April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again.…
April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again.…
April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest…
April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the…
Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax…
Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from…
April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media…
April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66…
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year…
April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially…
April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service…
April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice…
April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority.…
April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury…
April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17461', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price sets Another Record, Climbs to Rs 111,000 per Tola', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of gold has increased by Rs 2,000 per tola (11.66 grams) to reach an all-time high of Rs 111,000 per tola. This is the maximum price of gold ever recorded in Nepal so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, the highest price of gold was recorded on March 19 at Rs 110,000 per tola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 109,000 on Tuesday, the previous trading day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Mani Ratna Shakya, president of the federation, the price of gold has increased due to the increase in the value of the US dollar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When the price of the dollar increases, it affects the price of gold. There is no way to say how far it will go, I think it will increase further,” he told New Business Age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the price of silver has also increased on Wednesday. According to the federation, the price of silver increased by Rs 40 on Wednesday and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola. On the previous day, silver was traded at Rs 1,400 per tola.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17196', 'image' => '20230405123454_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 12:33:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17460', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Growth Faces Slowdown Amidst Domestic and External Challenges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The latest Nepal Development Update (April 2023): Fine-Tuning Policy in a Turbulent Environment, released by the World Bank on Tuesday, projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 4.1 percent in FY 2022/23, a downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said growth is expected to accelerate to 4.9 percent in FY 2023/24, supported by the resumption of tourism, growth in remittances, and the gradual easing of monetary policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, risks to the outlook are tilted downside and include higher-than-expected inflation, which will dampen consumption and growth, the possible impacts of likely rotations in government officials, and rising inequality from reduced investments in human capital, especially amongst those yet to recover from unemployment following the pandemic, added the report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Amid measures taken to address pressures on the external sector, the Nepali economy has faced the unintended consequences of slowdown in economic growth and lower fiscal revenue,” the statement quoted Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This makes the Government‘s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) agenda even more pressing. These reforms will yield optimal results as the Government communicates its intended policy changes with the public in advance, takes timely action, and fine-tunes policies during the course of implementation,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the report is a companion piece to the latest South Asia Economic Focus, Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth, which projects regional growth to average 5.6 percent in 2023, a slight downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. Regional growth is expected to remain moderate to 5.9 percent in 2024, following an initial post-pandemic recovery of 8.2 percent in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inflation in South Asia is set to fall to 8.9 percent this year, and to below 7 percent in 2024. However, weaker currencies and delayed domestic price adjustments are contributing to a slower than anticipated decline in inflation. Elevated global and domestic food prices are contributing to greater food insecurity for South Asia’s poor who spend a larger share of income on food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To move from recovery to sustained growth, South Asia needs to ensure economic development is inclusive. The region has among the world’s highest inequality of opportunity. Between 40 and 60 percent of total inequality in South Asia is driven by circumstances out of an individual’s control such as place of birth, family background, caste, ethnicity, and gender,” the report states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, intergenerational mobility is also among the world’s lowest in this region. Data highlighted in the report shows that less than 9 percent of individuals whose parents have low levels of education reach education levels of the upper 25 percent. Such disparities lead to differences in access to jobs, earnings, consumption, and welfare and to calls for redistributive policies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“South Asia’s stark socioeconomic divides are both unfair and inefficient. They keep talented individuals from contributing to society, reduce incentives to invest in human capital, and derail long-term economic growth,” said Hans Timmer, World Bank’s chief economist for South Asia. “Addressing these structural issues is vital to ensuring the region can achieve its full potential.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report recommends continuing to improve the quality of primary education and expanding access to secondary and higher education, evaluate and strengthen affirmative action policies targeted to “low opportunity” groups, and policies to improve the business climate for small and medium enterprises, who account for the bulk of job opportunities for the less well-off. In addition, reducing barriers to labor mobility can have a powerful equalizing impact as urban areas tend to offer more opportunities for social mobility.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17195', 'image' => '20230405111303_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 11:12:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cabinet Scraps Expenditure in the Name of Peace-Related Activities ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to approve the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer (First Amendment) Regulations, 2079. The cabinet meeting also decided to approve the use of the national forest area on the Narayanghat-Butwal road section under the East-West Highway. Similarly, it has been decided to allow the national forest area to be used for the construction of the Jogmai Cascade Hydroelectric Project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Council of Ministers also approved the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee (Establishment) Order, 2079 and decided to form the Cabinet Committees (Political Committee, Administration Committee, Bill Committee, Social Committee and Economic Infrastructure Committee). </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 Sharma informed that Bharatpur Hospital and Bheri Hospital will be operated as affiliated hospitals of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. </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 meeting of the Council of Ministers also decided to accept about Rs 550 million from the World Environment Facility for the sustainable management of forests, land and biological diversity in the eastern hills of Nepal. </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 government has also decided to direct the District Disaster Management Committee Sindhupalchok to provide cash relief to the victims of Jure Landslide. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17194', 'image' => '20230405105332_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 10:52:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17458', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'NCC Urges Finance Minister to Expand Tax Scope', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">April 5: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"Rather than increasing the tax rate, the scope of tax should be increased. Arrangement of issuing PAN card should be made along with the citizenship certificate for this purpose," the NCC said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Malla said the illegal trade taking place at the bordering areas should also be discouraged and brought under the purview of tax while the provision of seeking and providing invoice should be made mandatory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NCC president also called to fix interest rate at single digit at the earliest to stimulate the economy. He suggested preparing and implementing a time-bound action plan for the capital expenditure for managing the liquidity crunch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">NCC urged the government to encourage the investment of the remittance money in productive sectors. During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat said the government has taken the latest economic situation seriously and coordination is being made for the successful implementation of the budget and monetary policy. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Minister Mahat said he is in consultation with the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor and the secretaries of the bodies concerned for reinvigorating the economy and with the customs officials regarding the issue of unmet revenue collection target. The Finance Minister expressed hope that the economy will come on track from the next fiscal year. ----RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17193', 'image' => '20230405063746_collage (60).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:35:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Slash Airfare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 5: Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), the price of an air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 440. An air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi now costs Rs 7,070. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Earlier, the airfare was Rs 7,510 per ticket. Similarly, the new airfare for mountain flight is Rs 5,490. A total of Rs 345 has been reduced in the airfare for the flight that is operated from Kathmandu. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Likewise, airfare for Kathmandu- Bhadrapur has decreased by Rs 300, Kathmandu-Biratnagar by Rs 240, and Kathmandu to Janakpur by Rs 130.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The price of air ticket from Kathmandu to Pokhara has reduced by Rs 155, Kathmandu to Bharatpur by Rs 110, Kathmandu to Bhairahawa by Rs 205, Kathmandu to Nepalgunj by Rs 185 and Kathmandu to Surkhet by Rs 345 respectively. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17192', 'image' => '20230405062417_collage (59).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:21:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Donald Trump Turns himself in to Face ‘Historic’ Criminal Charges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy. According to AFP, the Republican billionaire became the first American president in history to face criminal charges.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee, added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 76-year-old is expected to plead not guilty to a host of charges related to hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Trump was under arrest after arriving at court. Further details were not available by the time this news was prepared.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17191', 'image' => '20230404113728_NINTCHDBPICT000591662998.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 23:36:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA takes Steps to be Majority Shareholder of Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. ', 'content' => '<h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Having faced many ups and downs since its feasibility study was conducted in 1983/84, the 1200 megawatts national pride project has now almost stalled due to various reasons.</span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, the government has decided to give a new lease of life to the project with the establishment of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Public Limited lately. The establishment of the public limited company has ended uncertainties and issues over the financial and operational modalities of the estimated Rs 331 billion project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">To deal with the issue, a taskforce has been formed under the coordination of the NEA's deputy executive director Pradip Kumar Thike. The share structures will be changed acting on the report given by the taskforce, he said. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">It may be noted that earlier Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed the forwarding of the project. So, the share structures of the project would be changed, said Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, who is also a member of the NEA Board of Directors. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">A feasibility study of the project, located in Dhading and Gorkha districts, took place in 1983/84. The NEA carried out another study in 2010. It again conducted a feasibility study, and prepared a detailed design and a bidding document before reaching an agreement with a French company. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">For developing the project, the government led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai had formed a committee to which the French company submitted the detailed project report later in 2014. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Later in 2017, the ministry and the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed ahead with the project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">The same year, the government decided to develop the project with domestic investments acting on the report submitted by the National Planning Commission. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, again in 2018, then the government led by KP Sharma Oli decided to hand the project to the Gezhouba Group. After the Group lost its contract, the government in 2022 took back the project, and established the Budhi Gandaki hydropower public limited. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">In line with the existing procedures, the authorized capital of the public company will be worth Rs 20 billion, and the issued capital Rs 20 billion. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">As per the existing structures, of the remaining shares of the share issued to the public, the Energy Ministry will have 50 percent stakes, the Finance Ministry 30 percent and the NEA 20 percent. -- RSS</span></span></h4> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17190', 'image' => '20230404070230_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 19:01:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Continues to Tumble; So Does Turnover Amount ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 264 companies listed on the NEPS were traded via 23,170 transactions. A total of 2,971,947 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 91.76 Crores in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 92.02 Crores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Of the total scrips traded, the prices of 86 companies went up while the prices of 116 companies tumbled. Shivam Cements Limited (SHIVM) reported the highest turnover of Rs. 3.36 crores with a closing price at Rs. 410 per share. The shares of KBLPO traded the most.