March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime…
March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime…
March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate…
Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, syangja. Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be…
March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes.…
In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun…
March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other…
March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from…
March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves.…
March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March.…
March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance…
March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank.…
March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country.…
March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public…
Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in…
March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical…
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We should not delay in solving it,” said PM Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Dahal also said that there is a big gap between the performance of the civil administration and the people's expectations. He stated, “The commission is to be formed to address the changing situation, democratic system and people's expectations. The commission will be led by the prime minister along with the participation of some experts.” The prime minister also said that unnecessary staff will be cut. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There are problems of overstaffing, duplication, and unnecessary structures. They should be cut down to make the administrative system dynamic. For that, it is necessary to form a commission.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that since there is no time to wait for the final report of the commission to implement it, there should be an arrangement for the commission to continue its work and implement the suggestions given by it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said social justice, good governance and prosperity are the priorities of the government. Ministers change but the government's policy priorities do not change. He stated, “Therefore, be dedicated to your work, show results.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17010', 'image' => '20230315120309_1678844944.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 12:02:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17271', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bankers Demand Peaceful and Secure Environment for Rendering Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted. In a statement issued on Tuesday, CBFIN requested the government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and all other stakeholders to ensure peace and security arrangements for the operation of banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The statement reads, “The government of Nepal has published a notification in the Nepal Gazette stating that security agencies, hospitals, banks and financial institutions, ambulances, drinking water, waste management and other areas are defined as essential service areas and no shutdowns or strikes should be carried out in such areas. In violation of this, we deeply regret the activities of various commercial organizations, such as blocking banking services at the Kumari Bank branch office in Hetaunda on March 14, depriving customers of services, rounding them up and threatening to close the office.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Relying on the belief that appropriate solutions to any problem can be found through dialogue and discussions, CBFIN requested that the protests and closure of the branch offices of banks and financial institutions should be stopped immediately and necessary steps should be taken to resolve the problem in an easy manner.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While the businessmen were agitating against the interest rate, the Makwanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry had sent a letter and requested to close the branch on Tuesday. Similarly, some businessmen were also staging protests at the central office of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in Baluwatar from Monday. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already instructed all the district administration offices to control the agitation against the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17009', 'image' => '20230315113119_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 11:30:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17270', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Farmers Into Collective Potato Farming ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, syangja. Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 15: Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, Syangja. <br /> Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Local farmers have implemented collective potato farming in wards no 8,9, 10 of Chapakot Municipality, Syangja.<br /> Coordinator Ramu Bashyal of Belchaur Seetaltar Farmers Group said that they had been attracted towards the collective farming as plantation of the potato in group would make the potato cultivation easy and cost-effective rather than individual farming. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> “For want of people to work in the farm, cultivation would be tough. But, working in the group has made it easy. Collective farming has enabled to earn skills and technology for the cultivation,” Bashyal stated. According to him, the 450 kilograms of potatoes was planted in four ropani land for the first time. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 22 individuals are directly involved in the potato farming. The group could not produce the potato as expected due to lack of irrigation facility this time. “We have produced more than 1100 kilograms of potato. We shall sell the produce through the group,” Bashyal added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Belchaur Seetaltar Mothers Group Chair Ishwori Bashyal says that planting potato collectively is far easier than doing it individually. “We get a chance to learn and apply new skill and technology while cultivating the potato through the group,” Ishwori Bashyal said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Surya Majhi of Chapakot-10, potato has been cultivated in 11 different toles by forming groups consisting of 35/40 individuals. Mothers and sisters have formed 11 different groups and planted potato in ward no 10 alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We have amalgamated old and new groups and cultivated the potatoes targeting to make the ward 10 pocket area for potato,” Majhi said. Potato has been planted in 150 ropani of the land in Chapakot-10. The concept of collective potato farming is also being executed at ward-8 of Chapakot, ward chair Toplal Neupane said. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17008', 'image' => '20230315060338_collage - 2023-03-14T161849.289.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 06:00:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17269', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Businesspersons Withdraw Protest against BFIs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. The business sector had formed the Bank and Financial Problems Struggle Committee to wage protest programmes since the past four days. They withdrew all the protest programmes after meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) Dinesh Shrestha shared that the business persons withdrew their protest after a discussion with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday evening. Shrestha said that the government has taken the current problem seriously and the protest programme has been postponed after the prime minister promised to take steps to address the issue and also to reduce the interest rates. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Industrialists and businesspersons affiliated FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Automobiles Dealers Association were protesting against high interest rates charged by the banks and financial institutions, which they said, was making it difficult to operate business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The protesters had been staging a sit-in at Nepal Rastra Bank since Monday. -- RSS </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17007', 'image' => '20230314091122_20221021102455_market monitoring.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 21:10:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17268', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ujyalo Bandipur Programme Launched For Tourism Promotion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Under the Ujyalo Bandipur programme, street lights have been installed on the roads here. Electric poles have been fixed and the roads have been made attractive after developing stone sidewalks, Chairman of Bandipur Rural Municipality Surendra Thapa said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Earlier, Rotary Club had installed some street lights in the Bandipur bazaar area. "We have allocated Rs 2 million for the installation of street lights," Chairman Thapa said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, a QR code has been arranged to share information about the touristic sites of Bandipur. The QR code has been placed in the main market and plans are afoot to place it in 15 other locations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rural municipality has allocated Rs 800,000 for building stone sidewalk in Bandipur market area. The rural municipality said that plans are afoot to develop stone sidewalk in Dharampani, Kalleri, Majhthar, Korisa and other areas. ---RSS </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17006', 'image' => '20230314051850_collage - 2023-03-14T171609.124.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 17:16:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17267', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is Emerging as Investment-Friendly Country: PM Dahal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Nepal-China Business Forum-2023 jointly organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Kathmandu on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing that this forum provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing business ties and explore new areas of economic and business partnership between Nepal and China, he said, "Nepal and China share a long history of economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. Over the years, we have built strong ties based on mutual respect, trust, and understanding." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal said that relations between the two countries are based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence and have always remained cordial and friendly. This relationship has deepened over the years through regular exchanges of high-level visits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Nepal is firmly committed to One-China policy. It has been our consistent policy to not allow our soil to be used against our neighbours,” he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal-China trade relations date back to ancient times. It began with the engagement of merchants from both sides of the Himalayas which continues today in much more expanded form of trade and exchanges. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">China remains Nepal’s second largest trading partner. Currently, more than 14 percent of our total international trade is with China. Similarly, China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We believe that phenomenal economic progress achieved by our neighbours would open up wider avenues of opportunity for Nepal to grow and prosper through expansion of export trade and enhanced level of inward investment. We expect easy and more generous market access to our products in the vast markets of our neighbours. Mutual recognition of standards and accreditation will help promote our exports,” said PM Dahal. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">While talking about Nepal's trade and investment potentials, PM Dahal outlined some of top priorities of the incumbent government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the country has entered into the second cycle of democratically elected government under the federal system following the successful holding of the elections of all tiers. </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"">“We are aware that foreign investment requires a stable political environment. Now, we are in a position to assure you of the continuity and stability in policy. The present government is firmly committed to deliver economic dividends of democracy to the people. For that, it has a clear vision and strategy, strong commitment, and strong support of the people. Our objective is to translate the people’s aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity into reality.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal also reiterated that Nepal has been pursuing a business and investment-friendly policy. </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"">“We have made major reforms in our investment regime that encourages, promotes and protects foreign direct investment. Our tax slabs are one of the lowest and our position is fairly good in ease of doing business. Investment in any sector is profitable in our country given the nascent stage of our industrial development. Profitable areas of investment include hydropower, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, minerals, and mining, among others,” he added. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17005', 'image' => '20230314034337_1678781148.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:42:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17266', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs to Reduce Interest Rate from March 15 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Bankers' Association, an umbrella organisation of commercial banks, agreed to reduce the premium rate on loans by one percent and the interest on savings by 0.4 percent from March 15.</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"">Issuing a notice on Tuesday, the bankers’ association said that the decision will be implemented from Wednesday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the association’s chair Sunil KC, now they are focused on capping the interest rates. As per the revised provisions, banks will charge premium rate on loans up to five percent instead of six percent and will provide 6 to 8 percent interest on normal savings. Prior to this, the interests on normal savings were 6.42 to 8.42 percent. The interest rate on fixed deposits is unchanged and it remains at 11 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, towards institutional savings, 9 percent interest rate has been fixed and towards the remittance fixed deposit, it is 12 percent. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17004', 'image' => '20230314033237_Interest-rate-cut-16.9-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:31:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17265', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Use of Induction Stoves Unimpressive ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. However, it has been found that a very small amount of induction stoves were sold by the Food Management and Trade Company Limited, which has been authorized by the government to sell and distribute induction stoves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the state-owned company's Bagmati regional office, 4,500 induction stoves have been sold so far. Officials said that the company is currently selling induction stoves only in Bagmati Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government of Nepal started a campaign to increase the use of electric stoves immediately after the 2072 earthquake. At that time, the use of induction stoves was emphasized due to heavy reliance on LP gas, undeclared blockades by neighbouring India, large amount of money lost in cylinder import, and the high price of gas cylinders hitting the consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government expects the use of electric stoves will help find market for domestically produced electricity and also save the foreign currency reserves to the relief of the consumers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, experts say that the expected target has not been achieved as only a small number of electric stoves have been used even after a long time since the government started the campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Energy expert Jagannath Shrestha said that the will power to increase the use of induction stoves in the state system is weak. The government has not been able to use induction stoves inside Singha Durbar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that there is a widespread lack of information and knowledge about induction stoves. He said that the canteen operators inside the Singha Darbar do not even know that there are electric stoves that can cook large quantities of food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Narayan Gyawali, president of the Community Electricity Consumer Federation, shared that they have been working to inform the general public and explain the benefits through the Electric Stove National Campaign. According to him, the government launched a program to provide electric stoves to the poor, disadvantaged, and students from remote areas studying in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government did not show seriousness in implementation, shares Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As there was no system of reward and punishment for the employees, they became inactive. This is the reason why induction stoves have not been widely used. Even though the electricity supply is not regular, the general public is not in a position to confidently buy electric stoves,” said Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Private sector businessmen dealing in electric stoves said that although electric stoves are beneficial for consumers financially, they are not sold much due to a lack of awareness. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajendra Thapa, who deals in household electrical appliances in Nayabazar of Kathmandu, said that even though it is good from the point of view of safety, the information about the usage methods and benefits has not reached the general consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although induction stoves are within the reach of only a small percentage of common consumers, government officials seem to be satisfied. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gyanu Thapa, head of Bagmati Regional Office of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, said that selling all the induction stoves purchased is an achievement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Sales are going well. So far, no complaints have been received. The situation is satisfactory,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thapa, the head of the office, argued that the awareness of induction stoves among consumers is increasing, and the perception is positive, so the user will gradually increase.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17003', 'image' => '20230314032147_1678753811.