January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation…
January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation…
January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to…
Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from…
The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to…
January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very…
V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January…
The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66…
January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy…
January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights.…
January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants.…
January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be…
January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years.…
Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in…
January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on…
Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in…
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16859', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government forms Panel to Reform Public Transport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha formed the ‘study taskforce on vehicle pollution, road safety and road accident reduction’. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former secretary Sharad Chandra Paudel is the coordinator of the seven-member taskforce. The taskforce is assigned to prepare a report based on its study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma, Prof Dr Padam Bahadur Shahi of Pulchowk Engineering Campus, public transport expert Madhu Sudan Acharya and engineer Bijay Gautam are the members of the taskforce. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce shall have a representative from the public transport entrepreneur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General of the Department of Transport Management Dr Tokraj Pandey is the member-secretary of the taskforce, the ministry said in a press statement. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16598', 'image' => '20230127114004_transportvvvv.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 11:39:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16858', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Snowfall Disrupts Power Supply in Jumla ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla folks are compelled to stay in dark due to disruption in electricity supply in the national grid due to continuous snowfall since Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Nepal Electricity Authority, Jumla Distribution Centre, Naresh Dutta Rawal, said electricity poles and wires have been damaged at different places including Micha of Chandannath Municipality, Dansanghu of Tila Rural Municipality and Phoimahadev of Kalikot. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have deployed employees at these areas for the maintenance. Snowfall has created problem. Power supply will resume after technicians of NEA Jumla and Kalikot carry out maintenance of the damaged wire and electric poles," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla is blanketed with snow. Farmers are elated as the crops they have planted would get better after snowfall, according to the Agricultural Development Office. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => 'snowfall, snow, Jumla, power, supply, Nepal, Electricity, Authority, pole, disruption', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16597', 'image' => '20230127103653_VajayRawat_Jumla_RSS_12_IMG_20230126_082318_088 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 10:35:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16857', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Opens IPO for General Public', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 27: Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Following the allotment of IPO shares to the project-affected locals and Nepali citizens working in foreign countries, the hydropower has issued IPO shares to the general public in the second phase.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company had decided to float 34,00,000 units of shares worth Rs 34,00,00,000 out of its total issued capital of Rs 1,00,00,00,000 to the public. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company has already issued and allotted 10,00,000 shares worth Rs 10,00,00,000 to the project-affected locals and a total of 2,40,000 units of shares to Nepali citizens working in foreign countries out of the 34,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company has allotted as many as 120,000 units of shares to the mutual funds, while 48,000 units of shares worth Rs 48,00,000 to the company’s employees. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company is issuing a total of 19,92,000 units of shares to the general public. Interested individuals can apply for a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 1,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The IPO Offering will close on January 31. If the IPO is not fully subscribed by then, the deadline will extend till February 10. Prabhu Capital Limited is issue and sales manager.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can apply for the IPO from issue manager and all banks and financial institutions that are C-ASBA members approved by Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can also apply for the IPO through Mero Share. The company is constructing the hydropower of 14.9 megawatt in Sankhuwasabha. The estimated cost of the hydropower stands at Rs 20.13 crore per megawatt.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16596', 'image' => '20230127060448_collage (8) (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 05:59:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16856', 'article_category_id' => '237', 'title' => 'CAN Infotech Exhibition to Be Held from Feb 7', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. ', 'content' => '<h1> </h1> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">January 26: The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Federation of Computer Association Nepal is organizing the event with the objective of exhibiting new technologies developed in the field of information and communication technology. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Organising a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, the federation informed that the preparations for the country’s largest exhibition related to information technology CAN InfoTech-2023 had reached in the final phase. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">This year Nepali innovations, talent and startups will be specially promoted, said General Secretary of CAN Federation Chiranjeevi Adhikari. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The six-day exhibition will also involve branding, product launching, IT career counseling, colleges, startups and software pavilions. The CAN Federation member organizations as well as national and international information and communication technology companies will participate in the exhibition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The organizers expect a footfall of 350,000 people to the exhibition. An entry fee of Rs 100 has been fixed with a 50 per cent discount for students. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">CAN Federation is also planning to hold similar exhibition in Madhes Province, Sudur Paschim, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces after completion of one in federal capital Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16595', 'image' => '20230126070034_collage (92).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:58:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16854', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why are Reservoir-based Hydropower Projects Less in Number?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less. Most of the hydropower projects built in the country are based on river flow system, resulting in production of more electricity when the water in river is high and vice versa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, hydropower projects in Nepal produce more electricity than required during the rainy season while there is a compulsion to import electricity during the dry season. Reservoir-based hydropower projects are necessary to end the import of electricity by producing enough energy even in the dry season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although there is enough potential and need, the construction of reservoir-based projects seems to take place at a very slow pace. According to hydropower expert Anup Upadhyaya, there are many reasons for not constructing reservoir-based projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Reservoir-based projects require huge investment, which is the main challenge. Since more areas will be affected by such projects, we should also work for the management of locals and there are administrative hurdles. Another thing is the market guarantee. There is also a problem of continuous flow of water for the construction of hydropower projects with large reservoirs.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, some political parties and non-governmental organizations are playing a negative role in the construction of hydropower projects with reservoirs. In terms of relocation of project-affected settlements, political parties are delaying and obstructing the process by taking unnecessary steps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, some raise issues such as environmental protection, destruction of wildlife habitats to discourage investors and disrupt the investment environment even before the initiation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investors look for market guarantee before starting a project. India is the biggest and easiest market for electricity produced in Nepal. However, the electricity trade agreement and experience with India is not so encouraging.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">From time to time, the issue of having to think seriously about the option of completing the project by bringing in the investment from international financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) is raised. However, Upadhyaya says that those organizations are not much interested in investing in reservoir-based hydropower projects considering the issue of continuous flow of water and 'social safeguard policy'. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), an organization of energy entrepreneurs who have produced a large amount of electricity in the country, argues that the Government of Nepal is not interested in the issue of reservoir-based projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Karki, vice president of IPPAAN says, “The government has not set a target for large-scale hydropower production. The current target of generating 6,500 megawatts of electricity will be met through the existing process.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki pointed out the lack of liquidity in the banking system, the inability to raise large investments and the difficulties in land acquisition have been discouraging the hydropower projects of reservoir type.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stated that the reservoir-based project is its priority. Suresh Bhattarai, spokesperson for the NEA said, “Some projects are being studied, some are in the pipeline.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson Bhattarai, however, admitted that the construction is being delayed due to the lack of coordination between various agencies of the state. He said that if there is effective coordination, the construction of the hydropower project will proceed at a quick pace.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16594', 'image' => '20230126064827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:47:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16853', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'GWM Nepal Launches “Buy Great Save Big” Offer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:14px">January 26: V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The offer is for all GWM models purchased during the Promotional Campaign, which runs for 45 days all over Nepal. The campaign 'BUY GREAT SAVE BIG' provides customers with plenty of choices to make their drive enjoyable and sophisticated. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Under the scheme, customers can avail the benefits of up to 5 lakhs rupees including attractive cash discount, one year comprehensive insurance, exchange bonus, spot valuation and free accessories.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Great Wall Motor (GWM) is a Global Intelligent Technology Company with more than 80 subsidiaries and affiliates and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide. With its presence in more than 60 countries and more than 700 locations, GWM’s sales have crossed one million units per annum for the last six years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">VG Impex Pvt. Ltd. (GWM Nepal) is an authorized importer and distributor for Great Wall Motor in Nepal. After receiving an overwhelming success in China and 60+ nations over the years, Great Wall Motor has successfully introduced its global model lineups in Nepal Market through GWM Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has introduced internationally popular models such as HAVAL H6, HAVAL JOLION, POER and Wingle 5 in Nepal. GWM Nepal continues serving the customers with the futuristic models and premium offerings as it has been working to foster the country’s next-generation automotive innovation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has constantly upgraded its sales and after-sales services by adding new points of sales after sales across the country. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16593', 'image' => '20230126063451_collage (91).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16852', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Sets New Record ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations, the fine gold is traded at Rs 106 thousand 900 per tola following a rise of Rs 700 per tola from the price of the prior day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, the price of worked gold is Rs 106 thousand 400 today against Rs 105 thousand 700 on Wednesday. Similarly, silver is being traded at Rs 1,380 per tola today following a rise Rs 15 per tola the previous day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations Chair Manik Ratna Shakya, the prices of gold and silver have soared in the Nepali market due to the rise in the international market. <br /> Prices of gold and silver are determined based on the international market prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">In the last two months, the price of precious metal has gone up by Rs 7,000 per tola. Looking its upward trend, gold and silver entrepreneurs estimate that the price of yellow metal will rise further. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A survey conducted a few days ago had indicated that the price of gold would continue to increase. The survey has estimated that the price of precious metal will touch Rs 200 thousand per tola. Nepali gold entrepreneurs, however, say that they cannot predict how high the gold price will go. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16591', 'image' => '20230126043339_collage (90).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 16:31:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16850', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daayitwa Organises Fellowship Symposium', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows and the inauguration of Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) Alumni Council. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship 2022, which started from June 2022, successfully placed six fellows, including three parliamentarians Gagan Thapa, Gokarna Bista and Kamala Roka, selected from a record 200+ applicants at three government institutions -- the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the National Planning Commission. Over the six months, these youth researchers conducted evidence-based policy research and submitted their policy findings and recommendations to their host institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The fellowship programme recognized the policy issues and conducted research in the topics of access to investment, women’s economic empowerment, enterprise value chain, youth employment, and economic governance. The organization partnered with public agencies and parliamentarians to produce meaningful research on pressing policy issues with the key motive of “My Government, My Responsibility.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Symposium brought together stakeholders from public, private, and social sectors that discussed and recommended ways to strengthen youth-government relationships and promote evidence-based policy decisions. An ad-hoc committee has been formed to take forward the Alumni. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Baikuntha Aryal, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology stated that the research done by the Daayitwa fellows has profoundly facilitated the work of the Nepal government. He emphasized on increasing the number of fellows as well. He stated, “It is our own responsibility to make the country better, we cannot rely on others to do it.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16590', 'image' => '20230126025938_Daayitwaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:58:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha Airport Struggles to Pay Loan Instalments due to Lack of Int’l Flights', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines, which had been operating international flights from the airport in Bhairahawa, have suspended their flights since the last one month. The airport has been in operation for eight months now. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines have stopped flying from December 15 and 21 respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Govinda Prasad Dahal, general manager of Gautam Buddha Airport Office, said that international flights have not been operated at the airport since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The annual income from domestic flights is up to Rs 350 million," said Dahal, "Although it is sufficient to manage the regular expenses of the airport, it seems that it will be difficult to pay the principal/interest of foreign loans."