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Kalinchowk Darshan Limited (KDL) gained the highest 9.98% and technically hit the positive circuit for the day.<br /> Conversely, 8.5% Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087 (PBLD87) lost the highest 9.29% today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Out of 13 sub-indices traded on Tuesday, seven sub-indexes closed in the green zone. “Development Bank" gained the highest 0.31%, while "Non-Life Insurance" lost the highest 1.39% on Tuesday.</span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17189', 'image' => '20230404051611_collage - 2023-04-04T171501.203.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 17:11:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17453', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Asian Development Bank Estimates 4.1% Economic Growth in Nepal in the Current Fiscal Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow largely due to tight monetary policy, slackened domestic demand, the unwinding Covid stimulus, and persistent global headwinds,” the bank says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“There are downside risks to the outlook such as a global downturn hitting Nepal’s tourism and remittance receipts,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Accelerating capital budget spending through focused investment planning, financial management, and project readiness will help spur Nepal’s economic growth over the years,” the bank added. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bank estimates that the agriculture growth rate will likely be 2.0% in FY2023, down from 2.3% in FY2022. Despite the surge of paddy output, scanty rainfall in winter will affect winter crop yield and overall agricultural output. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, industry growth is estimated to decrease due to higher interest rates, import restriction measures, slowdown in domestic consumption, and a dampened external demand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Services' growth is projected to be 4.4% from 5.9% in FY2022. Credit control measures and a hike in interest rates have slowed down real estate, wholesale, and retail trade activities. While tourism growth has been strong, international tourist arrivals are still at half of the pre-pandemic level, according to the ADB report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">ADB forecasts that Nepal’s inflation will edge up to 7.4% in FY 2023 from 6.3% in FY2022, despite the tight monetary policy reigning in demand. Inflation is expected to decelerate to 6.2% in FY2024 assuming a normal harvest, subdued oil prices, and a decline in inflation in India.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17188', 'image' => '20230404041905_collage - 2023-04-04T161658.068.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 16:13:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Unveils Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unveiling the Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report on Tuesday, the central bank made it clear that the existing laws of Nepal has banned transactions involving cryptocurrency. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It entails risks as investment in cryptocurrency results in capital flight. Since the investment is in foreign land, it might have adverse impact on remittance flow and create challenges in managing the foreign exchange reserves," reads the report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The report further states that prohibition on cryptocurrency is necessary as it has risks including destabilizing the overall economic balance, risk on financial stability, risk in terms of implementing the monetary policy and risks of fraud and tax evasion, among others. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency as per the provision of Clause 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People supporting cryptocurrency take it as a form of currency. However, there is no sovereign nation issuing cryptocurrency as in the current monetary system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB stated in the report that there are around 23,000 cryptocurrencies in use in the world at present and Bitcoin alone occupies 42 percent of its total market. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NRB has been issuing public notice from time to time warning that transaction in cryptocurrency is illegal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no guarantee or surety of any country or government in cryptocurrency, there is no any security and financial intermediary, and it has no other use except for the purpose of bookmaking. This virtual thing is not widely accepted but is issued and used by certain group for their vested interest," read the report. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB has described cryptocurrency as a digital matter that can be transacted as a currency issued by the private sector. Its transaction is illegal in various countries including in Nepal. This virtual currency is issued for carrying out works related to payments without any financial intermediary (central bank or monetary authority issuing currency). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Users connected to the network have themselves maintained accounts of the receipt and expenditure of cryptocurrency for carrying out its transaction. In the existing system, the central banks or financial institutions have been conducting this job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People carrying out transactions in cryptocurrency use 'blockchain' or 'distributed ledger' technology for book keeping. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Cryptocurrency is mainly obtained through mining and purchasing. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17187', 'image' => '20230404035329_Cryptoshutterstock_1434643079.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 15:52:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders join hands to Develop 'Ecosystem' of 42 Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries and Nepal Development Research Foundation have reached an understanding to this effect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">These two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to this end in Kathmandu on Sunday. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, a team will visit various districts and discuss with the small and medium industrialists about their problems, market, human resources, production and other issues as part of their research, said Professor Doctor Navraj Khatiwada, chairperson of the research foundation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He said that entrepreneurs will also be informed about the new technologies seen in the industry, value chain and industry promotion. The aim is to conduct a pilot project to develop the companies involved in these fields and make them successful enterprises. It has been agreed to select industries currently located in a certain geographical area to increase productivity by developing the ecosystem of entrepreneurs in the productive, agricultural and service sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Shyam Prasad Giri, the former president of the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries, said that the industrial sector is in crisis in the current situation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">While developing and promoting the business of entrepreneurs in manufacturing, agriculture, digital services and other sectors, both the sides will mobilize their expertise, resources and manpower. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Research and strategy will be conducted by the foundation. The agreement also mentions that discussions, lobbying and joint initiatives will be taken with all the three governments of the federal, state and local levels to get new projects or support in the ongoing projects.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17186', 'image' => '20230404025730_1680588951.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 14:56:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chamber Discusses Economic Issue with Vice President Yadav', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the meeting, Vice President Yadav said that the current state of national economy is risky. He said that economic prosperity can only be achieved through a sustainable solution to problems such as lack of liquidity, high interest rates, inability to make capital expenditures on time, and unemployment. Yadav said, “It is important to find a long-term solution to the current problems in the economy.” He emphasized that there is a need for consistent cooperation between the government and the private sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at the occasion, Vice President Yadav promised to draw the attention of the government agencies to the suggestions provided by the chamber. During the meeting, NCC President Rajendra Malla request for the vice president’s coordination for economic development and prosperity of the country. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Due to the lack of effective coordination between budget and monetary policy, the economy has not been able to pick up the expected momentum. The high interest rate has seriously affected entrepreneurs as well as the ordinary borrowers,” said Malla.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that economic activities could not return to normalcy due to the government’s inability to spend capital budget. Malla emphasized that there should be effective coordination in budget and monetary policy, saying that single digit interest rate should be maintained for economic prosperity and economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17185', 'image' => '20230404011215_1680563953.chamber.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 13:11:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increasing Domestic Consumption of Electricity is Top Priority: Energy Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. During a welcome program organized by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Monday, Minister Basnet said that the consumption capacity will be increased by strengthening and expanding the infrastructure of transmission and distribution system in the areas where electricity is not available.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that he is aware of the problems associated with the use of forest areas and tree cutting for the construction of hydropower and transmission line projects. Basnet, who is also a former forest minister, said that he will actively work to prevent delays in the construction of projects due to forest and security issues. He said that NEA has set a positive standard in the country among the public institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Resources and Irrigation, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire said that improvement and expansion of transmission and distribution system, construction of strategic large reservoir hydropower projects and the expansion of electricity services should be emphasized in order to increase electricity consumption internally. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, while presenting a detailed description of the organization said that power management during the rainy season is the major challenge at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ghising said, “In order to increase the consumption within the country and to export the surplus electricity, it is seen that more than Rs 850 billion will be needed to implement the plans for the next five years, including the projects under construction for electricity generation, transmission and distribution. But the government resources are not enough for this. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The resources need to be managed by the government, authorities and donor agencies,” he said.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17184', 'image' => '20230404123328_1680564084.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 12:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Forms Three-Member High-Level Commission to Address the Issues of Loan Sharking Victims ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers constituted the commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, informed Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of the commission include former Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Raj Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The commission is given three months’ time and its central office will be in Janakpurdham of Madhesh Province. It has been given the terms of reference to submit a report to address the problems faced by the loan shark victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had vowed to form the high-level commission to bring the loan sharking culprits to justice. To pile pressure on the government, the victims of usury had travelled to Kathmandu by foot from different districts of Tarai. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, they held talks with the government team and presented nine points demands in the negotiation which were discussed in a clause-wise manner. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the discussion with the government talks team, the victims of loan sharking put forth demands such as the formation of a commission, resolution of the cases in the court and the cancellation of loan-paper made by the loan sharks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In an effort to respond to the demands of the victims of illegal money lending, the government has already decided to amend the Criminal Code to criminalize the act of usury. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17183', 'image' => '20230404113011_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:29:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Photo Exhibition on the occasion of Seto Machchindranath's Chariot Procession', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The photo exhibition was organized by the National Forum of Photojournalist (NFPJ) on the occasion of the 25th silver jubilee from March 30 to April 1. The exhibition on the first day was organized at Ason, the main resting place of the chariot, at Hanumandhoka on the second day and at Lagan Tol on the third day with the collective coordination of NFPJ, Seto Machhindranath Rath Yatra Management Committee and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward no. 17, 21, 25, 27 and 28.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The special photo exhibition organized by NFPJ featured more than 50 photos taken by about 30 professional photojournalists and other photographers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Program coordinator Sunil Sharma informed that the main purpose of the exhibition was to inform about the pilgrimage of Seto Machhindranath which starts from Jamal and ends in Janbahal on the day of Chaitra Shukla Purnima (full moon day).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Seto Machhindranath is worshiped as the god of rain and prosperity. It is customary to worship Machhindranath as a deity who removes evil, saves from untimely death, unrest and insecurity. There is also a general belief that celebrating the Machchindranath Jatra brings in happiness, peace and prosperity to the family.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Personalities from different fields, tourists and former living goddess Matina Shakya and former Ganesh Sambeg Shakya attended the exhibition, adding more colors to the exhibition. Pradeep Raj Onta, president of NFPJ said that the exhibition, which was attended by about 500 spectators, provided more energy and determination to promote and spread the culture and fairs of Nepal in the future through photography.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17182', 'image' => '20230404110300_IMG20230331130050_1680443045.