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Development Banks and Finance Companies to Lower Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. A meeting of the Development Bankers Association Nepal, the umbrella organization of development banks, decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits by 0.25 percentage points from March 15.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The association decided to reduce the interest rate by 0.15 percent on personal deposits of 1 year or more and by 0.25 percent for deposits less than 1 year starting from mid-March. At present, development banks are giving maximum interest of 11.75 percent on term deposits, which will now be maintained at 11.60 percent for a period of more than 1 year and 11.50 percent on term deposits of less than 1 year period. Similarly, the interest rate of savings account will be reduced by 0.15 percentage points. Such interest will now range between 6.60 percent to 8.60 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the umbrella organization of finance companies, Nepal Financial Institutions Association also decided to reduce the interest rate on 1-year term deposits by 0.20 percentage points to 12 percent from mid-March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Commercial banks have already decided to reduce the interest rate of general savings by 0.42 percent and the premium rate of loans by 1 percentage point from mid-March. The Nepal Bankers Association decided to keep the fixed deposit interest rate unchanged from mid-March to mid-April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks reduced the interest rate on deposits as the spread rate has to be reduced from mid-March according to the instructions of NRB. In the same way, there is pressure on banks to reduce the interest rate after they were criticized heavily.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the sharp criticism of the interest rate, NRB announced to reduce the spread rate of the banks through the first quarter review of the monetary policy of the current fiscal year. As per the decision, NRB issued instructions in mid-December and arranged that the commercial banks should reduce the spread rate to 4.2 percent from mid-March 2023 and the development banks and finance companies should reduce it to 4.8 percent. Similarly, from mid-June 2023, commercial banks have to maintain a spread rate of 4 percent and development banks and finance have to maintain a spread rate of 4.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17002', 'image' => '20230314024256_1678758513.Clipboard15.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 14:42:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sagarmatha and Lumbini General Insurance begin Integrated Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These companies signed the agreement for the merger on June 14 and completed the merger process in 8 months before starting integrated business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest provisions regarding merger and acquisition, the merger and acquisition process must be completed within six months of the agreement. These two companies were given final approval for merger by Nepal Insurance Authority on February 28 and Securities Board of Nepal on March 7. The Company Registrar's Office gave approval for the merger on March 3.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Nepal Insurance Authority has arranged to maintain paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 billion for non-life insurance companies and Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies within mid-March. According to the same arrangement, these two companies chose the path of merger for capital increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before this, the merger process between Siddhartha Insurance and Premier Insurance, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company were completed towards non-life insurance segment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Currently, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance is Rs 1.33 billion. The proposal to distribute 12.40 percent bonus shares based on the same capital was passed by the company's annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance will increase to Rs 1.49 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Lumbini General Insurance Company also passed the proposal to issue 6.99 percent bonus shares based on the paid-up capital of Rs 1.31 billion in the annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Lumbini General Insurance will reach Rs 1.44 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the bonus shares of both the companies are issued, the paid-up capital of the company formed after the merger will stand at Rs 2.620 billion. Sagarmatha Insurance and Lumbini General Insurance have entered into a merger by maintaining a swap ratio of 100 to 80 shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The share trading of both the companies was suspended since the day the integrated business started. According to the latest regulations, stock trading will be stopped for a maximum of 15 business days after the start of integrated transaction.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Lumbini General Insurance Chairman Manohar Das Mul has been appointed as the chairman of the company formed after the merger. The newly appointed Chairman Mul took the oath of office and secrecy in front of the Chairman of Nepal Insurance Authority Surya Prasad Silwal on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On behalf of former Sagarmatha Insurance Company, Ajith R. Gunawardena, Siddhartha Mani Rajbhandari, Gajendra Lal Shrestha are among the directors of the company</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Arun Raj Shrestha and Kamal Bhattarai are in the board representing former Lumbini General Insurance.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17001', 'image' => '20230314013433_1678713115.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 13:33:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Signature Bank Follows Suit after SVB Collapse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES<br /> March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Signature Bank’s collapse is the third largest failure in US banking history after the recent collapse of SVB and since Washington Mutual went bust in 2008.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature Bank, which had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 in deposits at the end of last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement that all of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representatives for the lender did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Signature's failure followed Silicon Valley Bank's Friday shutdown, the second largest in US history behind Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis,” added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, investors were unnerved by the speed at which startup-focused SVB, the 16th largest lender in the US, was toppled by customer withdrawals. The episode last week erased more than $100 billion in market value from US banks, prompting swift action from government officials over the weekend to try and restore confidence in the financial system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Signature was a commercial bank with private client offices in New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada and North Carolina, and had nine national business lines including commercial real estate and digital asset banking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of September, almost a quarter of its deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion, added Reuters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that SVB’s business focused heavily on US technology startups. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lender saw a surge in deposits as tech companies profited from providing entertainment and delivery services to people confined to their homes.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">SVB invested much of this cash in US government bonds — traditionally one of the safest types of investment but SVB’s troubles began when the US Federal Reserve started raising interest rates last year in response to soaring inflation, causing the value of those bonds to fall, added Al Jazeera.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17000', 'image' => '20230314120003_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:59:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Separate Desk for Registering Foreign Investment Companies Set Up ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. The desk has come into operation since last week. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this, uniformity is expected in the work of the companies registered from the desk after going through the due procedure as per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act and Public Private Partnership and Investment Act, said the Office of the Company Registrar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The desk aims to build favourable climate and play a role in carrying out reforms for foreign investment in Nepal, said Company Registrar Mahesh Baral. The desk will facilitate the registration of a company, and the registration process will complete within 10 days, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16999', 'image' => '20230314111216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:11:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PPMO Blacklists Two Dozen Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies. According to the decision taken by the PPMO on Sunday, those companies were blacklisted for delaying construction works related to the government office. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Blacklisted builders, supplier companies and consultant companies will not be allowed to participate in any government procurement process during the blacklisted period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the PPMO, Siraha-based Bikash Nirman Sewa company has been blacklisted for three years. This company had stalled two contracts under the Road Division Office, Lahan. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Parsa's consulting company Business Nepal Consultancy Pvt Ltd has also been blacklisted for three years for delaying the work of rural enterprise and remittance projects under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, the Rastriya Nirman Sewa Company has also been blacklisted upon the recommendation of the Infrastructure Development Office Baitadi. The company, which has its office in Dadeldhura, has been blacklisted for three years. Similarly, Akash and Pawan Construction have been blacklisted for one year upon the recommendation of Godavari Municipality of Kailali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Three companies that did not perform their work on projects under the Road Division Office Kapilvastu have also been blacklisted. According to the PPMO, Ahmad Hussain Construction of Arghakhanchi, Gupta Nirman Seva of Dang, and KP Construction of Arghakhanchi have been blacklisted for one year each. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Anushthan Construction Pvt Ltd, which has its office in New Baneshwar, has been blacklisted for one year for suspending its work in Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Bholebaba Construction of Nawalparasi has been blacklisted for one and a half years. Similarly, Divya Technology Private Limited, which did not complete the work of the Land Management and Records Department, has been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dreamland Metal Industries Pvt Ltd has been suspended upon the recommendation of Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Municipality of Dang, Diagnochem International upon the recommendation of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Gandaki Honey Concern Pvt Ltd upon the recommendation of Khairahani Municipality and Karki Kitchen upon the recommendation of Civil Service Hospital. All of them have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ningbo Ningxing International Corporation has been blacklisted for two and a half years. PR Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled the contract under Birendranagar Municipality, and Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled two contracts of the Road Division Office, Kaski, have been blacklisted for one and a half years. Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd has also left the work of Kaligandaki Corridor under the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office unfinished.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, Pappu Malla JV, which stalled the contract of the Road Division Office, Surkhet, has been blacklisted for one year and the suppliers who stalled the work of Shuddhodhan Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">YP Construction Pvt Ltd, which did not work on the contract under the Road Division Office, Baglung, has also been blacklisted for one and a half years. Suraj General Order Suppliers, which suspended the work under the Rajarshi Janak University's online class operation and management committee, and United Agro Engineering Private Limited, which suspended the work of Khairahani Municipality, Chitwan, have also been blacklisted for one year each.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => 'PPMO, public, procurement, monitoring, office, blacklist, company, supplier, delay, construction, contract', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16998', 'image' => '20230314103340_ppmo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 10:32:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17259', 'article_category_id' => '278', 'title' => 'Small Contractors Face Existential Crisis In Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan. Shortages of raw materials and high bank interest rates have pushed small construction entrepreneurs at the point of shutting down their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chapter General Secretary Puskar Adhikari said out of 400 small contractors 390 are small in the district. The total number of contractors including those not affiliated to the FCAN is around 1000 in Chitwan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">If the same condition continues, more than 75 per cent contractors will wash their hands from construction sector, said Adhikari. Contractors say that soaring bank interest rates and increased fuel prices have kept the construction business in a crisis, forcing them to switch their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Adhikari complained that around 100 contractors had been unable to give continuity to their business. He urged the the government to solve small contractors' problems at the earliest. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">It is learnt that contractors have to pay Rs 5,000 more for per tipper of river-borne raw materials compared to the past as the government is yet to open the contract for river-borne materials in the district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Troubles of the contractors do not end here. Traffic police have halted the plying of vehicles loaded with contruction materials from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to ease the traffic. This has kept construction entrepreneurs from finishing the their work on time, according to contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chairman Keshav Lamichhane said that not opening the rivers and streams for raw materials had added the troubles for the contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Government policy has adversely affected both small and big contractors,” Lamichhane said. He argued that concerned agencies’ failure to issue payment for even the timely completed work had aggravated the plight of contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Bharatpur Metropolitan City Deputy mayor Chitrasen Adhikari says that construction work has to be completed within the deadline in line with the contract. He admitted high bank interest rates and paucity of the raw materials had troubled contractors. He, however, argued that some contractors would always look for excuses not to finish the work within the slated timeframe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Bharatpur Metropolis has taken an action against 17 construction companies for failing to complete work within deadline by making excuses not to finish the work,” Adhikari said. He suggested both the government and contractors to fulfill their duties responsibly. </span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16997', 'image' => '20230314061317_collage - 2023-03-13T172658.672.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 05:44:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Slashes Subsidy on Chemical Fertilizer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a meeting of the Fertilizer Supply and Distribution Management Committee held on Monday decided to reduce the subsidy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A press statement issued by the ministry reads, "The subsidy provided to farmers fopr the purchase of chemical fertilizer has now been reduced to 59.04 per cent against 70.82 per cent. It will be lowered to 50 per cent gradually." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this decision of the government, the price of the chemical fertilizer would increase. Now, Urea would be sold at Rs 25 per kg, DAP at Rs 50 per kg and potassium at Rs 40 per kg. Earlier, urea was sold at Rs 14 per kg, DAP at Rs 43 per kg and potassium at Rs 31 per kg. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, the government had been providing 80 per cent subsidy for urea, 60 per cent for DAP and 59 per cent for potassium. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, the decision to reduce the subsidy on chemical fertilizer was taken upon the instruction from the Finance Ministry. Nepal needs 520,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer every year, added the ministry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of Rs 15 million budget was allocated in the fiscal year 2022/23 to provide subsidy to farmers for purchasing fertilizer. A total of 331,500 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer has been purchased through the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the purchased fertilizer, around 237,500 metric tonnes of fertilizer has already been imported while 94,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer is in the process of being imported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, there is likely to be a deficit of 90,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer for paddy this year. -- RSS</span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-13', 'modified' => '2023-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16996', 'image' => '20230313080521_20220529012218_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-13 20:04:53', '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' => '17272', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM to Head Administrative Reforms Commission', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, such a commission is about to be formed to address the problems seen in the administrative sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">PM Dahal said so while addressing a meeting of the second quarterly review of the offices under the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers and the meeting of the ministerial-level development problem solving committee on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government is preparing to take serious initiatives to solve the existing problems in the administrative sector. We should not delay in solving it,” said PM Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Dahal also said that there is a big gap between the performance of the civil administration and the people's expectations. He stated, “The commission is to be formed to address the changing situation, democratic system and people's expectations. The commission will be led by the prime minister along with the participation of some experts.” The prime minister also said that unnecessary staff will be cut. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There are problems of overstaffing, duplication, and unnecessary structures. They should be cut down to make the administrative system dynamic. For that, it is necessary to form a commission.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that since there is no time to wait for the final report of the commission to implement it, there should be an arrangement for the commission to continue its work and implement the suggestions given by it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said social justice, good governance and prosperity are the priorities of the government. Ministers change but the government's policy priorities do not change. He stated, “Therefore, be dedicated to your work, show results.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17010', 'image' => '20230315120309_1678844944.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 12:02:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17271', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bankers Demand Peaceful and Secure Environment for Rendering Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted. In a statement issued on Tuesday, CBFIN requested the government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and all other stakeholders to ensure peace and security arrangements for the operation of banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The statement reads, “The government of Nepal has published a notification in the Nepal Gazette stating that security agencies, hospitals, banks and financial institutions, ambulances, drinking water, waste management and other areas are defined as essential service areas and no shutdowns or strikes should be carried out in such areas. In violation of this, we deeply regret the activities of various commercial organizations, such as blocking banking services at the Kumari Bank branch office in Hetaunda on March 14, depriving customers of services, rounding them up and threatening to close the office.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Relying on the belief that appropriate solutions to any problem can be found through dialogue and discussions, CBFIN requested that the protests and closure of the branch offices of banks and financial institutions should be stopped immediately and necessary steps should be taken to resolve the problem in an easy manner.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While the businessmen were agitating against the interest rate, the Makwanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry had sent a letter and requested to close the branch on Tuesday. Similarly, some businessmen were also staging protests at the central office of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in Baluwatar from Monday. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already instructed all the district administration offices to control the agitation against the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17009', 'image' => '20230315113119_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 11:30:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17270', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Farmers Into Collective Potato Farming ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, syangja. Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 15: Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, Syangja. <br /> Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Local farmers have implemented collective potato farming in wards no 8,9, 10 of Chapakot Municipality, Syangja.<br /> Coordinator Ramu Bashyal of Belchaur Seetaltar Farmers Group said that they had been attracted towards the collective farming as plantation of the potato in group would make the potato cultivation easy and cost-effective rather than individual farming. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> “For want of people to work in the farm, cultivation would be tough. But, working in the group has made it easy. Collective farming has enabled to earn skills and technology for the cultivation,” Bashyal stated. According to him, the 450 kilograms of potatoes was planted in four ropani land for the first time. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 22 individuals are directly involved in the potato farming. The group could not produce the potato as expected due to lack of irrigation facility this time. “We have produced more than 1100 kilograms of potato. We shall sell the produce through the group,” Bashyal added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Belchaur Seetaltar Mothers Group Chair Ishwori Bashyal says that planting potato collectively is far easier than doing it individually. “We get a chance to learn and apply new skill and technology while cultivating the potato through the group,” Ishwori Bashyal said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Surya Majhi of Chapakot-10, potato has been cultivated in 11 different toles by forming groups consisting of 35/40 individuals. Mothers and sisters have formed 11 different groups and planted potato in ward no 10 alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We have amalgamated old and new groups and cultivated the potatoes targeting to make the ward 10 pocket area for potato,” Majhi said. Potato has been planted in 150 ropani of the land in Chapakot-10. The concept of collective potato farming is also being executed at ward-8 of Chapakot, ward chair Toplal Neupane said. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17008', 'image' => '20230315060338_collage - 2023-03-14T161849.289.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 06:00:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17269', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Businesspersons Withdraw Protest against BFIs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. The business sector had formed the Bank and Financial Problems Struggle Committee to wage protest programmes since the past four days. They withdrew all the protest programmes after meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) Dinesh Shrestha shared that the business persons withdrew their protest after a discussion with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday evening. Shrestha said that the government has taken the current problem seriously and the protest programme has been postponed after the prime minister promised to take steps to address the issue and also to reduce the interest rates. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Industrialists and businesspersons affiliated FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Automobiles Dealers Association were protesting against high interest rates charged by the banks and financial institutions, which they said, was making it difficult to operate business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The protesters had been staging a sit-in at Nepal Rastra Bank since Monday. -- RSS </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17007', 'image' => '20230314091122_20221021102455_market monitoring.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 21:10:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17268', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ujyalo Bandipur Programme Launched For Tourism Promotion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Under the Ujyalo Bandipur programme, street lights have been installed on the roads here. Electric poles have been fixed and the roads have been made attractive after developing stone sidewalks, Chairman of Bandipur Rural Municipality Surendra Thapa said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Earlier, Rotary Club had installed some street lights in the Bandipur bazaar area. "We have allocated Rs 2 million for the installation of street lights," Chairman Thapa said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, a QR code has been arranged to share information about the touristic sites of Bandipur. The QR code has been placed in the main market and plans are afoot to place it in 15 other locations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rural municipality has allocated Rs 800,000 for building stone sidewalk in Bandipur market area. The rural municipality said that plans are afoot to develop stone sidewalk in Dharampani, Kalleri, Majhthar, Korisa and other areas. ---RSS </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17006', 'image' => '20230314051850_collage - 2023-03-14T171609.124.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 17:16:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17267', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is Emerging as Investment-Friendly Country: PM Dahal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Nepal-China Business Forum-2023 jointly organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Kathmandu on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing that this forum provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing business ties and explore new areas of economic and business partnership between Nepal and China, he said, "Nepal and China share a long history of economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. Over the years, we have built strong ties based on mutual respect, trust, and understanding." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal said that relations between the two countries are based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence and have always remained cordial and friendly. This relationship has deepened over the years through regular exchanges of high-level visits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Nepal is firmly committed to One-China policy. It has been our consistent policy to not allow our soil to be used against our neighbours,” he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal-China trade relations date back to ancient times. It began with the engagement of merchants from both sides of the Himalayas which continues today in much more expanded form of trade and exchanges. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">China remains Nepal’s second largest trading partner. Currently, more than 14 percent of our total international trade is with China. Similarly, China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We believe that phenomenal economic progress achieved by our neighbours would open up wider avenues of opportunity for Nepal to grow and prosper through expansion of export trade and enhanced level of inward investment. We expect easy and more generous market access to our products in the vast markets of our neighbours. Mutual recognition of standards and accreditation will help promote our exports,” said PM Dahal. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">While talking about Nepal's trade and investment potentials, PM Dahal outlined some of top priorities of the incumbent government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the country has entered into the second cycle of democratically elected government under the federal system following the successful holding of the elections of all tiers. </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"">“We are aware that foreign investment requires a stable political environment. Now, we are in a position to assure you of the continuity and stability in policy. The present government is firmly committed to deliver economic dividends of democracy to the people. For that, it has a clear vision and strategy, strong commitment, and strong support of the people. Our objective is to translate the people’s aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity into reality.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal also reiterated that Nepal has been pursuing a business and investment-friendly policy. </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"">“We have made major reforms in our investment regime that encourages, promotes and protects foreign direct investment. Our tax slabs are one of the lowest and our position is fairly good in ease of doing business. Investment in any sector is profitable in our country given the nascent stage of our industrial development. Profitable areas of investment include hydropower, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, minerals, and mining, among others,” he added. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17005', 'image' => '20230314034337_1678781148.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:42:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17266', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs to Reduce Interest Rate from March 15 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Bankers' Association, an umbrella organisation of commercial banks, agreed to reduce the premium rate on loans by one percent and the interest on savings by 0.4 percent from March 15.</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"">Issuing a notice on Tuesday, the bankers’ association said that the decision will be implemented from Wednesday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the association’s chair Sunil KC, now they are focused on capping the interest rates. As per the revised provisions, banks will charge premium rate on loans up to five percent instead of six percent and will provide 6 to 8 percent interest on normal savings. Prior to this, the interests on normal savings were 6.42 to 8.42 percent. The interest rate on fixed deposits is unchanged and it remains at 11 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, towards institutional savings, 9 percent interest rate has been fixed and towards the remittance fixed deposit, it is 12 percent. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17004', 'image' => '20230314033237_Interest-rate-cut-16.9-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:31:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17265', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Use of Induction Stoves Unimpressive ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. However, it has been found that a very small amount of induction stoves were sold by the Food Management and Trade Company Limited, which has been authorized by the government to sell and distribute induction stoves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the state-owned company's Bagmati regional office, 4,500 induction stoves have been sold so far. Officials said that the company is currently selling induction stoves only in Bagmati Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government of Nepal started a campaign to increase the use of electric stoves immediately after the 2072 earthquake. At that time, the use of induction stoves was emphasized due to heavy reliance on LP gas, undeclared blockades by neighbouring India, large amount of money lost in cylinder import, and the high price of gas cylinders hitting the consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government expects the use of electric stoves will help find market for domestically produced electricity and also save the foreign currency reserves to the relief of the consumers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, experts say that the expected target has not been achieved as only a small number of electric stoves have been used even after a long time since the government started the campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Energy expert Jagannath Shrestha said that the will power to increase the use of induction stoves in the state system is weak. The government has not been able to use induction stoves inside Singha Durbar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that there is a widespread lack of information and knowledge about induction stoves. He said that the canteen operators inside the Singha Darbar do not even know that there are electric stoves that can cook large quantities of food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Narayan Gyawali, president of the Community Electricity Consumer Federation, shared that they have been working to inform the general public and explain the benefits through the Electric Stove National Campaign. According to him, the government launched a program to provide electric stoves to the poor, disadvantaged, and students from remote areas studying in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government did not show seriousness in implementation, shares Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As there was no system of reward and punishment for the employees, they became inactive. This is the reason why induction stoves have not been widely used. Even though the electricity supply is not regular, the general public is not in a position to confidently buy electric stoves,” said Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Private sector businessmen dealing in electric stoves said that although electric stoves are beneficial for consumers financially, they are not sold much due to a lack of awareness. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajendra Thapa, who deals in household electrical appliances in Nayabazar of Kathmandu, said that even though it is good from the point of view of safety, the information about the usage methods and benefits has not reached the general consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although induction stoves are within the reach of only a small percentage of common consumers, government officials seem to be satisfied. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gyanu Thapa, head of Bagmati Regional Office of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, said that selling all the induction stoves purchased is an achievement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Sales are going well. So far, no complaints have been received. The situation is satisfactory,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thapa, the head of the office, argued that the awareness of induction stoves among consumers is increasing, and the perception is positive, so the user will gradually increase.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17003', 'image' => '20230314032147_1678753811.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Development Banks and Finance Companies to Lower Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. A meeting of the Development Bankers Association Nepal, the umbrella organization of development banks, decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits by 0.25 percentage points from March 15.