training center, at the province as a center for excellence to drive the overall capacity development activities for the local governments is also one of PLGSP's activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has contributed Rs 3.45 billion while Nepal's development partners such as the United Nations, the European Union and Norway among others have given grants of Rs 11.5 billion for the PLGSP. Out of this amount, Rs 1.89 billion was allocated to the federal government, Rs 7.22 billion to the provincial governments and Rs 5.83 billion to the local governments. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme envisaged 14 different outcomes including formulation of Acts and policies required for the new federal structures and the strengthening of inter-governmental mechanism and public finance management. It particularly aims to make the government bodies at all levels and the inter-governmental mechanisms fully functional to support the federal governance system as per the constitution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The latest meeting of the National Implementation Committee and National Fiscal Risk Advisory Sub-committee made an assessment of the achievements of the PLGSP so far and the initiatives made to achieve these outcomes. The meeting also pledged to put in maximum efforts for making the programme result-oriented in the coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting concluded that the coming year would be taken as the transitional year in the context of a big chunk of the support amount remaining to be spent even though the programme implementation term is about to terminate. Then after, the PLGSP's new action plan and framework would be determined on the basis of wide-ranging discussion with the stakeholders. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17978', 'image' => '20230622124007_plgsp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 12:39:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NATTA Draws Finance Minister's Attention over 'Expensive’ Air Tickets', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A NATTA delegation led by its president Ramesh Thapa met with Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Wednesday and requested the government to roll back its decision to levy value added tax (VAT) on air tickets. Citing that the imposition of VAT on airfare through the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 has made the air tickets costlier, the delegation warned that this might adversely impact the tourism industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As both the domestic and international airfare in Nepal are already expensive at present, the airfare would become exorbitantly high with the addition of VAT in the present situation. There is also a possibility of tourist arrivals falling down and the prospective foreign tourists opting to travel to airports in Bagdogara, Gorakhpur among other airports in India due to their proximity to the Nepal due to the high airfare in Nepal," Thapa said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He argued that the decision of imposing VAT on airfare would have a serious impact on the government's goal of bringing more than a million tourists into Nepal in the upcoming fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA said imposition of VAT only in Nepal would make the air tickets issued by Nepali travel agencies more expensive while it would be cheaper booking tickets online and in foreign countries. This will compel foreign tourists to book air tickets from foreign countries, resulting in loss of foreign currency earning and an increased risk of the government losing the tax it has been getting from the travel agencies and the loss of employment provided by the latter. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA also called for a change in the provision of the Nepali citizen having to purchase package tour from the foreign currency facility that one gets while going on a foreign tour. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat expressed his commitment that the government would take measures so that the tourism entrepreneurs would not face problems for the development of tourism sector in Nepal. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17977', 'image' => '20230622115037_AW_Ryan-Scottini-1-1-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:49:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chances of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => 'Department of Hydrology Predicts Heavy Rainfall Tonight', 'summary' => 'June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Similarly, the local wind and Westerly wind are having impact in the rest 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"">The low-pressure system that has developed over Uttar Pradesh in India is also having its influence in western Nepal, the department stated. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather is generally cloudy in the Tarai region of Koshi and Bagmati provinces as well as the Madhesh, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces at present. It is partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the regions of the country with moderate rain accompanied by lightning at a few places, said meteorologist Sanjeev Adhikari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said there is possibility of rainfall in some places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces today (June 22). The Meteorological Forecasting Division said there are chances of heavy rainfall tonight compared to the daytime. The weather bulletin issued by the division stated that light rainfall is forecast in the western parts of the country today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17976', 'image' => '20230622112432_20211018080919_20210613043257_2021SECVPF.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:23:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Glaciers Melting 65 Percent Faster than Previous Decade: Study', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 22: Scientists have warned that the Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change. This has exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, the AFP said Tuesday citing a report prepared by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The glaciers disappeared 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade, according to the ICIMOD report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"As it gets warmer, ice will melt, that was expected, but what is unexpected and very worrying is the speed," lead author Philippus Wester told AFP. "This is going much faster than we thought."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the river valleys below, the report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Based on current emissions trajectories, the glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, said the Nepal-based ICIMOD, an inter-governmental organisation that also includes member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP. These Himalayan glaciers feed 10 of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"With two billion people in Asia reliant on the water that glaciers and snow here hold, the consequences of losing this cryosphere (a frozen zone) are too vast to contemplate," AFP quoted ICIMOD's deputy chief Izabella Koziell as saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Even if global warming is limited to the 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels agreed to in the Paris climate treaty, the glaciers are expected to lose a third to a half of their volume by 2100, the peer-reviewed report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It underscores the need for urgent climate action," Wester said. "Every small increment will have huge impacts and we really, really need to work on climate mitigation... that is our plea."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Wester said improving technologies and previously classified high-resolution satellite imagery meant predictions could be made with a good degree of accuracy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP, the world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing a cascade of extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts and storms made more ferocious by rising seas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Hardest hit are the most vulnerable people and the world's poorest countries, which have done little to contribute to the fossil fuel emissions that drive up temperatures, the French news agency added.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17975', 'image' => '20230622104609_20230621091613_2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 10:43:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airfare Slashed Following NOC’s Decision to Lower Price of Aviation Fuel', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Jagannath Niraula, the spokesperson for CAAN, stated that the airfare for the Biratnagar-Nepalgunj route has been reduced by Rs 540, while the Kathmandu-Simara route now costs Rs 90 less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Furthermore, passengers traveling from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur will experience a reduction of Rs 300, while those heading to Biratnagar will see a decrease of Rs 240.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Similarly, the airfare for the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has been reduced by Rs 445, and for the Kathmandu-Nepalgunj route by Rs 325.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Passengers flying to Bhairahawa will enjoy a decrease of Rs 210, and those traveling to Surkhet will have a reduction of Rs 345. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The NOC had on Tuesday slashed the price of aviation fuel by Rs 10 per litre. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17974', 'image' => '20230622055306_collage (3).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 05:48:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Interim Order Issued Not to Stop HISSAN Edufair', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 21: High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Spokesperson and Deputy-Registrar of the High Court Patan, Mandira Shahi said that a division bench of judges Tek Prasad Dhungana and Ramesh Dhakal on Wednesday issued such an order. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The Kathmandu Metropolitan City had abruptly closed the Edufair, which was taking place at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu since June 15, citing various reasons. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">However, the Higher Secondary Schools' Association Nepal (HISSAN) had filed a writ petition at the High Court Patan to challenge the decision of the KMC to halt the fair. (RSS) </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17973', 'image' => '20230622060756_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 06:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lawmakers Urge Govt to Speed up Relief Work in Flood-Ravaged Taplejung, Panchthar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They also demanded restoring the road connectivity in those districts as soon as possible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmaker Urmila Thebe drew the government's attention towards the big loss of lives and properties in Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, among other districts in the eastern parts of the country due to the rain-induced disaster. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She called on the government to speed up the search and rescue of those people who have gone missing in the floods and landslides. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ishwaridevi Neupane drew the attention of the parliament and the government on the plights of people who are still devoid of the citizenship certificate and urged for addressing their problems promptly. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Urmila Majhi voiced the problem faced by the people in Lamjung due to the frequent power outages despite the district having over a dozen hydropower plants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eknath Dhakal urged the government to take measures for the integrated development of tourism in Gorkha district while Kaluram Rai demanded the government to ensure social justice to the people with disabilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ganesh Parajuli urged the government to adopt preparedness to deal with flooding and landslides in vulnerable places of Tarai and hill districts. </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"">Gomalav Sapkota said the government should take steps to end sexual harassment and violence against women in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chandra Bahadur Bishwokarma called for reducing incidents of racial discrimination and untouchability against backward and Dalit communities in districts including Siraha and Baitadi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Others including Kushum Devi Thapa, Tshering Lama Tamang, Jwala Kumari Sah, Tshering Damdul Lama (Bhote), Kiran Kumar Shah, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Juli Kumari Mahato, Ganga Karki and Chanda Karki drew the attention of the government to the contemporary issues of the country. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17971', 'image' => '20230621083955_DSC05808.