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:02:12', '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' => '17461', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price sets Another Record, Climbs to Rs 111,000 per Tola', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of gold has increased by Rs 2,000 per tola (11.66 grams) to reach an all-time high of Rs 111,000 per tola. This is the maximum price of gold ever recorded in Nepal so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, the highest price of gold was recorded on March 19 at Rs 110,000 per tola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 109,000 on Tuesday, the previous trading day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Mani Ratna Shakya, president of the federation, the price of gold has increased due to the increase in the value of the US dollar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When the price of the dollar increases, it affects the price of gold. There is no way to say how far it will go, I think it will increase further,” he told New Business Age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the price of silver has also increased on Wednesday. According to the federation, the price of silver increased by Rs 40 on Wednesday and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola. On the previous day, silver was traded at Rs 1,400 per tola.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17196', 'image' => '20230405123454_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 12:33:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17460', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Growth Faces Slowdown Amidst Domestic and External Challenges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The latest Nepal Development Update (April 2023): Fine-Tuning Policy in a Turbulent Environment, released by the World Bank on Tuesday, projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 4.1 percent in FY 2022/23, a downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said growth is expected to accelerate to 4.9 percent in FY 2023/24, supported by the resumption of tourism, growth in remittances, and the gradual easing of monetary policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, risks to the outlook are tilted downside and include higher-than-expected inflation, which will dampen consumption and growth, the possible impacts of likely rotations in government officials, and rising inequality from reduced investments in human capital, especially amongst those yet to recover from unemployment following the pandemic, added the report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Amid measures taken to address pressures on the external sector, the Nepali economy has faced the unintended consequences of slowdown in economic growth and lower fiscal revenue,” the statement quoted Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This makes the Government‘s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) agenda even more pressing. These reforms will yield optimal results as the Government communicates its intended policy changes with the public in advance, takes timely action, and fine-tunes policies during the course of implementation,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the report is a companion piece to the latest South Asia Economic Focus, Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth, which projects regional growth to average 5.6 percent in 2023, a slight downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. Regional growth is expected to remain moderate to 5.9 percent in 2024, following an initial post-pandemic recovery of 8.2 percent in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inflation in South Asia is set to fall to 8.9 percent this year, and to below 7 percent in 2024. However, weaker currencies and delayed domestic price adjustments are contributing to a slower than anticipated decline in inflation. Elevated global and domestic food prices are contributing to greater food insecurity for South Asia’s poor who spend a larger share of income on food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To move from recovery to sustained growth, South Asia needs to ensure economic development is inclusive. The region has among the world’s highest inequality of opportunity. Between 40 and 60 percent of total inequality in South Asia is driven by circumstances out of an individual’s control such as place of birth, family background, caste, ethnicity, and gender,” the report states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, intergenerational mobility is also among the world’s lowest in this region. Data highlighted in the report shows that less than 9 percent of individuals whose parents have low levels of education reach education levels of the upper 25 percent. Such disparities lead to differences in access to jobs, earnings, consumption, and welfare and to calls for redistributive policies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“South Asia’s stark socioeconomic divides are both unfair and inefficient. They keep talented individuals from contributing to society, reduce incentives to invest in human capital, and derail long-term economic growth,” said Hans Timmer, World Bank’s chief economist for South Asia. “Addressing these structural issues is vital to ensuring the region can achieve its full potential.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report recommends continuing to improve the quality of primary education and expanding access to secondary and higher education, evaluate and strengthen affirmative action policies targeted to “low opportunity” groups, and policies to improve the business climate for small and medium enterprises, who account for the bulk of job opportunities for the less well-off. In addition, reducing barriers to labor mobility can have a powerful equalizing impact as urban areas tend to offer more opportunities for social mobility.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17195', 'image' => '20230405111303_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 11:12:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cabinet Scraps Expenditure in the Name of Peace-Related Activities ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to approve the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer (First Amendment) Regulations, 2079. The cabinet meeting also decided to approve the use of the national forest area on the Narayanghat-Butwal road section under the East-West Highway. Similarly, it has been decided to allow the national forest area to be used for the construction of the Jogmai Cascade Hydroelectric Project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Council of Ministers also approved the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee (Establishment) Order, 2079 and decided to form the Cabinet Committees (Political Committee, Administration Committee, Bill Committee, Social Committee and Economic Infrastructure Committee). </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 Sharma informed that Bharatpur Hospital and Bheri Hospital will be operated as affiliated hospitals of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. </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 meeting of the Council of Ministers also decided to accept about Rs 550 million from the World Environment Facility for the sustainable management of forests, land and biological diversity in the eastern hills of Nepal. </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 government has also decided to direct the District Disaster Management Committee Sindhupalchok to provide cash relief to the victims of Jure Landslide. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17194', 'image' => '20230405105332_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 10:52:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17458', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'NCC Urges Finance Minister to Expand Tax Scope', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">April 5: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"Rather than increasing the tax rate, the scope of tax should be increased. Arrangement of issuing PAN card should be made along with the citizenship certificate for this purpose," the NCC said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Malla said the illegal trade taking place at the bordering areas should also be discouraged and brought under the purview of tax while the provision of seeking and providing invoice should be made mandatory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NCC president also called to fix interest rate at single digit at the earliest to stimulate the economy. He suggested preparing and implementing a time-bound action plan for the capital expenditure for managing the liquidity crunch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">NCC urged the government to encourage the investment of the remittance money in productive sectors. During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat said the government has taken the latest economic situation seriously and coordination is being made for the successful implementation of the budget and monetary policy. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Minister Mahat said he is in consultation with the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor and the secretaries of the bodies concerned for reinvigorating the economy and with the customs officials regarding the issue of unmet revenue collection target. The Finance Minister expressed hope that the economy will come on track from the next fiscal year. ----RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17193', 'image' => '20230405063746_collage (60).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:35:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Slash Airfare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 5: Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), the price of an air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 440. An air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi now costs Rs 7,070. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Earlier, the airfare was Rs 7,510 per ticket. Similarly, the new airfare for mountain flight is Rs 5,490. A total of Rs 345 has been reduced in the airfare for the flight that is operated from Kathmandu. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Likewise, airfare for Kathmandu- Bhadrapur has decreased by Rs 300, Kathmandu-Biratnagar by Rs 240, and Kathmandu to Janakpur by Rs 130.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The price of air ticket from Kathmandu to Pokhara has reduced by Rs 155, Kathmandu to Bharatpur by Rs 110, Kathmandu to Bhairahawa by Rs 205, Kathmandu to Nepalgunj by Rs 185 and Kathmandu to Surkhet by Rs 345 respectively. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17192', 'image' => '20230405062417_collage (59).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:21:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Donald Trump Turns himself in to Face ‘Historic’ Criminal Charges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy. According to AFP, the Republican billionaire became the first American president in history to face criminal charges.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee, added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 76-year-old is expected to plead not guilty to a host of charges related to hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Trump was under arrest after arriving at court. Further details were not available by the time this news was prepared.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17191', 'image' => '20230404113728_NINTCHDBPICT000591662998.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 23:36:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA takes Steps to be Majority Shareholder of Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. ', 'content' => '<h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Having faced many ups and downs since its feasibility study was conducted in 1983/84, the 1200 megawatts national pride project has now almost stalled due to various reasons.</span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, the government has decided to give a new lease of life to the project with the establishment of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Public Limited lately. The establishment of the public limited company has ended uncertainties and issues over the financial and operational modalities of the estimated Rs 331 billion project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">To deal with the issue, a taskforce has been formed under the coordination of the NEA's deputy executive director Pradip Kumar Thike. The share structures will be changed acting on the report given by the taskforce, he said. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">It may be noted that earlier Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed the forwarding of the project. So, the share structures of the project would be changed, said Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, who is also a member of the NEA Board of Directors. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">A feasibility study of the project, located in Dhading and Gorkha districts, took place in 1983/84. The NEA carried out another study in 2010. It again conducted a feasibility study, and prepared a detailed design and a bidding document before reaching an agreement with a French company. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">For developing the project, the government led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai had formed a committee to which the French company submitted the detailed project report later in 2014. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Later in 2017, the ministry and the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed ahead with the project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">The same year, the government decided to develop the project with domestic investments acting on the report submitted by the National Planning Commission. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, again in 2018, then the government led by KP Sharma Oli decided to hand the project to the Gezhouba Group. After the Group lost its contract, the government in 2022 took back the project, and established the Budhi Gandaki hydropower public limited. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">In line with the existing procedures, the authorized capital of the public company will be worth Rs 20 billion, and the issued capital Rs 20 billion. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">As per the existing structures, of the remaining shares of the share issued to the public, the Energy Ministry will have 50 percent stakes, the Finance Ministry 30 percent and the NEA 20 percent. -- RSS</span></span></h4> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17190', 'image' => '20230404070230_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 19:01:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Continues to Tumble; So Does Turnover Amount ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 264 companies listed on the NEPS were traded via 23,170 transactions. A total of 2,971,947 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 91.76 Crores in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 92.02 Crores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Of the total scrips traded, the prices of 86 companies went up while the prices of 116 companies tumbled. Shivam Cements Limited (SHIVM) reported the highest turnover of Rs. 3.36 crores with a closing price at Rs. 410 per share. The shares of KBLPO traded the most.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Kalinchowk Darshan Limited (KDL) gained the highest 9.98% and technically hit the positive circuit for the day.<br /> Conversely, 8.5% Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087 (PBLD87) lost the highest 9.29% today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Out of 13 sub-indices traded on Tuesday, seven sub-indexes closed in the green zone. “Development Bank" gained the highest 0.31%, while "Non-Life Insurance" lost the highest 1.39% on Tuesday.</span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17189', 'image' => '20230404051611_collage - 2023-04-04T171501.203.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 17:11:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17453', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Asian Development Bank Estimates 4.1% Economic Growth in Nepal in the Current Fiscal Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow largely due to tight monetary policy, slackened domestic demand, the unwinding Covid stimulus, and persistent global headwinds,” the bank says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“There are downside risks to the outlook such as a global downturn hitting Nepal’s tourism and remittance receipts,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Accelerating capital budget spending through focused investment planning, financial management, and project readiness will help spur Nepal’s economic growth over the years,” the bank added. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bank estimates that the agriculture growth rate will likely be 2.0% in FY2023, down from 2.3% in FY2022. Despite the surge of paddy output, scanty rainfall in winter will affect winter crop yield and overall agricultural output. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, industry growth is estimated to decrease due to higher interest rates, import restriction measures, slowdown in domestic consumption, and a dampened external demand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Services' growth is projected to be 4.4% from 5.9% in FY2022. Credit control measures and a hike in interest rates have slowed down real estate, wholesale, and retail trade activities. While tourism growth has been strong, international tourist arrivals are still at half of the pre-pandemic level, according to the ADB report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">ADB forecasts that Nepal’s inflation will edge up to 7.4% in FY 2023 from 6.3% in FY2022, despite the tight monetary policy reigning in demand. Inflation is expected to decelerate to 6.2% in FY2024 assuming a normal harvest, subdued oil prices, and a decline in inflation in India.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17188', 'image' => '20230404041905_collage - 2023-04-04T161658.068.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 16:13:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Unveils Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unveiling the Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report on Tuesday, the central bank made it clear that the existing laws of Nepal has banned transactions involving cryptocurrency. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It entails risks as investment in cryptocurrency results in capital flight. Since the investment is in foreign land, it might have adverse impact on remittance flow and create challenges in managing the foreign exchange reserves," reads the report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The report further states that prohibition on cryptocurrency is necessary as it has risks including destabilizing the overall economic balance, risk on financial stability, risk in terms of implementing the monetary policy and risks of fraud and tax evasion, among others. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency as per the provision of Clause 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People supporting cryptocurrency take it as a form of currency. However, there is no sovereign nation issuing cryptocurrency as in the current monetary system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB stated in the report that there are around 23,000 cryptocurrencies in use in the world at present and Bitcoin alone occupies 42 percent of its total market. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NRB has been issuing public notice from time to time warning that transaction in cryptocurrency is illegal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no guarantee or surety of any country or government in cryptocurrency, there is no any security and financial intermediary, and it has no other use except for the purpose of bookmaking. This virtual thing is not widely accepted but is issued and used by certain group for their vested interest," read the report. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB has described cryptocurrency as a digital matter that can be transacted as a currency issued by the private sector. Its transaction is illegal in various countries including in Nepal. This virtual currency is issued for carrying out works related to payments without any financial intermediary (central bank or monetary authority issuing currency). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Users connected to the network have themselves maintained accounts of the receipt and expenditure of cryptocurrency for carrying out its transaction. In the existing system, the central banks or financial institutions have been conducting this job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People carrying out transactions in cryptocurrency use 'blockchain' or 'distributed ledger' technology for book keeping. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Cryptocurrency is mainly obtained through mining and purchasing. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17187', 'image' => '20230404035329_Cryptoshutterstock_1434643079.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 15:52:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders join hands to Develop 'Ecosystem' of 42 Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries and Nepal Development Research Foundation have reached an understanding to this effect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">These two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to this end in Kathmandu on Sunday. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, a team will visit various districts and discuss with the small and medium industrialists about their problems, market, human resources, production and other issues as part of their research, said Professor Doctor Navraj Khatiwada, chairperson of the research foundation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He said that entrepreneurs will also be informed about the new technologies seen in the industry, value chain and industry promotion. The aim is to conduct a pilot project to develop the companies involved in these fields and make them successful enterprises. It has been agreed to select industries currently located in a certain geographical area to increase productivity by developing the ecosystem of entrepreneurs in the productive, agricultural and service sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Shyam Prasad Giri, the former president of the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries, said that the industrial sector is in crisis in the current situation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">While developing and promoting the business of entrepreneurs in manufacturing, agriculture, digital services and other sectors, both the sides will mobilize their expertise, resources and manpower. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Research and strategy will be conducted by the foundation. The agreement also mentions that discussions, lobbying and joint initiatives will be taken with all the three governments of the federal, state and local levels to get new projects or support in the ongoing projects.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17186', 'image' => '20230404025730_1680588951.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 14:56:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chamber Discusses Economic Issue with Vice President Yadav', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the meeting, Vice President Yadav said that the current state of national economy is risky. He said that economic prosperity can only be achieved through a sustainable solution to problems such as lack of liquidity, high interest rates, inability to make capital expenditures on time, and unemployment. Yadav said, “It is important to find a long-term solution to the current problems in the economy.” He emphasized that there is a need for consistent cooperation between the government and the private sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at the occasion, Vice President Yadav promised to draw the attention of the government agencies to the suggestions provided by the chamber. During the meeting, NCC President Rajendra Malla request for the vice president’s coordination for economic development and prosperity of the country. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Due to the lack of effective coordination between budget and monetary policy, the economy has not been able to pick up the expected momentum. The high interest rate has seriously affected entrepreneurs as well as the ordinary borrowers,” said Malla.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that economic activities could not return to normalcy due to the government’s inability to spend capital budget. Malla emphasized that there should be effective coordination in budget and monetary policy, saying that single digit interest rate should be maintained for economic prosperity and economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17185', 'image' => '20230404011215_1680563953.chamber.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 13:11:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increasing Domestic Consumption of Electricity is Top Priority: Energy Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. During a welcome program organized by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Monday, Minister Basnet said that the consumption capacity will be increased by strengthening and expanding the infrastructure of transmission and distribution system in the areas where electricity is not available.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that he is aware of the problems associated with the use of forest areas and tree cutting for the construction of hydropower and transmission line projects. Basnet, who is also a former forest minister, said that he will actively work to prevent delays in the construction of projects due to forest and security issues. He said that NEA has set a positive standard in the country among the public institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Resources and Irrigation, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire said that improvement and expansion of transmission and distribution system, construction of strategic large reservoir hydropower projects and the expansion of electricity services should be emphasized in order to increase electricity consumption internally. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, while presenting a detailed description of the organization said that power management during the rainy season is the major challenge at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ghising said, “In order to increase the consumption within the country and to export the surplus electricity, it is seen that more than Rs 850 billion will be needed to implement the plans for the next five years, including the projects under construction for electricity generation, transmission and distribution. But the government resources are not enough for this. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The resources need to be managed by the government, authorities and donor agencies,” he said.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17184', 'image' => '20230404123328_1680564084.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 12:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Forms Three-Member High-Level Commission to Address the Issues of Loan Sharking Victims ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers constituted the commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, informed Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of the commission include former Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Raj Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The commission is given three months’ time and its central office will be in Janakpurdham of Madhesh Province. It has been given the terms of reference to submit a report to address the problems faced by the loan shark victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had vowed to form the high-level commission to bring the loan sharking culprits to justice. To pile pressure on the government, the victims of usury had travelled to Kathmandu by foot from different districts of Tarai. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, they held talks with the government team and presented nine points demands in the negotiation which were discussed in a clause-wise manner. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the discussion with the government talks team, the victims of loan sharking put forth demands such as the formation of a commission, resolution of the cases in the court and the cancellation of loan-paper made by the loan sharks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In an effort to respond to the demands of the victims of illegal money lending, the government has already decided to amend the Criminal Code to criminalize the act of usury. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17183', 'image' => '20230404113011_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:29:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Photo Exhibition on the occasion of Seto Machchindranath's Chariot Procession', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The photo exhibition was organized by the National Forum of Photojournalist (NFPJ) on the occasion of the 25th silver jubilee from March 30 to April 1. The exhibition on the first day was organized at Ason, the main resting place of the chariot, at Hanumandhoka on the second day and at Lagan Tol on the third day with the collective coordination of NFPJ, Seto Machhindranath Rath Yatra Management Committee and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward no. 17, 21, 25, 27 and 28.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The special photo exhibition organized by NFPJ featured more than 50 photos taken by about 30 professional photojournalists and other photographers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Program coordinator Sunil Sharma informed that the main purpose of the exhibition was to inform about the pilgrimage of Seto Machhindranath which starts from Jamal and ends in Janbahal on the day of Chaitra Shukla Purnima (full moon day).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Seto Machhindranath is worshiped as the god of rain and prosperity. It is customary to worship Machhindranath as a deity who removes evil, saves from untimely death, unrest and insecurity. There is also a general belief that celebrating the Machchindranath Jatra brings in happiness, peace and prosperity to the family.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Personalities from different fields, tourists and former living goddess Matina Shakya and former Ganesh Sambeg Shakya attended the exhibition, adding more colors to the exhibition. Pradeep Raj Onta, president of NFPJ said that the exhibition, which was attended by about 500 spectators, provided more energy and determination to promote and spread the culture and fairs of Nepal in the future through photography.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17182', 'image' => '20230404110300_IMG20230331130050_1680443045.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:02:12', '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' => '17461', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price sets Another Record, Climbs to Rs 111,000 per Tola', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of gold has increased by Rs 2,000 per tola (11.66 grams) to reach an all-time high of Rs 111,000 per tola. This is the maximum price of gold ever recorded in Nepal so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, the highest price of gold was recorded on March 19 at Rs 110,000 per tola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 109,000 on Tuesday, the previous trading day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Mani Ratna Shakya, president of the federation, the price of gold has increased due to the increase in the value of the US dollar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When the price of the dollar increases, it affects the price of gold. There is no way to say how far it will go, I think it will increase further,” he told New Business Age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the price of silver has also increased on Wednesday. According to the federation, the price of silver increased by Rs 40 on Wednesday and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola. On the previous day, silver was traded at Rs 1,400 per tola.