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The association decided to reduce the interest rate by 0.15 percent on personal deposits of 1 year or more and by 0.25 percent for deposits less than 1 year starting from mid-March. At present, development banks are giving maximum interest of 11.75 percent on term deposits, which will now be maintained at 11.60 percent for a period of more than 1 year and 11.50 percent on term deposits of less than 1 year period. Similarly, the interest rate of savings account will be reduced by 0.15 percentage points. Such interest will now range between 6.60 percent to 8.60 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the umbrella organization of finance companies, Nepal Financial Institutions Association also decided to reduce the interest rate on 1-year term deposits by 0.20 percentage points to 12 percent from mid-March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Commercial banks have already decided to reduce the interest rate of general savings by 0.42 percent and the premium rate of loans by 1 percentage point from mid-March. The Nepal Bankers Association decided to keep the fixed deposit interest rate unchanged from mid-March to mid-April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks reduced the interest rate on deposits as the spread rate has to be reduced from mid-March according to the instructions of NRB. In the same way, there is pressure on banks to reduce the interest rate after they were criticized heavily.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the sharp criticism of the interest rate, NRB announced to reduce the spread rate of the banks through the first quarter review of the monetary policy of the current fiscal year. As per the decision, NRB issued instructions in mid-December and arranged that the commercial banks should reduce the spread rate to 4.2 percent from mid-March 2023 and the development banks and finance companies should reduce it to 4.8 percent. Similarly, from mid-June 2023, commercial banks have to maintain a spread rate of 4 percent and development banks and finance have to maintain a spread rate of 4.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17002', 'image' => '20230314024256_1678758513.Clipboard15.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 14:42:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sagarmatha and Lumbini General Insurance begin Integrated Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These companies signed the agreement for the merger on June 14 and completed the merger process in 8 months before starting integrated business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest provisions regarding merger and acquisition, the merger and acquisition process must be completed within six months of the agreement. These two companies were given final approval for merger by Nepal Insurance Authority on February 28 and Securities Board of Nepal on March 7. The Company Registrar's Office gave approval for the merger on March 3.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Nepal Insurance Authority has arranged to maintain paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 billion for non-life insurance companies and Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies within mid-March. According to the same arrangement, these two companies chose the path of merger for capital increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before this, the merger process between Siddhartha Insurance and Premier Insurance, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company were completed towards non-life insurance segment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Currently, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance is Rs 1.33 billion. The proposal to distribute 12.40 percent bonus shares based on the same capital was passed by the company's annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance will increase to Rs 1.49 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Lumbini General Insurance Company also passed the proposal to issue 6.99 percent bonus shares based on the paid-up capital of Rs 1.31 billion in the annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Lumbini General Insurance will reach Rs 1.44 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the bonus shares of both the companies are issued, the paid-up capital of the company formed after the merger will stand at Rs 2.620 billion. Sagarmatha Insurance and Lumbini General Insurance have entered into a merger by maintaining a swap ratio of 100 to 80 shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The share trading of both the companies was suspended since the day the integrated business started. According to the latest regulations, stock trading will be stopped for a maximum of 15 business days after the start of integrated transaction.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Lumbini General Insurance Chairman Manohar Das Mul has been appointed as the chairman of the company formed after the merger. The newly appointed Chairman Mul took the oath of office and secrecy in front of the Chairman of Nepal Insurance Authority Surya Prasad Silwal on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On behalf of former Sagarmatha Insurance Company, Ajith R. Gunawardena, Siddhartha Mani Rajbhandari, Gajendra Lal Shrestha are among the directors of the company</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Arun Raj Shrestha and Kamal Bhattarai are in the board representing former Lumbini General Insurance.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17001', 'image' => '20230314013433_1678713115.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 13:33:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Signature Bank Follows Suit after SVB Collapse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES<br /> March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Signature Bank’s collapse is the third largest failure in US banking history after the recent collapse of SVB and since Washington Mutual went bust in 2008.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature Bank, which had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 in deposits at the end of last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement that all of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representatives for the lender did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Signature's failure followed Silicon Valley Bank's Friday shutdown, the second largest in US history behind Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis,” added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, investors were unnerved by the speed at which startup-focused SVB, the 16th largest lender in the US, was toppled by customer withdrawals. The episode last week erased more than $100 billion in market value from US banks, prompting swift action from government officials over the weekend to try and restore confidence in the financial system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Signature was a commercial bank with private client offices in New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada and North Carolina, and had nine national business lines including commercial real estate and digital asset banking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of September, almost a quarter of its deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion, added Reuters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that SVB’s business focused heavily on US technology startups. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lender saw a surge in deposits as tech companies profited from providing entertainment and delivery services to people confined to their homes.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">SVB invested much of this cash in US government bonds — traditionally one of the safest types of investment but SVB’s troubles began when the US Federal Reserve started raising interest rates last year in response to soaring inflation, causing the value of those bonds to fall, added Al Jazeera.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17000', 'image' => '20230314120003_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:59:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Separate Desk for Registering Foreign Investment Companies Set Up ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. The desk has come into operation since last week. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this, uniformity is expected in the work of the companies registered from the desk after going through the due procedure as per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act and Public Private Partnership and Investment Act, said the Office of the Company Registrar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The desk aims to build favourable climate and play a role in carrying out reforms for foreign investment in Nepal, said Company Registrar Mahesh Baral. The desk will facilitate the registration of a company, and the registration process will complete within 10 days, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16999', 'image' => '20230314111216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:11:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PPMO Blacklists Two Dozen Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies. According to the decision taken by the PPMO on Sunday, those companies were blacklisted for delaying construction works related to the government office. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Blacklisted builders, supplier companies and consultant companies will not be allowed to participate in any government procurement process during the blacklisted period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the PPMO, Siraha-based Bikash Nirman Sewa company has been blacklisted for three years. This company had stalled two contracts under the Road Division Office, Lahan. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Parsa's consulting company Business Nepal Consultancy Pvt Ltd has also been blacklisted for three years for delaying the work of rural enterprise and remittance projects under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, the Rastriya Nirman Sewa Company has also been blacklisted upon the recommendation of the Infrastructure Development Office Baitadi. The company, which has its office in Dadeldhura, has been blacklisted for three years. Similarly, Akash and Pawan Construction have been blacklisted for one year upon the recommendation of Godavari Municipality of Kailali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Three companies that did not perform their work on projects under the Road Division Office Kapilvastu have also been blacklisted. According to the PPMO, Ahmad Hussain Construction of Arghakhanchi, Gupta Nirman Seva of Dang, and KP Construction of Arghakhanchi have been blacklisted for one year each. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Anushthan Construction Pvt Ltd, which has its office in New Baneshwar, has been blacklisted for one year for suspending its work in Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Bholebaba Construction of Nawalparasi has been blacklisted for one and a half years. Similarly, Divya Technology Private Limited, which did not complete the work of the Land Management and Records Department, has been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dreamland Metal Industries Pvt Ltd has been suspended upon the recommendation of Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Municipality of Dang, Diagnochem International upon the recommendation of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Gandaki Honey Concern Pvt Ltd upon the recommendation of Khairahani Municipality and Karki Kitchen upon the recommendation of Civil Service Hospital. All of them have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ningbo Ningxing International Corporation has been blacklisted for two and a half years. PR Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled the contract under Birendranagar Municipality, and Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled two contracts of the Road Division Office, Kaski, have been blacklisted for one and a half years. Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd has also left the work of Kaligandaki Corridor under the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office unfinished.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, Pappu Malla JV, which stalled the contract of the Road Division Office, Surkhet, has been blacklisted for one year and the suppliers who stalled the work of Shuddhodhan Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">YP Construction Pvt Ltd, which did not work on the contract under the Road Division Office, Baglung, has also been blacklisted for one and a half years. Suraj General Order Suppliers, which suspended the work under the Rajarshi Janak University's online class operation and management committee, and United Agro Engineering Private Limited, which suspended the work of Khairahani Municipality, Chitwan, have also been blacklisted for one year each.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => 'PPMO, public, procurement, monitoring, office, blacklist, company, supplier, delay, construction, contract', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16998', 'image' => '20230314103340_ppmo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 10:32:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17259', 'article_category_id' => '278', 'title' => 'Small Contractors Face Existential Crisis In Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan. Shortages of raw materials and high bank interest rates have pushed small construction entrepreneurs at the point of shutting down their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chapter General Secretary Puskar Adhikari said out of 400 small contractors 390 are small in the district. The total number of contractors including those not affiliated to the FCAN is around 1000 in Chitwan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">If the same condition continues, more than 75 per cent contractors will wash their hands from construction sector, said Adhikari. Contractors say that soaring bank interest rates and increased fuel prices have kept the construction business in a crisis, forcing them to switch their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Adhikari complained that around 100 contractors had been unable to give continuity to their business. He urged the the government to solve small contractors' problems at the earliest. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">It is learnt that contractors have to pay Rs 5,000 more for per tipper of river-borne raw materials compared to the past as the government is yet to open the contract for river-borne materials in the district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Troubles of the contractors do not end here. Traffic police have halted the plying of vehicles loaded with contruction materials from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to ease the traffic. This has kept construction entrepreneurs from finishing the their work on time, according to contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chairman Keshav Lamichhane said that not opening the rivers and streams for raw materials had added the troubles for the contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Government policy has adversely affected both small and big contractors,” Lamichhane said. He argued that concerned agencies’ failure to issue payment for even the timely completed work had aggravated the plight of contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Bharatpur Metropolitan City Deputy mayor Chitrasen Adhikari says that construction work has to be completed within the deadline in line with the contract. He admitted high bank interest rates and paucity of the raw materials had troubled contractors. He, however, argued that some contractors would always look for excuses not to finish the work within the slated timeframe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Bharatpur Metropolis has taken an action against 17 construction companies for failing to complete work within deadline by making excuses not to finish the work,” Adhikari said. He suggested both the government and contractors to fulfill their duties responsibly. </span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16997', 'image' => '20230314061317_collage - 2023-03-13T172658.672.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 05:44:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Slashes Subsidy on Chemical Fertilizer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a meeting of the Fertilizer Supply and Distribution Management Committee held on Monday decided to reduce the subsidy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A press statement issued by the ministry reads, "The subsidy provided to farmers fopr the purchase of chemical fertilizer has now been reduced to 59.04 per cent against 70.82 per cent. It will be lowered to 50 per cent gradually." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this decision of the government, the price of the chemical fertilizer would increase. Now, Urea would be sold at Rs 25 per kg, DAP at Rs 50 per kg and potassium at Rs 40 per kg. Earlier, urea was sold at Rs 14 per kg, DAP at Rs 43 per kg and potassium at Rs 31 per kg. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, the government had been providing 80 per cent subsidy for urea, 60 per cent for DAP and 59 per cent for potassium. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, the decision to reduce the subsidy on chemical fertilizer was taken upon the instruction from the Finance Ministry. Nepal needs 520,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer every year, added the ministry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of Rs 15 million budget was allocated in the fiscal year 2022/23 to provide subsidy to farmers for purchasing fertilizer. A total of 331,500 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer has been purchased through the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the purchased fertilizer, around 237,500 metric tonnes of fertilizer has already been imported while 94,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer is in the process of being imported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, there is likely to be a deficit of 90,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer for paddy this year. -- RSS</span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-13', 'modified' => '2023-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16996', 'image' => '20230313080521_20220529012218_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-13 20:04:53', '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' => '17272', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM to Head Administrative Reforms Commission', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, such a commission is about to be formed to address the problems seen in the administrative sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">PM Dahal said so while addressing a meeting of the second quarterly review of the offices under the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers and the meeting of the ministerial-level development problem solving committee on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government is preparing to take serious initiatives to solve the existing problems in the administrative sector. We should not delay in solving it,” said PM Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Dahal also said that there is a big gap between the performance of the civil administration and the people's expectations. He stated, “The commission is to be formed to address the changing situation, democratic system and people's expectations. The commission will be led by the prime minister along with the participation of some experts.” The prime minister also said that unnecessary staff will be cut. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There are problems of overstaffing, duplication, and unnecessary structures. They should be cut down to make the administrative system dynamic. For that, it is necessary to form a commission.