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 20:39:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Public Debt Surpasses Rs 2,173 Billion ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the statistic presented by the Public Debt Management Office, Nepal has been obliged to pay its public debt amounting over Rs 1099 billion 720 million towards internal debt and over Rs 1073 billion 520 million towards external debt as of May 15 of the current fiscal year 2023/24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This statistics was unveiled amid concerns that the public debt would continue increasing due to the deficit budget announced by the government and thereby further increasing the burden of obligation to pay the principle and interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has set a target of collecting additional Rs 452.75 billion of loan to meet the budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year out of which Rs 240 billion is aimed to be collected through internal loans and Rs 212.75 billion through external loans. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal’s public debt liability was Rs 2013 billion 296 million 640 thousand until mid-July last year when the current fiscal year 2023/24 had begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Public debt amounting to Rs 159 billion 950 million and 800 thousand was added to the country's debt portfolio in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the ratio of public debt to the GDP appeared to be 44.79 per cent while considering Nepal's Gross Domestic Production (GDP) at Rs 4851 billion 620 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmakers have been raising the issue in the parliament that the increasing ratio of the public debt to the GDP and the low capital formation have been weakening the economic growth rate in the country and thereby spurring the likelihood of economic crisis in the country in coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the government raised the public debt of Rs 300.06 billion in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year while it paid principal and interest amounting to Rs 205 billion 170 million in the review period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As of May 15 of the current fiscal year, the government’s spending in the repayment of principal and interest of public debt exceeded the capital expenditure by around Rs 52.08 billion. The government has spent Rs 153 billion 80 million as a capital expenditure in the corresponding period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The budget deficit was being met by rising loans amid dismal revenue collection. On the other hand, as the principle and interest of the loans were increasing every year, a large part of the annual budget is being spent on it. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the latest census unveiled by the National Statistic Office in 2021, the total population of Nepal is 29,164,778. Comparing the total public debt with the total population, the per capita debt comes to stand at Rs 74,516. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17970', 'image' => '20230621065206_20220412112511_economictrends_3_0.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 18:51:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NBA and IIN Agree to Run Joint Curriculum on ESG', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 21: Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the agreement, NBA and IIN will jointly operate the implementation of a certified ESG program targeting professionals within Nepal's financial sector. The curriculum is certified by the School of Management of the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary objective of this program is to enhance the capacity of employees working in banks and financial institutions, equipping them with the knowledge and skills related to social, environmental, and good governance aspects of ESG. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ultimate aim is to prepare a skilled workforce capable of contributing to sustainable development and effective governance. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil K.C., President of the Nepal Bankers' Association, and Bibek Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) had signed the agreement. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17969', 'image' => '20230621052207_collage (43).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 17:20:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18238', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hetauda Cement Industry Resumes Operations After Temporary Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning. The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 21: After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. The closure was necessitated by the breakdown of equipment in the industry's oven and a coal shortage, according to industry management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">To address the coal shortage, the industry's General Manager, Basanta Raj Pandey, said that they had imported high-quality coal through a bidding process from India, Indonesia, and Bhutan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has already received 1,800 metric tonnes of coal in the first and second installments, with the remaining 1,200 metric tonnes scheduled to be imported within the next month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meantime, the government-owned cement industry has reported a loss of over Rs 111 million by the end of the current fiscal year, 2022/23. The total accumulated loss for the industry now stands at Rs 900 million, according to the management.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17968', 'image' => '20230621042255_collage (41).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 16:21:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18237', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs of Birgunj Protest against Police High-handedness', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday. The businessmen took such a drastic step against the police highhandedness in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Transport entrepreneur Balkrishna Pokharel said they had previously brought the matter to the attention of the local administration but were forced to close the business after there was no hearing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessman complained that the police have been impounding vehicles that have undergone all the due customs procedures and handing them over to the Revenue Investigation Department in the name of investigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The vehicles seized by the police in in a tip-off get stopped for at least 15 days by the office for revenue investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If nothing is found, should the police check the credibility of their information or not? Pokharel questioned, adding, "It does not mean that there should not be an investigation into revenue leakage. However, investigations are done to cause unnecessary hassles for the businessmen.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anil Kumar Agarwal, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a program organized in Birgunj on Monday that the vehicle that passed the customs clearance is seized from the road. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The stakeholders have been expressing displeasure saying that it is discouraging legitimate business in the name of investigation. The businessmen claim that the transporters have suffered losses when the goods with the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill get seized and kept for 15 days in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The importers are not ready to keep their goods in detention when their documents and procedures are all correct. We have to suffer a loss at the rate of Rs 3,000 per day," said Pokhrel.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Earlier, the businessman had submitted a memorandum to the chief district officer of Parsa and demanded to address their demand within 4 days. After the deadline of 4 days expired on Monday, the businessman decided to hand over their keys to the CDO.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17967', 'image' => '20230621021932_Birgunjjjjjjjjjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:17:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Low Taxes will Discourage Illegal Imports: Stakeholders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas. Traders say that unauthorized imports will not stop as long as the tax to be paid by consumers in the domestic market is higher than in the Indian market. They say that domestic products cannot compete with Indian products as long as the domestic consumers have to pay more taxes for similar products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that because India has recently reformed the tax system through the Goods and Services Tax (GST), unauthorized imports have increased in Nepal. Analyst and industrialist Jagdish Prasad Agarwal claims that informal business will not stop as long as higher taxes are imposed on domestic goods as compared to goods produced in India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that unauthorized imports from India will not stop until the markets in border areas have goods at affordable rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a need for radical reform in the revenue system,” says Agarwal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A study report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) some time ago revealed the fact that 35 percent of the total value of goods imported from India is unauthorized imports worth Rs 400 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control such illegal imports, the government has deployed border security personnel to curb smuggling through the open border and to boost revenue collection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the illegal imports have not stopped. In some cases, the illegal trade of daily consumable goods, clothes, dishes, electronic materials etc is flourishing under the political protection and in collusion with the government bodies responsible for curbing such acts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Such unauthorized imports are not only harming the government’s treasury, but also pushing the business of domestic industries and importers on the bring of crisis. Experts say that being a landlocked country, the cost of production in Nepal is also higher than that of India, so the unauthorized import of cheap products from India is taking place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, president of Madhesh Province chapter of FNCCI said, “We have high production costs due to rise in prices of raw materials and transportation cost. If the government does not radically reform the revenue system, illegal imports will not be stopped.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani claims that smuggling will not come under control until the government collects customs duties, value added tax (VAT) and other charges equal to GST.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In India, the government has reduced the prices of consumer goods by implementing multi-rate GST. There, such tax is applicable from 5 to 28 percent. As the GST is less on daily consumption and essential goods and more on luxury goods, the goods of general consumption are available at cheaper prices in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In Nepal, 13 percent VAT is levied from general consumption goods to luxury items. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17966', 'image' => '20230621021736_20220531105551_taxxxxx.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:16:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18235', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Preparing to Announce Tight Monetary Policy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB is still under pressure as inflation is still above the target limit. As the world economy has not yet improved, NRB is preparing to continue the tight policy fearing that an expansionary monetary policy will relax economic activity resulting in pressure on reinvestment situation, and foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB has set the deadline of June 26 for collecting suggestions for the monetary policy from stakeholders and is preparing to release the monetary policy by the third week of July.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been saying in public functions that the central bank will not be as lenient as it was in the past and there will not be any concessions and facilities like that in the past. He has hinted that the monetary policy will be tightened in the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a recent program, Governor Adhikari made it clear that the facilities given for revitalizing the economy affected by Covid-19 cannot be provided again. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The side effects of the facilities given to improve the economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to surface now. Therefore, corrective measure is necessary. The same facilities cannot be given again,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to revive the Covid-19-affected economy, NRB had adopted a flexible and expansionary monetary policy in FY 2077/78 and 2078/79. As a result, the cash flow in the market increased and the economy became vibrant, but the investment was used in unproductive sectors and imports, and the indicators of the economy turned negative. Therefore, the NRB changed its policy in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of NRB said that in the upcoming monetary policy, there will be concession programs for specific sectors rather than providing facilities to everyone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A senior official at NRB said, “It is not possible to give inclusive concessions to everyone like in the past. After assessing the impact of the decline in economic activities, concession programs can only come for the areas that are in trouble.