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17196', 'image' => '20230405123454_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 12:33:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17460', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Growth Faces Slowdown Amidst Domestic and External Challenges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The latest Nepal Development Update (April 2023): Fine-Tuning Policy in a Turbulent Environment, released by the World Bank on Tuesday, projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 4.1 percent in FY 2022/23, a downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said growth is expected to accelerate to 4.9 percent in FY 2023/24, supported by the resumption of tourism, growth in remittances, and the gradual easing of monetary policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, risks to the outlook are tilted downside and include higher-than-expected inflation, which will dampen consumption and growth, the possible impacts of likely rotations in government officials, and rising inequality from reduced investments in human capital, especially amongst those yet to recover from unemployment following the pandemic, added the report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Amid measures taken to address pressures on the external sector, the Nepali economy has faced the unintended consequences of slowdown in economic growth and lower fiscal revenue,” the statement quoted Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This makes the Government‘s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) agenda even more pressing. These reforms will yield optimal results as the Government communicates its intended policy changes with the public in advance, takes timely action, and fine-tunes policies during the course of implementation,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the report is a companion piece to the latest South Asia Economic Focus, Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth, which projects regional growth to average 5.6 percent in 2023, a slight downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. Regional growth is expected to remain moderate to 5.9 percent in 2024, following an initial post-pandemic recovery of 8.2 percent in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inflation in South Asia is set to fall to 8.9 percent this year, and to below 7 percent in 2024. However, weaker currencies and delayed domestic price adjustments are contributing to a slower than anticipated decline in inflation. Elevated global and domestic food prices are contributing to greater food insecurity for South Asia’s poor who spend a larger share of income on food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To move from recovery to sustained growth, South Asia needs to ensure economic development is inclusive. The region has among the world’s highest inequality of opportunity. Between 40 and 60 percent of total inequality in South Asia is driven by circumstances out of an individual’s control such as place of birth, family background, caste, ethnicity, and gender,” the report states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, intergenerational mobility is also among the world’s lowest in this region. Data highlighted in the report shows that less than 9 percent of individuals whose parents have low levels of education reach education levels of the upper 25 percent. Such disparities lead to differences in access to jobs, earnings, consumption, and welfare and to calls for redistributive policies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“South Asia’s stark socioeconomic divides are both unfair and inefficient. They keep talented individuals from contributing to society, reduce incentives to invest in human capital, and derail long-term economic growth,” said Hans Timmer, World Bank’s chief economist for South Asia. “Addressing these structural issues is vital to ensuring the region can achieve its full potential.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report recommends continuing to improve the quality of primary education and expanding access to secondary and higher education, evaluate and strengthen affirmative action policies targeted to “low opportunity” groups, and policies to improve the business climate for small and medium enterprises, who account for the bulk of job opportunities for the less well-off. In addition, reducing barriers to labor mobility can have a powerful equalizing impact as urban areas tend to offer more opportunities for social mobility.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17195', 'image' => '20230405111303_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 11:12:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cabinet Scraps Expenditure in the Name of Peace-Related Activities ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to approve the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer (First Amendment) Regulations, 2079. The cabinet meeting also decided to approve the use of the national forest area on the Narayanghat-Butwal road section under the East-West Highway. Similarly, it has been decided to allow the national forest area to be used for the construction of the Jogmai Cascade Hydroelectric Project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Council of Ministers also approved the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee (Establishment) Order, 2079 and decided to form the Cabinet Committees (Political Committee, Administration Committee, Bill Committee, Social Committee and Economic Infrastructure Committee). </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 Sharma informed that Bharatpur Hospital and Bheri Hospital will be operated as affiliated hospitals of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. </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 meeting of the Council of Ministers also decided to accept about Rs 550 million from the World Environment Facility for the sustainable management of forests, land and biological diversity in the eastern hills of Nepal. </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 government has also decided to direct the District Disaster Management Committee Sindhupalchok to provide cash relief to the victims of Jure Landslide. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17194', 'image' => '20230405105332_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 10:52:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17458', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'NCC Urges Finance Minister to Expand Tax Scope', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">April 5: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"Rather than increasing the tax rate, the scope of tax should be increased. Arrangement of issuing PAN card should be made along with the citizenship certificate for this purpose," the NCC said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Malla said the illegal trade taking place at the bordering areas should also be discouraged and brought under the purview of tax while the provision of seeking and providing invoice should be made mandatory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NCC president also called to fix interest rate at single digit at the earliest to stimulate the economy. He suggested preparing and implementing a time-bound action plan for the capital expenditure for managing the liquidity crunch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">NCC urged the government to encourage the investment of the remittance money in productive sectors. During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat said the government has taken the latest economic situation seriously and coordination is being made for the successful implementation of the budget and monetary policy. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Minister Mahat said he is in consultation with the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor and the secretaries of the bodies concerned for reinvigorating the economy and with the customs officials regarding the issue of unmet revenue collection target. The Finance Minister expressed hope that the economy will come on track from the next fiscal year. ----RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17193', 'image' => '20230405063746_collage (60).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:35:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Slash Airfare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 5: Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), the price of an air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 440. An air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi now costs Rs 7,070. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Earlier, the airfare was Rs 7,510 per ticket. Similarly, the new airfare for mountain flight is Rs 5,490. A total of Rs 345 has been reduced in the airfare for the flight that is operated from Kathmandu. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Likewise, airfare for Kathmandu- Bhadrapur has decreased by Rs 300, Kathmandu-Biratnagar by Rs 240, and Kathmandu to Janakpur by Rs 130.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The price of air ticket from Kathmandu to Pokhara has reduced by Rs 155, Kathmandu to Bharatpur by Rs 110, Kathmandu to Bhairahawa by Rs 205, Kathmandu to Nepalgunj by Rs 185 and Kathmandu to Surkhet by Rs 345 respectively. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17192', 'image' => '20230405062417_collage (59).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:21:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Donald Trump Turns himself in to Face ‘Historic’ Criminal Charges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy. According to AFP, the Republican billionaire became the first American president in history to face criminal charges.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee, added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 76-year-old is expected to plead not guilty to a host of charges related to hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Trump was under arrest after arriving at court. Further details were not available by the time this news was prepared.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17191', 'image' => '20230404113728_NINTCHDBPICT000591662998.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 23:36:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA takes Steps to be Majority Shareholder of Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. ', 'content' => '<h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Having faced many ups and downs since its feasibility study was conducted in 1983/84, the 1200 megawatts national pride project has now almost stalled due to various reasons.</span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, the government has decided to give a new lease of life to the project with the establishment of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Public Limited lately. The establishment of the public limited company has ended uncertainties and issues over the financial and operational modalities of the estimated Rs 331 billion project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">To deal with the issue, a taskforce has been formed under the coordination of the NEA's deputy executive director Pradip Kumar Thike. The share structures will be changed acting on the report given by the taskforce, he said. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">It may be noted that earlier Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed the forwarding of the project. So, the share structures of the project would be changed, said Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, who is also a member of the NEA Board of Directors. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">A feasibility study of the project, located in Dhading and Gorkha districts, took place in 1983/84. The NEA carried out another study in 2010. It again conducted a feasibility study, and prepared a detailed design and a bidding document before reaching an agreement with a French company. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">For developing the project, the government led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai had formed a committee to which the French company submitted the detailed project report later in 2014. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Later in 2017, the ministry and the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed ahead with the project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">The same year, the government decided to develop the project with domestic investments acting on the report submitted by the National Planning Commission. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, again in 2018, then the government led by KP Sharma Oli decided to hand the project to the Gezhouba Group. After the Group lost its contract, the government in 2022 took back the project, and established the Budhi Gandaki hydropower public limited. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">In line with the existing procedures, the authorized capital of the public company will be worth Rs 20 billion, and the issued capital Rs 20 billion. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">As per the existing structures, of the remaining shares of the share issued to the public, the Energy Ministry will have 50 percent stakes, the Finance Ministry 30 percent and the NEA 20 percent. -- RSS</span></span></h4> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17190', 'image' => '20230404070230_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 19:01:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Continues to Tumble; So Does Turnover Amount ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 264 companies listed on the NEPS were traded via 23,170 transactions. A total of 2,971,947 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 91.76 Crores in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 92.02 Crores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Of the total scrips traded, the prices of 86 companies went up while the prices of 116 companies tumbled. Shivam Cements Limited (SHIVM) reported the highest turnover of Rs. 3.36 crores with a closing price at Rs. 410 per share. The shares of KBLPO traded the most.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Kalinchowk Darshan Limited (KDL) gained the highest 9.98% and technically hit the positive circuit for the day.<br /> Conversely, 8.5% Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087 (PBLD87) lost the highest 9.29% today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Out of 13 sub-indices traded on Tuesday, seven sub-indexes closed in the green zone. “Development Bank" gained the highest 0.31%, while "Non-Life Insurance" lost the highest 1.39% on Tuesday.</span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17189', 'image' => '20230404051611_collage - 2023-04-04T171501.203.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 17:11:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17453', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Asian Development Bank Estimates 4.1% Economic Growth in Nepal in the Current Fiscal Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow largely due to tight monetary policy, slackened domestic demand, the unwinding Covid stimulus, and persistent global headwinds,” the bank says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“There are downside risks to the outlook such as a global downturn hitting Nepal’s tourism and remittance receipts,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Accelerating capital budget spending through focused investment planning, financial management, and project readiness will help spur Nepal’s economic growth over the years,” the bank added. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bank estimates that the agriculture growth rate will likely be 2.0% in FY2023, down from 2.3% in FY2022. Despite the surge of paddy output, scanty rainfall in winter will affect winter crop yield and overall agricultural output. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, industry growth is estimated to decrease due to higher interest rates, import restriction measures, slowdown in domestic consumption, and a dampened external demand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Services' growth is projected to be 4.4% from 5.9% in FY2022. Credit control measures and a hike in interest rates have slowed down real estate, wholesale, and retail trade activities. While tourism growth has been strong, international tourist arrivals are still at half of the pre-pandemic level, according to the ADB report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">ADB forecasts that Nepal’s inflation will edge up to 7.4% in FY 2023 from 6.3% in FY2022, despite the tight monetary policy reigning in demand. Inflation is expected to decelerate to 6.2% in FY2024 assuming a normal harvest, subdued oil prices, and a decline in inflation in India.