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that since there is no time to wait for the final report of the commission to implement it, there should be an arrangement for the commission to continue its work and implement the suggestions given by it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said social justice, good governance and prosperity are the priorities of the government. Ministers change but the government's policy priorities do not change. He stated, “Therefore, be dedicated to your work, show results.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17010', 'image' => '20230315120309_1678844944.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 12:02:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17271', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bankers Demand Peaceful and Secure Environment for Rendering Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted. In a statement issued on Tuesday, CBFIN requested the government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and all other stakeholders to ensure peace and security arrangements for the operation of banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The statement reads, “The government of Nepal has published a notification in the Nepal Gazette stating that security agencies, hospitals, banks and financial institutions, ambulances, drinking water, waste management and other areas are defined as essential service areas and no shutdowns or strikes should be carried out in such areas. In violation of this, we deeply regret the activities of various commercial organizations, such as blocking banking services at the Kumari Bank branch office in Hetaunda on March 14, depriving customers of services, rounding them up and threatening to close the office.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Relying on the belief that appropriate solutions to any problem can be found through dialogue and discussions, CBFIN requested that the protests and closure of the branch offices of banks and financial institutions should be stopped immediately and necessary steps should be taken to resolve the problem in an easy manner.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While the businessmen were agitating against the interest rate, the Makwanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry had sent a letter and requested to close the branch on Tuesday. Similarly, some businessmen were also staging protests at the central office of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in Baluwatar from Monday. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already instructed all the district administration offices to control the agitation against the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17009', 'image' => '20230315113119_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 11:30:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17270', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Farmers Into Collective Potato Farming ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, syangja. Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 15: Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, Syangja. <br /> Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Local farmers have implemented collective potato farming in wards no 8,9, 10 of Chapakot Municipality, Syangja.<br /> Coordinator Ramu Bashyal of Belchaur Seetaltar Farmers Group said that they had been attracted towards the collective farming as plantation of the potato in group would make the potato cultivation easy and cost-effective rather than individual farming. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> “For want of people to work in the farm, cultivation would be tough. But, working in the group has made it easy. Collective farming has enabled to earn skills and technology for the cultivation,” Bashyal stated. According to him, the 450 kilograms of potatoes was planted in four ropani land for the first time. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 22 individuals are directly involved in the potato farming. The group could not produce the potato as expected due to lack of irrigation facility this time. “We have produced more than 1100 kilograms of potato. We shall sell the produce through the group,” Bashyal added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Belchaur Seetaltar Mothers Group Chair Ishwori Bashyal says that planting potato collectively is far easier than doing it individually. “We get a chance to learn and apply new skill and technology while cultivating the potato through the group,” Ishwori Bashyal said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Surya Majhi of Chapakot-10, potato has been cultivated in 11 different toles by forming groups consisting of 35/40 individuals. Mothers and sisters have formed 11 different groups and planted potato in ward no 10 alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We have amalgamated old and new groups and cultivated the potatoes targeting to make the ward 10 pocket area for potato,” Majhi said. Potato has been planted in 150 ropani of the land in Chapakot-10. The concept of collective potato farming is also being executed at ward-8 of Chapakot, ward chair Toplal Neupane said. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17008', 'image' => '20230315060338_collage - 2023-03-14T161849.289.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 06:00:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17269', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Businesspersons Withdraw Protest against BFIs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. The business sector had formed the Bank and Financial Problems Struggle Committee to wage protest programmes since the past four days. They withdrew all the protest programmes after meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) Dinesh Shrestha shared that the business persons withdrew their protest after a discussion with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday evening. Shrestha said that the government has taken the current problem seriously and the protest programme has been postponed after the prime minister promised to take steps to address the issue and also to reduce the interest rates. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Industrialists and businesspersons affiliated FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Automobiles Dealers Association were protesting against high interest rates charged by the banks and financial institutions, which they said, was making it difficult to operate business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The protesters had been staging a sit-in at Nepal Rastra Bank since Monday. -- RSS </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17007', 'image' => '20230314091122_20221021102455_market monitoring.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 21:10:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17268', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ujyalo Bandipur Programme Launched For Tourism Promotion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Under the Ujyalo Bandipur programme, street lights have been installed on the roads here. Electric poles have been fixed and the roads have been made attractive after developing stone sidewalks, Chairman of Bandipur Rural Municipality Surendra Thapa said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Earlier, Rotary Club had installed some street lights in the Bandipur bazaar area. "We have allocated Rs 2 million for the installation of street lights," Chairman Thapa said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, a QR code has been arranged to share information about the touristic sites of Bandipur. The QR code has been placed in the main market and plans are afoot to place it in 15 other locations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rural municipality has allocated Rs 800,000 for building stone sidewalk in Bandipur market area. The rural municipality said that plans are afoot to develop stone sidewalk in Dharampani, Kalleri, Majhthar, Korisa and other areas. ---RSS </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17006', 'image' => '20230314051850_collage - 2023-03-14T171609.124.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 17:16:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17267', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is Emerging as Investment-Friendly Country: PM Dahal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Nepal-China Business Forum-2023 jointly organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Kathmandu on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing that this forum provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing business ties and explore new areas of economic and business partnership between Nepal and China, he said, "Nepal and China share a long history of economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. Over the years, we have built strong ties based on mutual respect, trust, and understanding." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal said that relations between the two countries are based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence and have always remained cordial and friendly. This relationship has deepened over the years through regular exchanges of high-level visits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Nepal is firmly committed to One-China policy. It has been our consistent policy to not allow our soil to be used against our neighbours,” he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal-China trade relations date back to ancient times. It began with the engagement of merchants from both sides of the Himalayas which continues today in much more expanded form of trade and exchanges. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">China remains Nepal’s second largest trading partner. Currently, more than 14 percent of our total international trade is with China. Similarly, China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We believe that phenomenal economic progress achieved by our neighbours would open up wider avenues of opportunity for Nepal to grow and prosper through expansion of export trade and enhanced level of inward investment. We expect easy and more generous market access to our products in the vast markets of our neighbours. Mutual recognition of standards and accreditation will help promote our exports,” said PM Dahal. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">While talking about Nepal's trade and investment potentials, PM Dahal outlined some of top priorities of the incumbent government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the country has entered into the second cycle of democratically elected government under the federal system following the successful holding of the elections of all tiers. </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"">“We are aware that foreign investment requires a stable political environment. Now, we are in a position to assure you of the continuity and stability in policy. The present government is firmly committed to deliver economic dividends of democracy to the people. For that, it has a clear vision and strategy, strong commitment, and strong support of the people. Our objective is to translate the people’s aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity into reality.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal also reiterated that Nepal has been pursuing a business and investment-friendly policy. </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"">“We have made major reforms in our investment regime that encourages, promotes and protects foreign direct investment. Our tax slabs are one of the lowest and our position is fairly good in ease of doing business. Investment in any sector is profitable in our country given the nascent stage of our industrial development. Profitable areas of investment include hydropower, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, minerals, and mining, among others,” he added. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17005', 'image' => '20230314034337_1678781148.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:42:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17266', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs to Reduce Interest Rate from March 15 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Bankers' Association, an umbrella organisation of commercial banks, agreed to reduce the premium rate on loans by one percent and the interest on savings by 0.4 percent from March 15.</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"">Issuing a notice on Tuesday, the bankers’ association said that the decision will be implemented from Wednesday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the association’s chair Sunil KC, now they are focused on capping the interest rates. As per the revised provisions, banks will charge premium rate on loans up to five percent instead of six percent and will provide 6 to 8 percent interest on normal savings. Prior to this, the interests on normal savings were 6.42 to 8.42 percent. The interest rate on fixed deposits is unchanged and it remains at 11 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, towards institutional savings, 9 percent interest rate has been fixed and towards the remittance fixed deposit, it is 12 percent. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17004', 'image' => '20230314033237_Interest-rate-cut-16.9-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:31:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17265', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Use of Induction Stoves Unimpressive ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. However, it has been found that a very small amount of induction stoves were sold by the Food Management and Trade Company Limited, which has been authorized by the government to sell and distribute induction stoves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the state-owned company's Bagmati regional office, 4,500 induction stoves have been sold so far. Officials said that the company is currently selling induction stoves only in Bagmati Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government of Nepal started a campaign to increase the use of electric stoves immediately after the 2072 earthquake. At that time, the use of induction stoves was emphasized due to heavy reliance on LP gas, undeclared blockades by neighbouring India, large amount of money lost in cylinder import, and the high price of gas cylinders hitting the consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government expects the use of electric stoves will help find market for domestically produced electricity and also save the foreign currency reserves to the relief of the consumers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, experts say that the expected target has not been achieved as only a small number of electric stoves have been used even after a long time since the government started the campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Energy expert Jagannath Shrestha said that the will power to increase the use of induction stoves in the state system is weak. The government has not been able to use induction stoves inside Singha Durbar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that there is a widespread lack of information and knowledge about induction stoves. He said that the canteen operators inside the Singha Darbar do not even know that there are electric stoves that can cook large quantities of food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Narayan Gyawali, president of the Community Electricity Consumer Federation, shared that they have been working to inform the general public and explain the benefits through the Electric Stove National Campaign. According to him, the government launched a program to provide electric stoves to the poor, disadvantaged, and students from remote areas studying in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government did not show seriousness in implementation, shares Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As there was no system of reward and punishment for the employees, they became inactive. This is the reason why induction stoves have not been widely used. Even though the electricity supply is not regular, the general public is not in a position to confidently buy electric stoves,” said Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Private sector businessmen dealing in electric stoves said that although electric stoves are beneficial for consumers financially, they are not sold much due to a lack of awareness. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajendra Thapa, who deals in household electrical appliances in Nayabazar of Kathmandu, said that even though it is good from the point of view of safety, the information about the usage methods and benefits has not reached the general consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although induction stoves are within the reach of only a small percentage of common consumers, government officials seem to be satisfied. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gyanu Thapa, head of Bagmati Regional Office of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, said that selling all the induction stoves purchased is an achievement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Sales are going well. So far, no complaints have been received. The situation is satisfactory,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thapa, the head of the office, argued that the awareness of induction stoves among consumers is increasing, and the perception is positive, so the user will gradually increase.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17003', 'image' => '20230314032147_1678753811.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Development Banks and Finance Companies to Lower Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. A meeting of the Development Bankers Association Nepal, the umbrella organization of development banks, decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits by 0.25 percentage points from March 15.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The association decided to reduce the interest rate by 0.15 percent on personal deposits of 1 year or more and by 0.25 percent for deposits less than 1 year starting from mid-March. At present, development banks are giving maximum interest of 11.75 percent on term deposits, which will now be maintained at 11.60 percent for a period of more than 1 year and 11.50 percent on term deposits of less than 1 year period. Similarly, the interest rate of savings account will be reduced by 0.15 percentage points. Such interest will now range between 6.60 percent to 8.60 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the umbrella organization of finance companies, Nepal Financial Institutions Association also decided to reduce the interest rate on 1-year term deposits by 0.20 percentage points to 12 percent from mid-March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Commercial banks have already decided to reduce the interest rate of general savings by 0.42 percent and the premium rate of loans by 1 percentage point from mid-March. The Nepal Bankers Association decided to keep the fixed deposit interest rate unchanged from mid-March to mid-April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks reduced the interest rate on deposits as the spread rate has to be reduced from mid-March according to the instructions of NRB. In the same way, there is pressure on banks to reduce the interest rate after they were criticized heavily.