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the third quarter review of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has provisions for restructuring and rescheduling loans as well as re-financing facilities for borrowers associated with economic sectors that have been experiencing negative growth for the last two quarters. According to the review, NRB issued instructions to banks, financial institutions to reschedule loans for hotels and restaurants, animal husbandry, construction sector and loans up to 50 million in all other sectors on the basis of need and justification by analyzing the cash flow and income of the industry/business at the request of the debtor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, the condition is that the loan should be in the active category till March and 10 percent of the outstanding interest should be paid. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17965', 'image' => '20230621014419_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:43:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18234', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Death Toll from Natural Disaster Rises to 10 while 26 People Still Missing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Responding to the concerns raised by lawmakers in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha presented this figure. Likewise, six people have been injured and 26 have gone missing while 54 houses have been completely damaged. Further details of the losses are awaited, said DPM Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monsoon that entered Nepal on June 14 has affected the eastern parts of Nepal. "Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar and Tapeljung have suffered the most," the minister informed the house. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing his sorrow over the loss of lives and property to the disasters, he wished for quick health recovery of the injured and also promised to intensify the search operation for the missing. </span><br /> DPM and<span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Home Minister Shrestha said that the District Security Committee, District Management Committee, Local Disaster Management Committee, local representatives, political parties, civil society, local community and media in the respective districts are working collaboratively for the rescue and relief efforts and for the search of the missing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Hewa and Piluwa rivers in Chainpur municipality of Sankhuwasabha have posed a constant threat to nearby settlements due to incessant monsoon rains. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The flood has significantly damaged the under-construction Super Hewa Hydropower Project based in Dhobhane of Chainpur-4, resulting in the missing of 21 individuals: 18 hydropower workers and three others. Likewise, three people were rescued alive and they are under medical treatment. The body of one was retrieved from the site," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the minister, floods swept away seven houses in Chainpur, putting 11 houses at high risk of possible disaster. Likewise, it has completely damaged two motorable bridges and two suspension bridges along the Hewa River with causing partial damages to one cemented bridge.</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"">As per the Disaster Survivor Rescue and Relief Criteria, 2077 BS, the government is preparing to hand over Rs 200,000 to the families of those killed in the disaster and an additional Rs 100,000 for the death of more than one member of the same family.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The affected family shall get Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 as an immediate relief. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17964', 'image' => '20230621084108_SB-Khadbari_IMG_3580.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:05:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18233', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pokhara Welcomes First International Flight at its New Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday. </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"">Airport authorities and the excited locals gave a warm welcome to a chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines on Wednesday morning. The airport offered a water canon salute to the aircraft, a traditional sign of respect and honor for the first aircraft of international flight to descent at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese airline company has announced to start direct chartered flights to Pokhara.</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"">According to Bikram Gautam, the head of the airport, the Airbus A-319 of Sichuan Airlines, which took off from Chendu’s Tianfu International Airport in China, landed at Pokhara International Airport at 9:30 am on Wednesday. </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"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati said that he was excited to welcome the chartered flight from China to Pokhara International Airport. He expressed on social media that he was happy to hear that all the hotels in Pokhara were full of tourists.</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"">A total of 135 passengers including a Nepali delegation led by the Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chinese sportspersons and tourists, who will be attending the 'Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival' at Phewa Lake in Pokhara next weekend, reportedly arrived in Pokhara in the aircraft.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu at noon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 1 this year. The airport was built with an investment of Rs 22 billion. On the opening day of the airport, Himalaya Airlines conducted a test flight. Since then, no international flight has taken place at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17963', 'image' => '20230621115344_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_06_20230621122528_IMG_1747 - Copy.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 11:53:00', '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' => '18248', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Big Chunk of Foreign Assistance for PLGSP Remains Unspent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This situation has arisen in the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) as the province and local levels failed to give adequate concern and attention. The PLGSP is run under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and it is the main national project of the government focused on promoting federal good governance. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PLGSP commenced on the very first day of the Fiscal Year 2076/77 (16th July 2019) for a duration of four years. However, the PLGSP was formally launched only on 23<sup>rd</sup> August 2019 after being approved by the Council of Ministers.</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"">A Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) was signed between the Ministry of Finance and Development Partners including the DEID, Norway, SDC and the EU on 4th September 2019to implement the programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the Rs 14.95 billion mobilized for operating the programme from Fiscal Year 2076/77 to 2079/80 BS, only Rs 3.23 billion has been spent, according to the National Programme Directorate Manager, Bhupendra Sapkota. He shared this at a programme on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Sapkota, several provinces and local levels did not turn up for taking the assistance for implementation of the targeted programme within the stipulated time while some failed to utilize the funds properly even after taking the assistance. This has resulted in the programme running into arrears. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objectives of the programme are to strengthen provincial and local governance system and procedures with an improved inter-governmental relationship to maximize benefits of cooperative federalism and to enhance the capacity of provincial and local governments to deliver services and development outcomes effectively to the citizens. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the major activities of the project are to prepare policy, laws, strategies, directives and guidelines for federal, provincial and local governments, and to strengthen inter-governmental mechanisms for full functioning. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Establishing and strengthening the Provincial Center for Good governance (PCGG), re-structured as LDTA regional training center, at the province as a center for excellence to drive the overall capacity development activities for the local governments is also one of PLGSP's activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has contributed Rs 3.45 billion while Nepal's development partners such as the United Nations, the European Union and Norway among others have given grants of Rs 11.5 billion for the PLGSP. Out of this amount, Rs 1.89 billion was allocated to the federal government, Rs 7.22 billion to the provincial governments and Rs 5.83 billion to the local governments. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme envisaged 14 different outcomes including formulation of Acts and policies required for the new federal structures and the strengthening of inter-governmental mechanism and public finance management. It particularly aims to make the government bodies at all levels and the inter-governmental mechanisms fully functional to support the federal governance system as per the constitution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The latest meeting of the National Implementation Committee and National Fiscal Risk Advisory Sub-committee made an assessment of the achievements of the PLGSP so far and the initiatives made to achieve these outcomes. The meeting also pledged to put in maximum efforts for making the programme result-oriented in the coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting concluded that the coming year would be taken as the transitional year in the context of a big chunk of the support amount remaining to be spent even though the programme implementation term is about to terminate. Then after, the PLGSP's new action plan and framework would be determined on the basis of wide-ranging discussion with the stakeholders. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17978', 'image' => '20230622124007_plgsp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 12:39:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NATTA Draws Finance Minister's Attention over 'Expensive’ Air Tickets', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A NATTA delegation led by its president Ramesh Thapa met with Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Wednesday and requested the government to roll back its decision to levy value added tax (VAT) on air tickets. Citing that the imposition of VAT on airfare through the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 has made the air tickets costlier, the delegation warned that this might adversely impact the tourism industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As both the domestic and international airfare in Nepal are already expensive at present, the airfare would become exorbitantly high with the addition of VAT in the present situation. There is also a possibility of tourist arrivals falling down and the prospective foreign tourists opting to travel to airports in Bagdogara, Gorakhpur among other airports in India due to their proximity to the Nepal due to the high airfare in Nepal," Thapa said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He argued that the decision of imposing VAT on airfare would have a serious impact on the government's goal of bringing more than a million tourists into Nepal in the upcoming fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA said imposition of VAT only in Nepal would make the air tickets issued by Nepali travel agencies more expensive while it would be cheaper booking tickets online and in foreign countries. This will compel foreign tourists to book air tickets from foreign countries, resulting in loss of foreign currency earning and an increased risk of the government losing the tax it has been getting from the travel agencies and the loss of employment provided by the latter. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA also called for a change in the provision of the Nepali citizen having to purchase package tour from the foreign currency facility that one gets while going on a foreign tour. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat expressed his commitment that the government would take measures so that the tourism entrepreneurs would not face problems for the development of tourism sector in Nepal. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17977', 'image' => '20230622115037_AW_Ryan-Scottini-1-1-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:49:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chances of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => 'Department of Hydrology Predicts Heavy Rainfall Tonight', 'summary' => 'June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Similarly, the local wind and Westerly wind are having impact in the rest 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"">The low-pressure system that has developed over Uttar Pradesh in India is also having its influence in western Nepal, the department stated. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather is generally cloudy in the Tarai region of Koshi and Bagmati provinces as well as the Madhesh, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces at present. It is partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the regions of the country with moderate rain accompanied by lightning at a few places, said meteorologist Sanjeev Adhikari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said there is possibility of rainfall in some places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces today (June 22). The Meteorological Forecasting Division said there are chances of heavy rainfall tonight compared to the daytime. The weather bulletin issued by the division stated that light rainfall is forecast in the western parts of the country today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17976', 'image' => '20230622112432_20211018080919_20210613043257_2021SECVPF.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:23:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Glaciers Melting 65 Percent Faster than Previous Decade: Study', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 22: Scientists have warned that the Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change. This has exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, the AFP said Tuesday citing a report prepared by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The glaciers disappeared 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade, according to the ICIMOD report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"As it gets warmer, ice will melt, that was expected, but what is unexpected and very worrying is the speed," lead author Philippus Wester told AFP. "This is going much faster than we thought."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the river valleys below, the report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Based on current emissions trajectories, the glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, said the Nepal-based ICIMOD, an inter-governmental organisation that also includes member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP. These Himalayan glaciers feed 10 of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"With two billion people in Asia reliant on the water that glaciers and snow here hold, the consequences of losing this cryosphere (a frozen zone) are too vast to contemplate," AFP quoted ICIMOD's deputy chief Izabella Koziell as saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Even if global warming is limited to the 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels agreed to in the Paris climate treaty, the glaciers are expected to lose a third to a half of their volume by 2100, the peer-reviewed report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It underscores the need for urgent climate action," Wester said. "Every small increment will have huge impacts and we really, really need to work on climate mitigation... that is our plea."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Wester said improving technologies and previously classified high-resolution satellite imagery meant predictions could be made with a good degree of accuracy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP, the world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing a cascade of extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts and storms made more ferocious by rising seas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Hardest hit are the most vulnerable people and the world's poorest countries, which have done little to contribute to the fossil fuel emissions that drive up temperatures, the French news agency added.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17975', 'image' => '20230622104609_20230621091613_2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 10:43:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airfare Slashed Following NOC’s Decision to Lower Price of Aviation Fuel', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Jagannath Niraula, the spokesperson for CAAN, stated that the airfare for the Biratnagar-Nepalgunj route has been reduced by Rs 540, while the Kathmandu-Simara route now costs Rs 90 less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Furthermore, passengers traveling from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur will experience a reduction of Rs 300, while those heading to Biratnagar will see a decrease of Rs 240.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Similarly, the airfare for the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has been reduced by Rs 445, and for the Kathmandu-Nepalgunj route by Rs 325.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Passengers flying to Bhairahawa will enjoy a decrease of Rs 210, and those traveling to Surkhet will have a reduction of Rs 345. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The NOC had on Tuesday slashed the price of aviation fuel by Rs 10 per litre. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17974', 'image' => '20230622055306_collage (3).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 05:48:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Interim Order Issued Not to Stop HISSAN Edufair', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 21: High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Spokesperson and Deputy-Registrar of the High Court Patan, Mandira Shahi said that a division bench of judges Tek Prasad Dhungana and Ramesh Dhakal on Wednesday issued such an order. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The Kathmandu Metropolitan City had abruptly closed the Edufair, which was taking place at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu since June 15, citing various reasons. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">However, the Higher Secondary Schools' Association Nepal (HISSAN) had filed a writ petition at the High Court Patan to challenge the decision of the KMC to halt the fair. (RSS) </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17973', 'image' => '20230622060756_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 06:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lawmakers Urge Govt to Speed up Relief Work in Flood-Ravaged Taplejung, Panchthar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They also demanded restoring the road connectivity in those districts as soon as possible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmaker Urmila Thebe drew the government's attention towards the big loss of lives and properties in Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, among other districts in the eastern parts of the country due to the rain-induced disaster. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She called on the government to speed up the search and rescue of those people who have gone missing in the floods and landslides. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ishwaridevi Neupane drew the attention of the parliament and the government on the plights of people who are still devoid of the citizenship certificate and urged for addressing their problems promptly. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Urmila Majhi voiced the problem faced by the people in Lamjung due to the frequent power outages despite the district having over a dozen hydropower plants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eknath Dhakal urged the government to take measures for the integrated development of tourism in Gorkha district while Kaluram Rai demanded the government to ensure social justice to the people with disabilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ganesh Parajuli urged the government to adopt preparedness to deal with flooding and landslides in vulnerable places of Tarai and hill districts. </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"">Gomalav Sapkota said the government should take steps to end sexual harassment and violence against women in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chandra Bahadur Bishwokarma called for reducing incidents of racial discrimination and untouchability against backward and Dalit communities in districts including Siraha and Baitadi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Others including Kushum Devi Thapa, Tshering Lama Tamang, Jwala Kumari Sah, Tshering Damdul Lama (Bhote), Kiran Kumar Shah, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Juli Kumari Mahato, Ganga Karki and Chanda Karki drew the attention of the government to the contemporary issues of the country. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17971', 'image' => '20230621083955_DSC05808.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 20:39:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Public Debt Surpasses Rs 2,173 Billion ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the statistic presented by the Public Debt Management Office, Nepal has been obliged to pay its public debt amounting over Rs 1099 billion 720 million towards internal debt and over Rs 1073 billion 520 million towards external debt as of May 15 of the current fiscal year 2023/24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This statistics was unveiled amid concerns that the public debt would continue increasing due to the deficit budget announced by the government and thereby further increasing the burden of obligation to pay the principle and interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has set a target of collecting additional Rs 452.75 billion of loan to meet the budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year out of which Rs 240 billion is aimed to be collected through internal loans and Rs 212.75 billion through external loans. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal’s public debt liability was Rs 2013 billion 296 million 640 thousand until mid-July last year when the current fiscal year 2023/24 had begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Public debt amounting to Rs 159 billion 950 million and 800 thousand was added to the country's debt portfolio in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the ratio of public debt to the GDP appeared to be 44.79 per cent while considering Nepal's Gross Domestic Production (GDP) at Rs 4851 billion 620 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmakers have been raising the issue in the parliament that the increasing ratio of the public debt to the GDP and the low capital formation have been weakening the economic growth rate in the country and thereby spurring the likelihood of economic crisis in the country in coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the government raised the public debt of Rs 300.06 billion in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year while it paid principal and interest amounting to Rs 205 billion 170 million in the review period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As of May 15 of the current fiscal year, the government’s spending in the repayment of principal and interest of public debt exceeded the capital expenditure by around Rs 52.08 billion. The government has spent Rs 153 billion 80 million as a capital expenditure in the corresponding period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The budget deficit was being met by rising loans amid dismal revenue collection. On the other hand, as the principle and interest of the loans were increasing every year, a large part of the annual budget is being spent on it. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the latest census unveiled by the National Statistic Office in 2021, the total population of Nepal is 29,164,778. Comparing the total public debt with the total population, the per capita debt comes to stand at Rs 74,516. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17970', 'image' => '20230621065206_20220412112511_economictrends_3_0.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 18:51:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NBA and IIN Agree to Run Joint Curriculum on ESG', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 21: Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the agreement, NBA and IIN will jointly operate the implementation of a certified ESG program targeting professionals within Nepal's financial sector. The curriculum is certified by the School of Management of the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary objective of this program is to enhance the capacity of employees working in banks and financial institutions, equipping them with the knowledge and skills related to social, environmental, and good governance aspects of ESG. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ultimate aim is to prepare a skilled workforce capable of contributing to sustainable development and effective governance. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil K.C., President of the Nepal Bankers' Association, and Bibek Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) had signed the agreement. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17969', 'image' => '20230621052207_collage (43).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 17:20:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18238', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hetauda Cement Industry Resumes Operations After Temporary Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning. The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 21: After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. The closure was necessitated by the breakdown of equipment in the industry's oven and a coal shortage, according to industry management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">To address the coal shortage, the industry's General Manager, Basanta Raj Pandey, said that they had imported high-quality coal through a bidding process from India, Indonesia, and Bhutan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has already received 1,800 metric tonnes of coal in the first and second installments, with the remaining 1,200 metric tonnes scheduled to be imported within the next month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meantime, the government-owned cement industry has reported a loss of over Rs 111 million by the end of the current fiscal year, 2022/23. The total accumulated loss for the industry now stands at Rs 900 million, according to the management.