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the airport has to pay Rs 400 million in annual instalments as the principal and interest amount. According to the loan agreement, the principal and interest of the loan taken at this airport should be paid in every six months. The airport has to pay Rs 33.3 million per month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFFID) have invested in this airport. Although the problem of early morning flight delays due to adverse weather during the winter is not a new issue, this airport has been equipped with technology to ensure that there is no problem in flight/landing even in low visibility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though the ILF (Instrument Landing System) technology that can land aircraft in low visibility (800 to 900 meters) has been installed, it has not been able to function smoothy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that India has not given permission to implement the ILF. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Dahal, the airport is struggling to operate because of inclement weather and less number of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that the passengers are compelled to take labour permits and other documents from the Department of Foreign Employment and also undergo health check-ups in Kathmandu, the passengers are reluctant to visit Bhairahawa for international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The main problem now is the visa centres, labour offices, and health examination, which is not available in Bhairahawa," said Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Indian citizens cannot fly directly to this airport even now.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Indian government is yet to issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) required for its citizens to go to other foreign destinations from this airport, so Indian passengers are not allowed to fly from this airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice President of Himalaya Airlines Vijay Shrestha said that they were forced to suspend the flights due to lack of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, this airport has already served 25,481 passengers since it came into operation.<strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16589', 'image' => '20230126024419_Gautam Buddha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:43:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Aid Constitutes more Loans than Grants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. While some people opine that the share of loans is increasing because the government does not consult for the grants, the government report has revealed that the share of grants is decreasing due to the increasing capacity of loan repayment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission states that decreasing the share of grants in international development aid commitments means that Nepal's debt utilization capacity is increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, the government has set a target of receiving nearly Rs 300 billion through grants and loans from donors. Out of the total foreign assistance, government has sought Rs 55.46 billion as grants while the remaining amount will be debt. However, studies conducted in the past by government have shown that even though the government sets a target for debt collection in the budget each year, it has not been able to receive that target amount in any year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan of the NPC has concluded that the government has given less emphasis to seek grants because debt repayment capacity is increasing due to the government's lack of emphasis on subsidies. The mid-term review also mentions that the share of external sources in the government expenditure has increased from 13.3 per cent to 17.5 per cent in the last three years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Professor Doctor Shiv Adhikari, the former head of Tribhuvan University's economics department, shared that aid is decreasing because the agencies and countries that lend to Nepal are in a financial crisis. He said that the practice of giving loans more than grants is the new trend in the world. Globally, there has been an increase in the trend of emphasizing loans over grants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In the 1980s-90s, the donors needed dollars and they gave grants in dollars with the expectation that those dollars would ultimately return back to them. Nepal used those dollars to import goods, and the dollars they gave returned back in their hands. That is the reason they gave grants," said Adhikari. "Recently, Nepal started receiving dollars from remittances and they started downsizing the grants."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ratio of external resource used in the gross domestic product has increased from 3.8 per cent in the year 2018/19 to 4.9 per cent in the year 2020/21, the NPC has mentioned in the mid-term review report of the 15th Plan. According to the commission, the development aid mobilization was 2.92 per cent in the year 2016/17. It increased to 3.87 per cent in the year 2017/18. Again in the year 2075/76, such aid mobilization seems to have dropped to 3.21.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In 2019/20, foreign aid mobilization was 4.68 per cent, but it decreased in 2020/21. The report does not mention the situation of foreign aid mobilization in the year 2021/22. Officials of the Financial Comptroller General Office said that the funds could not be mobilized that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts share that foreign debt is only up to 22 per cent of Nepal's gross domestic product, and there is no risk because Nepal has taken such debt at subsidized rates. It is said that foreign loans are not risky because the interest rate that Nepal has to pay is cheap, and the loan repayment period is lengthy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest information from the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Finance, Nepal has taken loans from 23 foreign donors and agencies. All the loans taken by Nepal are subsidized so the interest rate is low. Nepal's biggest lenders are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hira Neupane, information officer of the office, said that the loans given by these two banks account for 80 per cent of Nepal's foreign loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the International Monetary Fund and Belgium have given loans to Nepal without any interest. The interest rate of a loan taken from the Exim Bank of China is less than 2 per cent. Nepal has taken loans from France at the most expensive interest rate. The interest rate of the loans taken from France is up to 3 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank has given loans at an interest rate of 0.75 per cent. The second largest lender, the Asian Development Bank, has an interest rate of 1 to 1.5 per cent. Even Japan, the country that has given the most loans to Nepal, only charges interest rates of 0.1 to 1 per cent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16588', 'image' => '20230126012032_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 13:19:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Expenditure of National Pride Projects Dismal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mid-term review of the ongoing fiscal year’s budget has shown the progress in national pride projects is off the mark. The records maintained by Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) revealed that the total budget spent by the government was 32 percent as of January 14. Out of this, 38 percent was spent under current expenditure while 14 percent was under capital expenditure, and 29.44 percent financial management. </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"">Only 23 percent budget was spent in the national pride projects till the mid-term review, the FCGO added. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride projects were allocated a total of Rs 97 billion budget in the current fiscal year, but the progress is not satisfactory. The NPPs including the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Pokhara Regional International Airport saw less than 5 percent expenditure till mid-January. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Newly appointed Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha, informed that the problem of low spending surfaced because the national pride projects were forwarded simultaneously. </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"">“There is resource crunch if all projects are taken together. Our contractors lack capacity. Oversight mechanism including bureaucracy is not able to work for it. So, certain projects should be prioritized and forwarded,” he observed. </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"">Out of the budget allocated for the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, it spent only 0.43 percent. Similarly, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway was able to use only 5.13 percent (Rs 1.59 billion) by the mid-term. The South Asia Tourism Infrastructure was not able to spend more than 3.23 percent out of annual budget of Rs 2.20 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16587', 'image' => '20230126121637_20220224090712_fast track nov 21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 12:15:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Construct 3,000 Suspension Bridges in the Next Two Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. This initiative has been taken to ensure that there is a suspension bridge in every half an hour’s walking distance in a bid to facilitate the mobility of people and not to deprive them of their rights to basic facilities like education and health due to the lack of bridges, according to the Ministry of Urban Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Soon after assuming office, newly-appointed Urban Development Minister Bikram Pandey approved the plan to construct the suspension bridges, a project mentioned in the current 15th plan of the government. The plan has been forwarded accordingly, said Director General of the Department of Local Infrastructure, Ishwor Chandra Marahatta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The project will save lives of people, who in general are risking their lives for want of bridges," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government at all three levels -- federal, provincial and local – will be involved in the project. The local level is required to construct a bridge less than 120 meters in length, and the federal government is responsible for a bridge more than that length, said Marahatta. The federal government is required to provide budget to the local level for the project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23), Rs 6 billion has been allocated for this project. The local levels have been already asked to provide project details including the location and the number, said Marahatta, adding, "Further decision will be taken after a team from the department carries out a study based on the demand. The project will be implemented in the current FY." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16586', 'image' => '20230126110901_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 11:08:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16845', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Tharu Women Enjoying in Collective Agriculture in Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 55 Tharu women are collectively involved in commercial agriculture and they are making good income from their work. Women have kept local chickens, ducks, and fish. They have also grown bananas in the group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">For commercial agriculture, women have established Tharu Women Farmers’ Group. “We are buying the seeds and fertiliser and selling the produce through the group,” said group’s chairperson Hiramani Guraule. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Initially, the group had 98 members. Some have left the group, while others have switched their business. “The group has 55 members and all of us are very active,” added Hiramani.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group’s firm has 500 ducklings. The group is planning to add 500 extra ducklings after the winter season is over. <br /> The Tharu women have also started mushroom farming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Hiramani, they had faced difficulty in the initial days. But, keeping ducks and hens and growing bananas have become easy after receiving training from technicians.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Customers visit the farms to purchase ducks, chickens and fish. “We are failing to meet ducks’ demand as our products are organic”, Hiramani shared.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group has invested more than Rs 8 lakhs to construct physical structures for keeping fish, ducks and local chickens. Hiramani says that working in the group has made their work easy and they are making a good income even with small investment. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tharu women used to be doing household chores and spend time collecting firewood from the forest. But, their lives have changed now, says Guraule. Hiramani says that they have set a plan to expand their business and make it more commercial in the days to come. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16585', 'image' => '20230126072425_collage (89).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 07:18:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Destroys 58 Houses in Bajura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Bichchhya of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the District Police Office, Bajura some of the houses have suffered partial damage while others have been completely damaged. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One person is reported to have lost life while there has been reports of property loss in various places of the district due to the tremor that occurred at 2.43 pm on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Some buildings of the government offices in the district have developed cracks due to the earthquake. Several private houses have also developed cracks and suffered broken walls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mud and stone houses have cracked and are unfit for accommodation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Surya Thapa of the District Police Office. He said the policemen stationed at the Area Police Office and the police posts were sent to the villages to collect the details of the damages caused by the earthquake and have collected data that 58 houses have been damaged, including government buildings and private houses. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The earthquake killed a woman at Jureli of Gaumul Rural Municipality-2 while she was collecting fodder in a forest. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Jamuna Rokaya, who was hit on the head by a falling stone and died instantaneously, the District Police Office said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three people were injured due to the earthquake in the district. Police said two of them are receiving treatment at local health facilities while one has already been discharged. Those injured are Rajdal Bohara of around 45 years of Amlika of Gaumul-1, Chandra Mahat of Badimalika Municipality-2, and Sarita Nepali, 16, from Humla who was in Bajura to visit her elder sister residing at Himali-6. Mahat has been already sent home after treatment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake caused the death of a flock of sheep. They were 50 in numbers and got trapped in a rock rupture following the quake and died. The animals belonged to Bohara, one of the survivors who had taken the sheep for grazing when the incident happened, according to the District Police Office. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16584', 'image' => '20230125080514_20230124052444_collage (85).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 20:04:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16843', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia to Offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankans in 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:20px">January 25: Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Sri Lankan Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia is willing to take up to 200,000 Sri Lankan workers in 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The minister told the media that Saudi Arabia offered 54,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2022, adding that over 300,000 Sri Lankans went for foreign jobs in 2022 and most went to the Middle East.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Workers' remittance is one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.<br /> Sri Lankan migrant workers remitted around 3.8 billion U.S. Dollars in 2022, the data at the country's central bank showed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Following an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it would give retirement to 65,000 soldiers from its 200,000-strong army over the year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">President Ranil Wickremesinghe has recently hiked taxes and imposed harsh spending cuts to smooth the passage of an expected International Monetary Fund bail-out following a government debt default. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Island nation has been facing a shortage of food and fuel for months since the outbreak of the COVID-19. (Agencies) </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16583', 'image' => '20230125045442_collage (87).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 16:49:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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' => '16859', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government forms Panel to Reform Public Transport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha formed the ‘study taskforce on vehicle pollution, road safety and road accident reduction’. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former secretary Sharad Chandra Paudel is the coordinator of the seven-member taskforce. The taskforce is assigned to prepare a report based on its study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma, Prof Dr Padam Bahadur Shahi of Pulchowk Engineering Campus, public transport expert Madhu Sudan Acharya and engineer Bijay Gautam are the members of the taskforce. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce shall have a representative from the public transport entrepreneur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General of the Department of Transport Management Dr Tokraj Pandey is the member-secretary of the taskforce, the ministry said in a press statement. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16598', 'image' => '20230127114004_transportvvvv.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 11:39:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16858', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Snowfall Disrupts Power Supply in Jumla ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla folks are compelled to stay in dark due to disruption in electricity supply in the national grid due to continuous snowfall since Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Nepal Electricity Authority, Jumla Distribution Centre, Naresh Dutta Rawal, said electricity poles and wires have been damaged at different places including Micha of Chandannath Municipality, Dansanghu of Tila Rural Municipality and Phoimahadev of Kalikot. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have deployed employees at these areas for the maintenance. Snowfall has created problem. Power supply will resume after technicians of NEA Jumla and Kalikot carry out maintenance of the damaged wire and electric poles," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla is blanketed with snow. Farmers are elated as the crops they have planted would get better after snowfall, according to the Agricultural Development Office. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => 'snowfall, snow, Jumla, power, supply, Nepal, Electricity, Authority, pole, disruption', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16597', 'image' => '20230127103653_VajayRawat_Jumla_RSS_12_IMG_20230126_082318_088 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 10:35:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16857', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Opens IPO for General Public', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 27: Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Following the allotment of IPO shares to the project-affected locals and Nepali citizens working in foreign countries, the hydropower has issued IPO shares to the general public in the second phase.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company had decided to float 34,00,000 units of shares worth Rs 34,00,00,000 out of its total issued capital of Rs 1,00,00,00,000 to the public. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company has already issued and allotted 10,00,000 shares worth Rs 10,00,00,000 to the project-affected locals and a total of 2,40,000 units of shares to Nepali citizens working in foreign countries out of the 34,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company has allotted as many as 120,000 units of shares to the mutual funds, while 48,000 units of shares worth Rs 48,00,000 to the company’s employees. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company is issuing a total of 19,92,000 units of shares to the general public. Interested individuals can apply for a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 1,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The IPO Offering will close on January 31. If the IPO is not fully subscribed by then, the deadline will extend till February 10. Prabhu Capital Limited is issue and sales manager.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can apply for the IPO from issue manager and all banks and financial institutions that are C-ASBA members approved by Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can also apply for the IPO through Mero Share. The company is constructing the hydropower of 14.9 megawatt in Sankhuwasabha. The estimated cost of the hydropower stands at Rs 20.13 crore per megawatt.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16596', 'image' => '20230127060448_collage (8) (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 05:59:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16856', 'article_category_id' => '237', 'title' => 'CAN Infotech Exhibition to Be Held from Feb 7', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. ', 'content' => '<h1> </h1> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">January 26: The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Federation of Computer Association Nepal is organizing the event with the objective of exhibiting new technologies developed in the field of information and communication technology. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Organising a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, the federation informed that the preparations for the country’s largest exhibition related to information technology CAN InfoTech-2023 had reached in the final phase. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">This year Nepali innovations, talent and startups will be specially promoted, said General Secretary of CAN Federation Chiranjeevi Adhikari. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The six-day exhibition will also involve branding, product launching, IT career counseling, colleges, startups and software pavilions. The CAN Federation member organizations as well as national and international information and communication technology companies will participate in the exhibition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The organizers expect a footfall of 350,000 people to the exhibition. An entry fee of Rs 100 has been fixed with a 50 per cent discount for students. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">CAN Federation is also planning to hold similar exhibition in Madhes Province, Sudur Paschim, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces after completion of one in federal capital Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16595', 'image' => '20230126070034_collage (92).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:58:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16854', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why are Reservoir-based Hydropower Projects Less in Number?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less. Most of the hydropower projects built in the country are based on river flow system, resulting in production of more electricity when the water in river is high and vice versa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, hydropower projects in Nepal produce more electricity than required during the rainy season while there is a compulsion to import electricity during the dry season. Reservoir-based hydropower projects are necessary to end the import of electricity by producing enough energy even in the dry season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although there is enough potential and need, the construction of reservoir-based projects seems to take place at a very slow pace. According to hydropower expert Anup Upadhyaya, there are many reasons for not constructing reservoir-based projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Reservoir-based projects require huge investment, which is the main challenge. Since more areas will be affected by such projects, we should also work for the management of locals and there are administrative hurdles. Another thing is the market guarantee. There is also a problem of continuous flow of water for the construction of hydropower projects with large reservoirs.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, some political parties and non-governmental organizations are playing a negative role in the construction of hydropower projects with reservoirs. In terms of relocation of project-affected settlements, political parties are delaying and obstructing the process by taking unnecessary steps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, some raise issues such as environmental protection, destruction of wildlife habitats to discourage investors and disrupt the investment environment even before the initiation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investors look for market guarantee before starting a project. India is the biggest and easiest market for electricity produced in Nepal. However, the electricity trade agreement and experience with India is not so encouraging.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">From time to time, the issue of having to think seriously about the option of completing the project by bringing in the investment from international financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) is raised. However, Upadhyaya says that those organizations are not much interested in investing in reservoir-based hydropower projects considering the issue of continuous flow of water and 'social safeguard policy'. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), an organization of energy entrepreneurs who have produced a large amount of electricity in the country, argues that the Government of Nepal is not interested in the issue of reservoir-based projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Karki, vice president of IPPAAN says, “The government has not set a target for large-scale hydropower production. The current target of generating 6,500 megawatts of electricity will be met through the existing process.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki pointed out the lack of liquidity in the banking system, the inability to raise large investments and the difficulties in land acquisition have been discouraging the hydropower projects of reservoir type.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stated that the reservoir-based project is its priority. Suresh Bhattarai, spokesperson for the NEA said, “Some projects are being studied, some are in the pipeline.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson Bhattarai, however, admitted that the construction is being delayed due to the lack of coordination between various agencies of the state. He said that if there is effective coordination, the construction of the hydropower project will proceed at a quick pace.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16594', 'image' => '20230126064827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:47:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16853', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'GWM Nepal Launches “Buy Great Save Big” Offer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:14px">January 26: V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The offer is for all GWM models purchased during the Promotional Campaign, which runs for 45 days all over Nepal. The campaign 'BUY GREAT SAVE BIG' provides customers with plenty of choices to make their drive enjoyable and sophisticated. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Under the scheme, customers can avail the benefits of up to 5 lakhs rupees including attractive cash discount, one year comprehensive insurance, exchange bonus, spot valuation and free accessories.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Great Wall Motor (GWM) is a Global Intelligent Technology Company with more than 80 subsidiaries and affiliates and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide. With its presence in more than 60 countries and more than 700 locations, GWM’s sales have crossed one million units per annum for the last six years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">VG Impex Pvt. Ltd. (GWM Nepal) is an authorized importer and distributor for Great Wall Motor in Nepal. After receiving an overwhelming success in China and 60+ nations over the years, Great Wall Motor has successfully introduced its global model lineups in Nepal Market through GWM Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has introduced internationally popular models such as HAVAL H6, HAVAL JOLION, POER and Wingle 5 in Nepal. GWM Nepal continues serving the customers with the futuristic models and premium offerings as it has been working to foster the country’s next-generation automotive innovation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has constantly upgraded its sales and after-sales services by adding new points of sales after sales across the country. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16593', 'image' => '20230126063451_collage (91).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16852', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Sets New Record ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations, the fine gold is traded at Rs 106 thousand 900 per tola following a rise of Rs 700 per tola from the price of the prior day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, the price of worked gold is Rs 106 thousand 400 today against Rs 105 thousand 700 on Wednesday. Similarly, silver is being traded at Rs 1,380 per tola today following a rise Rs 15 per tola the previous day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations Chair Manik Ratna Shakya, the prices of gold and silver have soared in the Nepali market due to the rise in the international market. <br /> Prices of gold and silver are determined based on the international market prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">In the last two months, the price of precious metal has gone up by Rs 7,000 per tola. Looking its upward trend, gold and silver entrepreneurs estimate that the price of yellow metal will rise further. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A survey conducted a few days ago had indicated that the price of gold would continue to increase. The survey has estimated that the price of precious metal will touch Rs 200 thousand per tola. Nepali gold entrepreneurs, however, say that they cannot predict how high the gold price will go. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16591', 'image' => '20230126043339_collage (90).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 16:31:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16850', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daayitwa Organises Fellowship Symposium', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows and the inauguration of Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) Alumni Council. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship 2022, which started from June 2022, successfully placed six fellows, including three parliamentarians Gagan Thapa, Gokarna Bista and Kamala Roka, selected from a record 200+ applicants at three government institutions -- the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the National Planning Commission. Over the six months, these youth researchers conducted evidence-based policy research and submitted their policy findings and recommendations to their host institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The fellowship programme recognized the policy issues and conducted research in the topics of access to investment, women’s economic empowerment, enterprise value chain, youth employment, and economic governance. The organization partnered with public agencies and parliamentarians to produce meaningful research on pressing policy issues with the key motive of “My Government, My Responsibility.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Symposium brought together stakeholders from public, private, and social sectors that discussed and recommended ways to strengthen youth-government relationships and promote evidence-based policy decisions. An ad-hoc committee has been formed to take forward the Alumni. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Baikuntha Aryal, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology stated that the research done by the Daayitwa fellows has profoundly facilitated the work of the Nepal government. He emphasized on increasing the number of fellows as well. He stated, “It is our own responsibility to make the country better, we cannot rely on others to do it.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16590', 'image' => '20230126025938_Daayitwaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:58:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha Airport Struggles to Pay Loan Instalments due to Lack of Int’l Flights', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines, which had been operating international flights from the airport in Bhairahawa, have suspended their flights since the last one month. The airport has been in operation for eight months now. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines have stopped flying from December 15 and 21 respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Govinda Prasad Dahal, general manager of Gautam Buddha Airport Office, said that international flights have not been operated at the airport since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The annual income from domestic flights is up to Rs 350 million," said Dahal, "Although it is sufficient to manage the regular expenses of the airport, it seems that it will be difficult to pay the principal/interest of foreign loans."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the airport has to pay Rs 400 million in annual instalments as the principal and interest amount. According to the loan agreement, the principal and interest of the loan taken at this airport should be paid in every six months. The airport has to pay Rs 33.3 million per month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFFID) have invested in this airport. Although the problem of early morning flight delays due to adverse weather during the winter is not a new issue, this airport has been equipped with technology to ensure that there is no problem in flight/landing even in low visibility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though the ILF (Instrument Landing System) technology that can land aircraft in low visibility (800 to 900 meters) has been installed, it has not been able to function smoothy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that India has not given permission to implement the ILF. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Dahal, the airport is struggling to operate because of inclement weather and less number of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that the passengers are compelled to take labour permits and other documents from the Department of Foreign Employment and also undergo health check-ups in Kathmandu, the passengers are reluctant to visit Bhairahawa for international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The main problem now is the visa centres, labour offices, and health examination, which is not available in Bhairahawa," said Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Indian citizens cannot fly directly to this airport even now.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Indian government is yet to issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) required for its citizens to go to other foreign destinations from this airport, so Indian passengers are not allowed to fly from this airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice President of Himalaya Airlines Vijay Shrestha said that they were forced to suspend the flights due to lack of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, this airport has already served 25,481 passengers since it came into operation.<strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16589', 'image' => '20230126024419_Gautam Buddha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:43:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Aid Constitutes more Loans than Grants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. While some people opine that the share of loans is increasing because the government does not consult for the grants, the government report has revealed that the share of grants is decreasing due to the increasing capacity of loan repayment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission states that decreasing the share of grants in international development aid commitments means that Nepal's debt utilization capacity is increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, the government has set a target of receiving nearly Rs 300 billion through grants and loans from donors. Out of the total foreign assistance, government has sought Rs 55.46 billion as grants while the remaining amount will be debt. However, studies conducted in the past by government have shown that even though the government sets a target for debt collection in the budget each year, it has not been able to receive that target amount in any year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan of the NPC has concluded that the government has given less emphasis to seek grants because debt repayment capacity is increasing due to the government's lack of emphasis on subsidies. The mid-term review also mentions that the share of external sources in the government expenditure has increased from 13.3 per cent to 17.5 per cent in the last three years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Professor Doctor Shiv Adhikari, the former head of Tribhuvan University's economics department, shared that aid is decreasing because the agencies and countries that lend to Nepal are in a financial crisis. He said that the practice of giving loans more than grants is the new trend in the world. Globally, there has been an increase in the trend of emphasizing loans over grants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In the 1980s-90s, the donors needed dollars and they gave grants in dollars with the expectation that those dollars would ultimately return back to them. Nepal used those dollars to import goods, and the dollars they gave returned back in their hands. That is the reason they gave grants," said Adhikari. "Recently, Nepal started receiving dollars from remittances and they started downsizing the grants."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ratio of external resource used in the gross domestic product has increased from 3.8 per cent in the year 2018/19 to 4.9 per cent in the year 2020/21, the NPC has mentioned in the mid-term review report of the 15th Plan. According to the commission, the development aid mobilization was 2.92 per cent in the year 2016/17. It increased to 3.87 per cent in the year 2017/18. Again in the year 2075/76, such aid mobilization seems to have dropped to 3.21.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In 2019/20, foreign aid mobilization was 4.68 per cent, but it decreased in 2020/21. The report does not mention the situation of foreign aid mobilization in the year 2021/22. Officials of the Financial Comptroller General Office said that the funds could not be mobilized that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts share that foreign debt is only up to 22 per cent of Nepal's gross domestic product, and there is no risk because Nepal has taken such debt at subsidized rates. It is said that foreign loans are not risky because the interest rate that Nepal has to pay is cheap, and the loan repayment period is lengthy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest information from the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Finance, Nepal has taken loans from 23 foreign donors and agencies. All the loans taken by Nepal are subsidized so the interest rate is low. Nepal's biggest lenders are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hira Neupane, information officer of the office, said that the loans given by these two banks account for 80 per cent of Nepal's foreign loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the International Monetary Fund and Belgium have given loans to Nepal without any interest. The interest rate of a loan taken from the Exim Bank of China is less than 2 per cent. Nepal has taken loans from France at the most expensive interest rate. The interest rate of the loans taken from France is up to 3 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank has given loans at an interest rate of 0.75 per cent. The second largest lender, the Asian Development Bank, has an interest rate of 1 to 1.5 per cent. Even Japan, the country that has given the most loans to Nepal, only charges interest rates of 0.1 to 1 per cent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16588', 'image' => '20230126012032_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 13:19:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Expenditure of National Pride Projects Dismal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mid-term review of the ongoing fiscal year’s budget has shown the progress in national pride projects is off the mark. The records maintained by Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) revealed that the total budget spent by the government was 32 percent as of January 14. Out of this, 38 percent was spent under current expenditure while 14 percent was under capital expenditure, and 29.44 percent financial management. </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"">Only 23 percent budget was spent in the national pride projects till the mid-term review, the FCGO added. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride projects were allocated a total of Rs 97 billion budget in the current fiscal year, but the progress is not satisfactory. The NPPs including the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Pokhara Regional International Airport saw less than 5 percent expenditure till mid-January. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Newly appointed Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha, informed that the problem of low spending surfaced because the national pride projects were forwarded simultaneously. </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"">“There is resource crunch if all projects are taken together. Our contractors lack capacity. Oversight mechanism including bureaucracy is not able to work for it. So, certain projects should be prioritized and forwarded,” he observed. </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"">Out of the budget allocated for the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, it spent only 0.43 percent. Similarly, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway was able to use only 5.13 percent (Rs 1.59 billion) by the mid-term. The South Asia Tourism Infrastructure was not able to spend more than 3.23 percent out of annual budget of Rs 2.20 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16587', 'image' => '20230126121637_20220224090712_fast track nov 21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 12:15:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Construct 3,000 Suspension Bridges in the Next Two Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. This initiative has been taken to ensure that there is a suspension bridge in every half an hour’s walking distance in a bid to facilitate the mobility of people and not to deprive them of their rights to basic facilities like education and health due to the lack of bridges, according to the Ministry of Urban Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Soon after assuming office, newly-appointed Urban Development Minister Bikram Pandey approved the plan to construct the suspension bridges, a project mentioned in the current 15th plan of the government. The plan has been forwarded accordingly, said Director General of the Department of Local Infrastructure, Ishwor Chandra Marahatta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The project will save lives of people, who in general are risking their lives for want of bridges," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government at all three levels -- federal, provincial and local – will be involved in the project. The local level is required to construct a bridge less than 120 meters in length, and the federal government is responsible for a bridge more than that length, said Marahatta. The federal government is required to provide budget to the local level for the project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23), Rs 6 billion has been allocated for this project. The local levels have been already asked to provide project details including the location and the number, said Marahatta, adding, "Further decision will be taken after a team from the department carries out a study based on the demand. The project will be implemented in the current FY." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16586', 'image' => '20230126110901_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 11:08:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16845', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Tharu Women Enjoying in Collective Agriculture in Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 55 Tharu women are collectively involved in commercial agriculture and they are making good income from their work. Women have kept local chickens, ducks, and fish. They have also grown bananas in the group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">For commercial agriculture, women have established Tharu Women Farmers’ Group. “We are buying the seeds and fertiliser and selling the produce through the group,” said group’s chairperson Hiramani Guraule. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Initially, the group had 98 members. Some have left the group, while others have switched their business. “The group has 55 members and all of us are very active,” added Hiramani.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group’s firm has 500 ducklings. The group is planning to add 500 extra ducklings after the winter season is over. <br /> The Tharu women have also started mushroom farming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Hiramani, they had faced difficulty in the initial days. But, keeping ducks and hens and growing bananas have become easy after receiving training from technicians.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Customers visit the farms to purchase ducks, chickens and fish. “We are failing to meet ducks’ demand as our products are organic”, Hiramani shared.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group has invested more than Rs 8 lakhs to construct physical structures for keeping fish, ducks and local chickens. Hiramani says that working in the group has made their work easy and they are making a good income even with small investment. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tharu women used to be doing household chores and spend time collecting firewood from the forest. But, their lives have changed now, says Guraule. Hiramani says that they have set a plan to expand their business and make it more commercial in the days to come. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16585', 'image' => '20230126072425_collage (89).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 07:18:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Destroys 58 Houses in Bajura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Bichchhya of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the District Police Office, Bajura some of the houses have suffered partial damage while others have been completely damaged. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One person is reported to have lost life while there has been reports of property loss in various places of the district due to the tremor that occurred at 2.43 pm on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Some buildings of the government offices in the district have developed cracks due to the earthquake. Several private houses have also developed cracks and suffered broken walls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mud and stone houses have cracked and are unfit for accommodation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Surya Thapa of the District Police Office. He said the policemen stationed at the Area Police Office and the police posts were sent to the villages to collect the details of the damages caused by the earthquake and have collected data that 58 houses have been damaged, including government buildings and private houses. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The earthquake killed a woman at Jureli of Gaumul Rural Municipality-2 while she was collecting fodder in a forest. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Jamuna Rokaya, who was hit on the head by a falling stone and died instantaneously, the District Police Office said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three people were injured due to the earthquake in the district. Police said two of them are receiving treatment at local health facilities while one has already been discharged. Those injured are Rajdal Bohara of around 45 years of Amlika of Gaumul-1, Chandra Mahat of Badimalika Municipality-2, and Sarita Nepali, 16, from Humla who was in Bajura to visit her elder sister residing at Himali-6. Mahat has been already sent home after treatment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake caused the death of a flock of sheep. They were 50 in numbers and got trapped in a rock rupture following the quake and died. The animals belonged to Bohara, one of the survivors who had taken the sheep for grazing when the incident happened, according to the District Police Office. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16584', 'image' => '20230125080514_20230124052444_collage (85).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 20:04:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16843', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia to Offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankans in 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:20px">January 25: Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Sri Lankan Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia is willing to take up to 200,000 Sri Lankan workers in 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The minister told the media that Saudi Arabia offered 54,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2022, adding that over 300,000 Sri Lankans went for foreign jobs in 2022 and most went to the Middle East.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Workers' remittance is one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.<br /> Sri Lankan migrant workers remitted around 3.8 billion U.S. Dollars in 2022, the data at the country's central bank showed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Following an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it would give retirement to 65,000 soldiers from its 200,000-strong army over the year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">President Ranil Wickremesinghe has recently hiked taxes and imposed harsh spending cuts to smooth the passage of an expected International Monetary Fund bail-out following a government debt default. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Island nation has been facing a shortage of food and fuel for months since the outbreak of the COVID-19. (Agencies) </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16583', 'image' => '20230125045442_collage (87).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 16:49:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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' => '16859', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government forms Panel to Reform Public Transport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha formed the ‘study taskforce on vehicle pollution, road safety and road accident reduction’. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former secretary Sharad Chandra Paudel is the coordinator of the seven-member taskforce. The taskforce is assigned to prepare a report based on its study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma, Prof Dr Padam Bahadur Shahi of Pulchowk Engineering Campus, public transport expert Madhu Sudan Acharya and engineer Bijay Gautam are the members of the taskforce. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce shall have a representative from the public transport entrepreneur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General of the Department of Transport Management Dr Tokraj Pandey is the member-secretary of the taskforce, the ministry said in a press statement. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16598', 'image' => '20230127114004_transportvvvv.