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the sharp criticism of the interest rate, NRB announced to reduce the spread rate of the banks through the first quarter review of the monetary policy of the current fiscal year. As per the decision, NRB issued instructions in mid-December and arranged that the commercial banks should reduce the spread rate to 4.2 percent from mid-March 2023 and the development banks and finance companies should reduce it to 4.8 percent. Similarly, from mid-June 2023, commercial banks have to maintain a spread rate of 4 percent and development banks and finance have to maintain a spread rate of 4.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17002', 'image' => '20230314024256_1678758513.Clipboard15.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 14:42:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sagarmatha and Lumbini General Insurance begin Integrated Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These companies signed the agreement for the merger on June 14 and completed the merger process in 8 months before starting integrated business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest provisions regarding merger and acquisition, the merger and acquisition process must be completed within six months of the agreement. These two companies were given final approval for merger by Nepal Insurance Authority on February 28 and Securities Board of Nepal on March 7. The Company Registrar's Office gave approval for the merger on March 3.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Nepal Insurance Authority has arranged to maintain paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 billion for non-life insurance companies and Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies within mid-March. According to the same arrangement, these two companies chose the path of merger for capital increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before this, the merger process between Siddhartha Insurance and Premier Insurance, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company were completed towards non-life insurance segment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Currently, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance is Rs 1.33 billion. The proposal to distribute 12.40 percent bonus shares based on the same capital was passed by the company's annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance will increase to Rs 1.49 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Lumbini General Insurance Company also passed the proposal to issue 6.99 percent bonus shares based on the paid-up capital of Rs 1.31 billion in the annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Lumbini General Insurance will reach Rs 1.44 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the bonus shares of both the companies are issued, the paid-up capital of the company formed after the merger will stand at Rs 2.620 billion. Sagarmatha Insurance and Lumbini General Insurance have entered into a merger by maintaining a swap ratio of 100 to 80 shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The share trading of both the companies was suspended since the day the integrated business started. According to the latest regulations, stock trading will be stopped for a maximum of 15 business days after the start of integrated transaction.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Lumbini General Insurance Chairman Manohar Das Mul has been appointed as the chairman of the company formed after the merger. The newly appointed Chairman Mul took the oath of office and secrecy in front of the Chairman of Nepal Insurance Authority Surya Prasad Silwal on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On behalf of former Sagarmatha Insurance Company, Ajith R. Gunawardena, Siddhartha Mani Rajbhandari, Gajendra Lal Shrestha are among the directors of the company</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Arun Raj Shrestha and Kamal Bhattarai are in the board representing former Lumbini General Insurance.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17001', 'image' => '20230314013433_1678713115.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 13:33:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Signature Bank Follows Suit after SVB Collapse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES<br /> March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Signature Bank’s collapse is the third largest failure in US banking history after the recent collapse of SVB and since Washington Mutual went bust in 2008.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature Bank, which had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 in deposits at the end of last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement that all of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representatives for the lender did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Signature's failure followed Silicon Valley Bank's Friday shutdown, the second largest in US history behind Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis,” added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, investors were unnerved by the speed at which startup-focused SVB, the 16th largest lender in the US, was toppled by customer withdrawals. The episode last week erased more than $100 billion in market value from US banks, prompting swift action from government officials over the weekend to try and restore confidence in the financial system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Signature was a commercial bank with private client offices in New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada and North Carolina, and had nine national business lines including commercial real estate and digital asset banking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of September, almost a quarter of its deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion, added Reuters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that SVB’s business focused heavily on US technology startups. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lender saw a surge in deposits as tech companies profited from providing entertainment and delivery services to people confined to their homes.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">SVB invested much of this cash in US government bonds — traditionally one of the safest types of investment but SVB’s troubles began when the US Federal Reserve started raising interest rates last year in response to soaring inflation, causing the value of those bonds to fall, added Al Jazeera.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17000', 'image' => '20230314120003_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:59:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Separate Desk for Registering Foreign Investment Companies Set Up ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. The desk has come into operation since last week. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this, uniformity is expected in the work of the companies registered from the desk after going through the due procedure as per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act and Public Private Partnership and Investment Act, said the Office of the Company Registrar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The desk aims to build favourable climate and play a role in carrying out reforms for foreign investment in Nepal, said Company Registrar Mahesh Baral. The desk will facilitate the registration of a company, and the registration process will complete within 10 days, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16999', 'image' => '20230314111216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:11:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PPMO Blacklists Two Dozen Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies. According to the decision taken by the PPMO on Sunday, those companies were blacklisted for delaying construction works related to the government office. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Blacklisted builders, supplier companies and consultant companies will not be allowed to participate in any government procurement process during the blacklisted period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the PPMO, Siraha-based Bikash Nirman Sewa company has been blacklisted for three years. This company had stalled two contracts under the Road Division Office, Lahan. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Parsa's consulting company Business Nepal Consultancy Pvt Ltd has also been blacklisted for three years for delaying the work of rural enterprise and remittance projects under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, the Rastriya Nirman Sewa Company has also been blacklisted upon the recommendation of the Infrastructure Development Office Baitadi. The company, which has its office in Dadeldhura, has been blacklisted for three years. Similarly, Akash and Pawan Construction have been blacklisted for one year upon the recommendation of Godavari Municipality of Kailali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Three companies that did not perform their work on projects under the Road Division Office Kapilvastu have also been blacklisted. According to the PPMO, Ahmad Hussain Construction of Arghakhanchi, Gupta Nirman Seva of Dang, and KP Construction of Arghakhanchi have been blacklisted for one year each. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Anushthan Construction Pvt Ltd, which has its office in New Baneshwar, has been blacklisted for one year for suspending its work in Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Bholebaba Construction of Nawalparasi has been blacklisted for one and a half years. Similarly, Divya Technology Private Limited, which did not complete the work of the Land Management and Records Department, has been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dreamland Metal Industries Pvt Ltd has been suspended upon the recommendation of Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Municipality of Dang, Diagnochem International upon the recommendation of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Gandaki Honey Concern Pvt Ltd upon the recommendation of Khairahani Municipality and Karki Kitchen upon the recommendation of Civil Service Hospital. All of them have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ningbo Ningxing International Corporation has been blacklisted for two and a half years. PR Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled the contract under Birendranagar Municipality, and Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled two contracts of the Road Division Office, Kaski, have been blacklisted for one and a half years. Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd has also left the work of Kaligandaki Corridor under the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office unfinished.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, Pappu Malla JV, which stalled the contract of the Road Division Office, Surkhet, has been blacklisted for one year and the suppliers who stalled the work of Shuddhodhan Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">YP Construction Pvt Ltd, which did not work on the contract under the Road Division Office, Baglung, has also been blacklisted for one and a half years. Suraj General Order Suppliers, which suspended the work under the Rajarshi Janak University's online class operation and management committee, and United Agro Engineering Private Limited, which suspended the work of Khairahani Municipality, Chitwan, have also been blacklisted for one year each.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => 'PPMO, public, procurement, monitoring, office, blacklist, company, supplier, delay, construction, contract', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16998', 'image' => '20230314103340_ppmo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 10:32:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17259', 'article_category_id' => '278', 'title' => 'Small Contractors Face Existential Crisis In Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan. Shortages of raw materials and high bank interest rates have pushed small construction entrepreneurs at the point of shutting down their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chapter General Secretary Puskar Adhikari said out of 400 small contractors 390 are small in the district. The total number of contractors including those not affiliated to the FCAN is around 1000 in Chitwan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">If the same condition continues, more than 75 per cent contractors will wash their hands from construction sector, said Adhikari. Contractors say that soaring bank interest rates and increased fuel prices have kept the construction business in a crisis, forcing them to switch their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Adhikari complained that around 100 contractors had been unable to give continuity to their business. He urged the the government to solve small contractors' problems at the earliest. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">It is learnt that contractors have to pay Rs 5,000 more for per tipper of river-borne raw materials compared to the past as the government is yet to open the contract for river-borne materials in the district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Troubles of the contractors do not end here. Traffic police have halted the plying of vehicles loaded with contruction materials from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to ease the traffic. This has kept construction entrepreneurs from finishing the their work on time, according to contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chairman Keshav Lamichhane said that not opening the rivers and streams for raw materials had added the troubles for the contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Government policy has adversely affected both small and big contractors,” Lamichhane said. He argued that concerned agencies’ failure to issue payment for even the timely completed work had aggravated the plight of contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Bharatpur Metropolitan City Deputy mayor Chitrasen Adhikari says that construction work has to be completed within the deadline in line with the contract. He admitted high bank interest rates and paucity of the raw materials had troubled contractors. He, however, argued that some contractors would always look for excuses not to finish the work within the slated timeframe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Bharatpur Metropolis has taken an action against 17 construction companies for failing to complete work within deadline by making excuses not to finish the work,” Adhikari said. He suggested both the government and contractors to fulfill their duties responsibly. </span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16997', 'image' => '20230314061317_collage - 2023-03-13T172658.672.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 05:44:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Slashes Subsidy on Chemical Fertilizer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a meeting of the Fertilizer Supply and Distribution Management Committee held on Monday decided to reduce the subsidy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A press statement issued by the ministry reads, "The subsidy provided to farmers fopr the purchase of chemical fertilizer has now been reduced to 59.04 per cent against 70.82 per cent. It will be lowered to 50 per cent gradually." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this decision of the government, the price of the chemical fertilizer would increase. Now, Urea would be sold at Rs 25 per kg, DAP at Rs 50 per kg and potassium at Rs 40 per kg. Earlier, urea was sold at Rs 14 per kg, DAP at Rs 43 per kg and potassium at Rs 31 per kg. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, the government had been providing 80 per cent subsidy for urea, 60 per cent for DAP and 59 per cent for potassium. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, the decision to reduce the subsidy on chemical fertilizer was taken upon the instruction from the Finance Ministry. Nepal needs 520,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer every year, added the ministry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of Rs 15 million budget was allocated in the fiscal year 2022/23 to provide subsidy to farmers for purchasing fertilizer. A total of 331,500 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer has been purchased through the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the purchased fertilizer, around 237,500 metric tonnes of fertilizer has already been imported while 94,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer is in the process of being imported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, there is likely to be a deficit of 90,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer for paddy this year. -- RSS</span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-13', 'modified' => '2023-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16996', 'image' => '20230313080521_20220529012218_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-13 20:04:53', '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' => '17272', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM to Head Administrative Reforms Commission', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The government is preparing to form a high-level administration reform commission under the chairmanship of the prime minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, such a commission is about to be formed to address the problems seen in the administrative sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">PM Dahal said so while addressing a meeting of the second quarterly review of the offices under the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers and the meeting of the ministerial-level development problem solving committee on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government is preparing to take serious initiatives to solve the existing problems in the administrative sector. We should not delay in solving it,” said PM Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Dahal also said that there is a big gap between the performance of the civil administration and the people's expectations. He stated, “The commission is to be formed to address the changing situation, democratic system and people's expectations. The commission will be led by the prime minister along with the participation of some experts.” The prime minister also said that unnecessary staff will be cut. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There are problems of overstaffing, duplication, and unnecessary structures. They should be cut down to make the administrative system dynamic. For that, it is necessary to form a commission.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that since there is no time to wait for the final report of the commission to implement it, there should be an arrangement for the commission to continue its work and implement the suggestions given by it. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said social justice, good governance and prosperity are the priorities of the government. Ministers change but the government's policy priorities do not change. He stated, “Therefore, be dedicated to your work, show results.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17010', 'image' => '20230315120309_1678844944.