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17188', 'image' => '20230404041905_collage - 2023-04-04T161658.068.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 16:13:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Unveils Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unveiling the Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report on Tuesday, the central bank made it clear that the existing laws of Nepal has banned transactions involving cryptocurrency. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It entails risks as investment in cryptocurrency results in capital flight. Since the investment is in foreign land, it might have adverse impact on remittance flow and create challenges in managing the foreign exchange reserves," reads the report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The report further states that prohibition on cryptocurrency is necessary as it has risks including destabilizing the overall economic balance, risk on financial stability, risk in terms of implementing the monetary policy and risks of fraud and tax evasion, among others. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency as per the provision of Clause 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People supporting cryptocurrency take it as a form of currency. However, there is no sovereign nation issuing cryptocurrency as in the current monetary system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB stated in the report that there are around 23,000 cryptocurrencies in use in the world at present and Bitcoin alone occupies 42 percent of its total market. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NRB has been issuing public notice from time to time warning that transaction in cryptocurrency is illegal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no guarantee or surety of any country or government in cryptocurrency, there is no any security and financial intermediary, and it has no other use except for the purpose of bookmaking. This virtual thing is not widely accepted but is issued and used by certain group for their vested interest," read the report. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB has described cryptocurrency as a digital matter that can be transacted as a currency issued by the private sector. Its transaction is illegal in various countries including in Nepal. This virtual currency is issued for carrying out works related to payments without any financial intermediary (central bank or monetary authority issuing currency). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Users connected to the network have themselves maintained accounts of the receipt and expenditure of cryptocurrency for carrying out its transaction. In the existing system, the central banks or financial institutions have been conducting this job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People carrying out transactions in cryptocurrency use 'blockchain' or 'distributed ledger' technology for book keeping. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Cryptocurrency is mainly obtained through mining and purchasing. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17187', 'image' => '20230404035329_Cryptoshutterstock_1434643079.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 15:52:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders join hands to Develop 'Ecosystem' of 42 Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries and Nepal Development Research Foundation have reached an understanding to this effect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">These two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to this end in Kathmandu on Sunday. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, a team will visit various districts and discuss with the small and medium industrialists about their problems, market, human resources, production and other issues as part of their research, said Professor Doctor Navraj Khatiwada, chairperson of the research foundation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He said that entrepreneurs will also be informed about the new technologies seen in the industry, value chain and industry promotion. The aim is to conduct a pilot project to develop the companies involved in these fields and make them successful enterprises. It has been agreed to select industries currently located in a certain geographical area to increase productivity by developing the ecosystem of entrepreneurs in the productive, agricultural and service sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Shyam Prasad Giri, the former president of the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries, said that the industrial sector is in crisis in the current situation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">While developing and promoting the business of entrepreneurs in manufacturing, agriculture, digital services and other sectors, both the sides will mobilize their expertise, resources and manpower. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Research and strategy will be conducted by the foundation. The agreement also mentions that discussions, lobbying and joint initiatives will be taken with all the three governments of the federal, state and local levels to get new projects or support in the ongoing projects.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17186', 'image' => '20230404025730_1680588951.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 14:56:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chamber Discusses Economic Issue with Vice President Yadav', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the meeting, Vice President Yadav said that the current state of national economy is risky. He said that economic prosperity can only be achieved through a sustainable solution to problems such as lack of liquidity, high interest rates, inability to make capital expenditures on time, and unemployment. Yadav said, “It is important to find a long-term solution to the current problems in the economy.” He emphasized that there is a need for consistent cooperation between the government and the private sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at the occasion, Vice President Yadav promised to draw the attention of the government agencies to the suggestions provided by the chamber. During the meeting, NCC President Rajendra Malla request for the vice president’s coordination for economic development and prosperity of the country. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Due to the lack of effective coordination between budget and monetary policy, the economy has not been able to pick up the expected momentum. The high interest rate has seriously affected entrepreneurs as well as the ordinary borrowers,” said Malla.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that economic activities could not return to normalcy due to the government’s inability to spend capital budget. Malla emphasized that there should be effective coordination in budget and monetary policy, saying that single digit interest rate should be maintained for economic prosperity and economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17185', 'image' => '20230404011215_1680563953.chamber.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 13:11:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increasing Domestic Consumption of Electricity is Top Priority: Energy Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. During a welcome program organized by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Monday, Minister Basnet said that the consumption capacity will be increased by strengthening and expanding the infrastructure of transmission and distribution system in the areas where electricity is not available.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that he is aware of the problems associated with the use of forest areas and tree cutting for the construction of hydropower and transmission line projects. Basnet, who is also a former forest minister, said that he will actively work to prevent delays in the construction of projects due to forest and security issues. He said that NEA has set a positive standard in the country among the public institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Resources and Irrigation, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire said that improvement and expansion of transmission and distribution system, construction of strategic large reservoir hydropower projects and the expansion of electricity services should be emphasized in order to increase electricity consumption internally. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, while presenting a detailed description of the organization said that power management during the rainy season is the major challenge at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ghising said, “In order to increase the consumption within the country and to export the surplus electricity, it is seen that more than Rs 850 billion will be needed to implement the plans for the next five years, including the projects under construction for electricity generation, transmission and distribution. But the government resources are not enough for this. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The resources need to be managed by the government, authorities and donor agencies,” he said.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17184', 'image' => '20230404123328_1680564084.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 12:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Forms Three-Member High-Level Commission to Address the Issues of Loan Sharking Victims ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers constituted the commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, informed Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of the commission include former Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Raj Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The commission is given three months’ time and its central office will be in Janakpurdham of Madhesh Province. It has been given the terms of reference to submit a report to address the problems faced by the loan shark victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had vowed to form the high-level commission to bring the loan sharking culprits to justice. To pile pressure on the government, the victims of usury had travelled to Kathmandu by foot from different districts of Tarai. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, they held talks with the government team and presented nine points demands in the negotiation which were discussed in a clause-wise manner. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the discussion with the government talks team, the victims of loan sharking put forth demands such as the formation of a commission, resolution of the cases in the court and the cancellation of loan-paper made by the loan sharks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In an effort to respond to the demands of the victims of illegal money lending, the government has already decided to amend the Criminal Code to criminalize the act of usury. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17183', 'image' => '20230404113011_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:29:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Photo Exhibition on the occasion of Seto Machchindranath's Chariot Procession', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The photo exhibition was organized by the National Forum of Photojournalist (NFPJ) on the occasion of the 25th silver jubilee from March 30 to April 1. The exhibition on the first day was organized at Ason, the main resting place of the chariot, at Hanumandhoka on the second day and at Lagan Tol on the third day with the collective coordination of NFPJ, Seto Machhindranath Rath Yatra Management Committee and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward no. 17, 21, 25, 27 and 28.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The special photo exhibition organized by NFPJ featured more than 50 photos taken by about 30 professional photojournalists and other photographers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Program coordinator Sunil Sharma informed that the main purpose of the exhibition was to inform about the pilgrimage of Seto Machhindranath which starts from Jamal and ends in Janbahal on the day of Chaitra Shukla Purnima (full moon day).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Seto Machhindranath is worshiped as the god of rain and prosperity. It is customary to worship Machhindranath as a deity who removes evil, saves from untimely death, unrest and insecurity. There is also a general belief that celebrating the Machchindranath Jatra brings in happiness, peace and prosperity to the family.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Personalities from different fields, tourists and former living goddess Matina Shakya and former Ganesh Sambeg Shakya attended the exhibition, adding more colors to the exhibition. Pradeep Raj Onta, president of NFPJ said that the exhibition, which was attended by about 500 spectators, provided more energy and determination to promote and spread the culture and fairs of Nepal in the future through photography.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17182', 'image' => '20230404110300_IMG20230331130050_1680443045.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:02:12', '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' => '17461', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price sets Another Record, Climbs to Rs 111,000 per Tola', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: The price of gold price has set a new record again. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of gold has increased by Rs 2,000 per tola (11.66 grams) to reach an all-time high of Rs 111,000 per tola. This is the maximum price of gold ever recorded in Nepal so far.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, the highest price of gold was recorded on March 19 at Rs 110,000 per tola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 109,000 on Tuesday, the previous trading day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Mani Ratna Shakya, president of the federation, the price of gold has increased due to the increase in the value of the US dollar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When the price of the dollar increases, it affects the price of gold. There is no way to say how far it will go, I think it will increase further,” he told New Business Age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the price of silver has also increased on Wednesday. According to the federation, the price of silver increased by Rs 40 on Wednesday and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola. On the previous day, silver was traded at Rs 1,400 per tola.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17196', 'image' => '20230405123454_gold newwww.