December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2…
December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2…
December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of…
December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030)…
December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this…
December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu…
December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative'…
December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport.…
December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist…
While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the…
Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on…
Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of…
Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in…
December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a…
December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30.…
December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of…
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Due to the current working capital loan guidelines implemented by Nepal Rastra Bank since November, businessmen have been complaining that they are on the verge of shut down.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessmen have repeatedly submitted memorandums to NRB, Ministry of Finance and other government bodies demanding the postponement of the guidelines but to no avail. They also expressed their concern on this matter with the top leaders of various parties. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">FNCCI presented suggestions reminding the government that NRB should be instructed to use all the monetary instruments to solve the problem of liquidity crunch, as well as suspending the system of current capital loan guidelines for the improving the economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the federation, Shekhar Golchha stated that the economy has been affected in many ways while the problem remains constant even after the review of monetary policy, and due to the overall banking problem, industrialists are put in a very difficult situation and are forced to come to the streets. He mentioned that the current working capital loan guidelines is the biggest problem for business operations. In a meeting with Prime Minister Dahal, he said, “As the country's economy is currently in a very sensitive state, the entire focus of the newly formed government should be on the revival of the economy.” The federation informed that Prime Minister Dahal consoled them saying that he will study the current capital loan guidelines and put together the Ministry of Finance, NRB and the private sector to solve the problem soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16356', 'image' => '20221228054234_Working-Capital-Loan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 17:41:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Facing Shortage of 100,000 Litres of Milk Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Due to the lack of milk in the domestic market, the government has opened the doors for importing milk from India as per the demand. But the importers are yet to import milk from India stating that it won’t be profitable if they cannot sell the milk in the Nepali market due to the high cost.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, 600,000 litres of milk is being supplied to the Nepalese market daily, while the demand is 700,000 litres.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Milk production is yet to improve due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Dairy Association, there was an average shortage of 150,000 litres of milk per day during the marriage season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“But even though the wedding season is over now, we are facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk,” said Hem Chandra Khanal, general secretary of the association. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Milk production should increase, and consumption should decrease between mid-August to mid-February. But we are reeling under shortage of milk at a time when the production should have plentiful," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that it is necessary to facilitate import of milk to balance the demand and supply. Also, the price of milk in the domestic market needs to be increased on par with the prices in the international market, said Khanal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last October, the dairy industry and businessmen had demanded the government allow the import of milk. The government allowed import of milk amidst the opposition from the milk-producing farmers. Even though the import was opened, importers did not dare to import milk as the price was expensive in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers did not import because it would not be beneficial to bring it at a high price and sell it at a competitive price in the Nepali market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the Indian market, the base price of milk is Rs 70 per litre whereas the price in Nepal is only Rs 64 per litre. The association has said that the farmers and industrialists have been affected since the price of milk in Nepal has not increased for the last two years. To avoid a shortage of milk in the domestic market, the association said that the government should facilitate the import of milk after collecting accurate data on demand and production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16355', 'image' => '20221228013735_milk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 13:37:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal to Receive USD 200 Million Concessional Loan from ADB ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) and a Grant Agreement of USD 12 million to implement the Strengthening Systems to Protect and Uplift Women Project, the Ministry of Finance said in a press statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project will benefit survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) across Madhesh, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschchim provinces through the establishment of long-term rehabilitation centers, development of survivor-friendly facilities for the women, children and senior citizen including service centers within selected districts and area police offices and strengthening survivor-friendly services in these provinces. The project will also build a new national long-term rehabilitation center in Bhaktapur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the MoF, Ishwori Prasad Aryal, and Saugata Dasgupta, ADB Officer-in-Charge for Nepal, signed the agreements. The proposed assistance will support the implementation of the government’s School Education Sector Plan in a sector-wide approach supported by eight development partners, including ADB under a Joint Financing Arrangement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The program will enhance learning provisions for basic and secondary schools; strengthen teaching and learning skills in schools; accelerate the recovery from learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and improve the capacity of local governments in education planning, monitoring and reporting,” according to the statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Joint Secretary Aryal said that Nepal has done significantly in terms of improving access to education in the past decades however, much more needs to be done to further improve equity and access to quality education. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be crucial to operationalizing Nepal’s holistic approach in improving the overall learning outcomes, said Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This agreement is a key part of ADB’s overall efforts to help Nepal accelerate reforms and transform the country’s education system to develop human capital, reduce social inequity, and attain sustainable growth. The plan is designed towards eliminating inequities in access and participation in school education, and improving quality and resilience of school education,” Dasgupta was quoted as saying. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16354', 'image' => '20221228115056_ADB.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:50:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Three Earthquakes Jolt Baglung this Morning ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, three earthquakes occurred at different epicenters in the district in early hours of Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the information shared by the centre, an earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale with its epicenter in Adhikari Chaur, Baglung was recorded at 1.23 am this morning. Likewise, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Khunga at 2.07 am this morning. The third one measuring 4 on the Richter scale took place with its epicenter at Adhikari Chowk at 3.28 am on Wednesday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The centre informed that the earthquakes were not the aftershocks of the Gorkha Earthquake but new tremors. The centre has identified the Himalayan region of Nepal as one of the vulnerable zones for earthquake. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16353', 'image' => '20221228113133_quake.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:30:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16611', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Automobiles are the Major Contributor to Valley’s Air Pollution: Department ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it has intensified tests to check fuel emission from vehicles since December 16 and is preparing to expand the drive in other major cities of the country gradually. In the period of less than two weeks, 28 vehicles have been fined for violating the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has warned that any vehicle failing emission test will be fined up to Rs 100,000 in accordance with the Environment Conservation Act. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department’s Spokesperson Shankar Prasad Poudel said surprise checking supported by smoke densitometer is being carried out in the valley since mid-December. Those vehicles failing the test were initially fined Rs 5,000 each and asked to come for re-test within three days after maintenance. If they fail the test for the second time, they will be fined Rs 100,000, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the tests, it was found that public vehicles based in the Kathmandu Valley are being operated with exhausted engines. Vehicles failing the emission test will not be allowed to ply until they pass the test. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16352', 'image' => '20221227020941_pollutionnn.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 14:09:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16610', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Ready to Collaborate with Nepal on Various Issues Including BRI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In a regular press meet of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Spokesperson of the Ministry, Mao Ning, said China would continue its long friendly cooperation with Nepal.</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"">"We take Nepal-China relations with importance. We will maintain friendly relations and collaboration with new government," she shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We congratulate Pushpa Kamal Dahal for his election to the post of the new prime minister. We expect strategic collaboration and cooperation between the two countries on various issues including BRI," said the spokesperson. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Ministry added, "China has given high importance to Nepal-China relations and wishes long-lasting friendly relation for development and prosperity." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16351', 'image' => '20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 13:14:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16609', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Decides to End Hassles in Issuing Passport and License', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. A day after the new government was formed under the leadership of CPN Maoist Centre, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday said that the government will promptly address the problems of serpentine queue faced by service seekers at Tripureswar-based Department of Passports. </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 first meeting of the cabinet held at Singha Durbar after Prime Minster Dahal assumed office decided to avert the hassles in the delivery of passports and licenses. </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"">Sharing the cabinet decisions, PM Dahal said that the cabinet unanimously decided to make service delivery for the citizens easy and hassle free.He further informed that the Council of Ministers has decided to end the compulsion to stay in serpentine queue for passport and driving license.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, the government has come up with resolution to resolve the overall problems surfaced in the country. The newly elected prime minister clarified that they had come together with a resolution to do something for the country and the people. “We have challenges and complications ahead. Hope and optimism have increased among the people. We have a resolution to do something new in the country,” the state owned national news agency RSS quoted PM Dahal as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He further said that the cabinet held discussion on resolving the problems faced by the country’s economy, assuring good governance and improving public service delivery. Dahal reportedly said that the focus will be on good governance so that citizens do not have to suffer. According to him, the meeting also decided about calling the first session of the House of Representatives. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16350', 'image' => '20221227120518_PRO_KTM_CABINETMEETING.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 12:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16608', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE on Bullish Trend in Wake of New Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The index increased 56.88 points to close at 1924.09 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index also surged 8.38 points to reach 375.45 points. The total market capitalisation has also gone up to reach over Rs 352 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of the total 13 sub-groups, all except others increased. Over 5.6 million shares of a total of 250 companies were traded at more than Rs 2.9 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16349', 'image' => '20221227112853_20160613011604_20160613100022_fdsk;slk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 11:28:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16607', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Marijuana Farming Has Great Potential in Terms of Making Money in Nepal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.', 'content' => '<p><br /> December 26: While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.</p> <p>Stakeholders say that marijuana cultivation has a huge potential in Nepal and the country can make a lot of income from the hemp plants. <br /> Nepal's hemp plants are number 1 in the world market. Stakeholders claim that lifting the ban on their cultivation may contribute billions of rupees to the economy annually. Rajendra Malla, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce said that country is losing big income due to government’s ban on cannabis cultivation, which has commercial properties. </p> <p>Multiple studies show that Nepal can earn billion of rupees by legalizing the marijuana farming, according to experts. <br /> According to Malla, the whole plant, including the leaves, roots, bark and stems of marijuana is a good source of income. With it, expensive clothes can be manufactured with different types of techniques. According to various studies, more than 60 countries in the world have partially or fully legalized marijuana.