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 12:02:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17271', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bankers Demand Peaceful and Secure Environment for Rendering Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: The Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) has urged the government to create an environment where banking services can operate uninterrupted. In a statement issued on Tuesday, CBFIN requested the government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and all other stakeholders to ensure peace and security arrangements for the operation of banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The statement reads, “The government of Nepal has published a notification in the Nepal Gazette stating that security agencies, hospitals, banks and financial institutions, ambulances, drinking water, waste management and other areas are defined as essential service areas and no shutdowns or strikes should be carried out in such areas. In violation of this, we deeply regret the activities of various commercial organizations, such as blocking banking services at the Kumari Bank branch office in Hetaunda on March 14, depriving customers of services, rounding them up and threatening to close the office.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Relying on the belief that appropriate solutions to any problem can be found through dialogue and discussions, CBFIN requested that the protests and closure of the branch offices of banks and financial institutions should be stopped immediately and necessary steps should be taken to resolve the problem in an easy manner.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While the businessmen were agitating against the interest rate, the Makwanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry had sent a letter and requested to close the branch on Tuesday. Similarly, some businessmen were also staging protests at the central office of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) in Baluwatar from Monday. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already instructed all the district administration offices to control the agitation against the banks.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17009', 'image' => '20230315113119_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 11:30:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17270', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Farmers Into Collective Potato Farming ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, syangja. Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 15: Farmers have kick-started collective potato farming at Chapakot Municipality, Syangja. <br /> Potato planted by farmers through the different groups in the plains of Chapakot is ready to be harvested.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Local farmers have implemented collective potato farming in wards no 8,9, 10 of Chapakot Municipality, Syangja.<br /> Coordinator Ramu Bashyal of Belchaur Seetaltar Farmers Group said that they had been attracted towards the collective farming as plantation of the potato in group would make the potato cultivation easy and cost-effective rather than individual farming. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> “For want of people to work in the farm, cultivation would be tough. But, working in the group has made it easy. Collective farming has enabled to earn skills and technology for the cultivation,” Bashyal stated. According to him, the 450 kilograms of potatoes was planted in four ropani land for the first time. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 22 individuals are directly involved in the potato farming. The group could not produce the potato as expected due to lack of irrigation facility this time. “We have produced more than 1100 kilograms of potato. We shall sell the produce through the group,” Bashyal added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Belchaur Seetaltar Mothers Group Chair Ishwori Bashyal says that planting potato collectively is far easier than doing it individually. “We get a chance to learn and apply new skill and technology while cultivating the potato through the group,” Ishwori Bashyal said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Surya Majhi of Chapakot-10, potato has been cultivated in 11 different toles by forming groups consisting of 35/40 individuals. Mothers and sisters have formed 11 different groups and planted potato in ward no 10 alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“We have amalgamated old and new groups and cultivated the potatoes targeting to make the ward 10 pocket area for potato,” Majhi said. Potato has been planted in 150 ropani of the land in Chapakot-10. The concept of collective potato farming is also being executed at ward-8 of Chapakot, ward chair Toplal Neupane said. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-15', 'modified' => '2023-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17008', 'image' => '20230315060338_collage - 2023-03-14T161849.289.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-15 06:00:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17269', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Businesspersons Withdraw Protest against BFIs ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Businesspersons who were protesting against high interest rates of Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) have withdrawn their protest programmes. The business sector had formed the Bank and Financial Problems Struggle Committee to wage protest programmes since the past four days. They withdrew all the protest programmes after meeting with the prime minister on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) Dinesh Shrestha shared that the business persons withdrew their protest after a discussion with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday evening. Shrestha said that the government has taken the current problem seriously and the protest programme has been postponed after the prime minister promised to take steps to address the issue and also to reduce the interest rates. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Industrialists and businesspersons affiliated FNCCI, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, Automobiles Dealers Association were protesting against high interest rates charged by the banks and financial institutions, which they said, was making it difficult to operate business. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The protesters had been staging a sit-in at Nepal Rastra Bank since Monday. -- RSS </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17007', 'image' => '20230314091122_20221021102455_market monitoring.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 21:10:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17268', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ujyalo Bandipur Programme Launched For Tourism Promotion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: In its bid to promote tourism in Bandipur of Tanahun district, Ujyalo Bandipur programme has been started in Bandipur, a popular tourist destination in the hill of Tanahun district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Under the Ujyalo Bandipur programme, street lights have been installed on the roads here. Electric poles have been fixed and the roads have been made attractive after developing stone sidewalks, Chairman of Bandipur Rural Municipality Surendra Thapa said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"> Earlier, Rotary Club had installed some street lights in the Bandipur bazaar area. "We have allocated Rs 2 million for the installation of street lights," Chairman Thapa said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, a QR code has been arranged to share information about the touristic sites of Bandipur. The QR code has been placed in the main market and plans are afoot to place it in 15 other locations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The rural municipality has allocated Rs 800,000 for building stone sidewalk in Bandipur market area. The rural municipality said that plans are afoot to develop stone sidewalk in Dharampani, Kalleri, Majhthar, Korisa and other areas. ---RSS </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17006', 'image' => '20230314051850_collage - 2023-03-14T171609.124.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 17:16:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17267', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is Emerging as Investment-Friendly Country: PM Dahal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said Nepal has been established as an investment-friendly country due to the easy availability of workforce, revised labour law and the improved industrial relations, among other factors. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Prime Minister said this while addressing the Nepal-China Business Forum-2023 jointly organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Kathmandu on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Expressing that this forum provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing business ties and explore new areas of economic and business partnership between Nepal and China, he said, "Nepal and China share a long history of economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. Over the years, we have built strong ties based on mutual respect, trust, and understanding." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal said that relations between the two countries are based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence and have always remained cordial and friendly. This relationship has deepened over the years through regular exchanges of high-level visits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Nepal is firmly committed to One-China policy. It has been our consistent policy to not allow our soil to be used against our neighbours,” he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal-China trade relations date back to ancient times. It began with the engagement of merchants from both sides of the Himalayas which continues today in much more expanded form of trade and exchanges. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">China remains Nepal’s second largest trading partner. Currently, more than 14 percent of our total international trade is with China. Similarly, China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We believe that phenomenal economic progress achieved by our neighbours would open up wider avenues of opportunity for Nepal to grow and prosper through expansion of export trade and enhanced level of inward investment. We expect easy and more generous market access to our products in the vast markets of our neighbours. Mutual recognition of standards and accreditation will help promote our exports,” said PM Dahal. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">While talking about Nepal's trade and investment potentials, PM Dahal outlined some of top priorities of the incumbent government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He said that the country has entered into the second cycle of democratically elected government under the federal system following the successful holding of the elections of all tiers. </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"">“We are aware that foreign investment requires a stable political environment. Now, we are in a position to assure you of the continuity and stability in policy. The present government is firmly committed to deliver economic dividends of democracy to the people. For that, it has a clear vision and strategy, strong commitment, and strong support of the people. Our objective is to translate the people’s aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity into reality.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PM Dahal also reiterated that Nepal has been pursuing a business and investment-friendly policy. </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"">“We have made major reforms in our investment regime that encourages, promotes and protects foreign direct investment. Our tax slabs are one of the lowest and our position is fairly good in ease of doing business. Investment in any sector is profitable in our country given the nascent stage of our industrial development. Profitable areas of investment include hydropower, industrial manufacturing, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, minerals, and mining, among others,” he added. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17005', 'image' => '20230314034337_1678781148.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:42:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17266', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs to Reduce Interest Rate from March 15 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided to implement the decision to reduce the interest rate beginning from Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal Bankers' Association, an umbrella organisation of commercial banks, agreed to reduce the premium rate on loans by one percent and the interest on savings by 0.4 percent from March 15.</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"">Issuing a notice on Tuesday, the bankers’ association said that the decision will be implemented from Wednesday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the association’s chair Sunil KC, now they are focused on capping the interest rates. As per the revised provisions, banks will charge premium rate on loans up to five percent instead of six percent and will provide 6 to 8 percent interest on normal savings. Prior to this, the interests on normal savings were 6.42 to 8.42 percent. The interest rate on fixed deposits is unchanged and it remains at 11 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, towards institutional savings, 9 percent interest rate has been fixed and towards the remittance fixed deposit, it is 12 percent. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17004', 'image' => '20230314033237_Interest-rate-cut-16.9-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:31:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17265', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Use of Induction Stoves Unimpressive ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The government has been campaigning for a long time to increase the use of electric stoves. However, it has been found that a very small amount of induction stoves were sold by the Food Management and Trade Company Limited, which has been authorized by the government to sell and distribute induction stoves.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the state-owned company's Bagmati regional office, 4,500 induction stoves have been sold so far. Officials said that the company is currently selling induction stoves only in Bagmati Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government of Nepal started a campaign to increase the use of electric stoves immediately after the 2072 earthquake. At that time, the use of induction stoves was emphasized due to heavy reliance on LP gas, undeclared blockades by neighbouring India, large amount of money lost in cylinder import, and the high price of gas cylinders hitting the consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government expects the use of electric stoves will help find market for domestically produced electricity and also save the foreign currency reserves to the relief of the consumers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, experts say that the expected target has not been achieved as only a small number of electric stoves have been used even after a long time since the government started the campaign.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Energy expert Jagannath Shrestha said that the will power to increase the use of induction stoves in the state system is weak. The government has not been able to use induction stoves inside Singha Durbar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that there is a widespread lack of information and knowledge about induction stoves. He said that the canteen operators inside the Singha Darbar do not even know that there are electric stoves that can cook large quantities of food.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Narayan Gyawali, president of the Community Electricity Consumer Federation, shared that they have been working to inform the general public and explain the benefits through the Electric Stove National Campaign. According to him, the government launched a program to provide electric stoves to the poor, disadvantaged, and students from remote areas studying in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government did not show seriousness in implementation, shares Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As there was no system of reward and punishment for the employees, they became inactive. This is the reason why induction stoves have not been widely used. Even though the electricity supply is not regular, the general public is not in a position to confidently buy electric stoves,” said Gyawali.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Private sector businessmen dealing in electric stoves said that although electric stoves are beneficial for consumers financially, they are not sold much due to a lack of awareness. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajendra Thapa, who deals in household electrical appliances in Nayabazar of Kathmandu, said that even though it is good from the point of view of safety, the information about the usage methods and benefits has not reached the general consumers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although induction stoves are within the reach of only a small percentage of common consumers, government officials seem to be satisfied. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Gyanu Thapa, head of Bagmati Regional Office of the Food Management and Trading Company Limited, said that selling all the induction stoves purchased is an achievement.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Sales are going well. So far, no complaints have been received. The situation is satisfactory,” she said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thapa, the head of the office, argued that the awareness of induction stoves among consumers is increasing, and the perception is positive, so the user will gradually increase.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17003', 'image' => '20230314032147_1678753811.Clipboard06.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 15:20:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17264', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Development Banks and Finance Companies to Lower Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Following the footsteps of commercial banks, development banks and finance companies are also going to reduce interest rates on deposits from mid-March. A meeting of the Development Bankers Association Nepal, the umbrella organization of development banks, decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits by 0.25 percentage points from March 15.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The association decided to reduce the interest rate by 0.15 percent on personal deposits of 1 year or more and by 0.25 percent for deposits less than 1 year starting from mid-March. At present, development banks are giving maximum interest of 11.75 percent on term deposits, which will now be maintained at 11.60 percent for a period of more than 1 year and 11.50 percent on term deposits of less than 1 year period. Similarly, the interest rate of savings account will be reduced by 0.15 percentage points. Such interest will now range between 6.60 percent to 8.60 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the umbrella organization of finance companies, Nepal Financial Institutions Association also decided to reduce the interest rate on 1-year term deposits by 0.20 percentage points to 12 percent from mid-March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Commercial banks have already decided to reduce the interest rate of general savings by 0.42 percent and the premium rate of loans by 1 percentage point from mid-March. The Nepal Bankers Association decided to keep the fixed deposit interest rate unchanged from mid-March to mid-April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks reduced the interest rate on deposits as the spread rate has to be reduced from mid-March according to the instructions of NRB. In the same way, there is pressure on banks to reduce the interest rate after they were criticized heavily.