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 11:39:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16858', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Snowfall Disrupts Power Supply in Jumla ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla folks are compelled to stay in dark due to disruption in electricity supply in the national grid due to continuous snowfall since Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Nepal Electricity Authority, Jumla Distribution Centre, Naresh Dutta Rawal, said electricity poles and wires have been damaged at different places including Micha of Chandannath Municipality, Dansanghu of Tila Rural Municipality and Phoimahadev of Kalikot. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have deployed employees at these areas for the maintenance. Snowfall has created problem. Power supply will resume after technicians of NEA Jumla and Kalikot carry out maintenance of the damaged wire and electric poles," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla is blanketed with snow. Farmers are elated as the crops they have planted would get better after snowfall, according to the Agricultural Development Office. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => 'snowfall, snow, Jumla, power, supply, Nepal, Electricity, Authority, pole, disruption', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16597', 'image' => '20230127103653_VajayRawat_Jumla_RSS_12_IMG_20230126_082318_088 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 10:35:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16857', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Opens IPO for General Public', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 27: Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Following the allotment of IPO shares to the project-affected locals and Nepali citizens working in foreign countries, the hydropower has issued IPO shares to the general public in the second phase.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company had decided to float 34,00,000 units of shares worth Rs 34,00,00,000 out of its total issued capital of Rs 1,00,00,00,000 to the public. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company has already issued and allotted 10,00,000 shares worth Rs 10,00,00,000 to the project-affected locals and a total of 2,40,000 units of shares to Nepali citizens working in foreign countries out of the 34,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company has allotted as many as 120,000 units of shares to the mutual funds, while 48,000 units of shares worth Rs 48,00,000 to the company’s employees. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company is issuing a total of 19,92,000 units of shares to the general public. Interested individuals can apply for a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 1,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The IPO Offering will close on January 31. If the IPO is not fully subscribed by then, the deadline will extend till February 10. Prabhu Capital Limited is issue and sales manager.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can apply for the IPO from issue manager and all banks and financial institutions that are C-ASBA members approved by Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can also apply for the IPO through Mero Share. The company is constructing the hydropower of 14.9 megawatt in Sankhuwasabha. The estimated cost of the hydropower stands at Rs 20.13 crore per megawatt.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16596', 'image' => '20230127060448_collage (8) (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 05:59:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16856', 'article_category_id' => '237', 'title' => 'CAN Infotech Exhibition to Be Held from Feb 7', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. ', 'content' => '<h1> </h1> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">January 26: The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Federation of Computer Association Nepal is organizing the event with the objective of exhibiting new technologies developed in the field of information and communication technology. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Organising a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, the federation informed that the preparations for the country’s largest exhibition related to information technology CAN InfoTech-2023 had reached in the final phase. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">This year Nepali innovations, talent and startups will be specially promoted, said General Secretary of CAN Federation Chiranjeevi Adhikari. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The six-day exhibition will also involve branding, product launching, IT career counseling, colleges, startups and software pavilions. The CAN Federation member organizations as well as national and international information and communication technology companies will participate in the exhibition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The organizers expect a footfall of 350,000 people to the exhibition. An entry fee of Rs 100 has been fixed with a 50 per cent discount for students. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">CAN Federation is also planning to hold similar exhibition in Madhes Province, Sudur Paschim, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces after completion of one in federal capital Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16595', 'image' => '20230126070034_collage (92).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:58:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16854', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why are Reservoir-based Hydropower Projects Less in Number?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less. Most of the hydropower projects built in the country are based on river flow system, resulting in production of more electricity when the water in river is high and vice versa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, hydropower projects in Nepal produce more electricity than required during the rainy season while there is a compulsion to import electricity during the dry season. Reservoir-based hydropower projects are necessary to end the import of electricity by producing enough energy even in the dry season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although there is enough potential and need, the construction of reservoir-based projects seems to take place at a very slow pace. According to hydropower expert Anup Upadhyaya, there are many reasons for not constructing reservoir-based projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Reservoir-based projects require huge investment, which is the main challenge. Since more areas will be affected by such projects, we should also work for the management of locals and there are administrative hurdles. Another thing is the market guarantee. There is also a problem of continuous flow of water for the construction of hydropower projects with large reservoirs.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, some political parties and non-governmental organizations are playing a negative role in the construction of hydropower projects with reservoirs. In terms of relocation of project-affected settlements, political parties are delaying and obstructing the process by taking unnecessary steps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, some raise issues such as environmental protection, destruction of wildlife habitats to discourage investors and disrupt the investment environment even before the initiation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investors look for market guarantee before starting a project. India is the biggest and easiest market for electricity produced in Nepal. However, the electricity trade agreement and experience with India is not so encouraging.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">From time to time, the issue of having to think seriously about the option of completing the project by bringing in the investment from international financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) is raised. However, Upadhyaya says that those organizations are not much interested in investing in reservoir-based hydropower projects considering the issue of continuous flow of water and 'social safeguard policy'. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), an organization of energy entrepreneurs who have produced a large amount of electricity in the country, argues that the Government of Nepal is not interested in the issue of reservoir-based projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Karki, vice president of IPPAAN says, “The government has not set a target for large-scale hydropower production. The current target of generating 6,500 megawatts of electricity will be met through the existing process.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki pointed out the lack of liquidity in the banking system, the inability to raise large investments and the difficulties in land acquisition have been discouraging the hydropower projects of reservoir type.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stated that the reservoir-based project is its priority. Suresh Bhattarai, spokesperson for the NEA said, “Some projects are being studied, some are in the pipeline.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson Bhattarai, however, admitted that the construction is being delayed due to the lack of coordination between various agencies of the state. He said that if there is effective coordination, the construction of the hydropower project will proceed at a quick pace.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16594', 'image' => '20230126064827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:47:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16853', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'GWM Nepal Launches “Buy Great Save Big” Offer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:14px">January 26: V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The offer is for all GWM models purchased during the Promotional Campaign, which runs for 45 days all over Nepal. The campaign 'BUY GREAT SAVE BIG' provides customers with plenty of choices to make their drive enjoyable and sophisticated. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Under the scheme, customers can avail the benefits of up to 5 lakhs rupees including attractive cash discount, one year comprehensive insurance, exchange bonus, spot valuation and free accessories.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Great Wall Motor (GWM) is a Global Intelligent Technology Company with more than 80 subsidiaries and affiliates and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide. With its presence in more than 60 countries and more than 700 locations, GWM’s sales have crossed one million units per annum for the last six years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">VG Impex Pvt. Ltd. (GWM Nepal) is an authorized importer and distributor for Great Wall Motor in Nepal. After receiving an overwhelming success in China and 60+ nations over the years, Great Wall Motor has successfully introduced its global model lineups in Nepal Market through GWM Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has introduced internationally popular models such as HAVAL H6, HAVAL JOLION, POER and Wingle 5 in Nepal. GWM Nepal continues serving the customers with the futuristic models and premium offerings as it has been working to foster the country’s next-generation automotive innovation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has constantly upgraded its sales and after-sales services by adding new points of sales after sales across the country. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16593', 'image' => '20230126063451_collage (91).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16852', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Sets New Record ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations, the fine gold is traded at Rs 106 thousand 900 per tola following a rise of Rs 700 per tola from the price of the prior day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, the price of worked gold is Rs 106 thousand 400 today against Rs 105 thousand 700 on Wednesday. Similarly, silver is being traded at Rs 1,380 per tola today following a rise Rs 15 per tola the previous day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations Chair Manik Ratna Shakya, the prices of gold and silver have soared in the Nepali market due to the rise in the international market. <br /> Prices of gold and silver are determined based on the international market prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">In the last two months, the price of precious metal has gone up by Rs 7,000 per tola. Looking its upward trend, gold and silver entrepreneurs estimate that the price of yellow metal will rise further. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A survey conducted a few days ago had indicated that the price of gold would continue to increase. The survey has estimated that the price of precious metal will touch Rs 200 thousand per tola. Nepali gold entrepreneurs, however, say that they cannot predict how high the gold price will go. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16591', 'image' => '20230126043339_collage (90).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 16:31:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16850', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daayitwa Organises Fellowship Symposium', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows and the inauguration of Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) Alumni Council. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship 2022, which started from June 2022, successfully placed six fellows, including three parliamentarians Gagan Thapa, Gokarna Bista and Kamala Roka, selected from a record 200+ applicants at three government institutions -- the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the National Planning Commission. Over the six months, these youth researchers conducted evidence-based policy research and submitted their policy findings and recommendations to their host institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The fellowship programme recognized the policy issues and conducted research in the topics of access to investment, women’s economic empowerment, enterprise value chain, youth employment, and economic governance. The organization partnered with public agencies and parliamentarians to produce meaningful research on pressing policy issues with the key motive of “My Government, My Responsibility.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Symposium brought together stakeholders from public, private, and social sectors that discussed and recommended ways to strengthen youth-government relationships and promote evidence-based policy decisions. An ad-hoc committee has been formed to take forward the Alumni. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Baikuntha Aryal, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology stated that the research done by the Daayitwa fellows has profoundly facilitated the work of the Nepal government. He emphasized on increasing the number of fellows as well. He stated, “It is our own responsibility to make the country better, we cannot rely on others to do it.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16590', 'image' => '20230126025938_Daayitwaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:58:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha Airport Struggles to Pay Loan Instalments due to Lack of Int’l Flights', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines, which had been operating international flights from the airport in Bhairahawa, have suspended their flights since the last one month. The airport has been in operation for eight months now. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines have stopped flying from December 15 and 21 respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Govinda Prasad Dahal, general manager of Gautam Buddha Airport Office, said that international flights have not been operated at the airport since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The annual income from domestic flights is up to Rs 350 million," said Dahal, "Although it is sufficient to manage the regular expenses of the airport, it seems that it will be difficult to pay the principal/interest of foreign loans."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the airport has to pay Rs 400 million in annual instalments as the principal and interest amount. According to the loan agreement, the principal and interest of the loan taken at this airport should be paid in every six months. The airport has to pay Rs 33.3 million per month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFFID) have invested in this airport. Although the problem of early morning flight delays due to adverse weather during the winter is not a new issue, this airport has been equipped with technology to ensure that there is no problem in flight/landing even in low visibility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though the ILF (Instrument Landing System) technology that can land aircraft in low visibility (800 to 900 meters) has been installed, it has not been able to function smoothy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that India has not given permission to implement the ILF. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Dahal, the airport is struggling to operate because of inclement weather and less number of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that the passengers are compelled to take labour permits and other documents from the Department of Foreign Employment and also undergo health check-ups in Kathmandu, the passengers are reluctant to visit Bhairahawa for international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The main problem now is the visa centres, labour offices, and health examination, which is not available in Bhairahawa," said Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Indian citizens cannot fly directly to this airport even now.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Indian government is yet to issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) required for its citizens to go to other foreign destinations from this airport, so Indian passengers are not allowed to fly from this airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice President of Himalaya Airlines Vijay Shrestha said that they were forced to suspend the flights due to lack of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, this airport has already served 25,481 passengers since it came into operation.<strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16589', 'image' => '20230126024419_Gautam Buddha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:43:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Aid Constitutes more Loans than Grants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. While some people opine that the share of loans is increasing because the government does not consult for the grants, the government report has revealed that the share of grants is decreasing due to the increasing capacity of loan repayment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission states that decreasing the share of grants in international development aid commitments means that Nepal's debt utilization capacity is increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, the government has set a target of receiving nearly Rs 300 billion through grants and loans from donors. Out of the total foreign assistance, government has sought Rs 55.46 billion as grants while the remaining amount will be debt. However, studies conducted in the past by government have shown that even though the government sets a target for debt collection in the budget each year, it has not been able to receive that target amount in any year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan of the NPC has concluded that the government has given less emphasis to seek grants because debt repayment capacity is increasing due to the government's lack of emphasis on subsidies. The mid-term review also mentions that the share of external sources in the government expenditure has increased from 13.3 per cent to 17.5 per cent in the last three years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Professor Doctor Shiv Adhikari, the former head of Tribhuvan University's economics department, shared that aid is decreasing because the agencies and countries that lend to Nepal are in a financial crisis. He said that the practice of giving loans more than grants is the new trend in the world. Globally, there has been an increase in the trend of emphasizing loans over grants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In the 1980s-90s, the donors needed dollars and they gave grants in dollars with the expectation that those dollars would ultimately return back to them. Nepal used those dollars to import goods, and the dollars they gave returned back in their hands. That is the reason they gave grants," said Adhikari. "Recently, Nepal started receiving dollars from remittances and they started downsizing the grants."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ratio of external resource used in the gross domestic product has increased from 3.8 per cent in the year 2018/19 to 4.9 per cent in the year 2020/21, the NPC has mentioned in the mid-term review report of the 15th Plan. According to the commission, the development aid mobilization was 2.92 per cent in the year 2016/17. It increased to 3.87 per cent in the year 2017/18. Again in the year 2075/76, such aid mobilization seems to have dropped to 3.21.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In 2019/20, foreign aid mobilization was 4.68 per cent, but it decreased in 2020/21. The report does not mention the situation of foreign aid mobilization in the year 2021/22. Officials of the Financial Comptroller General Office said that the funds could not be mobilized that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts share that foreign debt is only up to 22 per cent of Nepal's gross domestic product, and there is no risk because Nepal has taken such debt at subsidized rates. It is said that foreign loans are not risky because the interest rate that Nepal has to pay is cheap, and the loan repayment period is lengthy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest information from the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Finance, Nepal has taken loans from 23 foreign donors and agencies. All the loans taken by Nepal are subsidized so the interest rate is low. Nepal's biggest lenders are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hira Neupane, information officer of the office, said that the loans given by these two banks account for 80 per cent of Nepal's foreign loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the International Monetary Fund and Belgium have given loans to Nepal without any interest. The interest rate of a loan taken from the Exim Bank of China is less than 2 per cent. Nepal has taken loans from France at the most expensive interest rate. The interest rate of the loans taken from France is up to 3 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank has given loans at an interest rate of 0.75 per cent. The second largest lender, the Asian Development Bank, has an interest rate of 1 to 1.5 per cent. Even Japan, the country that has given the most loans to Nepal, only charges interest rates of 0.1 to 1 per cent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16588', 'image' => '20230126012032_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 13:19:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Expenditure of National Pride Projects Dismal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mid-term review of the ongoing fiscal year’s budget has shown the progress in national pride projects is off the mark. The records maintained by Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) revealed that the total budget spent by the government was 32 percent as of January 14. Out of this, 38 percent was spent under current expenditure while 14 percent was under capital expenditure, and 29.44 percent financial management. </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"">Only 23 percent budget was spent in the national pride projects till the mid-term review, the FCGO added. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride projects were allocated a total of Rs 97 billion budget in the current fiscal year, but the progress is not satisfactory. The NPPs including the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Pokhara Regional International Airport saw less than 5 percent expenditure till mid-January. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Newly appointed Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha, informed that the problem of low spending surfaced because the national pride projects were forwarded simultaneously. </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"">“There is resource crunch if all projects are taken together. Our contractors lack capacity. Oversight mechanism including bureaucracy is not able to work for it. So, certain projects should be prioritized and forwarded,” he observed. </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"">Out of the budget allocated for the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, it spent only 0.43 percent. Similarly, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway was able to use only 5.13 percent (Rs 1.59 billion) by the mid-term. The South Asia Tourism Infrastructure was not able to spend more than 3.23 percent out of annual budget of Rs 2.20 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16587', 'image' => '20230126121637_20220224090712_fast track nov 21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 12:15:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Construct 3,000 Suspension Bridges in the Next Two Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. This initiative has been taken to ensure that there is a suspension bridge in every half an hour’s walking distance in a bid to facilitate the mobility of people and not to deprive them of their rights to basic facilities like education and health due to the lack of bridges, according to the Ministry of Urban Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Soon after assuming office, newly-appointed Urban Development Minister Bikram Pandey approved the plan to construct the suspension bridges, a project mentioned in the current 15th plan of the government. The plan has been forwarded accordingly, said Director General of the Department of Local Infrastructure, Ishwor Chandra Marahatta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The project will save lives of people, who in general are risking their lives for want of bridges," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government at all three levels -- federal, provincial and local – will be involved in the project. The local level is required to construct a bridge less than 120 meters in length, and the federal government is responsible for a bridge more than that length, said Marahatta. The federal government is required to provide budget to the local level for the project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23), Rs 6 billion has been allocated for this project. The local levels have been already asked to provide project details including the location and the number, said Marahatta, adding, "Further decision will be taken after a team from the department carries out a study based on the demand. The project will be implemented in the current FY." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16586', 'image' => '20230126110901_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 11:08:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16845', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Tharu Women Enjoying in Collective Agriculture in Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 55 Tharu women are collectively involved in commercial agriculture and they are making good income from their work. Women have kept local chickens, ducks, and fish. They have also grown bananas in the group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">For commercial agriculture, women have established Tharu Women Farmers’ Group. “We are buying the seeds and fertiliser and selling the produce through the group,” said group’s chairperson Hiramani Guraule. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Initially, the group had 98 members. Some have left the group, while others have switched their business. “The group has 55 members and all of us are very active,” added Hiramani.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group’s firm has 500 ducklings. The group is planning to add 500 extra ducklings after the winter season is over. <br /> The Tharu women have also started mushroom farming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Hiramani, they had faced difficulty in the initial days. But, keeping ducks and hens and growing bananas have become easy after receiving training from technicians.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Customers visit the farms to purchase ducks, chickens and fish. “We are failing to meet ducks’ demand as our products are organic”, Hiramani shared.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group has invested more than Rs 8 lakhs to construct physical structures for keeping fish, ducks and local chickens. Hiramani says that working in the group has made their work easy and they are making a good income even with small investment. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tharu women used to be doing household chores and spend time collecting firewood from the forest. But, their lives have changed now, says Guraule. Hiramani says that they have set a plan to expand their business and make it more commercial in the days to come. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16585', 'image' => '20230126072425_collage (89).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 07:18:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Destroys 58 Houses in Bajura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Bichchhya of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the District Police Office, Bajura some of the houses have suffered partial damage while others have been completely damaged. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One person is reported to have lost life while there has been reports of property loss in various places of the district due to the tremor that occurred at 2.43 pm on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Some buildings of the government offices in the district have developed cracks due to the earthquake. Several private houses have also developed cracks and suffered broken walls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mud and stone houses have cracked and are unfit for accommodation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Surya Thapa of the District Police Office. He said the policemen stationed at the Area Police Office and the police posts were sent to the villages to collect the details of the damages caused by the earthquake and have collected data that 58 houses have been damaged, including government buildings and private houses. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The earthquake killed a woman at Jureli of Gaumul Rural Municipality-2 while she was collecting fodder in a forest. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Jamuna Rokaya, who was hit on the head by a falling stone and died instantaneously, the District Police Office said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three people were injured due to the earthquake in the district. Police said two of them are receiving treatment at local health facilities while one has already been discharged. Those injured are Rajdal Bohara of around 45 years of Amlika of Gaumul-1, Chandra Mahat of Badimalika Municipality-2, and Sarita Nepali, 16, from Humla who was in Bajura to visit her elder sister residing at Himali-6. Mahat has been already sent home after treatment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake caused the death of a flock of sheep. They were 50 in numbers and got trapped in a rock rupture following the quake and died. The animals belonged to Bohara, one of the survivors who had taken the sheep for grazing when the incident happened, according to the District Police Office. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16584', 'image' => '20230125080514_20230124052444_collage (85).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 20:04:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16843', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia to Offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankans in 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:20px">January 25: Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Sri Lankan Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia is willing to take up to 200,000 Sri Lankan workers in 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The minister told the media that Saudi Arabia offered 54,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2022, adding that over 300,000 Sri Lankans went for foreign jobs in 2022 and most went to the Middle East.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Workers' remittance is one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.<br /> Sri Lankan migrant workers remitted around 3.8 billion U.S. Dollars in 2022, the data at the country's central bank showed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Following an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it would give retirement to 65,000 soldiers from its 200,000-strong army over the year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">President Ranil Wickremesinghe has recently hiked taxes and imposed harsh spending cuts to smooth the passage of an expected International Monetary Fund bail-out following a government debt default. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Island nation has been facing a shortage of food and fuel for months since the outbreak of the COVID-19. (Agencies) </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16583', 'image' => '20230125045442_collage (87).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 16:49:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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' => '16859', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government forms Panel to Reform Public Transport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed an expert-led panel to seek recommendations to bring about reforms in the country’s public transportation system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha formed the ‘study taskforce on vehicle pollution, road safety and road accident reduction’. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former secretary Sharad Chandra Paudel is the coordinator of the seven-member taskforce. The taskforce is assigned to prepare a report based on its study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma, Prof Dr Padam Bahadur Shahi of Pulchowk Engineering Campus, public transport expert Madhu Sudan Acharya and engineer Bijay Gautam are the members of the taskforce. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The taskforce shall have a representative from the public transport entrepreneur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Director General of the Department of Transport Management Dr Tokraj Pandey is the member-secretary of the taskforce, the ministry said in a press statement. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16598', 'image' => '20230127114004_transportvvvv.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 11:39:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16858', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Snowfall Disrupts Power Supply in Jumla ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 27: Electricity service has been disrupted in Jumla district due to snowfall. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla folks are compelled to stay in dark due to disruption in electricity supply in the national grid due to continuous snowfall since Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Nepal Electricity Authority, Jumla Distribution Centre, Naresh Dutta Rawal, said electricity poles and wires have been damaged at different places including Micha of Chandannath Municipality, Dansanghu of Tila Rural Municipality and Phoimahadev of Kalikot. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We have deployed employees at these areas for the maintenance. Snowfall has created problem. Power supply will resume after technicians of NEA Jumla and Kalikot carry out maintenance of the damaged wire and electric poles," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Jumla is blanketed with snow. Farmers are elated as the crops they have planted would get better after snowfall, according to the Agricultural Development Office. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => 'snowfall, snow, Jumla, power, supply, Nepal, Electricity, Authority, pole, disruption', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16597', 'image' => '20230127103653_VajayRawat_Jumla_RSS_12_IMG_20230126_082318_088 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 10:35:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16857', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Opens IPO for General Public', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 27: Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited has opened sale of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public from Friday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Following the allotment of IPO shares to the project-affected locals and Nepali citizens working in foreign countries, the hydropower has issued IPO shares to the general public in the second phase.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company had decided to float 34,00,000 units of shares worth Rs 34,00,00,000 out of its total issued capital of Rs 1,00,00,00,000 to the public. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company has already issued and allotted 10,00,000 shares worth Rs 10,00,00,000 to the project-affected locals and a total of 2,40,000 units of shares to Nepali citizens working in foreign countries out of the 34,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The hydropower company has allotted as many as 120,000 units of shares to the mutual funds, while 48,000 units of shares worth Rs 48,00,000 to the company’s employees. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The company is issuing a total of 19,92,000 units of shares to the general public. Interested individuals can apply for a minimum of 10 shares and a maximum of 1,00,000 units of shares.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The IPO Offering will close on January 31. If the IPO is not fully subscribed by then, the deadline will extend till February 10. Prabhu Capital Limited is issue and sales manager.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can apply for the IPO from issue manager and all banks and financial institutions that are C-ASBA members approved by Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Investors can also apply for the IPO through Mero Share. The company is constructing the hydropower of 14.9 megawatt in Sankhuwasabha. The estimated cost of the hydropower stands at Rs 20.13 crore per megawatt.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-27', 'modified' => '2023-01-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16596', 'image' => '20230127060448_collage (8) (2).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-27 05:59:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16856', 'article_category_id' => '237', 'title' => 'CAN Infotech Exhibition to Be Held from Feb 7', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. ', 'content' => '<h1> </h1> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">January 26: The 28th edition of CAN InfoTech Exhibition will be held at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu from February 7 to 12. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Federation of Computer Association Nepal is organizing the event with the objective of exhibiting new technologies developed in the field of information and communication technology. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Organising a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, the federation informed that the preparations for the country’s largest exhibition related to information technology CAN InfoTech-2023 had reached in the final phase. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">This year Nepali innovations, talent and startups will be specially promoted, said General Secretary of CAN Federation Chiranjeevi Adhikari. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The six-day exhibition will also involve branding, product launching, IT career counseling, colleges, startups and software pavilions. The CAN Federation member organizations as well as national and international information and communication technology companies will participate in the exhibition. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The organizers expect a footfall of 350,000 people to the exhibition. An entry fee of Rs 100 has been fixed with a 50 per cent discount for students. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">CAN Federation is also planning to hold similar exhibition in Madhes Province, Sudur Paschim, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces after completion of one in federal capital Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16595', 'image' => '20230126070034_collage (92).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:58:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16854', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why are Reservoir-based Hydropower Projects Less in Number?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Although the construction of hydropower projects in Nepal has accelerated recently, the construction of reservoir-based projects is very less. Most of the hydropower projects built in the country are based on river flow system, resulting in production of more electricity when the water in river is high and vice versa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, hydropower projects in Nepal produce more electricity than required during the rainy season while there is a compulsion to import electricity during the dry season. Reservoir-based hydropower projects are necessary to end the import of electricity by producing enough energy even in the dry season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although there is enough potential and need, the construction of reservoir-based projects seems to take place at a very slow pace. According to hydropower expert Anup Upadhyaya, there are many reasons for not constructing reservoir-based projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Reservoir-based projects require huge investment, which is the main challenge. Since more areas will be affected by such projects, we should also work for the management of locals and there are administrative hurdles. Another thing is the market guarantee. There is also a problem of continuous flow of water for the construction of hydropower projects with large reservoirs.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to experts, some political parties and non-governmental organizations are playing a negative role in the construction of hydropower projects with reservoirs. In terms of relocation of project-affected settlements, political parties are delaying and obstructing the process by taking unnecessary steps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, some raise issues such as environmental protection, destruction of wildlife habitats to discourage investors and disrupt the investment environment even before the initiation of the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign investors look for market guarantee before starting a project. India is the biggest and easiest market for electricity produced in Nepal. However, the electricity trade agreement and experience with India is not so encouraging.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">From time to time, the issue of having to think seriously about the option of completing the project by bringing in the investment from international financial institutions like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) is raised. However, Upadhyaya says that those organizations are not much interested in investing in reservoir-based hydropower projects considering the issue of continuous flow of water and 'social safeguard policy'. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), an organization of energy entrepreneurs who have produced a large amount of electricity in the country, argues that the Government of Nepal is not interested in the issue of reservoir-based projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ganesh Karki, vice president of IPPAAN says, “The government has not set a target for large-scale hydropower production. The current target of generating 6,500 megawatts of electricity will be met through the existing process.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki pointed out the lack of liquidity in the banking system, the inability to raise large investments and the difficulties in land acquisition have been discouraging the hydropower projects of reservoir type.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stated that the reservoir-based project is its priority. Suresh Bhattarai, spokesperson for the NEA said, “Some projects are being studied, some are in the pipeline.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson Bhattarai, however, admitted that the construction is being delayed due to the lack of coordination between various agencies of the state. He said that if there is effective coordination, the construction of the hydropower project will proceed at a quick pace.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16594', 'image' => '20230126064827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:47:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16853', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'GWM Nepal Launches “Buy Great Save Big” Offer ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:14px">January 26: V.G. IMPEX Pvt. Ltd, the authorized distributor for Great Wall Motor (GWM) vehicles in Nepal, has launched “BUY GREAT SAVE BIG” promotional sales offer for the Nepali market from January 25. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The offer is for all GWM models purchased during the Promotional Campaign, which runs for 45 days all over Nepal. The campaign 'BUY GREAT SAVE BIG' provides customers with plenty of choices to make their drive enjoyable and sophisticated. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Under the scheme, customers can avail the benefits of up to 5 lakhs rupees including attractive cash discount, one year comprehensive insurance, exchange bonus, spot valuation and free accessories.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Great Wall Motor (GWM) is a Global Intelligent Technology Company with more than 80 subsidiaries and affiliates and employs more than 70,000 people worldwide. With its presence in more than 60 countries and more than 700 locations, GWM’s sales have crossed one million units per annum for the last six years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">VG Impex Pvt. Ltd. (GWM Nepal) is an authorized importer and distributor for Great Wall Motor in Nepal. After receiving an overwhelming success in China and 60+ nations over the years, Great Wall Motor has successfully introduced its global model lineups in Nepal Market through GWM Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has introduced internationally popular models such as HAVAL H6, HAVAL JOLION, POER and Wingle 5 in Nepal. GWM Nepal continues serving the customers with the futuristic models and premium offerings as it has been working to foster the country’s next-generation automotive innovation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">GWM Nepal has constantly upgraded its sales and after-sales services by adding new points of sales after sales across the country. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16593', 'image' => '20230126063451_collage (91).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 18:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16852', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Sets New Record ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: The price of gold reached an all-time high in Nepali market on Thursday. The price of yellow metal was fixed at over 106 thousand per tola (11.66 grams).</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations, the fine gold is traded at Rs 106 thousand 900 per tola following a rise of Rs 700 per tola from the price of the prior day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Likewise, the price of worked gold is Rs 106 thousand 400 today against Rs 105 thousand 700 on Wednesday. Similarly, silver is being traded at Rs 1,380 per tola today following a rise Rs 15 per tola the previous day. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations Chair Manik Ratna Shakya, the prices of gold and silver have soared in the Nepali market due to the rise in the international market. <br /> Prices of gold and silver are determined based on the international market prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">In the last two months, the price of precious metal has gone up by Rs 7,000 per tola. Looking its upward trend, gold and silver entrepreneurs estimate that the price of yellow metal will rise further. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A survey conducted a few days ago had indicated that the price of gold would continue to increase. The survey has estimated that the price of precious metal will touch Rs 200 thousand per tola. Nepali gold entrepreneurs, however, say that they cannot predict how high the gold price will go. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16591', 'image' => '20230126043339_collage (90).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 16:31:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16850', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daayitwa Organises Fellowship Symposium', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">January 26: Daayitwa, a not for profit non-governmental organization that envisions an enterprising Nepal, successfully organized the Fellowship Symposium to celebrate the graduation of the 12th Cohort of Public Policy Fellows and the inauguration of Daayitwa Nepal Public Service Fellowship (DNPSF) Alumni Council. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Daayitwa Nepal Public Policy Fellowship 2022, which started from June 2022, successfully placed six fellows, including three parliamentarians Gagan Thapa, Gokarna Bista and Kamala Roka, selected from a record 200+ applicants at three government institutions -- the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the National Planning Commission. Over the six months, these youth researchers conducted evidence-based policy research and submitted their policy findings and recommendations to their host institutions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The fellowship programme recognized the policy issues and conducted research in the topics of access to investment, women’s economic empowerment, enterprise value chain, youth employment, and economic governance. The organization partnered with public agencies and parliamentarians to produce meaningful research on pressing policy issues with the key motive of “My Government, My Responsibility.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Symposium brought together stakeholders from public, private, and social sectors that discussed and recommended ways to strengthen youth-government relationships and promote evidence-based policy decisions. An ad-hoc committee has been formed to take forward the Alumni. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Dr Baikuntha Aryal, secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology stated that the research done by the Daayitwa fellows has profoundly facilitated the work of the Nepal government. He emphasized on increasing the number of fellows as well. He stated, “It is our own responsibility to make the country better, we cannot rely on others to do it.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16590', 'image' => '20230126025938_Daayitwaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:58:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16849', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha Airport Struggles to Pay Loan Instalments due to Lack of Int’l Flights', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA), which has been operational since May 16 last year, is currently closed for international flights. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines, which had been operating international flights from the airport in Bhairahawa, have suspended their flights since the last one month. The airport has been in operation for eight months now. Himalaya Airlines and Jazeera Airlines have stopped flying from December 15 and 21 respectively. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Govinda Prasad Dahal, general manager of Gautam Buddha Airport Office, said that international flights have not been operated at the airport since then.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The annual income from domestic flights is up to Rs 350 million," said Dahal, "Although it is sufficient to manage the regular expenses of the airport, it seems that it will be difficult to pay the principal/interest of foreign loans."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the airport has to pay Rs 400 million in annual instalments as the principal and interest amount. According to the loan agreement, the principal and interest of the loan taken at this airport should be paid in every six months. The airport has to pay Rs 33.3 million per month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFFID) have invested in this airport. Although the problem of early morning flight delays due to adverse weather during the winter is not a new issue, this airport has been equipped with technology to ensure that there is no problem in flight/landing even in low visibility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though the ILF (Instrument Landing System) technology that can land aircraft in low visibility (800 to 900 meters) has been installed, it has not been able to function smoothy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that India has not given permission to implement the ILF. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Dahal, the airport is struggling to operate because of inclement weather and less number of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Dahal said that the passengers are compelled to take labour permits and other documents from the Department of Foreign Employment and also undergo health check-ups in Kathmandu, the passengers are reluctant to visit Bhairahawa for international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The main problem now is the visa centres, labour offices, and health examination, which is not available in Bhairahawa," said Dahal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Indian citizens cannot fly directly to this airport even now.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Indian government is yet to issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) required for its citizens to go to other foreign destinations from this airport, so Indian passengers are not allowed to fly from this airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Vice President of Himalaya Airlines Vijay Shrestha said that they were forced to suspend the flights due to lack of passengers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, this airport has already served 25,481 passengers since it came into operation.<strong> </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16589', 'image' => '20230126024419_Gautam Buddha.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 14:43:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16848', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Aid Constitutes more Loans than Grants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">January 26: In recent years, the portion of loans in foreign aid received by the government has been higher than that of grants. While some people opine that the share of loans is increasing because the government does not consult for the grants, the government report has revealed that the share of grants is decreasing due to the increasing capacity of loan repayment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission states that decreasing the share of grants in international development aid commitments means that Nepal's debt utilization capacity is increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year, the government has set a target of receiving nearly Rs 300 billion through grants and loans from donors. Out of the total foreign assistance, government has sought Rs 55.46 billion as grants while the remaining amount will be debt. However, studies conducted in the past by government have shown that even though the government sets a target for debt collection in the budget each year, it has not been able to receive that target amount in any year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mid-term review of the 15th Plan of the NPC has concluded that the government has given less emphasis to seek grants because debt repayment capacity is increasing due to the government's lack of emphasis on subsidies. The mid-term review also mentions that the share of external sources in the government expenditure has increased from 13.3 per cent to 17.5 per cent in the last three years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Professor Doctor Shiv Adhikari, the former head of Tribhuvan University's economics department, shared that aid is decreasing because the agencies and countries that lend to Nepal are in a financial crisis. He said that the practice of giving loans more than grants is the new trend in the world. Globally, there has been an increase in the trend of emphasizing loans over grants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In the 1980s-90s, the donors needed dollars and they gave grants in dollars with the expectation that those dollars would ultimately return back to them. Nepal used those dollars to import goods, and the dollars they gave returned back in their hands. That is the reason they gave grants," said Adhikari. "Recently, Nepal started receiving dollars from remittances and they started downsizing the grants."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The ratio of external resource used in the gross domestic product has increased from 3.8 per cent in the year 2018/19 to 4.9 per cent in the year 2020/21, the NPC has mentioned in the mid-term review report of the 15th Plan. According to the commission, the development aid mobilization was 2.92 per cent in the year 2016/17. It increased to 3.87 per cent in the year 2017/18. Again in the year 2075/76, such aid mobilization seems to have dropped to 3.21.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In 2019/20, foreign aid mobilization was 4.68 per cent, but it decreased in 2020/21. The report does not mention the situation of foreign aid mobilization in the year 2021/22. Officials of the Financial Comptroller General Office said that the funds could not be mobilized that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Experts share that foreign debt is only up to 22 per cent of Nepal's gross domestic product, and there is no risk because Nepal has taken such debt at subsidized rates. It is said that foreign loans are not risky because the interest rate that Nepal has to pay is cheap, and the loan repayment period is lengthy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest information from the Public Debt Management Office under the Ministry of Finance, Nepal has taken loans from 23 foreign donors and agencies. All the loans taken by Nepal are subsidized so the interest rate is low. Nepal's biggest lenders are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hira Neupane, information officer of the office, said that the loans given by these two banks account for 80 per cent of Nepal's foreign loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Public Debt Management Office, the International Monetary Fund and Belgium have given loans to Nepal without any interest. The interest rate of a loan taken from the Exim Bank of China is less than 2 per cent. Nepal has taken loans from France at the most expensive interest rate. The interest rate of the loans taken from France is up to 3 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank has given loans at an interest rate of 0.75 per cent. The second largest lender, the Asian Development Bank, has an interest rate of 1 to 1.5 per cent. Even Japan, the country that has given the most loans to Nepal, only charges interest rates of 0.1 to 1 per cent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16588', 'image' => '20230126012032_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 13:19:26', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16847', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Expenditure of National Pride Projects Dismal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: Budget spent for the national pride projects, which are considered as transformative projects with strategic significance, is found to be negligible. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mid-term review of the ongoing fiscal year’s budget has shown the progress in national pride projects is off the mark. The records maintained by Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) revealed that the total budget spent by the government was 32 percent as of January 14. Out of this, 38 percent was spent under current expenditure while 14 percent was under capital expenditure, and 29.44 percent financial management. </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"">Only 23 percent budget was spent in the national pride projects till the mid-term review, the FCGO added. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride projects were allocated a total of Rs 97 billion budget in the current fiscal year, but the progress is not satisfactory. The NPPs including the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, Pokhara Regional International Airport saw less than 5 percent expenditure till mid-January. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Newly appointed Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha, informed that the problem of low spending surfaced because the national pride projects were forwarded simultaneously. </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"">“There is resource crunch if all projects are taken together. Our contractors lack capacity. Oversight mechanism including bureaucracy is not able to work for it. So, certain projects should be prioritized and forwarded,” he observed. </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"">Out of the budget allocated for the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal, it spent only 0.43 percent. Similarly, Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway was able to use only 5.13 percent (Rs 1.59 billion) by the mid-term. The South Asia Tourism Infrastructure was not able to spend more than 3.23 percent out of annual budget of Rs 2.20 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16587', 'image' => '20230126121637_20220224090712_fast track nov 21.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 12:15:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16846', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Construct 3,000 Suspension Bridges in the Next Two Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 26: The government has forwarded a plan to construct 3,000 suspension bridges across the country in the next two years. This initiative has been taken to ensure that there is a suspension bridge in every half an hour’s walking distance in a bid to facilitate the mobility of people and not to deprive them of their rights to basic facilities like education and health due to the lack of bridges, according to the Ministry of Urban Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Soon after assuming office, newly-appointed Urban Development Minister Bikram Pandey approved the plan to construct the suspension bridges, a project mentioned in the current 15th plan of the government. The plan has been forwarded accordingly, said Director General of the Department of Local Infrastructure, Ishwor Chandra Marahatta. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The project will save lives of people, who in general are risking their lives for want of bridges," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government at all three levels -- federal, provincial and local – will be involved in the project. The local level is required to construct a bridge less than 120 meters in length, and the federal government is responsible for a bridge more than that length, said Marahatta. The federal government is required to provide budget to the local level for the project. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23), Rs 6 billion has been allocated for this project. The local levels have been already asked to provide project details including the location and the number, said Marahatta, adding, "Further decision will be taken after a team from the department carries out a study based on the demand. The project will be implemented in the current FY." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16586', 'image' => '20230126110901_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 11:08:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16845', 'article_category_id' => '277', 'title' => 'Tharu Women Enjoying in Collective Agriculture in Chitwan ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px">January 26: Until a few years ago, Tharu women would be busy doing just household chores at Gardi of Madi Municiplaity-1, Chitwan. The women’s daily routine, however, has changed after females from Tharu community started becoming active in agriculture.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">As many as 55 Tharu women are collectively involved in commercial agriculture and they are making good income from their work. Women have kept local chickens, ducks, and fish. They have also grown bananas in the group. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">For commercial agriculture, women have established Tharu Women Farmers’ Group. “We are buying the seeds and fertiliser and selling the produce through the group,” said group’s chairperson Hiramani Guraule. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Initially, the group had 98 members. Some have left the group, while others have switched their business. “The group has 55 members and all of us are very active,” added Hiramani.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group’s firm has 500 ducklings. The group is planning to add 500 extra ducklings after the winter season is over. <br /> The Tharu women have also started mushroom farming.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Hiramani, they had faced difficulty in the initial days. But, keeping ducks and hens and growing bananas have become easy after receiving training from technicians.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Customers visit the farms to purchase ducks, chickens and fish. “We are failing to meet ducks’ demand as our products are organic”, Hiramani shared.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The group has invested more than Rs 8 lakhs to construct physical structures for keeping fish, ducks and local chickens. Hiramani says that working in the group has made their work easy and they are making a good income even with small investment. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Earlier, Tharu women used to be doing household chores and spend time collecting firewood from the forest. But, their lives have changed now, says Guraule. Hiramani says that they have set a plan to expand their business and make it more commercial in the days to come. </span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-26', 'modified' => '2023-01-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16585', 'image' => '20230126072425_collage (89).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-26 07:18:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16844', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Earthquake Destroys 58 Houses in Bajura ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">January 25: Fifty-eight houses have been damaged by the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that jolted the far western Nepal on Tuesday. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Bichchhya of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the District Police Office, Bajura some of the houses have suffered partial damage while others have been completely damaged. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One person is reported to have lost life while there has been reports of property loss in various places of the district due to the tremor that occurred at 2.43 pm on Tuesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Some buildings of the government offices in the district have developed cracks due to the earthquake. Several private houses have also developed cracks and suffered broken walls. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The mud and stone houses have cracked and are unfit for accommodation, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Surya Thapa of the District Police Office. He said the policemen stationed at the Area Police Office and the police posts were sent to the villages to collect the details of the damages caused by the earthquake and have collected data that 58 houses have been damaged, including government buildings and private houses. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The earthquake killed a woman at Jureli of Gaumul Rural Municipality-2 while she was collecting fodder in a forest. The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Jamuna Rokaya, who was hit on the head by a falling stone and died instantaneously, the District Police Office said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Three people were injured due to the earthquake in the district. Police said two of them are receiving treatment at local health facilities while one has already been discharged. Those injured are Rajdal Bohara of around 45 years of Amlika of Gaumul-1, Chandra Mahat of Badimalika Municipality-2, and Sarita Nepali, 16, from Humla who was in Bajura to visit her elder sister residing at Himali-6. Mahat has been already sent home after treatment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The quake caused the death of a flock of sheep. They were 50 in numbers and got trapped in a rock rupture following the quake and died. The animals belonged to Bohara, one of the survivors who had taken the sheep for grazing when the incident happened, according to the District Police Office. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16584', 'image' => '20230125080514_20230124052444_collage (85).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 20:04:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16843', 'article_category_id' => '243', 'title' => 'Saudi Arabia to Offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankans in 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:20px">January 25: Saudi Arabia will offer up to 200,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2023. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Sri Lankan Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia is willing to take up to 200,000 Sri Lankan workers in 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The minister told the media that Saudi Arabia offered 54,000 jobs to Sri Lankan youths in 2022, adding that over 300,000 Sri Lankans went for foreign jobs in 2022 and most went to the Middle East.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Workers' remittance is one of the main sources of foreign revenues for Sri Lanka.<br /> Sri Lankan migrant workers remitted around 3.8 billion U.S. Dollars in 2022, the data at the country's central bank showed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Following an unprecedented economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it would give retirement to 65,000 soldiers from its 200,000-strong army over the year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">President Ranil Wickremesinghe has recently hiked taxes and imposed harsh spending cuts to smooth the passage of an expected International Monetary Fund bail-out following a government debt default. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The Island nation has been facing a shortage of food and fuel for months since the outbreak of the COVID-19. (Agencies) </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-25', 'modified' => '2023-01-25', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16583', 'image' => '20230125045442_collage (87).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-25 16:49:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $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