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 12:33:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17460', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Growth Faces Slowdown Amidst Domestic and External Challenges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 5: Growth in Nepal this year will be slower than previously projected due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure, according to the World Bank’s latest report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The latest Nepal Development Update (April 2023): Fine-Tuning Policy in a Turbulent Environment, released by the World Bank on Tuesday, projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 4.1 percent in FY 2022/23, a downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the World Bank said growth is expected to accelerate to 4.9 percent in FY 2023/24, supported by the resumption of tourism, growth in remittances, and the gradual easing of monetary policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, risks to the outlook are tilted downside and include higher-than-expected inflation, which will dampen consumption and growth, the possible impacts of likely rotations in government officials, and rising inequality from reduced investments in human capital, especially amongst those yet to recover from unemployment following the pandemic, added the report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Amid measures taken to address pressures on the external sector, the Nepali economy has faced the unintended consequences of slowdown in economic growth and lower fiscal revenue,” the statement quoted Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This makes the Government‘s Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) agenda even more pressing. These reforms will yield optimal results as the Government communicates its intended policy changes with the public in advance, takes timely action, and fine-tunes policies during the course of implementation,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, the report is a companion piece to the latest South Asia Economic Focus, Expanding Opportunities: Toward Inclusive Growth, which projects regional growth to average 5.6 percent in 2023, a slight downward revision from the October 2022 forecast. Regional growth is expected to remain moderate to 5.9 percent in 2024, following an initial post-pandemic recovery of 8.2 percent in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inflation in South Asia is set to fall to 8.9 percent this year, and to below 7 percent in 2024. However, weaker currencies and delayed domestic price adjustments are contributing to a slower than anticipated decline in inflation. Elevated global and domestic food prices are contributing to greater food insecurity for South Asia’s poor who spend a larger share of income on food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To move from recovery to sustained growth, South Asia needs to ensure economic development is inclusive. The region has among the world’s highest inequality of opportunity. Between 40 and 60 percent of total inequality in South Asia is driven by circumstances out of an individual’s control such as place of birth, family background, caste, ethnicity, and gender,” the report states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the World Bank, intergenerational mobility is also among the world’s lowest in this region. Data highlighted in the report shows that less than 9 percent of individuals whose parents have low levels of education reach education levels of the upper 25 percent. Such disparities lead to differences in access to jobs, earnings, consumption, and welfare and to calls for redistributive policies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“South Asia’s stark socioeconomic divides are both unfair and inefficient. They keep talented individuals from contributing to society, reduce incentives to invest in human capital, and derail long-term economic growth,” said Hans Timmer, World Bank’s chief economist for South Asia. “Addressing these structural issues is vital to ensuring the region can achieve its full potential.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report recommends continuing to improve the quality of primary education and expanding access to secondary and higher education, evaluate and strengthen affirmative action policies targeted to “low opportunity” groups, and policies to improve the business climate for small and medium enterprises, who account for the bulk of job opportunities for the less well-off. In addition, reducing barriers to labor mobility can have a powerful equalizing impact as urban areas tend to offer more opportunities for social mobility.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17195', 'image' => '20230405111303_World.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 11:12:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cabinet Scraps Expenditure in the Name of Peace-Related Activities ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 5: The government has decided to cancel the standards for expenditure on peace-related activities, 2078. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared that the Council of Ministers on April 3 decided to do away with the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the government has decided to approve the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer (First Amendment) Regulations, 2079. The cabinet meeting also decided to approve the use of the national forest area on the Narayanghat-Butwal road section under the East-West Highway. Similarly, it has been decided to allow the national forest area to be used for the construction of the Jogmai Cascade Hydroelectric Project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Council of Ministers also approved the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee (Establishment) Order, 2079 and decided to form the Cabinet Committees (Political Committee, Administration Committee, Bill Committee, Social Committee and Economic Infrastructure Committee). </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 Sharma informed that Bharatpur Hospital and Bheri Hospital will be operated as affiliated hospitals of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. </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 meeting of the Council of Ministers also decided to accept about Rs 550 million from the World Environment Facility for the sustainable management of forests, land and biological diversity in the eastern hills of Nepal. </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 government has also decided to direct the District Disaster Management Committee Sindhupalchok to provide cash relief to the victims of Jure Landslide. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17194', 'image' => '20230405105332_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 10:52:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17458', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'NCC Urges Finance Minister to Expand Tax Scope', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">April 5: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat to expand the scope of tax. A delegation of NCC including its president Rajendra Malla called on the Finance Minister on Tuesday and suggested that the government fulfill the revenue collection target by expanding the tax net. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">"Rather than increasing the tax rate, the scope of tax should be increased. Arrangement of issuing PAN card should be made along with the citizenship certificate for this purpose," the NCC said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Malla said the illegal trade taking place at the bordering areas should also be discouraged and brought under the purview of tax while the provision of seeking and providing invoice should be made mandatory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The NCC president also called to fix interest rate at single digit at the earliest to stimulate the economy. He suggested preparing and implementing a time-bound action plan for the capital expenditure for managing the liquidity crunch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">NCC urged the government to encourage the investment of the remittance money in productive sectors. During the meeting, Finance Minister Dr Mahat said the government has taken the latest economic situation seriously and coordination is being made for the successful implementation of the budget and monetary policy. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Minister Mahat said he is in consultation with the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor and the secretaries of the bodies concerned for reinvigorating the economy and with the customs officials regarding the issue of unmet revenue collection target. The Finance Minister expressed hope that the economy will come on track from the next fiscal year. ----RSS</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17193', 'image' => '20230405063746_collage (60).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:35:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Slash Airfare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 5: Following the decision of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation(NOC) to lower the price of aviation fuel for domestic market by Rs 10 per liter, the airlines companies have also slashed the prices of air tickets effective from Wednesday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN), the price of an air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 440. An air ticket from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi now costs Rs 7,070. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Earlier, the airfare was Rs 7,510 per ticket. Similarly, the new airfare for mountain flight is Rs 5,490. A total of Rs 345 has been reduced in the airfare for the flight that is operated from Kathmandu. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Likewise, airfare for Kathmandu- Bhadrapur has decreased by Rs 300, Kathmandu-Biratnagar by Rs 240, and Kathmandu to Janakpur by Rs 130.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The price of air ticket from Kathmandu to Pokhara has reduced by Rs 155, Kathmandu to Bharatpur by Rs 110, Kathmandu to Bhairahawa by Rs 205, Kathmandu to Nepalgunj by Rs 185 and Kathmandu to Surkhet by Rs 345 respectively. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-05', 'modified' => '2023-04-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17192', 'image' => '20230405062417_collage (59).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-05 06:21:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Donald Trump Turns himself in to Face ‘Historic’ Criminal Charges', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 4: Former US president Donald Trump turned himself in Tuesday for a historic New York court hearing held amid tight security and a global media frenzy. According to AFP, the Republican billionaire became the first American president in history to face criminal charges.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The hearing marks a watershed moment for the US criminal and political system, with the potential to upend the 2024 White House race in which Trump is currently the presumptive Republican nominee, added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The 76-year-old is expected to plead not guilty to a host of charges related to hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the BBC reported that Trump was under arrest after arriving at court. Further details were not available by the time this news was prepared.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17191', 'image' => '20230404113728_NINTCHDBPICT000591662998.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 23:36:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA takes Steps to be Majority Shareholder of Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. ', 'content' => '<h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned body responsible for producing and distributing electricity, has taken steps to own majority shares of the Budhi Gandaki hydropower project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Having faced many ups and downs since its feasibility study was conducted in 1983/84, the 1200 megawatts national pride project has now almost stalled due to various reasons.</span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, the government has decided to give a new lease of life to the project with the establishment of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Public Limited lately. The establishment of the public limited company has ended uncertainties and issues over the financial and operational modalities of the estimated Rs 331 billion project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">To deal with the issue, a taskforce has been formed under the coordination of the NEA's deputy executive director Pradip Kumar Thike. The share structures will be changed acting on the report given by the taskforce, he said. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">It may be noted that earlier Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed the forwarding of the project. So, the share structures of the project would be changed, said Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, who is also a member of the NEA Board of Directors. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">A feasibility study of the project, located in Dhading and Gorkha districts, took place in 1983/84. The NEA carried out another study in 2010. It again conducted a feasibility study, and prepared a detailed design and a bidding document before reaching an agreement with a French company. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">For developing the project, the government led by Dr Baburam Bhattarai had formed a committee to which the French company submitted the detailed project report later in 2014. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">Later in 2017, the ministry and the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group, signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed ahead with the project. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">The same year, the government decided to develop the project with domestic investments acting on the report submitted by the National Planning Commission. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">However, again in 2018, then the government led by KP Sharma Oli decided to hand the project to the Gezhouba Group. After the Group lost its contract, the government in 2022 took back the project, and established the Budhi Gandaki hydropower public limited. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">In line with the existing procedures, the authorized capital of the public company will be worth Rs 20 billion, and the issued capital Rs 20 billion. </span></span></h4> <h4><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light","sans-serif"">As per the existing structures, of the remaining shares of the share issued to the public, the Energy Ministry will have 50 percent stakes, the Finance Ministry 30 percent and the NEA 20 percent. -- RSS</span></span></h4> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17190', 'image' => '20230404070230_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 19:01:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Index Continues to Tumble; So Does Turnover Amount ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index dropped 5.20 points to close at 1,866.68 on Tuesday. Tuesday’s NEPSE index point is the lowest of the past 66 days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 264 companies listed on the NEPS were traded via 23,170 transactions. A total of 2,971,947 shares exchanged hands amounting to Rs. 91.76 Crores in turnover amount. This is lower than the last trading day's turnover of Rs. 92.02 Crores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Of the total scrips traded, the prices of 86 companies went up while the prices of 116 companies tumbled. Shivam Cements Limited (SHIVM) reported the highest turnover of Rs. 3.36 crores with a closing price at Rs. 410 per share. The shares of KBLPO traded the most.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Kalinchowk Darshan Limited (KDL) gained the highest 9.98% and technically hit the positive circuit for the day.<br /> Conversely, 8.5% Prabhu Bank Debenture 2087 (PBLD87) lost the highest 9.29% today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Out of 13 sub-indices traded on Tuesday, seven sub-indexes closed in the green zone. “Development Bank" gained the highest 0.31%, while "Non-Life Insurance" lost the highest 1.39% on Tuesday.</span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17189', 'image' => '20230404051611_collage - 2023-04-04T171501.203.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 17:11:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17453', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Asian Development Bank Estimates 4.1% Economic Growth in Nepal in the Current Fiscal Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. ', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">April 4: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated Nepal’s economic growth (gross domestic product growth) rate to be 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year 2023, down from an estimated growth of 5.8% in fiscal year 2022. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slow largely due to tight monetary policy, slackened domestic demand, the unwinding Covid stimulus, and persistent global headwinds,” the bank says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“There are downside risks to the outlook such as a global downturn hitting Nepal’s tourism and remittance receipts,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Accelerating capital budget spending through focused investment planning, financial management, and project readiness will help spur Nepal’s economic growth over the years,” the bank added. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The bank estimates that the agriculture growth rate will likely be 2.0% in FY2023, down from 2.3% in FY2022. Despite the surge of paddy output, scanty rainfall in winter will affect winter crop yield and overall agricultural output. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, industry growth is estimated to decrease due to higher interest rates, import restriction measures, slowdown in domestic consumption, and a dampened external demand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Services' growth is projected to be 4.4% from 5.9% in FY2022. Credit control measures and a hike in interest rates have slowed down real estate, wholesale, and retail trade activities. While tourism growth has been strong, international tourist arrivals are still at half of the pre-pandemic level, according to the ADB report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">ADB forecasts that Nepal’s inflation will edge up to 7.4% in FY 2023 from 6.3% in FY2022, despite the tight monetary policy reigning in demand. Inflation is expected to decelerate to 6.2% in FY2024 assuming a normal harvest, subdued oil prices, and a decline in inflation in India.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17188', 'image' => '20230404041905_collage - 2023-04-04T161658.068.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 16:13:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Unveils Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has warned against the use of cryptocurrency stating that the use of such currency is financially risky.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Unveiling the Cryptocurrency Risk Assessment Report on Tuesday, the central bank made it clear that the existing laws of Nepal has banned transactions involving cryptocurrency. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It entails risks as investment in cryptocurrency results in capital flight. Since the investment is in foreign land, it might have adverse impact on remittance flow and create challenges in managing the foreign exchange reserves," reads the report.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The report further states that prohibition on cryptocurrency is necessary as it has risks including destabilizing the overall economic balance, risk on financial stability, risk in terms of implementing the monetary policy and risks of fraud and tax evasion, among others. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has imposed a ban on cryptocurrency as per the provision of Clause 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019 BS. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People supporting cryptocurrency take it as a form of currency. However, there is no sovereign nation issuing cryptocurrency as in the current monetary system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB stated in the report that there are around 23,000 cryptocurrencies in use in the world at present and Bitcoin alone occupies 42 percent of its total market. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NRB has been issuing public notice from time to time warning that transaction in cryptocurrency is illegal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no guarantee or surety of any country or government in cryptocurrency, there is no any security and financial intermediary, and it has no other use except for the purpose of bookmaking. This virtual thing is not widely accepted but is issued and used by certain group for their vested interest," read the report. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NRB has described cryptocurrency as a digital matter that can be transacted as a currency issued by the private sector. Its transaction is illegal in various countries including in Nepal. This virtual currency is issued for carrying out works related to payments without any financial intermediary (central bank or monetary authority issuing currency). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Users connected to the network have themselves maintained accounts of the receipt and expenditure of cryptocurrency for carrying out its transaction. In the existing system, the central banks or financial institutions have been conducting this job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People carrying out transactions in cryptocurrency use 'blockchain' or 'distributed ledger' technology for book keeping. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Cryptocurrency is mainly obtained through mining and purchasing. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17187', 'image' => '20230404035329_Cryptoshutterstock_1434643079.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 15:52:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders join hands to Develop 'Ecosystem' of 42 Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">April 4: Private sector stakeholders have reached an agreement to develop an 'ecosystem' of companies related to manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries and Nepal Development Research Foundation have reached an understanding to this effect.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">These two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to this end in Kathmandu on Sunday. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, a team will visit various districts and discuss with the small and medium industrialists about their problems, market, human resources, production and other issues as part of their research, said Professor Doctor Navraj Khatiwada, chairperson of the research foundation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">He said that entrepreneurs will also be informed about the new technologies seen in the industry, value chain and industry promotion. The aim is to conduct a pilot project to develop the companies involved in these fields and make them successful enterprises. It has been agreed to select industries currently located in a certain geographical area to increase productivity by developing the ecosystem of entrepreneurs in the productive, agricultural and service sectors.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Shyam Prasad Giri, the former president of the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries, said that the industrial sector is in crisis in the current situation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">While developing and promoting the business of entrepreneurs in manufacturing, agriculture, digital services and other sectors, both the sides will mobilize their expertise, resources and manpower. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Nirmala UI","sans-serif"">Research and strategy will be conducted by the foundation. The agreement also mentions that discussions, lobbying and joint initiatives will be taken with all the three governments of the federal, state and local levels to get new projects or support in the ongoing projects.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17186', 'image' => '20230404025730_1680588951.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 14:56:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chamber Discusses Economic Issue with Vice President Yadav', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A delegation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) met with Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav on Monday to congratulate the newly-elected vice president. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the meeting, Vice President Yadav said that the current state of national economy is risky. He said that economic prosperity can only be achieved through a sustainable solution to problems such as lack of liquidity, high interest rates, inability to make capital expenditures on time, and unemployment. Yadav said, “It is important to find a long-term solution to the current problems in the economy.” He emphasized that there is a need for consistent cooperation between the government and the private sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at the occasion, Vice President Yadav promised to draw the attention of the government agencies to the suggestions provided by the chamber. During the meeting, NCC President Rajendra Malla request for the vice president’s coordination for economic development and prosperity of the country. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Due to the lack of effective coordination between budget and monetary policy, the economy has not been able to pick up the expected momentum. The high interest rate has seriously affected entrepreneurs as well as the ordinary borrowers,” said Malla.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that economic activities could not return to normalcy due to the government’s inability to spend capital budget. Malla emphasized that there should be effective coordination in budget and monetary policy, saying that single digit interest rate should be maintained for economic prosperity and economy.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17185', 'image' => '20230404011215_1680563953.chamber.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 13:11:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Increasing Domestic Consumption of Electricity is Top Priority: Energy Minister', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: Newly appointed Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet has stated that increasing domestic consumption of electricity produced in the country is his main priority. During a welcome program organized by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Monday, Minister Basnet said that the consumption capacity will be increased by strengthening and expanding the infrastructure of transmission and distribution system in the areas where electricity is not available.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that he is aware of the problems associated with the use of forest areas and tree cutting for the construction of hydropower and transmission line projects. Basnet, who is also a former forest minister, said that he will actively work to prevent delays in the construction of projects due to forest and security issues. He said that NEA has set a positive standard in the country among the public institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Resources and Irrigation, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire said that improvement and expansion of transmission and distribution system, construction of strategic large reservoir hydropower projects and the expansion of electricity services should be emphasized in order to increase electricity consumption internally. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, while presenting a detailed description of the organization said that power management during the rainy season is the major challenge at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ghising said, “In order to increase the consumption within the country and to export the surplus electricity, it is seen that more than Rs 850 billion will be needed to implement the plans for the next five years, including the projects under construction for electricity generation, transmission and distribution. But the government resources are not enough for this. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The resources need to be managed by the government, authorities and donor agencies,” he said.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17184', 'image' => '20230404123328_1680564084.Clipboard02.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 12:32:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Forms Three-Member High-Level Commission to Address the Issues of Loan Sharking Victims ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 4: The government on Monday formed a three-member high-level commission to resolve the issues of the usury victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers constituted the commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, informed Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The other members of the commission include former Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Raj Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The commission is given three months’ time and its central office will be in Janakpurdham of Madhesh Province. It has been given the terms of reference to submit a report to address the problems faced by the loan shark victims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had vowed to form the high-level commission to bring the loan sharking culprits to justice. To pile pressure on the government, the victims of usury had travelled to Kathmandu by foot from different districts of Tarai. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, they held talks with the government team and presented nine points demands in the negotiation which were discussed in a clause-wise manner. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the discussion with the government talks team, the victims of loan sharking put forth demands such as the formation of a commission, resolution of the cases in the court and the cancellation of loan-paper made by the loan sharks. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In an effort to respond to the demands of the victims of illegal money lending, the government has already decided to amend the Criminal Code to criminalize the act of usury. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17183', 'image' => '20230404113011_KB_KTM-IMG_9898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:29:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Photo Exhibition on the occasion of Seto Machchindranath's Chariot Procession', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 4: A photo exhibition held on the occasion of the Seto Machhindranath Chariot Procession concluded on Saturday, April 1.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The photo exhibition was organized by the National Forum of Photojournalist (NFPJ) on the occasion of the 25th silver jubilee from March 30 to April 1. The exhibition on the first day was organized at Ason, the main resting place of the chariot, at Hanumandhoka on the second day and at Lagan Tol on the third day with the collective coordination of NFPJ, Seto Machhindranath Rath Yatra Management Committee and Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward no. 17, 21, 25, 27 and 28.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The special photo exhibition organized by NFPJ featured more than 50 photos taken by about 30 professional photojournalists and other photographers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Program coordinator Sunil Sharma informed that the main purpose of the exhibition was to inform about the pilgrimage of Seto Machhindranath which starts from Jamal and ends in Janbahal on the day of Chaitra Shukla Purnima (full moon day).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Seto Machhindranath is worshiped as the god of rain and prosperity. It is customary to worship Machhindranath as a deity who removes evil, saves from untimely death, unrest and insecurity. There is also a general belief that celebrating the Machchindranath Jatra brings in happiness, peace and prosperity to the family.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Personalities from different fields, tourists and former living goddess Matina Shakya and former Ganesh Sambeg Shakya attended the exhibition, adding more colors to the exhibition. Pradeep Raj Onta, president of NFPJ said that the exhibition, which was attended by about 500 spectators, provided more energy and determination to promote and spread the culture and fairs of Nepal in the future through photography.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-04-04', 'modified' => '2023-04-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17182', 'image' => '20230404110300_IMG20230331130050_1680443045.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-04-04 11:02:12', '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