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the sharp criticism of the interest rate, NRB announced to reduce the spread rate of the banks through the first quarter review of the monetary policy of the current fiscal year. As per the decision, NRB issued instructions in mid-December and arranged that the commercial banks should reduce the spread rate to 4.2 percent from mid-March 2023 and the development banks and finance companies should reduce it to 4.8 percent. Similarly, from mid-June 2023, commercial banks have to maintain a spread rate of 4 percent and development banks and finance have to maintain a spread rate of 4.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17002', 'image' => '20230314024256_1678758513.Clipboard15.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 14:42:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17263', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sagarmatha and Lumbini General Insurance begin Integrated Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Sagarmatha Insurance Company and Lumbini General Insurance Company have completed the merger process and started integrated business under the name of Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These companies signed the agreement for the merger on June 14 and completed the merger process in 8 months before starting integrated business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest provisions regarding merger and acquisition, the merger and acquisition process must be completed within six months of the agreement. These two companies were given final approval for merger by Nepal Insurance Authority on February 28 and Securities Board of Nepal on March 7. The Company Registrar's Office gave approval for the merger on March 3.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Nepal Insurance Authority has arranged to maintain paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 billion for non-life insurance companies and Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies within mid-March. According to the same arrangement, these two companies chose the path of merger for capital increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before this, the merger process between Siddhartha Insurance and Premier Insurance, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company were completed towards non-life insurance segment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Currently, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance is Rs 1.33 billion. The proposal to distribute 12.40 percent bonus shares based on the same capital was passed by the company's annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Sagarmatha Insurance will increase to Rs 1.49 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Lumbini General Insurance Company also passed the proposal to issue 6.99 percent bonus shares based on the paid-up capital of Rs 1.31 billion in the annual general meeting held on February 23. After issuing the bonus shares, the paid-up capital of Lumbini General Insurance will reach Rs 1.44 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the bonus shares of both the companies are issued, the paid-up capital of the company formed after the merger will stand at Rs 2.620 billion. Sagarmatha Insurance and Lumbini General Insurance have entered into a merger by maintaining a swap ratio of 100 to 80 shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The share trading of both the companies was suspended since the day the integrated business started. According to the latest regulations, stock trading will be stopped for a maximum of 15 business days after the start of integrated transaction.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Lumbini General Insurance Chairman Manohar Das Mul has been appointed as the chairman of the company formed after the merger. The newly appointed Chairman Mul took the oath of office and secrecy in front of the Chairman of Nepal Insurance Authority Surya Prasad Silwal on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On behalf of former Sagarmatha Insurance Company, Ajith R. Gunawardena, Siddhartha Mani Rajbhandari, Gajendra Lal Shrestha are among the directors of the company</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Arun Raj Shrestha and Kamal Bhattarai are in the board representing former Lumbini General Insurance.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17001', 'image' => '20230314013433_1678713115.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 13:33:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17262', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Signature Bank Follows Suit after SVB Collapse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AGENCIES<br /> March 14: US regulators on Sunday closed New York-based Signature Bank just two days after authorities shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Signature Bank’s collapse is the third largest failure in US banking history after the recent collapse of SVB and since Washington Mutual went bust in 2008.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature Bank, which had $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 in deposits at the end of last year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement that all of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representatives for the lender did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Signature's failure followed Silicon Valley Bank's Friday shutdown, the second largest in US history behind Washington Mutual, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis,” added the news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, investors were unnerved by the speed at which startup-focused SVB, the 16th largest lender in the US, was toppled by customer withdrawals. The episode last week erased more than $100 billion in market value from US banks, prompting swift action from government officials over the weekend to try and restore confidence in the financial system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Signature was a commercial bank with private client offices in New York, Connecticut, California, Nevada and North Carolina, and had nine national business lines including commercial real estate and digital asset banking.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of September, almost a quarter of its deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion, added Reuters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that SVB’s business focused heavily on US technology startups. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lender saw a surge in deposits as tech companies profited from providing entertainment and delivery services to people confined to their homes.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">SVB invested much of this cash in US government bonds — traditionally one of the safest types of investment but SVB’s troubles began when the US Federal Reserve started raising interest rates last year in response to soaring inflation, causing the value of those bonds to fall, added Al Jazeera.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17000', 'image' => '20230314120003_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:59:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17261', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Separate Desk for Registering Foreign Investment Companies Set Up ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 14: The Office of the Company Registrar has set up a separate desk responsible for registering foreign companies that have direct investment in the country. The desk has come into operation since last week. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this, uniformity is expected in the work of the companies registered from the desk after going through the due procedure as per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act and Public Private Partnership and Investment Act, said the Office of the Company Registrar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The desk aims to build favourable climate and play a role in carrying out reforms for foreign investment in Nepal, said Company Registrar Mahesh Baral. The desk will facilitate the registration of a company, and the registration process will complete within 10 days, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">--- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16999', 'image' => '20230314111216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 11:11:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17260', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PPMO Blacklists Two Dozen Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 14: The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) has blacklisted two dozen companies for delaying the construction works against the contracts signed with various public agencies. According to the decision taken by the PPMO on Sunday, those companies were blacklisted for delaying construction works related to the government office. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Blacklisted builders, supplier companies and consultant companies will not be allowed to participate in any government procurement process during the blacklisted period. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the PPMO, Siraha-based Bikash Nirman Sewa company has been blacklisted for three years. This company had stalled two contracts under the Road Division Office, Lahan. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Parsa's consulting company Business Nepal Consultancy Pvt Ltd has also been blacklisted for three years for delaying the work of rural enterprise and remittance projects under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, the Rastriya Nirman Sewa Company has also been blacklisted upon the recommendation of the Infrastructure Development Office Baitadi. The company, which has its office in Dadeldhura, has been blacklisted for three years. Similarly, Akash and Pawan Construction have been blacklisted for one year upon the recommendation of Godavari Municipality of Kailali.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Three companies that did not perform their work on projects under the Road Division Office Kapilvastu have also been blacklisted. According to the PPMO, Ahmad Hussain Construction of Arghakhanchi, Gupta Nirman Seva of Dang, and KP Construction of Arghakhanchi have been blacklisted for one year each. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Anushthan Construction Pvt Ltd, which has its office in New Baneshwar, has been blacklisted for one year for suspending its work in Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Bholebaba Construction of Nawalparasi has been blacklisted for one and a half years. Similarly, Divya Technology Private Limited, which did not complete the work of the Land Management and Records Department, has been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dreamland Metal Industries Pvt Ltd has been suspended upon the recommendation of Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan Municipality of Dang, Diagnochem International upon the recommendation of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Gandaki Honey Concern Pvt Ltd upon the recommendation of Khairahani Municipality and Karki Kitchen upon the recommendation of Civil Service Hospital. All of them have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Ningbo Ningxing International Corporation has been blacklisted for two and a half years. PR Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled the contract under Birendranagar Municipality, and Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd, which stalled two contracts of the Road Division Office, Kaski, have been blacklisted for one and a half years. Siruwa Construction Pvt Ltd has also left the work of Kaligandaki Corridor under the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office unfinished.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, Pappu Malla JV, which stalled the contract of the Road Division Office, Surkhet, has been blacklisted for one year and the suppliers who stalled the work of Shuddhodhan Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, have been blacklisted for one year. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">YP Construction Pvt Ltd, which did not work on the contract under the Road Division Office, Baglung, has also been blacklisted for one and a half years. Suraj General Order Suppliers, which suspended the work under the Rajarshi Janak University's online class operation and management committee, and United Agro Engineering Private Limited, which suspended the work of Khairahani Municipality, Chitwan, have also been blacklisted for one year each.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => 'PPMO, public, procurement, monitoring, office, blacklist, company, supplier, delay, construction, contract', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16998', 'image' => '20230314103340_ppmo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 10:32:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17259', 'article_category_id' => '278', 'title' => 'Small Contractors Face Existential Crisis In Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">March 14: Exorbitant bank interest rates and closure of the rivers and streams for raw materials for the past two years have hit small contractors hard in Chitwan. Shortages of raw materials and high bank interest rates have pushed small construction entrepreneurs at the point of shutting down their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chapter General Secretary Puskar Adhikari said out of 400 small contractors 390 are small in the district. The total number of contractors including those not affiliated to the FCAN is around 1000 in Chitwan.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">If the same condition continues, more than 75 per cent contractors will wash their hands from construction sector, said Adhikari. Contractors say that soaring bank interest rates and increased fuel prices have kept the construction business in a crisis, forcing them to switch their business. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Adhikari complained that around 100 contractors had been unable to give continuity to their business. He urged the the government to solve small contractors' problems at the earliest. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">It is learnt that contractors have to pay Rs 5,000 more for per tipper of river-borne raw materials compared to the past as the government is yet to open the contract for river-borne materials in the district. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Troubles of the contractors do not end here. Traffic police have halted the plying of vehicles loaded with contruction materials from 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm to ease the traffic. This has kept construction entrepreneurs from finishing the their work on time, according to contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal Chitwan Chairman Keshav Lamichhane said that not opening the rivers and streams for raw materials had added the troubles for the contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Government policy has adversely affected both small and big contractors,” Lamichhane said. He argued that concerned agencies’ failure to issue payment for even the timely completed work had aggravated the plight of contractors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Bharatpur Metropolitan City Deputy mayor Chitrasen Adhikari says that construction work has to be completed within the deadline in line with the contract. He admitted high bank interest rates and paucity of the raw materials had troubled contractors. He, however, argued that some contractors would always look for excuses not to finish the work within the slated timeframe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">“Bharatpur Metropolis has taken an action against 17 construction companies for failing to complete work within deadline by making excuses not to finish the work,” Adhikari said. He suggested both the government and contractors to fulfill their duties responsibly. </span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-14', 'modified' => '2023-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16997', 'image' => '20230314061317_collage - 2023-03-13T172658.672.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-14 05:44:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17258', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Slashes Subsidy on Chemical Fertilizer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: The government has reduced subsidy to the farmers for purchasing chemical fertilizers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a meeting of the Fertilizer Supply and Distribution Management Committee held on Monday decided to reduce the subsidy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A press statement issued by the ministry reads, "The subsidy provided to farmers fopr the purchase of chemical fertilizer has now been reduced to 59.04 per cent against 70.82 per cent. It will be lowered to 50 per cent gradually." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">With this decision of the government, the price of the chemical fertilizer would increase. Now, Urea would be sold at Rs 25 per kg, DAP at Rs 50 per kg and potassium at Rs 40 per kg. Earlier, urea was sold at Rs 14 per kg, DAP at Rs 43 per kg and potassium at Rs 31 per kg. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to this, the government had been providing 80 per cent subsidy for urea, 60 per cent for DAP and 59 per cent for potassium. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, the decision to reduce the subsidy on chemical fertilizer was taken upon the instruction from the Finance Ministry. Nepal needs 520,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer every year, added the ministry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of Rs 15 million budget was allocated in the fiscal year 2022/23 to provide subsidy to farmers for purchasing fertilizer. A total of 331,500 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer has been purchased through the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation so far. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the purchased fertilizer, around 237,500 metric tonnes of fertilizer has already been imported while 94,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer is in the process of being imported. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the ministry, there is likely to be a deficit of 90,000 metric tonnes of chemical fertilizer for paddy this year. -- RSS</span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-13', 'modified' => '2023-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16996', 'image' => '20230313080521_20220529012218_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-13 20:04:53', '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