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17968', 'image' => '20230621042255_collage (41).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 16:21:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18237', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs of Birgunj Protest against Police High-handedness', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday. The businessmen took such a drastic step against the police highhandedness in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Transport entrepreneur Balkrishna Pokharel said they had previously brought the matter to the attention of the local administration but were forced to close the business after there was no hearing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessman complained that the police have been impounding vehicles that have undergone all the due customs procedures and handing them over to the Revenue Investigation Department in the name of investigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The vehicles seized by the police in in a tip-off get stopped for at least 15 days by the office for revenue investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If nothing is found, should the police check the credibility of their information or not? Pokharel questioned, adding, "It does not mean that there should not be an investigation into revenue leakage. However, investigations are done to cause unnecessary hassles for the businessmen.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anil Kumar Agarwal, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a program organized in Birgunj on Monday that the vehicle that passed the customs clearance is seized from the road. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The stakeholders have been expressing displeasure saying that it is discouraging legitimate business in the name of investigation. The businessmen claim that the transporters have suffered losses when the goods with the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill get seized and kept for 15 days in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The importers are not ready to keep their goods in detention when their documents and procedures are all correct. We have to suffer a loss at the rate of Rs 3,000 per day," said Pokhrel.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Earlier, the businessman had submitted a memorandum to the chief district officer of Parsa and demanded to address their demand within 4 days. After the deadline of 4 days expired on Monday, the businessman decided to hand over their keys to the CDO.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17967', 'image' => '20230621021932_Birgunjjjjjjjjjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:17:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Low Taxes will Discourage Illegal Imports: Stakeholders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas. Traders say that unauthorized imports will not stop as long as the tax to be paid by consumers in the domestic market is higher than in the Indian market. They say that domestic products cannot compete with Indian products as long as the domestic consumers have to pay more taxes for similar products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that because India has recently reformed the tax system through the Goods and Services Tax (GST), unauthorized imports have increased in Nepal. Analyst and industrialist Jagdish Prasad Agarwal claims that informal business will not stop as long as higher taxes are imposed on domestic goods as compared to goods produced in India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that unauthorized imports from India will not stop until the markets in border areas have goods at affordable rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a need for radical reform in the revenue system,” says Agarwal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A study report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) some time ago revealed the fact that 35 percent of the total value of goods imported from India is unauthorized imports worth Rs 400 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control such illegal imports, the government has deployed border security personnel to curb smuggling through the open border and to boost revenue collection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the illegal imports have not stopped. In some cases, the illegal trade of daily consumable goods, clothes, dishes, electronic materials etc is flourishing under the political protection and in collusion with the government bodies responsible for curbing such acts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Such unauthorized imports are not only harming the government’s treasury, but also pushing the business of domestic industries and importers on the bring of crisis. Experts say that being a landlocked country, the cost of production in Nepal is also higher than that of India, so the unauthorized import of cheap products from India is taking place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, president of Madhesh Province chapter of FNCCI said, “We have high production costs due to rise in prices of raw materials and transportation cost. If the government does not radically reform the revenue system, illegal imports will not be stopped.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani claims that smuggling will not come under control until the government collects customs duties, value added tax (VAT) and other charges equal to GST.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In India, the government has reduced the prices of consumer goods by implementing multi-rate GST. There, such tax is applicable from 5 to 28 percent. As the GST is less on daily consumption and essential goods and more on luxury goods, the goods of general consumption are available at cheaper prices in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In Nepal, 13 percent VAT is levied from general consumption goods to luxury items. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17966', 'image' => '20230621021736_20220531105551_taxxxxx.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:16:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18235', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Preparing to Announce Tight Monetary Policy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB is still under pressure as inflation is still above the target limit. As the world economy has not yet improved, NRB is preparing to continue the tight policy fearing that an expansionary monetary policy will relax economic activity resulting in pressure on reinvestment situation, and foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB has set the deadline of June 26 for collecting suggestions for the monetary policy from stakeholders and is preparing to release the monetary policy by the third week of July.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been saying in public functions that the central bank will not be as lenient as it was in the past and there will not be any concessions and facilities like that in the past. He has hinted that the monetary policy will be tightened in the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a recent program, Governor Adhikari made it clear that the facilities given for revitalizing the economy affected by Covid-19 cannot be provided again. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The side effects of the facilities given to improve the economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to surface now. Therefore, corrective measure is necessary. The same facilities cannot be given again,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to revive the Covid-19-affected economy, NRB had adopted a flexible and expansionary monetary policy in FY 2077/78 and 2078/79. As a result, the cash flow in the market increased and the economy became vibrant, but the investment was used in unproductive sectors and imports, and the indicators of the economy turned negative. Therefore, the NRB changed its policy in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of NRB said that in the upcoming monetary policy, there will be concession programs for specific sectors rather than providing facilities to everyone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A senior official at NRB said, “It is not possible to give inclusive concessions to everyone like in the past. After assessing the impact of the decline in economic activities, concession programs can only come for the areas that are in trouble.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the third quarter review of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has provisions for restructuring and rescheduling loans as well as re-financing facilities for borrowers associated with economic sectors that have been experiencing negative growth for the last two quarters. According to the review, NRB issued instructions to banks, financial institutions to reschedule loans for hotels and restaurants, animal husbandry, construction sector and loans up to 50 million in all other sectors on the basis of need and justification by analyzing the cash flow and income of the industry/business at the request of the debtor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, the condition is that the loan should be in the active category till March and 10 percent of the outstanding interest should be paid. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17965', 'image' => '20230621014419_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:43:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18234', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Death Toll from Natural Disaster Rises to 10 while 26 People Still Missing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Responding to the concerns raised by lawmakers in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha presented this figure. Likewise, six people have been injured and 26 have gone missing while 54 houses have been completely damaged. Further details of the losses are awaited, said DPM Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monsoon that entered Nepal on June 14 has affected the eastern parts of Nepal. "Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar and Tapeljung have suffered the most," the minister informed the house. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing his sorrow over the loss of lives and property to the disasters, he wished for quick health recovery of the injured and also promised to intensify the search operation for the missing. </span><br /> DPM and<span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Home Minister Shrestha said that the District Security Committee, District Management Committee, Local Disaster Management Committee, local representatives, political parties, civil society, local community and media in the respective districts are working collaboratively for the rescue and relief efforts and for the search of the missing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Hewa and Piluwa rivers in Chainpur municipality of Sankhuwasabha have posed a constant threat to nearby settlements due to incessant monsoon rains. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The flood has significantly damaged the under-construction Super Hewa Hydropower Project based in Dhobhane of Chainpur-4, resulting in the missing of 21 individuals: 18 hydropower workers and three others. Likewise, three people were rescued alive and they are under medical treatment. The body of one was retrieved from the site," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the minister, floods swept away seven houses in Chainpur, putting 11 houses at high risk of possible disaster. Likewise, it has completely damaged two motorable bridges and two suspension bridges along the Hewa River with causing partial damages to one cemented bridge.</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"">As per the Disaster Survivor Rescue and Relief Criteria, 2077 BS, the government is preparing to hand over Rs 200,000 to the families of those killed in the disaster and an additional Rs 100,000 for the death of more than one member of the same family.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The affected family shall get Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 as an immediate relief. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17964', 'image' => '20230621084108_SB-Khadbari_IMG_3580.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:05:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18233', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pokhara Welcomes First International Flight at its New Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday. </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"">Airport authorities and the excited locals gave a warm welcome to a chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines on Wednesday morning. The airport offered a water canon salute to the aircraft, a traditional sign of respect and honor for the first aircraft of international flight to descent at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese airline company has announced to start direct chartered flights to Pokhara.</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"">According to Bikram Gautam, the head of the airport, the Airbus A-319 of Sichuan Airlines, which took off from Chendu’s Tianfu International Airport in China, landed at Pokhara International Airport at 9:30 am on Wednesday. </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"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati said that he was excited to welcome the chartered flight from China to Pokhara International Airport. He expressed on social media that he was happy to hear that all the hotels in Pokhara were full of tourists.</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"">A total of 135 passengers including a Nepali delegation led by the Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chinese sportspersons and tourists, who will be attending the 'Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival' at Phewa Lake in Pokhara next weekend, reportedly arrived in Pokhara in the aircraft.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu at noon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 1 this year. The airport was built with an investment of Rs 22 billion. On the opening day of the airport, Himalaya Airlines conducted a test flight. Since then, no international flight has taken place at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17963', 'image' => '20230621115344_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_06_20230621122528_IMG_1747 - Copy.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 11:53:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18248', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Big Chunk of Foreign Assistance for PLGSP Remains Unspent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: A big portion of foreign assistance meant for the programme to strengthen democratic system and to enhance capacity for governance improvement remains to be spent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This situation has arisen in the Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) as the province and local levels failed to give adequate concern and attention. The PLGSP is run under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and it is the main national project of the government focused on promoting federal good governance. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PLGSP commenced on the very first day of the Fiscal Year 2076/77 (16th July 2019) for a duration of four years. However, the PLGSP was formally launched only on 23<sup>rd</sup> August 2019 after being approved by the Council of Ministers.</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"">A Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) was signed between the Ministry of Finance and Development Partners including the DEID, Norway, SDC and the EU on 4th September 2019to implement the programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the Rs 14.95 billion mobilized for operating the programme from Fiscal Year 2076/77 to 2079/80 BS, only Rs 3.23 billion has been spent, according to the National Programme Directorate Manager, Bhupendra Sapkota. He shared this at a programme on Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Sapkota, several provinces and local levels did not turn up for taking the assistance for implementation of the targeted programme within the stipulated time while some failed to utilize the funds properly even after taking the assistance. This has resulted in the programme running into arrears. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objectives of the programme are to strengthen provincial and local governance system and procedures with an improved inter-governmental relationship to maximize benefits of cooperative federalism and to enhance the capacity of provincial and local governments to deliver services and development outcomes effectively to the citizens. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the major activities of the project are to prepare policy, laws, strategies, directives and guidelines for federal, provincial and local governments, and to strengthen inter-governmental mechanisms for full functioning. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Establishing and strengthening the Provincial Center for Good governance (PCGG), re-structured as LDTA regional training center, at the province as a center for excellence to drive the overall capacity development activities for the local governments is also one of PLGSP's activities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has contributed Rs 3.45 billion while Nepal's development partners such as the United Nations, the European Union and Norway among others have given grants of Rs 11.5 billion for the PLGSP. Out of this amount, Rs 1.89 billion was allocated to the federal government, Rs 7.22 billion to the provincial governments and Rs 5.83 billion to the local governments. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The programme envisaged 14 different outcomes including formulation of Acts and policies required for the new federal structures and the strengthening of inter-governmental mechanism and public finance management. It particularly aims to make the government bodies at all levels and the inter-governmental mechanisms fully functional to support the federal governance system as per the constitution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The latest meeting of the National Implementation Committee and National Fiscal Risk Advisory Sub-committee made an assessment of the achievements of the PLGSP so far and the initiatives made to achieve these outcomes. The meeting also pledged to put in maximum efforts for making the programme result-oriented in the coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting concluded that the coming year would be taken as the transitional year in the context of a big chunk of the support amount remaining to be spent even though the programme implementation term is about to terminate. Then after, the PLGSP's new action plan and framework would be determined on the basis of wide-ranging discussion with the stakeholders. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17978', 'image' => '20230622124007_plgsp.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 12:39:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NATTA Draws Finance Minister's Attention over 'Expensive’ Air Tickets', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has drawn the attention of the finance minister towards the air tickets becoming expensive due to the imposition of VAT on airfare by the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A NATTA delegation led by its president Ramesh Thapa met with Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Wednesday and requested the government to roll back its decision to levy value added tax (VAT) on air tickets. Citing that the imposition of VAT on airfare through the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 has made the air tickets costlier, the delegation warned that this might adversely impact the tourism industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As both the domestic and international airfare in Nepal are already expensive at present, the airfare would become exorbitantly high with the addition of VAT in the present situation. There is also a possibility of tourist arrivals falling down and the prospective foreign tourists opting to travel to airports in Bagdogara, Gorakhpur among other airports in India due to their proximity to the Nepal due to the high airfare in Nepal," Thapa said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He argued that the decision of imposing VAT on airfare would have a serious impact on the government's goal of bringing more than a million tourists into Nepal in the upcoming fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA said imposition of VAT only in Nepal would make the air tickets issued by Nepali travel agencies more expensive while it would be cheaper booking tickets online and in foreign countries. This will compel foreign tourists to book air tickets from foreign countries, resulting in loss of foreign currency earning and an increased risk of the government losing the tax it has been getting from the travel agencies and the loss of employment provided by the latter. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NATTA also called for a change in the provision of the Nepali citizen having to purchase package tour from the foreign currency facility that one gets while going on a foreign tour. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat expressed his commitment that the government would take measures so that the tourism entrepreneurs would not face problems for the development of tourism sector in Nepal. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17977', 'image' => '20230622115037_AW_Ryan-Scottini-1-1-1024x683.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:49:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chances of Light Rainfall in Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces ', 'sub_title' => 'Department of Hydrology Predicts Heavy Rainfall Tonight', 'summary' => 'June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 22: The monsoon weather system is having its influence in the eastern and central parts of the country at present, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Similarly, the local wind and Westerly wind are having impact in the rest 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"">The low-pressure system that has developed over Uttar Pradesh in India is also having its influence in western Nepal, the department stated. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather is generally cloudy in the Tarai region of Koshi and Bagmati provinces as well as the Madhesh, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces at present. It is partly to generally cloudy in the rest of the regions of the country with moderate rain accompanied by lightning at a few places, said meteorologist Sanjeev Adhikari. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said there is possibility of rainfall in some places of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces today (June 22). The Meteorological Forecasting Division said there are chances of heavy rainfall tonight compared to the daytime. The weather bulletin issued by the division stated that light rainfall is forecast in the western parts of the country today. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17976', 'image' => '20230622112432_20211018080919_20210613043257_2021SECVPF.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 11:23:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Himalayan Glaciers Melting 65 Percent Faster than Previous Decade: Study', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">June 22: Scientists have warned that the Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change. This has exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, the AFP said Tuesday citing a report prepared by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The glaciers disappeared 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade, according to the ICIMOD report.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"As it gets warmer, ice will melt, that was expected, but what is unexpected and very worrying is the speed," lead author Philippus Wester told AFP. "This is going much faster than we thought."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the river valleys below, the report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Based on current emissions trajectories, the glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, said the Nepal-based ICIMOD, an inter-governmental organisation that also includes member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP. These Himalayan glaciers feed 10 of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"With two billion people in Asia reliant on the water that glaciers and snow here hold, the consequences of losing this cryosphere (a frozen zone) are too vast to contemplate," AFP quoted ICIMOD's deputy chief Izabella Koziell as saying.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Even if global warming is limited to the 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels agreed to in the Paris climate treaty, the glaciers are expected to lose a third to a half of their volume by 2100, the peer-reviewed report said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"It underscores the need for urgent climate action," Wester said. "Every small increment will have huge impacts and we really, really need to work on climate mitigation... that is our plea."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Wester said improving technologies and previously classified high-resolution satellite imagery meant predictions could be made with a good degree of accuracy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the AFP, the world has warmed an average of nearly 1.2 C since the mid-1800s, unleashing a cascade of extreme weather, including more intense heatwaves, more severe droughts and storms made more ferocious by rising seas.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Hardest hit are the most vulnerable people and the world's poorest countries, which have done little to contribute to the fossil fuel emissions that drive up temperatures, the French news agency added.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17975', 'image' => '20230622104609_20230621091613_2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 10:43:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airfare Slashed Following NOC’s Decision to Lower Price of Aviation Fuel', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) announced a reduction in airfare on Wednesday. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Following the Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC)'s decision to lower the price of petroleum products, the CAAN took the decision to slash airfare across various routes.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Jagannath Niraula, the spokesperson for CAAN, stated that the airfare for the Biratnagar-Nepalgunj route has been reduced by Rs 540, while the Kathmandu-Simara route now costs Rs 90 less. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Furthermore, passengers traveling from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur will experience a reduction of Rs 300, while those heading to Biratnagar will see a decrease of Rs 240.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Similarly, the airfare for the Kathmandu-Dhangadhi route has been reduced by Rs 445, and for the Kathmandu-Nepalgunj route by Rs 325.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Passengers flying to Bhairahawa will enjoy a decrease of Rs 210, and those traveling to Surkhet will have a reduction of Rs 345. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The NOC had on Tuesday slashed the price of aviation fuel by Rs 10 per litre. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17974', 'image' => '20230622055306_collage (3).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 05:48:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Interim Order Issued Not to Stop HISSAN Edufair', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">June 21: High Court Patan has issued an interim order in the name of Kathmandu Metropolitan City not to stop HISSAN Education fair. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">Spokesperson and Deputy-Registrar of the High Court Patan, Mandira Shahi said that a division bench of judges Tek Prasad Dhungana and Ramesh Dhakal on Wednesday issued such an order. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">The Kathmandu Metropolitan City had abruptly closed the Edufair, which was taking place at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu since June 15, citing various reasons. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17.0pt">However, the Higher Secondary Schools' Association Nepal (HISSAN) had filed a writ petition at the High Court Patan to challenge the decision of the KMC to halt the fair. (RSS) </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-22', 'modified' => '2023-06-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17973', 'image' => '20230622060756_collage (4).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-22 06:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lawmakers Urge Govt to Speed up Relief Work in Flood-Ravaged Taplejung, Panchthar ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Lawmakers speaking in the zero hour session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday drew the attention of the government to speed up rescue and relief works in the districts of eastern Nepal that have been hit by flooding and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall some days back. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">They also demanded restoring the road connectivity in those districts as soon as possible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmaker Urmila Thebe drew the government's attention towards the big loss of lives and properties in Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, among other districts in the eastern parts of the country due to the rain-induced disaster. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She called on the government to speed up the search and rescue of those people who have gone missing in the floods and landslides. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ishwaridevi Neupane drew the attention of the parliament and the government on the plights of people who are still devoid of the citizenship certificate and urged for addressing their problems promptly. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Urmila Majhi voiced the problem faced by the people in Lamjung due to the frequent power outages despite the district having over a dozen hydropower plants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Eknath Dhakal urged the government to take measures for the integrated development of tourism in Gorkha district while Kaluram Rai demanded the government to ensure social justice to the people with disabilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ganesh Parajuli urged the government to adopt preparedness to deal with flooding and landslides in vulnerable places of Tarai and hill districts. </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"">Gomalav Sapkota said the government should take steps to end sexual harassment and violence against women in the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chandra Bahadur Bishwokarma called for reducing incidents of racial discrimination and untouchability against backward and Dalit communities in districts including Siraha and Baitadi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Others including Kushum Devi Thapa, Tshering Lama Tamang, Jwala Kumari Sah, Tshering Damdul Lama (Bhote), Kiran Kumar Shah, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri, Juli Kumari Mahato, Ganga Karki and Chanda Karki drew the attention of the government to the contemporary issues of the country. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17971', 'image' => '20230621083955_DSC05808.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 20:39:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Public Debt Surpasses Rs 2,173 Billion ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Nepal's public debt liability has exceeded Rs 2173 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the statistic presented by the Public Debt Management Office, Nepal has been obliged to pay its public debt amounting over Rs 1099 billion 720 million towards internal debt and over Rs 1073 billion 520 million towards external debt as of May 15 of the current fiscal year 2023/24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">This statistics was unveiled amid concerns that the public debt would continue increasing due to the deficit budget announced by the government and thereby further increasing the burden of obligation to pay the principle and interest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has set a target of collecting additional Rs 452.75 billion of loan to meet the budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year out of which Rs 240 billion is aimed to be collected through internal loans and Rs 212.75 billion through external loans. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal’s public debt liability was Rs 2013 billion 296 million 640 thousand until mid-July last year when the current fiscal year 2023/24 had begun. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Public debt amounting to Rs 159 billion 950 million and 800 thousand was added to the country's debt portfolio in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the ratio of public debt to the GDP appeared to be 44.79 per cent while considering Nepal's Gross Domestic Production (GDP) at Rs 4851 billion 620 million. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Lawmakers have been raising the issue in the parliament that the increasing ratio of the public debt to the GDP and the low capital formation have been weakening the economic growth rate in the country and thereby spurring the likelihood of economic crisis in the country in coming days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the government raised the public debt of Rs 300.06 billion in the last 11 months of the current fiscal year while it paid principal and interest amounting to Rs 205 billion 170 million in the review period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As of May 15 of the current fiscal year, the government’s spending in the repayment of principal and interest of public debt exceeded the capital expenditure by around Rs 52.08 billion. The government has spent Rs 153 billion 80 million as a capital expenditure in the corresponding period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The budget deficit was being met by rising loans amid dismal revenue collection. On the other hand, as the principle and interest of the loans were increasing every year, a large part of the annual budget is being spent on it. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the latest census unveiled by the National Statistic Office in 2021, the total population of Nepal is 29,164,778. Comparing the total public debt with the total population, the per capita debt comes to stand at Rs 74,516. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17970', 'image' => '20230621065206_20220412112511_economictrends_3_0.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 18:51:38', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NBA and IIN Agree to Run Joint Curriculum on ESG', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">June 21: Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) and Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) have signed an agreement to collaboratively run a certified curriculum focused on environmental, social, and good governance (ESG).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the agreement, NBA and IIN will jointly operate the implementation of a certified ESG program targeting professionals within Nepal's financial sector. The curriculum is certified by the School of Management of the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The primary objective of this program is to enhance the capacity of employees working in banks and financial institutions, equipping them with the knowledge and skills related to social, environmental, and good governance aspects of ESG. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The ultimate aim is to prepare a skilled workforce capable of contributing to sustainable development and effective governance. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil K.C., President of the Nepal Bankers' Association, and Bibek Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Invest for Impact Nepal (IIN) had signed the agreement. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17969', 'image' => '20230621052207_collage (43).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 17:20:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18238', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hetauda Cement Industry Resumes Operations After Temporary Closure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning. The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">June 21: After two month’s hiatus, the Hetauda Cement Industry has resumed production from Wednesday morning.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has also commenced the production of clinkers. The closure was necessitated by the breakdown of equipment in the industry's oven and a coal shortage, according to industry management.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">To address the coal shortage, the industry's General Manager, Basanta Raj Pandey, said that they had imported high-quality coal through a bidding process from India, Indonesia, and Bhutan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The industry has already received 1,800 metric tonnes of coal in the first and second installments, with the remaining 1,200 metric tonnes scheduled to be imported within the next month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meantime, the government-owned cement industry has reported a loss of over Rs 111 million by the end of the current fiscal year, 2022/23. The total accumulated loss for the industry now stands at Rs 900 million, according to the management.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17968', 'image' => '20230621042255_collage (41).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 16:21:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18237', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs of Birgunj Protest against Police High-handedness', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: The transport entrepreneurs of Birgunj announced to shut their business on Tuesday. The businessmen took such a drastic step against the police highhandedness in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Transport entrepreneur Balkrishna Pokharel said they had previously brought the matter to the attention of the local administration but were forced to close the business after there was no hearing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessman complained that the police have been impounding vehicles that have undergone all the due customs procedures and handing them over to the Revenue Investigation Department in the name of investigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The vehicles seized by the police in in a tip-off get stopped for at least 15 days by the office for revenue investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If nothing is found, should the police check the credibility of their information or not? Pokharel questioned, adding, "It does not mean that there should not be an investigation into revenue leakage. However, investigations are done to cause unnecessary hassles for the businessmen.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Anil Kumar Agarwal, President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a program organized in Birgunj on Monday that the vehicle that passed the customs clearance is seized from the road. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The stakeholders have been expressing displeasure saying that it is discouraging legitimate business in the name of investigation. The businessmen claim that the transporters have suffered losses when the goods with the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill get seized and kept for 15 days in the name of investigation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The importers are not ready to keep their goods in detention when their documents and procedures are all correct. We have to suffer a loss at the rate of Rs 3,000 per day," said Pokhrel.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Earlier, the businessman had submitted a memorandum to the chief district officer of Parsa and demanded to address their demand within 4 days. After the deadline of 4 days expired on Monday, the businessman decided to hand over their keys to the CDO.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17967', 'image' => '20230621021932_Birgunjjjjjjjjjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:17:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Low Taxes will Discourage Illegal Imports: Stakeholders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Stakeholders have said that the government should radically reform the revenue system in order to control illegal imports from the border areas. Traders say that unauthorized imports will not stop as long as the tax to be paid by consumers in the domestic market is higher than in the Indian market. They say that domestic products cannot compete with Indian products as long as the domestic consumers have to pay more taxes for similar products.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that because India has recently reformed the tax system through the Goods and Services Tax (GST), unauthorized imports have increased in Nepal. Analyst and industrialist Jagdish Prasad Agarwal claims that informal business will not stop as long as higher taxes are imposed on domestic goods as compared to goods produced in India.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Traders say that unauthorized imports from India will not stop until the markets in border areas have goods at affordable rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a need for radical reform in the revenue system,” says Agarwal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A study report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) some time ago revealed the fact that 35 percent of the total value of goods imported from India is unauthorized imports worth Rs 400 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control such illegal imports, the government has deployed border security personnel to curb smuggling through the open border and to boost revenue collection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the illegal imports have not stopped. In some cases, the illegal trade of daily consumable goods, clothes, dishes, electronic materials etc is flourishing under the political protection and in collusion with the government bodies responsible for curbing such acts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Such unauthorized imports are not only harming the government’s treasury, but also pushing the business of domestic industries and importers on the bring of crisis. Experts say that being a landlocked country, the cost of production in Nepal is also higher than that of India, so the unauthorized import of cheap products from India is taking place.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, president of Madhesh Province chapter of FNCCI said, “We have high production costs due to rise in prices of raw materials and transportation cost. If the government does not radically reform the revenue system, illegal imports will not be stopped.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani claims that smuggling will not come under control until the government collects customs duties, value added tax (VAT) and other charges equal to GST.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In India, the government has reduced the prices of consumer goods by implementing multi-rate GST. There, such tax is applicable from 5 to 28 percent. As the GST is less on daily consumption and essential goods and more on luxury goods, the goods of general consumption are available at cheaper prices in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In Nepal, 13 percent VAT is levied from general consumption goods to luxury items. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17966', 'image' => '20230621021736_20220531105551_taxxxxx.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 14:16:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18235', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Preparing to Announce Tight Monetary Policy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">June 21: Despite the improvement in the external sector indicators of the economy, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has indicated that it will continue with the tight monetary policy in the upcoming fiscal year (FY).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB is still under pressure as inflation is still above the target limit. As the world economy has not yet improved, NRB is preparing to continue the tight policy fearing that an expansionary monetary policy will relax economic activity resulting in pressure on reinvestment situation, and foreign exchange reserves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB has set the deadline of June 26 for collecting suggestions for the monetary policy from stakeholders and is preparing to release the monetary policy by the third week of July.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has been saying in public functions that the central bank will not be as lenient as it was in the past and there will not be any concessions and facilities like that in the past. He has hinted that the monetary policy will be tightened in the upcoming fiscal year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a recent program, Governor Adhikari made it clear that the facilities given for revitalizing the economy affected by Covid-19 cannot be provided again. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The side effects of the facilities given to improve the economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to surface now. Therefore, corrective measure is necessary. The same facilities cannot be given again,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to revive the Covid-19-affected economy, NRB had adopted a flexible and expansionary monetary policy in FY 2077/78 and 2078/79. As a result, the cash flow in the market increased and the economy became vibrant, but the investment was used in unproductive sectors and imports, and the indicators of the economy turned negative. Therefore, the NRB changed its policy in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of NRB said that in the upcoming monetary policy, there will be concession programs for specific sectors rather than providing facilities to everyone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A senior official at NRB said, “It is not possible to give inclusive concessions to everyone like in the past. After assessing the impact of the decline in economic activities, concession programs can only come for the areas that are in trouble.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the third quarter review of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has provisions for restructuring and rescheduling loans as well as re-financing facilities for borrowers associated with economic sectors that have been experiencing negative growth for the last two quarters. According to the review, NRB issued instructions to banks, financial institutions to reschedule loans for hotels and restaurants, animal husbandry, construction sector and loans up to 50 million in all other sectors on the basis of need and justification by analyzing the cash flow and income of the industry/business at the request of the debtor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, the condition is that the loan should be in the active category till March and 10 percent of the outstanding interest should be paid. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17965', 'image' => '20230621014419_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:43:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18234', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Death Toll from Natural Disaster Rises to 10 while 26 People Still Missing', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: A total of 10 individuals have lost their lives due to natural disasters across the country since the beginning of this year's monsoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Responding to the concerns raised by lawmakers in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha presented this figure. Likewise, six people have been injured and 26 have gone missing while 54 houses have been completely damaged. Further details of the losses are awaited, said DPM Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monsoon that entered Nepal on June 14 has affected the eastern parts of Nepal. "Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar and Tapeljung have suffered the most," the minister informed the house. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing his sorrow over the loss of lives and property to the disasters, he wished for quick health recovery of the injured and also promised to intensify the search operation for the missing. </span><br /> DPM and<span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Home Minister Shrestha said that the District Security Committee, District Management Committee, Local Disaster Management Committee, local representatives, political parties, civil society, local community and media in the respective districts are working collaboratively for the rescue and relief efforts and for the search of the missing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> Hewa and Piluwa rivers in Chainpur municipality of Sankhuwasabha have posed a constant threat to nearby settlements due to incessant monsoon rains. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The flood has significantly damaged the under-construction Super Hewa Hydropower Project based in Dhobhane of Chainpur-4, resulting in the missing of 21 individuals: 18 hydropower workers and three others. Likewise, three people were rescued alive and they are under medical treatment. The body of one was retrieved from the site," said Shrestha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the minister, floods swept away seven houses in Chainpur, putting 11 houses at high risk of possible disaster. Likewise, it has completely damaged two motorable bridges and two suspension bridges along the Hewa River with causing partial damages to one cemented bridge.</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"">As per the Disaster Survivor Rescue and Relief Criteria, 2077 BS, the government is preparing to hand over Rs 200,000 to the families of those killed in the disaster and an additional Rs 100,000 for the death of more than one member of the same family.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The affected family shall get Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 as an immediate relief. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17964', 'image' => '20230621084108_SB-Khadbari_IMG_3580.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 13:05:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '18233', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pokhara Welcomes First International Flight at its New Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">June 21: Six months after starting commercial flights, the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) witnessed first international flight on Wednesday. </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"">Airport authorities and the excited locals gave a warm welcome to a chartered flight of Sichuan Airlines on Wednesday morning. The airport offered a water canon salute to the aircraft, a traditional sign of respect and honor for the first aircraft of international flight to descent at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese airline company has announced to start direct chartered flights to Pokhara.</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"">According to Bikram Gautam, the head of the airport, the Airbus A-319 of Sichuan Airlines, which took off from Chendu’s Tianfu International Airport in China, landed at Pokhara International Airport at 9:30 am on Wednesday. </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"">Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Sudan Kirati said that he was excited to welcome the chartered flight from China to Pokhara International Airport. He expressed on social media that he was happy to hear that all the hotels in Pokhara were full of tourists.</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"">A total of 135 passengers including a Nepali delegation led by the Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chinese sportspersons and tourists, who will be attending the 'Nepal-China Friendship Dragon Boat Festival' at Phewa Lake in Pokhara next weekend, reportedly arrived in Pokhara in the aircraft.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu at noon.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Pokhara Regional International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on January 1 this year. The airport was built with an investment of Rs 22 billion. On the opening day of the airport, Himalaya Airlines conducted a test flight. Since then, no international flight has taken place at the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-06-21', 'modified' => '2023-06-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17963', 'image' => '20230621115344_KrishnaDawadi_Kaski_RSS_06_20230621122528_IMG_1747 - Copy.JPG', 'article_date' => '2023-06-21 11:53:00', '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