</p> <p>World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized marijuana as a plant with medicinal properties. Even the United Nations has confirmed that marijuana is not drug and categorized it as the least harmful alternative which helps the young generation to get out of the habit of heroin, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs.</p> <p>Former Minster of Law Sher Bahadur Tamang has been advocating for the legalization of ganja cultivation, which has become the subject of many debates even in the parliament. Tamang argues that cannabis cultivation should not be banned in Nepal. <br /> Tamang has been calling to legalize the hemp plant in the Parliament. “Nepal has to lift the ban and expand marijuana’s market beyond the national border”, Tamang said. </p> <p>In 1961 AD, the United Nations Conference passed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, and banned marijuana as an effective drug. Nepal also signed the treaty in 1967 and made a law related to drug control and put marijuana in the list of prohibited drugs. Then, Western countries had banned the marijuana and Nepal had followed the suit. </p> <p>However, the countries that banned marijuana in the past have now lifted the ban and started making good incomes. In Nepal, marijuana legalization has been limited to discussion and debate. At the end of 2020, the UN recognized cannabis as a plant with medicinal properties and removed it from the list of harmful substances.</p> <p>Earlier, following all-party discussion on lifting the marijuana ban, Home Ministry was supposed to formulate a procedure to lift the ban.</p> <p>However, the joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Pradip Kumar Koirala said that the issue is still under discussion. “All sides are talking to lift the ban. However, as discussions are still underway, nothing concrete has been accomplished so far”, Koirala stated, adding “We shall come to the conclusion only after taking the views of all parties and stakeholders”. </p> <p>According to Malla, some companies from the US and European countries are willing to invest in the production of Nepal's marijuana. “If the ban is removed, cannabis cultivation will earn foreign currency, which will help reduce the trade deficit”, Malla added. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16348', 'image' => '20221226071011_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 19:06:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16606', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pushpa Kamal Dahal sworn-in as Prime Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p>December 26 : Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. </p> <p>After taking the oath of office and secrecy, Prime Minister Dahal has formed an eight-member Council of Ministers. The newly-formed Cabinet consists of three deputy prime ministers and four ministers. CPN-UML’s Bishnu Poudel has been allocated the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance while CPN-Maoists Center’s Narayankaji Shrestha has bagged the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </p> <p>Similarly, Rastriya Swotantra Party’s President Ravi Lamichhane has been given the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. <br /> Likewise, other ministers are Jwala Kumari Sah, Damodar Bhandari, Rajendra Rai and Abdul Khan. Prime Minister is yet to allocate ministries to the ministers. </p> <p>Meanwhile, all seven ministers, including three deputy prime ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy today itself. </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16347', 'image' => '20221226080025_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 17:06:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16605', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Office Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">December 26 : Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The customs office had set the target to collect a total of Rs 21. 69 billion from mid-November to mid-December. However, the customs office collected just Rs 10.90 billion in revenue during the same period. The customs office has failed to meet its targeted revenue collection in either month of the first five months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">According to Birgunj Customs office Chief Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, the office has collected 47 per cent of revenue under custom tariffs. The customs office collected just Rs 3.81 billion despite the target to amass Rs 8.9 billion customs tariffs.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Similarly, customs office also witnessed fall in revenue collection under Value Added Tax(VAT).<br /> Against its target to collect Rs 7.93 billion under VAT, the custom office collected just Rs 5 billion.<br /> The customs office has collected Rs 63.45 billion revenue in the first fives months of the current fiscal year. “The revenue collection is 36 per cent below the target”, said Baruwal. During the first five months, the custom office should have collected Rs 100 billion in revenue. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has removed ban imposed on the import of all kinds of goods. “The provision of cash margin while opening letter of Credit(LC) to import goods has affected revenue collection despite the lifting of the ban”, said customs officials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Earlier, the government had banned the import of vehicles, liquor and other goods citing depletion of foreign currency reserve. Customs officials say that vehicles and fuel are major sources of government revenue. Ban on the import of vehicles and fall in the import of petroleum products have affected revenue collection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Private sector says that demand for automobiles has fallen sharply though the government lifted the ban. Falling demand has shrunk the production of goods, causing the industries to trim the import of raw materials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">“Vehicles, petroleum products and raw materials are imported via Birgunj Customs office. Their import has dropped causing the revenue collection to contract”, said Bara Parsa Industry Association’s Vice-president Binay Shah.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Some customs officials are of the opinion that unlawful import of goods has also hit the revenue collection target.Data at the customs office show that import through the customs office decreased by 29 per cent while export trade fell by 68 per cent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Processed cooking oil was being exported to India. But, after India changed its policy on the import of cooking oil, cooking oil export from Nepal has hit snag, said cooking oil industrialist Suresh Rungata.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16346', 'image' => '20221226035543_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 15:54:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16604', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Import and Consumption of Aviation Fuel Shrink ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">December 26: Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the data at the Department of the Customs, Nepal has imported 74, 221 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs 9.20 billion in the five months of the current fiscal year. In the same period last year, Nepal imported 80,744 kilolitres of jet fuel worth Rs 4.18 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Experts in the aviation industry say that since international airlines do not refuel in Nepal, consumption of the aviation fuel has decreased along with its import. However, spokesperson Binitmani Upadhayya at the Nepal Oil Corporation claimed that sales of aviation fuel had dropped due to the fall in international flights post-COVID situation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">“Sales of aviation fuel stood at 607 kilolitres a day before 2076 BS. Fuel consumption is around 500 kilolitres at the moment”, Upadhaya said adding “Aviation fuel sale will get back to the pre-COVID level slowly”. </span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Despite the fall in the consumption of aviation fuel, international flights to and from Nepal have, however, increased compared to the last year. Likewise, the number of domestic flights has not gone down as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Tribhuvan International Airport’s spokesperson Teknath Sitaula said number of flights had remained unchanged in the last five months. Nepali airports conduct 35 international flights daily on average these days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Normally, international airlines refuel in Nepal when the price is equal to the international market. Even though the price of fuels, including aviation fuel, has declined in the international market, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has not adjusted the price of aviation fuel to cover the losses. Aviation experts say that international airlines refuel at transit not in Nepal owing to high prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Board of Directors of the Nepal Oil Corporation fixes the prices of aviation fuel and LP gas. However, price of aviation fuel has not been adjusted because the NOC Board of Directors has not held the meeting for a long time, according to Upadhyay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to NOC, the current price of aviation fuel in Nepal is USD 1.645 per litre. Nepal Rastra Bank has set the selling rate of USD 1 to NRP 132.88. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Failure to adjust the price of international aviation fuel has reduced consumption, decreasing the profit of the NOC. The more aviation fuel NOC sells, the more profit it makes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Since NOC makes income in the US Dollar from the sale of aviation fuel to international airlines, it will not reduce the country’s foreign currency reserve, say knowledgeable people. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16345', 'image' => '20221226012036_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 13:15:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16602', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Doubtful that the New Government will Implement Tourism Decade Action Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has announced the 'Nepal Tourism Decade 2023-2032', aiming to increase arrival of tourists by 15 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has prepared a strategic action plan intending to increase the arrival of tourists in Nepal to 3.5 million annually by the year 2032. On Friday, the ministry organized a program to announce the plan. The tourism decade will be implemented from 2023 to increase tourist arrival along with employment, the contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the per day expenditure of tourists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the stakeholders shared that they are skeptical that the government will execute the action plan stating that it was introduced without a proper planning. They shared that the government publishes plans but always shows lack of interest in implementation those plans, and there are doubts whether the next government will advance this plan or not.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deepak Raj Joshi, the former CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, said that it is positive to prioritize tourism and bring a long-term plan. He however said that the preparation is still not adequate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Joshi shared that the target of bringing in 3.5 million tourists is low. He said that it is not possible to increase the per day spending of tourists to 125 dollars. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, it seems that the target is only for planning. There is a target, but there is no strategy. Issues such as how to highlight Nepal's tourism products are secondary, he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the contribution of this sector to the GDP is about 3 per cent. Tourism professionals have been saying that it is around 8 per cent. According to Joshi, this target can be achieved if 3.5 million tourists visit Nepal in a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Senior Vice President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Vinayak Shah said that the program introduced by the government is positive as all countries need tourists for revival of economy after Covid-19 pandemic. Although the program looks good from the theoretical point of view, he doubts that there will always be problems in the implementation part. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now it is a matter of how the new government will take this program forward. Even though the old programs are good in our country, the new government does not prioritize them, he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16343', 'image' => '20221226115540_tourism ktm.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:54:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16601', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobile Phones without Customs Clearance will be Barred', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. The authority published a notice on Saturday stating that it will fully implement the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) from December 30.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authority informed that MDMS was implemented prior to this as a test to discourage and manage the illegal import, sale, distribution and use of mobile sets and to further track and block stolen and lost mobile sets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In accordance to the Customs Act, 2064, the authority has requested Nepalese coming from abroad to update the system of their mobile phone brought for personal use if they have not registered it in the MDMS yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the rules, mobile phone sets that have not been declared at the customs will not be registered from December 30 onwards and the operation of such mobile sets will also be banned. So, the authority has requested to go to MDMS and register such mobile sets brought for personal use along with the passport/citizenship/national identity card.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when buying a mobile phone within Nepal, it is possible to confirm whether the mobile set is registered with the Nepal Telecommunication Authority's MDMS system or not. Thus, the authority mentioned in the notice that mobile importers and sellers must take the pre-approval of the authority before importing mobile phones.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16342', 'image' => '20221226113313_nokia-3210-hero.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16600', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NPC's Study Opposes Foreign Investment in Primary Sector of Agriculture ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The study report on 'foreign investment potential in agriculture, 2022' released last Thursday suggested the government not to bring in foreign investment for food production. However, foreign investment can be brought for storage, processing and marketing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no need to bring in foreign direct investment in the primary sector of agriculture. Banks of Nepal have adequately floated loan in this sector and the government has also given continuity to the discount on taxes. There are also other policy benefits," the report mentioned, arguing that as the companies working in the primary sector of agriculture are not listed in Nepal Stock Exchange, such companies are in need of search for foreign investment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> In such situation, it is not logical to float foreign investment in the agriculture sector. However, it can be obtained for processing, storage and marketing to add value to the agricultural products, the report added. Foreign direct investment is essential for cold storage, canning, processing, mill etc. With this, a separate regulation is necessary on foreign direct investment in these sectors, the report further said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The regulation to be framed to govern FDI in secondary sectors of agriculture should clearly mention the area where the investment is permitted, according to the study report. Similarly, how the investors would enjoy the rights as ownership of foreign land here needs to addressed clearly, added the report. The rights and benefits of farmers should also be incorporated in the regulation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the recent years, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP has declined in Nepal. Although 66 percent of population is said to be dependent on agriculture, the production in this sector is not up to the mark. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two years back, the government had decided to allow foreign investment in agriculture, but the Supreme Court had issued an interlocutory order asking the government to not implement the decision. The case is sub judice at Supreme Court. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16341', 'image' => '20221226110836_agri maize.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:07:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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Due to the current working capital loan guidelines implemented by Nepal Rastra Bank since November, businessmen have been complaining that they are on the verge of shut down.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessmen have repeatedly submitted memorandums to NRB, Ministry of Finance and other government bodies demanding the postponement of the guidelines but to no avail. They also expressed their concern on this matter with the top leaders of various parties. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">FNCCI presented suggestions reminding the government that NRB should be instructed to use all the monetary instruments to solve the problem of liquidity crunch, as well as suspending the system of current capital loan guidelines for the improving the economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the federation, Shekhar Golchha stated that the economy has been affected in many ways while the problem remains constant even after the review of monetary policy, and due to the overall banking problem, industrialists are put in a very difficult situation and are forced to come to the streets. He mentioned that the current working capital loan guidelines is the biggest problem for business operations. In a meeting with Prime Minister Dahal, he said, “As the country's economy is currently in a very sensitive state, the entire focus of the newly formed government should be on the revival of the economy.” The federation informed that Prime Minister Dahal consoled them saying that he will study the current capital loan guidelines and put together the Ministry of Finance, NRB and the private sector to solve the problem soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16356', 'image' => '20221228054234_Working-Capital-Loan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 17:41:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Facing Shortage of 100,000 Litres of Milk Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Due to the lack of milk in the domestic market, the government has opened the doors for importing milk from India as per the demand. But the importers are yet to import milk from India stating that it won’t be profitable if they cannot sell the milk in the Nepali market due to the high cost.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, 600,000 litres of milk is being supplied to the Nepalese market daily, while the demand is 700,000 litres.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Milk production is yet to improve due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Dairy Association, there was an average shortage of 150,000 litres of milk per day during the marriage season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“But even though the wedding season is over now, we are facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk,” said Hem Chandra Khanal, general secretary of the association. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Milk production should increase, and consumption should decrease between mid-August to mid-February. But we are reeling under shortage of milk at a time when the production should have plentiful," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that it is necessary to facilitate import of milk to balance the demand and supply. Also, the price of milk in the domestic market needs to be increased on par with the prices in the international market, said Khanal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last October, the dairy industry and businessmen had demanded the government allow the import of milk. The government allowed import of milk amidst the opposition from the milk-producing farmers. Even though the import was opened, importers did not dare to import milk as the price was expensive in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers did not import because it would not be beneficial to bring it at a high price and sell it at a competitive price in the Nepali market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the Indian market, the base price of milk is Rs 70 per litre whereas the price in Nepal is only Rs 64 per litre. The association has said that the farmers and industrialists have been affected since the price of milk in Nepal has not increased for the last two years. To avoid a shortage of milk in the domestic market, the association said that the government should facilitate the import of milk after collecting accurate data on demand and production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16355', 'image' => '20221228013735_milk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 13:37:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal to Receive USD 200 Million Concessional Loan from ADB ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) and a Grant Agreement of USD 12 million to implement the Strengthening Systems to Protect and Uplift Women Project, the Ministry of Finance said in a press statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project will benefit survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) across Madhesh, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschchim provinces through the establishment of long-term rehabilitation centers, development of survivor-friendly facilities for the women, children and senior citizen including service centers within selected districts and area police offices and strengthening survivor-friendly services in these provinces. The project will also build a new national long-term rehabilitation center in Bhaktapur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the MoF, Ishwori Prasad Aryal, and Saugata Dasgupta, ADB Officer-in-Charge for Nepal, signed the agreements. The proposed assistance will support the implementation of the government’s School Education Sector Plan in a sector-wide approach supported by eight development partners, including ADB under a Joint Financing Arrangement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The program will enhance learning provisions for basic and secondary schools; strengthen teaching and learning skills in schools; accelerate the recovery from learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and improve the capacity of local governments in education planning, monitoring and reporting,” according to the statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Joint Secretary Aryal said that Nepal has done significantly in terms of improving access to education in the past decades however, much more needs to be done to further improve equity and access to quality education. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be crucial to operationalizing Nepal’s holistic approach in improving the overall learning outcomes, said Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This agreement is a key part of ADB’s overall efforts to help Nepal accelerate reforms and transform the country’s education system to develop human capital, reduce social inequity, and attain sustainable growth. The plan is designed towards eliminating inequities in access and participation in school education, and improving quality and resilience of school education,” Dasgupta was quoted as saying. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16354', 'image' => '20221228115056_ADB.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:50:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Three Earthquakes Jolt Baglung this Morning ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, three earthquakes occurred at different epicenters in the district in early hours of Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the information shared by the centre, an earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale with its epicenter in Adhikari Chaur, Baglung was recorded at 1.23 am this morning. Likewise, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Khunga at 2.07 am this morning. The third one measuring 4 on the Richter scale took place with its epicenter at Adhikari Chowk at 3.28 am on Wednesday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The centre informed that the earthquakes were not the aftershocks of the Gorkha Earthquake but new tremors. The centre has identified the Himalayan region of Nepal as one of the vulnerable zones for earthquake. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16353', 'image' => '20221228113133_quake.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:30:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16611', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Automobiles are the Major Contributor to Valley’s Air Pollution: Department ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it has intensified tests to check fuel emission from vehicles since December 16 and is preparing to expand the drive in other major cities of the country gradually. In the period of less than two weeks, 28 vehicles have been fined for violating the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has warned that any vehicle failing emission test will be fined up to Rs 100,000 in accordance with the Environment Conservation Act. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department’s Spokesperson Shankar Prasad Poudel said surprise checking supported by smoke densitometer is being carried out in the valley since mid-December. Those vehicles failing the test were initially fined Rs 5,000 each and asked to come for re-test within three days after maintenance. If they fail the test for the second time, they will be fined Rs 100,000, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the tests, it was found that public vehicles based in the Kathmandu Valley are being operated with exhausted engines. Vehicles failing the emission test will not be allowed to ply until they pass the test. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16352', 'image' => '20221227020941_pollutionnn.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 14:09:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16610', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Ready to Collaborate with Nepal on Various Issues Including BRI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In a regular press meet of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Spokesperson of the Ministry, Mao Ning, said China would continue its long friendly cooperation with Nepal.</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"">"We take Nepal-China relations with importance. We will maintain friendly relations and collaboration with new government," she shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We congratulate Pushpa Kamal Dahal for his election to the post of the new prime minister. We expect strategic collaboration and cooperation between the two countries on various issues including BRI," said the spokesperson. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Ministry added, "China has given high importance to Nepal-China relations and wishes long-lasting friendly relation for development and prosperity." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16351', 'image' => '20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 13:14:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16609', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Decides to End Hassles in Issuing Passport and License', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. A day after the new government was formed under the leadership of CPN Maoist Centre, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday said that the government will promptly address the problems of serpentine queue faced by service seekers at Tripureswar-based Department of Passports. </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 first meeting of the cabinet held at Singha Durbar after Prime Minster Dahal assumed office decided to avert the hassles in the delivery of passports and licenses. </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"">Sharing the cabinet decisions, PM Dahal said that the cabinet unanimously decided to make service delivery for the citizens easy and hassle free.He further informed that the Council of Ministers has decided to end the compulsion to stay in serpentine queue for passport and driving license.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, the government has come up with resolution to resolve the overall problems surfaced in the country. The newly elected prime minister clarified that they had come together with a resolution to do something for the country and the people. “We have challenges and complications ahead. Hope and optimism have increased among the people. We have a resolution to do something new in the country,” the state owned national news agency RSS quoted PM Dahal as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He further said that the cabinet held discussion on resolving the problems faced by the country’s economy, assuring good governance and improving public service delivery. Dahal reportedly said that the focus will be on good governance so that citizens do not have to suffer. According to him, the meeting also decided about calling the first session of the House of Representatives. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16350', 'image' => '20221227120518_PRO_KTM_CABINETMEETING.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 12:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16608', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE on Bullish Trend in Wake of New Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The index increased 56.88 points to close at 1924.09 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index also surged 8.38 points to reach 375.45 points. The total market capitalisation has also gone up to reach over Rs 352 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of the total 13 sub-groups, all except others increased. Over 5.6 million shares of a total of 250 companies were traded at more than Rs 2.9 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16349', 'image' => '20221227112853_20160613011604_20160613100022_fdsk;slk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 11:28:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16607', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Marijuana Farming Has Great Potential in Terms of Making Money in Nepal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.', 'content' => '<p><br /> December 26: While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.</p> <p>Stakeholders say that marijuana cultivation has a huge potential in Nepal and the country can make a lot of income from the hemp plants. <br /> Nepal's hemp plants are number 1 in the world market. Stakeholders claim that lifting the ban on their cultivation may contribute billions of rupees to the economy annually. Rajendra Malla, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce said that country is losing big income due to government’s ban on cannabis cultivation, which has commercial properties. </p> <p>Multiple studies show that Nepal can earn billion of rupees by legalizing the marijuana farming, according to experts. <br /> According to Malla, the whole plant, including the leaves, roots, bark and stems of marijuana is a good source of income. With it, expensive clothes can be manufactured with different types of techniques. According to various studies, more than 60 countries in the world have partially or fully legalized marijuana.</p> <p>World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized marijuana as a plant with medicinal properties. Even the United Nations has confirmed that marijuana is not drug and categorized it as the least harmful alternative which helps the young generation to get out of the habit of heroin, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs.</p> <p>Former Minster of Law Sher Bahadur Tamang has been advocating for the legalization of ganja cultivation, which has become the subject of many debates even in the parliament. Tamang argues that cannabis cultivation should not be banned in Nepal. <br /> Tamang has been calling to legalize the hemp plant in the Parliament. “Nepal has to lift the ban and expand marijuana’s market beyond the national border”, Tamang said. </p> <p>In 1961 AD, the United Nations Conference passed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, and banned marijuana as an effective drug. Nepal also signed the treaty in 1967 and made a law related to drug control and put marijuana in the list of prohibited drugs. Then, Western countries had banned the marijuana and Nepal had followed the suit. </p> <p>However, the countries that banned marijuana in the past have now lifted the ban and started making good incomes. In Nepal, marijuana legalization has been limited to discussion and debate. At the end of 2020, the UN recognized cannabis as a plant with medicinal properties and removed it from the list of harmful substances.</p> <p>Earlier, following all-party discussion on lifting the marijuana ban, Home Ministry was supposed to formulate a procedure to lift the ban.</p> <p>However, the joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Pradip Kumar Koirala said that the issue is still under discussion. “All sides are talking to lift the ban. However, as discussions are still underway, nothing concrete has been accomplished so far”, Koirala stated, adding “We shall come to the conclusion only after taking the views of all parties and stakeholders”. </p> <p>According to Malla, some companies from the US and European countries are willing to invest in the production of Nepal's marijuana. “If the ban is removed, cannabis cultivation will earn foreign currency, which will help reduce the trade deficit”, Malla added. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16348', 'image' => '20221226071011_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 19:06:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16606', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pushpa Kamal Dahal sworn-in as Prime Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p>December 26 : Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. </p> <p>After taking the oath of office and secrecy, Prime Minister Dahal has formed an eight-member Council of Ministers. The newly-formed Cabinet consists of three deputy prime ministers and four ministers. CPN-UML’s Bishnu Poudel has been allocated the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance while CPN-Maoists Center’s Narayankaji Shrestha has bagged the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </p> <p>Similarly, Rastriya Swotantra Party’s President Ravi Lamichhane has been given the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. <br /> Likewise, other ministers are Jwala Kumari Sah, Damodar Bhandari, Rajendra Rai and Abdul Khan. Prime Minister is yet to allocate ministries to the ministers. </p> <p>Meanwhile, all seven ministers, including three deputy prime ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy today itself. </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16347', 'image' => '20221226080025_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 17:06:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16605', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Office Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">December 26 : Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The customs office had set the target to collect a total of Rs 21. 69 billion from mid-November to mid-December. However, the customs office collected just Rs 10.90 billion in revenue during the same period. The customs office has failed to meet its targeted revenue collection in either month of the first five months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">According to Birgunj Customs office Chief Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, the office has collected 47 per cent of revenue under custom tariffs. The customs office collected just Rs 3.81 billion despite the target to amass Rs 8.9 billion customs tariffs.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Similarly, customs office also witnessed fall in revenue collection under Value Added Tax(VAT).<br /> Against its target to collect Rs 7.93 billion under VAT, the custom office collected just Rs 5 billion.<br /> The customs office has collected Rs 63.45 billion revenue in the first fives months of the current fiscal year. “The revenue collection is 36 per cent below the target”, said Baruwal. During the first five months, the custom office should have collected Rs 100 billion in revenue. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has removed ban imposed on the import of all kinds of goods. “The provision of cash margin while opening letter of Credit(LC) to import goods has affected revenue collection despite the lifting of the ban”, said customs officials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Earlier, the government had banned the import of vehicles, liquor and other goods citing depletion of foreign currency reserve. Customs officials say that vehicles and fuel are major sources of government revenue. Ban on the import of vehicles and fall in the import of petroleum products have affected revenue collection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Private sector says that demand for automobiles has fallen sharply though the government lifted the ban. Falling demand has shrunk the production of goods, causing the industries to trim the import of raw materials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">“Vehicles, petroleum products and raw materials are imported via Birgunj Customs office. Their import has dropped causing the revenue collection to contract”, said Bara Parsa Industry Association’s Vice-president Binay Shah.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Some customs officials are of the opinion that unlawful import of goods has also hit the revenue collection target.Data at the customs office show that import through the customs office decreased by 29 per cent while export trade fell by 68 per cent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Processed cooking oil was being exported to India. But, after India changed its policy on the import of cooking oil, cooking oil export from Nepal has hit snag, said cooking oil industrialist Suresh Rungata.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16346', 'image' => '20221226035543_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 15:54:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16604', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Import and Consumption of Aviation Fuel Shrink ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">December 26: Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the data at the Department of the Customs, Nepal has imported 74, 221 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs 9.20 billion in the five months of the current fiscal year. In the same period last year, Nepal imported 80,744 kilolitres of jet fuel worth Rs 4.18 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Experts in the aviation industry say that since international airlines do not refuel in Nepal, consumption of the aviation fuel has decreased along with its import. However, spokesperson Binitmani Upadhayya at the Nepal Oil Corporation claimed that sales of aviation fuel had dropped due to the fall in international flights post-COVID situation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">“Sales of aviation fuel stood at 607 kilolitres a day before 2076 BS. Fuel consumption is around 500 kilolitres at the moment”, Upadhaya said adding “Aviation fuel sale will get back to the pre-COVID level slowly”. </span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Despite the fall in the consumption of aviation fuel, international flights to and from Nepal have, however, increased compared to the last year. Likewise, the number of domestic flights has not gone down as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Tribhuvan International Airport’s spokesperson Teknath Sitaula said number of flights had remained unchanged in the last five months. Nepali airports conduct 35 international flights daily on average these days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Normally, international airlines refuel in Nepal when the price is equal to the international market. Even though the price of fuels, including aviation fuel, has declined in the international market, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has not adjusted the price of aviation fuel to cover the losses. Aviation experts say that international airlines refuel at transit not in Nepal owing to high prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Board of Directors of the Nepal Oil Corporation fixes the prices of aviation fuel and LP gas. However, price of aviation fuel has not been adjusted because the NOC Board of Directors has not held the meeting for a long time, according to Upadhyay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to NOC, the current price of aviation fuel in Nepal is USD 1.645 per litre. Nepal Rastra Bank has set the selling rate of USD 1 to NRP 132.88. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Failure to adjust the price of international aviation fuel has reduced consumption, decreasing the profit of the NOC. The more aviation fuel NOC sells, the more profit it makes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Since NOC makes income in the US Dollar from the sale of aviation fuel to international airlines, it will not reduce the country’s foreign currency reserve, say knowledgeable people. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16345', 'image' => '20221226012036_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 13:15:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16602', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Doubtful that the New Government will Implement Tourism Decade Action Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has announced the 'Nepal Tourism Decade 2023-2032', aiming to increase arrival of tourists by 15 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has prepared a strategic action plan intending to increase the arrival of tourists in Nepal to 3.5 million annually by the year 2032. On Friday, the ministry organized a program to announce the plan. The tourism decade will be implemented from 2023 to increase tourist arrival along with employment, the contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the per day expenditure of tourists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the stakeholders shared that they are skeptical that the government will execute the action plan stating that it was introduced without a proper planning. They shared that the government publishes plans but always shows lack of interest in implementation those plans, and there are doubts whether the next government will advance this plan or not.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deepak Raj Joshi, the former CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, said that it is positive to prioritize tourism and bring a long-term plan. He however said that the preparation is still not adequate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Joshi shared that the target of bringing in 3.5 million tourists is low. He said that it is not possible to increase the per day spending of tourists to 125 dollars. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, it seems that the target is only for planning. There is a target, but there is no strategy. Issues such as how to highlight Nepal's tourism products are secondary, he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the contribution of this sector to the GDP is about 3 per cent. Tourism professionals have been saying that it is around 8 per cent. According to Joshi, this target can be achieved if 3.5 million tourists visit Nepal in a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Senior Vice President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Vinayak Shah said that the program introduced by the government is positive as all countries need tourists for revival of economy after Covid-19 pandemic. Although the program looks good from the theoretical point of view, he doubts that there will always be problems in the implementation part. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now it is a matter of how the new government will take this program forward. Even though the old programs are good in our country, the new government does not prioritize them, he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16343', 'image' => '20221226115540_tourism ktm.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:54:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16601', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobile Phones without Customs Clearance will be Barred', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. The authority published a notice on Saturday stating that it will fully implement the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) from December 30.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authority informed that MDMS was implemented prior to this as a test to discourage and manage the illegal import, sale, distribution and use of mobile sets and to further track and block stolen and lost mobile sets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In accordance to the Customs Act, 2064, the authority has requested Nepalese coming from abroad to update the system of their mobile phone brought for personal use if they have not registered it in the MDMS yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the rules, mobile phone sets that have not been declared at the customs will not be registered from December 30 onwards and the operation of such mobile sets will also be banned. So, the authority has requested to go to MDMS and register such mobile sets brought for personal use along with the passport/citizenship/national identity card.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when buying a mobile phone within Nepal, it is possible to confirm whether the mobile set is registered with the Nepal Telecommunication Authority's MDMS system or not. Thus, the authority mentioned in the notice that mobile importers and sellers must take the pre-approval of the authority before importing mobile phones.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16342', 'image' => '20221226113313_nokia-3210-hero.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16600', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NPC's Study Opposes Foreign Investment in Primary Sector of Agriculture ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The study report on 'foreign investment potential in agriculture, 2022' released last Thursday suggested the government not to bring in foreign investment for food production. However, foreign investment can be brought for storage, processing and marketing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no need to bring in foreign direct investment in the primary sector of agriculture. Banks of Nepal have adequately floated loan in this sector and the government has also given continuity to the discount on taxes. There are also other policy benefits," the report mentioned, arguing that as the companies working in the primary sector of agriculture are not listed in Nepal Stock Exchange, such companies are in need of search for foreign investment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> In such situation, it is not logical to float foreign investment in the agriculture sector. However, it can be obtained for processing, storage and marketing to add value to the agricultural products, the report added. Foreign direct investment is essential for cold storage, canning, processing, mill etc. With this, a separate regulation is necessary on foreign direct investment in these sectors, the report further said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The regulation to be framed to govern FDI in secondary sectors of agriculture should clearly mention the area where the investment is permitted, according to the study report. Similarly, how the investors would enjoy the rights as ownership of foreign land here needs to addressed clearly, added the report. The rights and benefits of farmers should also be incorporated in the regulation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the recent years, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP has declined in Nepal. Although 66 percent of population is said to be dependent on agriculture, the production in this sector is not up to the mark. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two years back, the government had decided to allow foreign investment in agriculture, but the Supreme Court had issued an interlocutory order asking the government to not implement the decision. The case is sub judice at Supreme Court. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16341', 'image' => '20221226110836_agri maize.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:07:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI Urges New Government not to Implement Working Capital Guidelines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2 years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2 years. Due to the current working capital loan guidelines implemented by Nepal Rastra Bank since November, businessmen have been complaining that they are on the verge of shut down.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessmen have repeatedly submitted memorandums to NRB, Ministry of Finance and other government bodies demanding the postponement of the guidelines but to no avail. They also expressed their concern on this matter with the top leaders of various parties. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">FNCCI presented suggestions reminding the government that NRB should be instructed to use all the monetary instruments to solve the problem of liquidity crunch, as well as suspending the system of current capital loan guidelines for the improving the economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the federation, Shekhar Golchha stated that the economy has been affected in many ways while the problem remains constant even after the review of monetary policy, and due to the overall banking problem, industrialists are put in a very difficult situation and are forced to come to the streets. He mentioned that the current working capital loan guidelines is the biggest problem for business operations. In a meeting with Prime Minister Dahal, he said, “As the country's economy is currently in a very sensitive state, the entire focus of the newly formed government should be on the revival of the economy.” The federation informed that Prime Minister Dahal consoled them saying that he will study the current capital loan guidelines and put together the Ministry of Finance, NRB and the private sector to solve the problem soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16356', 'image' => '20221228054234_Working-Capital-Loan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 17:41:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Facing Shortage of 100,000 Litres of Milk Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Due to the lack of milk in the domestic market, the government has opened the doors for importing milk from India as per the demand. But the importers are yet to import milk from India stating that it won’t be profitable if they cannot sell the milk in the Nepali market due to the high cost.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, 600,000 litres of milk is being supplied to the Nepalese market daily, while the demand is 700,000 litres.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Milk production is yet to improve due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Dairy Association, there was an average shortage of 150,000 litres of milk per day during the marriage season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“But even though the wedding season is over now, we are facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk,” said Hem Chandra Khanal, general secretary of the association. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Milk production should increase, and consumption should decrease between mid-August to mid-February. But we are reeling under shortage of milk at a time when the production should have plentiful," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that it is necessary to facilitate import of milk to balance the demand and supply. Also, the price of milk in the domestic market needs to be increased on par with the prices in the international market, said Khanal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last October, the dairy industry and businessmen had demanded the government allow the import of milk. The government allowed import of milk amidst the opposition from the milk-producing farmers. Even though the import was opened, importers did not dare to import milk as the price was expensive in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers did not import because it would not be beneficial to bring it at a high price and sell it at a competitive price in the Nepali market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the Indian market, the base price of milk is Rs 70 per litre whereas the price in Nepal is only Rs 64 per litre. The association has said that the farmers and industrialists have been affected since the price of milk in Nepal has not increased for the last two years. To avoid a shortage of milk in the domestic market, the association said that the government should facilitate the import of milk after collecting accurate data on demand and production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16355', 'image' => '20221228013735_milk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 13:37:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal to Receive USD 200 Million Concessional Loan from ADB ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) and a Grant Agreement of USD 12 million to implement the Strengthening Systems to Protect and Uplift Women Project, the Ministry of Finance said in a press statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project will benefit survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) across Madhesh, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschchim provinces through the establishment of long-term rehabilitation centers, development of survivor-friendly facilities for the women, children and senior citizen including service centers within selected districts and area police offices and strengthening survivor-friendly services in these provinces. The project will also build a new national long-term rehabilitation center in Bhaktapur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the MoF, Ishwori Prasad Aryal, and Saugata Dasgupta, ADB Officer-in-Charge for Nepal, signed the agreements. The proposed assistance will support the implementation of the government’s School Education Sector Plan in a sector-wide approach supported by eight development partners, including ADB under a Joint Financing Arrangement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The program will enhance learning provisions for basic and secondary schools; strengthen teaching and learning skills in schools; accelerate the recovery from learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and improve the capacity of local governments in education planning, monitoring and reporting,” according to the statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Joint Secretary Aryal said that Nepal has done significantly in terms of improving access to education in the past decades however, much more needs to be done to further improve equity and access to quality education. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be crucial to operationalizing Nepal’s holistic approach in improving the overall learning outcomes, said Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This agreement is a key part of ADB’s overall efforts to help Nepal accelerate reforms and transform the country’s education system to develop human capital, reduce social inequity, and attain sustainable growth. The plan is designed towards eliminating inequities in access and participation in school education, and improving quality and resilience of school education,” Dasgupta was quoted as saying. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16354', 'image' => '20221228115056_ADB.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:50:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Three Earthquakes Jolt Baglung this Morning ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, three earthquakes occurred at different epicenters in the district in early hours of Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the information shared by the centre, an earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale with its epicenter in Adhikari Chaur, Baglung was recorded at 1.23 am this morning. Likewise, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Khunga at 2.07 am this morning. The third one measuring 4 on the Richter scale took place with its epicenter at Adhikari Chowk at 3.28 am on Wednesday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The centre informed that the earthquakes were not the aftershocks of the Gorkha Earthquake but new tremors. The centre has identified the Himalayan region of Nepal as one of the vulnerable zones for earthquake. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16353', 'image' => '20221228113133_quake.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:30:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16611', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Automobiles are the Major Contributor to Valley’s Air Pollution: Department ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it has intensified tests to check fuel emission from vehicles since December 16 and is preparing to expand the drive in other major cities of the country gradually. In the period of less than two weeks, 28 vehicles have been fined for violating the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has warned that any vehicle failing emission test will be fined up to Rs 100,000 in accordance with the Environment Conservation Act. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department’s Spokesperson Shankar Prasad Poudel said surprise checking supported by smoke densitometer is being carried out in the valley since mid-December. Those vehicles failing the test were initially fined Rs 5,000 each and asked to come for re-test within three days after maintenance. If they fail the test for the second time, they will be fined Rs 100,000, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the tests, it was found that public vehicles based in the Kathmandu Valley are being operated with exhausted engines. Vehicles failing the emission test will not be allowed to ply until they pass the test. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16352', 'image' => '20221227020941_pollutionnn.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 14:09:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16610', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Ready to Collaborate with Nepal on Various Issues Including BRI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In a regular press meet of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Spokesperson of the Ministry, Mao Ning, said China would continue its long friendly cooperation with Nepal.</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"">"We take Nepal-China relations with importance. We will maintain friendly relations and collaboration with new government," she shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We congratulate Pushpa Kamal Dahal for his election to the post of the new prime minister. We expect strategic collaboration and cooperation between the two countries on various issues including BRI," said the spokesperson. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Ministry added, "China has given high importance to Nepal-China relations and wishes long-lasting friendly relation for development and prosperity." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16351', 'image' => '20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 13:14:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16609', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Decides to End Hassles in Issuing Passport and License', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. A day after the new government was formed under the leadership of CPN Maoist Centre, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday said that the government will promptly address the problems of serpentine queue faced by service seekers at Tripureswar-based Department of Passports. </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 first meeting of the cabinet held at Singha Durbar after Prime Minster Dahal assumed office decided to avert the hassles in the delivery of passports and licenses. </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"">Sharing the cabinet decisions, PM Dahal said that the cabinet unanimously decided to make service delivery for the citizens easy and hassle free.He further informed that the Council of Ministers has decided to end the compulsion to stay in serpentine queue for passport and driving license.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, the government has come up with resolution to resolve the overall problems surfaced in the country. The newly elected prime minister clarified that they had come together with a resolution to do something for the country and the people. “We have challenges and complications ahead. Hope and optimism have increased among the people. We have a resolution to do something new in the country,” the state owned national news agency RSS quoted PM Dahal as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He further said that the cabinet held discussion on resolving the problems faced by the country’s economy, assuring good governance and improving public service delivery. Dahal reportedly said that the focus will be on good governance so that citizens do not have to suffer. According to him, the meeting also decided about calling the first session of the House of Representatives. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16350', 'image' => '20221227120518_PRO_KTM_CABINETMEETING.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 12:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16608', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE on Bullish Trend in Wake of New Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The index increased 56.88 points to close at 1924.09 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index also surged 8.38 points to reach 375.45 points. The total market capitalisation has also gone up to reach over Rs 352 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of the total 13 sub-groups, all except others increased. Over 5.6 million shares of a total of 250 companies were traded at more than Rs 2.9 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16349', 'image' => '20221227112853_20160613011604_20160613100022_fdsk;slk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 11:28:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16607', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Marijuana Farming Has Great Potential in Terms of Making Money in Nepal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.', 'content' => '<p><br /> December 26: While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.</p> <p>Stakeholders say that marijuana cultivation has a huge potential in Nepal and the country can make a lot of income from the hemp plants. <br /> Nepal's hemp plants are number 1 in the world market. Stakeholders claim that lifting the ban on their cultivation may contribute billions of rupees to the economy annually. Rajendra Malla, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce said that country is losing big income due to government’s ban on cannabis cultivation, which has commercial properties. </p> <p>Multiple studies show that Nepal can earn billion of rupees by legalizing the marijuana farming, according to experts. <br /> According to Malla, the whole plant, including the leaves, roots, bark and stems of marijuana is a good source of income. With it, expensive clothes can be manufactured with different types of techniques. According to various studies, more than 60 countries in the world have partially or fully legalized marijuana.</p> <p>World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized marijuana as a plant with medicinal properties. Even the United Nations has confirmed that marijuana is not drug and categorized it as the least harmful alternative which helps the young generation to get out of the habit of heroin, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs.</p> <p>Former Minster of Law Sher Bahadur Tamang has been advocating for the legalization of ganja cultivation, which has become the subject of many debates even in the parliament. Tamang argues that cannabis cultivation should not be banned in Nepal. <br /> Tamang has been calling to legalize the hemp plant in the Parliament. “Nepal has to lift the ban and expand marijuana’s market beyond the national border”, Tamang said. </p> <p>In 1961 AD, the United Nations Conference passed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, and banned marijuana as an effective drug. Nepal also signed the treaty in 1967 and made a law related to drug control and put marijuana in the list of prohibited drugs. Then, Western countries had banned the marijuana and Nepal had followed the suit. </p> <p>However, the countries that banned marijuana in the past have now lifted the ban and started making good incomes. In Nepal, marijuana legalization has been limited to discussion and debate. At the end of 2020, the UN recognized cannabis as a plant with medicinal properties and removed it from the list of harmful substances.</p> <p>Earlier, following all-party discussion on lifting the marijuana ban, Home Ministry was supposed to formulate a procedure to lift the ban.</p> <p>However, the joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Pradip Kumar Koirala said that the issue is still under discussion. “All sides are talking to lift the ban. However, as discussions are still underway, nothing concrete has been accomplished so far”, Koirala stated, adding “We shall come to the conclusion only after taking the views of all parties and stakeholders”. </p> <p>According to Malla, some companies from the US and European countries are willing to invest in the production of Nepal's marijuana. “If the ban is removed, cannabis cultivation will earn foreign currency, which will help reduce the trade deficit”, Malla added. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16348', 'image' => '20221226071011_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 19:06:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16606', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pushpa Kamal Dahal sworn-in as Prime Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p>December 26 : Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. </p> <p>After taking the oath of office and secrecy, Prime Minister Dahal has formed an eight-member Council of Ministers. The newly-formed Cabinet consists of three deputy prime ministers and four ministers. CPN-UML’s Bishnu Poudel has been allocated the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance while CPN-Maoists Center’s Narayankaji Shrestha has bagged the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </p> <p>Similarly, Rastriya Swotantra Party’s President Ravi Lamichhane has been given the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. <br /> Likewise, other ministers are Jwala Kumari Sah, Damodar Bhandari, Rajendra Rai and Abdul Khan. Prime Minister is yet to allocate ministries to the ministers. </p> <p>Meanwhile, all seven ministers, including three deputy prime ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy today itself. </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16347', 'image' => '20221226080025_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 17:06:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16605', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Office Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">December 26 : Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The customs office had set the target to collect a total of Rs 21. 69 billion from mid-November to mid-December. However, the customs office collected just Rs 10.90 billion in revenue during the same period. The customs office has failed to meet its targeted revenue collection in either month of the first five months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">According to Birgunj Customs office Chief Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, the office has collected 47 per cent of revenue under custom tariffs. The customs office collected just Rs 3.81 billion despite the target to amass Rs 8.9 billion customs tariffs.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Similarly, customs office also witnessed fall in revenue collection under Value Added Tax(VAT).<br /> Against its target to collect Rs 7.93 billion under VAT, the custom office collected just Rs 5 billion.<br /> The customs office has collected Rs 63.45 billion revenue in the first fives months of the current fiscal year. “The revenue collection is 36 per cent below the target”, said Baruwal. During the first five months, the custom office should have collected Rs 100 billion in revenue. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has removed ban imposed on the import of all kinds of goods. “The provision of cash margin while opening letter of Credit(LC) to import goods has affected revenue collection despite the lifting of the ban”, said customs officials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Earlier, the government had banned the import of vehicles, liquor and other goods citing depletion of foreign currency reserve. Customs officials say that vehicles and fuel are major sources of government revenue. Ban on the import of vehicles and fall in the import of petroleum products have affected revenue collection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Private sector says that demand for automobiles has fallen sharply though the government lifted the ban. Falling demand has shrunk the production of goods, causing the industries to trim the import of raw materials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">“Vehicles, petroleum products and raw materials are imported via Birgunj Customs office. Their import has dropped causing the revenue collection to contract”, said Bara Parsa Industry Association’s Vice-president Binay Shah.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Some customs officials are of the opinion that unlawful import of goods has also hit the revenue collection target.Data at the customs office show that import through the customs office decreased by 29 per cent while export trade fell by 68 per cent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Processed cooking oil was being exported to India. But, after India changed its policy on the import of cooking oil, cooking oil export from Nepal has hit snag, said cooking oil industrialist Suresh Rungata.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16346', 'image' => '20221226035543_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 15:54:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16604', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Import and Consumption of Aviation Fuel Shrink ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">December 26: Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the data at the Department of the Customs, Nepal has imported 74, 221 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs 9.20 billion in the five months of the current fiscal year. In the same period last year, Nepal imported 80,744 kilolitres of jet fuel worth Rs 4.18 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Experts in the aviation industry say that since international airlines do not refuel in Nepal, consumption of the aviation fuel has decreased along with its import. However, spokesperson Binitmani Upadhayya at the Nepal Oil Corporation claimed that sales of aviation fuel had dropped due to the fall in international flights post-COVID situation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">“Sales of aviation fuel stood at 607 kilolitres a day before 2076 BS. Fuel consumption is around 500 kilolitres at the moment”, Upadhaya said adding “Aviation fuel sale will get back to the pre-COVID level slowly”. </span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Despite the fall in the consumption of aviation fuel, international flights to and from Nepal have, however, increased compared to the last year. Likewise, the number of domestic flights has not gone down as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Tribhuvan International Airport’s spokesperson Teknath Sitaula said number of flights had remained unchanged in the last five months. Nepali airports conduct 35 international flights daily on average these days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Normally, international airlines refuel in Nepal when the price is equal to the international market. Even though the price of fuels, including aviation fuel, has declined in the international market, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has not adjusted the price of aviation fuel to cover the losses. Aviation experts say that international airlines refuel at transit not in Nepal owing to high prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Board of Directors of the Nepal Oil Corporation fixes the prices of aviation fuel and LP gas. However, price of aviation fuel has not been adjusted because the NOC Board of Directors has not held the meeting for a long time, according to Upadhyay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to NOC, the current price of aviation fuel in Nepal is USD 1.645 per litre. Nepal Rastra Bank has set the selling rate of USD 1 to NRP 132.88. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Failure to adjust the price of international aviation fuel has reduced consumption, decreasing the profit of the NOC. The more aviation fuel NOC sells, the more profit it makes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Since NOC makes income in the US Dollar from the sale of aviation fuel to international airlines, it will not reduce the country’s foreign currency reserve, say knowledgeable people. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16345', 'image' => '20221226012036_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 13:15:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16602', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Doubtful that the New Government will Implement Tourism Decade Action Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has announced the 'Nepal Tourism Decade 2023-2032', aiming to increase arrival of tourists by 15 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has prepared a strategic action plan intending to increase the arrival of tourists in Nepal to 3.5 million annually by the year 2032. On Friday, the ministry organized a program to announce the plan. The tourism decade will be implemented from 2023 to increase tourist arrival along with employment, the contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the per day expenditure of tourists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the stakeholders shared that they are skeptical that the government will execute the action plan stating that it was introduced without a proper planning. They shared that the government publishes plans but always shows lack of interest in implementation those plans, and there are doubts whether the next government will advance this plan or not.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deepak Raj Joshi, the former CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, said that it is positive to prioritize tourism and bring a long-term plan. He however said that the preparation is still not adequate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Joshi shared that the target of bringing in 3.5 million tourists is low. He said that it is not possible to increase the per day spending of tourists to 125 dollars. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, it seems that the target is only for planning. There is a target, but there is no strategy. Issues such as how to highlight Nepal's tourism products are secondary, he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the contribution of this sector to the GDP is about 3 per cent. Tourism professionals have been saying that it is around 8 per cent. According to Joshi, this target can be achieved if 3.5 million tourists visit Nepal in a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Senior Vice President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Vinayak Shah said that the program introduced by the government is positive as all countries need tourists for revival of economy after Covid-19 pandemic. Although the program looks good from the theoretical point of view, he doubts that there will always be problems in the implementation part. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now it is a matter of how the new government will take this program forward. Even though the old programs are good in our country, the new government does not prioritize them, he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16343', 'image' => '20221226115540_tourism ktm.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:54:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16601', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobile Phones without Customs Clearance will be Barred', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. The authority published a notice on Saturday stating that it will fully implement the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) from December 30.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authority informed that MDMS was implemented prior to this as a test to discourage and manage the illegal import, sale, distribution and use of mobile sets and to further track and block stolen and lost mobile sets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In accordance to the Customs Act, 2064, the authority has requested Nepalese coming from abroad to update the system of their mobile phone brought for personal use if they have not registered it in the MDMS yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the rules, mobile phone sets that have not been declared at the customs will not be registered from December 30 onwards and the operation of such mobile sets will also be banned. So, the authority has requested to go to MDMS and register such mobile sets brought for personal use along with the passport/citizenship/national identity card.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when buying a mobile phone within Nepal, it is possible to confirm whether the mobile set is registered with the Nepal Telecommunication Authority's MDMS system or not. Thus, the authority mentioned in the notice that mobile importers and sellers must take the pre-approval of the authority before importing mobile phones.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16342', 'image' => '20221226113313_nokia-3210-hero.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16600', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NPC's Study Opposes Foreign Investment in Primary Sector of Agriculture ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The study report on 'foreign investment potential in agriculture, 2022' released last Thursday suggested the government not to bring in foreign investment for food production. However, foreign investment can be brought for storage, processing and marketing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no need to bring in foreign direct investment in the primary sector of agriculture. Banks of Nepal have adequately floated loan in this sector and the government has also given continuity to the discount on taxes. There are also other policy benefits," the report mentioned, arguing that as the companies working in the primary sector of agriculture are not listed in Nepal Stock Exchange, such companies are in need of search for foreign investment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> In such situation, it is not logical to float foreign investment in the agriculture sector. However, it can be obtained for processing, storage and marketing to add value to the agricultural products, the report added. Foreign direct investment is essential for cold storage, canning, processing, mill etc. With this, a separate regulation is necessary on foreign direct investment in these sectors, the report further said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The regulation to be framed to govern FDI in secondary sectors of agriculture should clearly mention the area where the investment is permitted, according to the study report. Similarly, how the investors would enjoy the rights as ownership of foreign land here needs to addressed clearly, added the report. The rights and benefits of farmers should also be incorporated in the regulation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the recent years, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP has declined in Nepal. Although 66 percent of population is said to be dependent on agriculture, the production in this sector is not up to the mark. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two years back, the government had decided to allow foreign investment in agriculture, but the Supreme Court had issued an interlocutory order asking the government to not implement the decision. The case is sub judice at Supreme Court. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16341', 'image' => '20221226110836_agri maize.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:07:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16615', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FNCCI Urges New Government not to Implement Working Capital Guidelines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2 years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has reiterated its demand to the newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to postpone the current working capital loan guidelines for at least 2 years. Due to the current working capital loan guidelines implemented by Nepal Rastra Bank since November, businessmen have been complaining that they are on the verge of shut down.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The businessmen have repeatedly submitted memorandums to NRB, Ministry of Finance and other government bodies demanding the postponement of the guidelines but to no avail. They also expressed their concern on this matter with the top leaders of various parties. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">FNCCI presented suggestions reminding the government that NRB should be instructed to use all the monetary instruments to solve the problem of liquidity crunch, as well as suspending the system of current capital loan guidelines for the improving the economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of the federation, Shekhar Golchha stated that the economy has been affected in many ways while the problem remains constant even after the review of monetary policy, and due to the overall banking problem, industrialists are put in a very difficult situation and are forced to come to the streets. He mentioned that the current working capital loan guidelines is the biggest problem for business operations. In a meeting with Prime Minister Dahal, he said, “As the country's economy is currently in a very sensitive state, the entire focus of the newly formed government should be on the revival of the economy.” The federation informed that Prime Minister Dahal consoled them saying that he will study the current capital loan guidelines and put together the Ministry of Finance, NRB and the private sector to solve the problem soon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16356', 'image' => '20221228054234_Working-Capital-Loan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 17:41:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16614', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Facing Shortage of 100,000 Litres of Milk Per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 28: During this season when milk production should have increased, the country is facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Due to the lack of milk in the domestic market, the government has opened the doors for importing milk from India as per the demand. But the importers are yet to import milk from India stating that it won’t be profitable if they cannot sell the milk in the Nepali market due to the high cost.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, 600,000 litres of milk is being supplied to the Nepalese market daily, while the demand is 700,000 litres.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Milk production is yet to improve due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Dairy Association, there was an average shortage of 150,000 litres of milk per day during the marriage season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“But even though the wedding season is over now, we are facing a daily shortage of 100,000 litres of milk,” said Hem Chandra Khanal, general secretary of the association. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Milk production should increase, and consumption should decrease between mid-August to mid-February. But we are reeling under shortage of milk at a time when the production should have plentiful," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that it is necessary to facilitate import of milk to balance the demand and supply. Also, the price of milk in the domestic market needs to be increased on par with the prices in the international market, said Khanal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last October, the dairy industry and businessmen had demanded the government allow the import of milk. The government allowed import of milk amidst the opposition from the milk-producing farmers. Even though the import was opened, importers did not dare to import milk as the price was expensive in the Indian market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers did not import because it would not be beneficial to bring it at a high price and sell it at a competitive price in the Nepali market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the Indian market, the base price of milk is Rs 70 per litre whereas the price in Nepal is only Rs 64 per litre. The association has said that the farmers and industrialists have been affected since the price of milk in Nepal has not increased for the last two years. To avoid a shortage of milk in the domestic market, the association said that the government should facilitate the import of milk after collecting accurate data on demand and production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16355', 'image' => '20221228013735_milk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 13:37:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16613', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal to Receive USD 200 Million Concessional Loan from ADB ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed a concessional loan agreement amounting to USD 200 million (equivalent to Rs 26.51 billion) for supporting the first five years of the School Education Sector Plan (2022–2030) and a Grant Agreement of USD 12 million to implement the Strengthening Systems to Protect and Uplift Women Project, the Ministry of Finance said in a press statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project will benefit survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) across Madhesh, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschchim provinces through the establishment of long-term rehabilitation centers, development of survivor-friendly facilities for the women, children and senior citizen including service centers within selected districts and area police offices and strengthening survivor-friendly services in these provinces. The project will also build a new national long-term rehabilitation center in Bhaktapur. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Joint Secretary at the MoF, Ishwori Prasad Aryal, and Saugata Dasgupta, ADB Officer-in-Charge for Nepal, signed the agreements. The proposed assistance will support the implementation of the government’s School Education Sector Plan in a sector-wide approach supported by eight development partners, including ADB under a Joint Financing Arrangement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“The program will enhance learning provisions for basic and secondary schools; strengthen teaching and learning skills in schools; accelerate the recovery from learning losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and improve the capacity of local governments in education planning, monitoring and reporting,” according to the statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Joint Secretary Aryal said that Nepal has done significantly in terms of improving access to education in the past decades however, much more needs to be done to further improve equity and access to quality education. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The program will be crucial to operationalizing Nepal’s holistic approach in improving the overall learning outcomes, said Aryal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“This agreement is a key part of ADB’s overall efforts to help Nepal accelerate reforms and transform the country’s education system to develop human capital, reduce social inequity, and attain sustainable growth. The plan is designed towards eliminating inequities in access and participation in school education, and improving quality and resilience of school education,” Dasgupta was quoted as saying. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16354', 'image' => '20221228115056_ADB.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:50:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16612', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Three Earthquakes Jolt Baglung this Morning ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: A series of earthquakes occurred at different areas of Baglung district this morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, three earthquakes occurred at different epicenters in the district in early hours of Wednesday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the information shared by the centre, an earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale with its epicenter in Adhikari Chaur, Baglung was recorded at 1.23 am this morning. Likewise, a 5.3-magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Khunga at 2.07 am this morning. The third one measuring 4 on the Richter scale took place with its epicenter at Adhikari Chowk at 3.28 am on Wednesday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The centre informed that the earthquakes were not the aftershocks of the Gorkha Earthquake but new tremors. The centre has identified the Himalayan region of Nepal as one of the vulnerable zones for earthquake. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-28', 'modified' => '2022-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16353', 'image' => '20221228113133_quake.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-28 11:30:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16611', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Automobiles are the Major Contributor to Valley’s Air Pollution: Department ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Department of Forests and Environment has concluded that automobile emission is the major cause of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department said it has intensified tests to check fuel emission from vehicles since December 16 and is preparing to expand the drive in other major cities of the country gradually. In the period of less than two weeks, 28 vehicles have been fined for violating the standards. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has warned that any vehicle failing emission test will be fined up to Rs 100,000 in accordance with the Environment Conservation Act. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department’s Spokesperson Shankar Prasad Poudel said surprise checking supported by smoke densitometer is being carried out in the valley since mid-December. Those vehicles failing the test were initially fined Rs 5,000 each and asked to come for re-test within three days after maintenance. If they fail the test for the second time, they will be fined Rs 100,000, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the tests, it was found that public vehicles based in the Kathmandu Valley are being operated with exhausted engines. Vehicles failing the emission test will not be allowed to ply until they pass the test. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16352', 'image' => '20221227020941_pollutionnn.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 14:09:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16610', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'China Ready to Collaborate with Nepal on Various Issues Including BRI', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has congratulated the newly formed government of Nepal and is expecting coordination and collaboration on strategic issues including the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In a regular press meet of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Spokesperson of the Ministry, Mao Ning, said China would continue its long friendly cooperation with Nepal.</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"">"We take Nepal-China relations with importance. We will maintain friendly relations and collaboration with new government," she shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We congratulate Pushpa Kamal Dahal for his election to the post of the new prime minister. We expect strategic collaboration and cooperation between the two countries on various issues including BRI," said the spokesperson. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Ministry added, "China has given high importance to Nepal-China relations and wishes long-lasting friendly relation for development and prosperity." -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16351', 'image' => '20221227011524_Flag-Pins-Nepal-China.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 13:14:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16609', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Decides to End Hassles in Issuing Passport and License', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The new government has pledged to address the hassles faced by the citizens in obtaining passport. A day after the new government was formed under the leadership of CPN Maoist Centre, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday said that the government will promptly address the problems of serpentine queue faced by service seekers at Tripureswar-based Department of Passports. </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 first meeting of the cabinet held at Singha Durbar after Prime Minster Dahal assumed office decided to avert the hassles in the delivery of passports and licenses. </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"">Sharing the cabinet decisions, PM Dahal said that the cabinet unanimously decided to make service delivery for the citizens easy and hassle free.He further informed that the Council of Ministers has decided to end the compulsion to stay in serpentine queue for passport and driving license.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to PM Dahal, the government has come up with resolution to resolve the overall problems surfaced in the country. The newly elected prime minister clarified that they had come together with a resolution to do something for the country and the people. “We have challenges and complications ahead. Hope and optimism have increased among the people. We have a resolution to do something new in the country,” the state owned national news agency RSS quoted PM Dahal as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He further said that the cabinet held discussion on resolving the problems faced by the country’s economy, assuring good governance and improving public service delivery. Dahal reportedly said that the focus will be on good governance so that citizens do not have to suffer. According to him, the meeting also decided about calling the first session of the House of Representatives. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> </span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16350', 'image' => '20221227120518_PRO_KTM_CABINETMEETING.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 12:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16608', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE on Bullish Trend in Wake of New Government ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 27: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index posted a double digit gain on the first trading day of the week amid formation of the new government under the leadership of the CPN (Maoist Centre). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The index increased 56.88 points to close at 1924.09 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index also surged 8.38 points to reach 375.45 points. The total market capitalisation has also gone up to reach over Rs 352 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of the total 13 sub-groups, all except others increased. Over 5.6 million shares of a total of 250 companies were traded at more than Rs 2.9 billion. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-27', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16349', 'image' => '20221227112853_20160613011604_20160613100022_fdsk;slk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-27 11:28:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16607', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Marijuana Farming Has Great Potential in Terms of Making Money in Nepal ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.', 'content' => '<p><br /> December 26: While many countries are making a lot of profit from the sale of marijuana, Nepal is losing a huge amount of money since marijuana farming is outlawed in the country.</p> <p>Stakeholders say that marijuana cultivation has a huge potential in Nepal and the country can make a lot of income from the hemp plants. <br /> Nepal's hemp plants are number 1 in the world market. Stakeholders claim that lifting the ban on their cultivation may contribute billions of rupees to the economy annually. Rajendra Malla, President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce said that country is losing big income due to government’s ban on cannabis cultivation, which has commercial properties. </p> <p>Multiple studies show that Nepal can earn billion of rupees by legalizing the marijuana farming, according to experts. <br /> According to Malla, the whole plant, including the leaves, roots, bark and stems of marijuana is a good source of income. With it, expensive clothes can be manufactured with different types of techniques. According to various studies, more than 60 countries in the world have partially or fully legalized marijuana.</p> <p>World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized marijuana as a plant with medicinal properties. Even the United Nations has confirmed that marijuana is not drug and categorized it as the least harmful alternative which helps the young generation to get out of the habit of heroin, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs.</p> <p>Former Minster of Law Sher Bahadur Tamang has been advocating for the legalization of ganja cultivation, which has become the subject of many debates even in the parliament. Tamang argues that cannabis cultivation should not be banned in Nepal. <br /> Tamang has been calling to legalize the hemp plant in the Parliament. “Nepal has to lift the ban and expand marijuana’s market beyond the national border”, Tamang said. </p> <p>In 1961 AD, the United Nations Conference passed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, and banned marijuana as an effective drug. Nepal also signed the treaty in 1967 and made a law related to drug control and put marijuana in the list of prohibited drugs. Then, Western countries had banned the marijuana and Nepal had followed the suit. </p> <p>However, the countries that banned marijuana in the past have now lifted the ban and started making good incomes. In Nepal, marijuana legalization has been limited to discussion and debate. At the end of 2020, the UN recognized cannabis as a plant with medicinal properties and removed it from the list of harmful substances.</p> <p>Earlier, following all-party discussion on lifting the marijuana ban, Home Ministry was supposed to formulate a procedure to lift the ban.</p> <p>However, the joint secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Pradip Kumar Koirala said that the issue is still under discussion. “All sides are talking to lift the ban. However, as discussions are still underway, nothing concrete has been accomplished so far”, Koirala stated, adding “We shall come to the conclusion only after taking the views of all parties and stakeholders”. </p> <p>According to Malla, some companies from the US and European countries are willing to invest in the production of Nepal's marijuana. “If the ban is removed, cannabis cultivation will earn foreign currency, which will help reduce the trade deficit”, Malla added. <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16348', 'image' => '20221226071011_collage (21).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 19:06:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16606', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Pushpa Kamal Dahal sworn-in as Prime Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p>December 26 : Newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidhya Devi Bhnadri at Sheetal Niwas on Monday. </p> <p>After taking the oath of office and secrecy, Prime Minister Dahal has formed an eight-member Council of Ministers. The newly-formed Cabinet consists of three deputy prime ministers and four ministers. CPN-UML’s Bishnu Poudel has been allocated the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance while CPN-Maoists Center’s Narayankaji Shrestha has bagged the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. </p> <p>Similarly, Rastriya Swotantra Party’s President Ravi Lamichhane has been given the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. <br /> Likewise, other ministers are Jwala Kumari Sah, Damodar Bhandari, Rajendra Rai and Abdul Khan. Prime Minister is yet to allocate ministries to the ministers. </p> <p>Meanwhile, all seven ministers, including three deputy prime ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy today itself. </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16347', 'image' => '20221226080025_collage (16).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 17:06:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16605', 'article_category_id' => '274', 'title' => 'Birgunj Customs Office Fails to Meet Revenue Collection Target ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">December 26 : Shrinking demand and plummeting consumption have adversely affected government’s revenue collection target at Birgunj Customs Office. The customs office collected only half of the targeted revenue in the month of Mangshir. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The customs office had set the target to collect a total of Rs 21. 69 billion from mid-November to mid-December. However, the customs office collected just Rs 10.90 billion in revenue during the same period. The customs office has failed to meet its targeted revenue collection in either month of the first five months of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">According to Birgunj Customs office Chief Dhan Bahadur Baruwal, the office has collected 47 per cent of revenue under custom tariffs. The customs office collected just Rs 3.81 billion despite the target to amass Rs 8.9 billion customs tariffs.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Similarly, customs office also witnessed fall in revenue collection under Value Added Tax(VAT).<br /> Against its target to collect Rs 7.93 billion under VAT, the custom office collected just Rs 5 billion.<br /> The customs office has collected Rs 63.45 billion revenue in the first fives months of the current fiscal year. “The revenue collection is 36 per cent below the target”, said Baruwal. During the first five months, the custom office should have collected Rs 100 billion in revenue. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has removed ban imposed on the import of all kinds of goods. “The provision of cash margin while opening letter of Credit(LC) to import goods has affected revenue collection despite the lifting of the ban”, said customs officials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Earlier, the government had banned the import of vehicles, liquor and other goods citing depletion of foreign currency reserve. Customs officials say that vehicles and fuel are major sources of government revenue. Ban on the import of vehicles and fall in the import of petroleum products have affected revenue collection.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Private sector says that demand for automobiles has fallen sharply though the government lifted the ban. Falling demand has shrunk the production of goods, causing the industries to trim the import of raw materials. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">“Vehicles, petroleum products and raw materials are imported via Birgunj Customs office. Their import has dropped causing the revenue collection to contract”, said Bara Parsa Industry Association’s Vice-president Binay Shah.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Some customs officials are of the opinion that unlawful import of goods has also hit the revenue collection target.Data at the customs office show that import through the customs office decreased by 29 per cent while export trade fell by 68 per cent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">Processed cooking oil was being exported to India. But, after India changed its policy on the import of cooking oil, cooking oil export from Nepal has hit snag, said cooking oil industrialist Suresh Rungata.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16346', 'image' => '20221226035543_collage (13).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 15:54:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16604', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Import and Consumption of Aviation Fuel Shrink ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">December 26: Import and consumption of aviation fuel have decreased in the last five months of the current fiscal year in Nepal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to the data at the Department of the Customs, Nepal has imported 74, 221 kilolitres of aviation fuel worth Rs 9.20 billion in the five months of the current fiscal year. In the same period last year, Nepal imported 80,744 kilolitres of jet fuel worth Rs 4.18 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Experts in the aviation industry say that since international airlines do not refuel in Nepal, consumption of the aviation fuel has decreased along with its import. However, spokesperson Binitmani Upadhayya at the Nepal Oil Corporation claimed that sales of aviation fuel had dropped due to the fall in international flights post-COVID situation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">“Sales of aviation fuel stood at 607 kilolitres a day before 2076 BS. Fuel consumption is around 500 kilolitres at the moment”, Upadhaya said adding “Aviation fuel sale will get back to the pre-COVID level slowly”. </span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Despite the fall in the consumption of aviation fuel, international flights to and from Nepal have, however, increased compared to the last year. Likewise, the number of domestic flights has not gone down as well. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Tribhuvan International Airport’s spokesperson Teknath Sitaula said number of flights had remained unchanged in the last five months. Nepali airports conduct 35 international flights daily on average these days.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Normally, international airlines refuel in Nepal when the price is equal to the international market. Even though the price of fuels, including aviation fuel, has declined in the international market, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has not adjusted the price of aviation fuel to cover the losses. Aviation experts say that international airlines refuel at transit not in Nepal owing to high prices. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Board of Directors of the Nepal Oil Corporation fixes the prices of aviation fuel and LP gas. However, price of aviation fuel has not been adjusted because the NOC Board of Directors has not held the meeting for a long time, according to Upadhyay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">According to NOC, the current price of aviation fuel in Nepal is USD 1.645 per litre. Nepal Rastra Bank has set the selling rate of USD 1 to NRP 132.88. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Failure to adjust the price of international aviation fuel has reduced consumption, decreasing the profit of the NOC. The more aviation fuel NOC sells, the more profit it makes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Since NOC makes income in the US Dollar from the sale of aviation fuel to international airlines, it will not reduce the country’s foreign currency reserve, say knowledgeable people. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16345', 'image' => '20221226012036_collage (14).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 13:15:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16602', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Doubtful that the New Government will Implement Tourism Decade Action Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: After the success in bringing in an overwhelming 1.2 million tourists in Nepal in 2019, the government has announced a strategic action plan to bring in 3.5 million tourists annually after a decade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has announced the 'Nepal Tourism Decade 2023-2032', aiming to increase arrival of tourists by 15 per cent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has prepared a strategic action plan intending to increase the arrival of tourists in Nepal to 3.5 million annually by the year 2032. On Friday, the ministry organized a program to announce the plan. The tourism decade will be implemented from 2023 to increase tourist arrival along with employment, the contribution of this sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the per day expenditure of tourists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the stakeholders shared that they are skeptical that the government will execute the action plan stating that it was introduced without a proper planning. They shared that the government publishes plans but always shows lack of interest in implementation those plans, and there are doubts whether the next government will advance this plan or not.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deepak Raj Joshi, the former CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board, said that it is positive to prioritize tourism and bring a long-term plan. He however said that the preparation is still not adequate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Likewise, Joshi shared that the target of bringing in 3.5 million tourists is low. He said that it is not possible to increase the per day spending of tourists to 125 dollars. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, it seems that the target is only for planning. There is a target, but there is no strategy. Issues such as how to highlight Nepal's tourism products are secondary, he added. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to government data, the contribution of this sector to the GDP is about 3 per cent. Tourism professionals have been saying that it is around 8 per cent. According to Joshi, this target can be achieved if 3.5 million tourists visit Nepal in a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Senior Vice President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) Vinayak Shah said that the program introduced by the government is positive as all countries need tourists for revival of economy after Covid-19 pandemic. Although the program looks good from the theoretical point of view, he doubts that there will always be problems in the implementation part. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Now it is a matter of how the new government will take this program forward. Even though the old programs are good in our country, the new government does not prioritize them, he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16343', 'image' => '20221226115540_tourism ktm.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:54:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16601', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mobile Phones without Customs Clearance will be Barred', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has called for registration of mobile phones by December 30. The authority published a notice on Saturday stating that it will fully implement the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) from December 30.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authority informed that MDMS was implemented prior to this as a test to discourage and manage the illegal import, sale, distribution and use of mobile sets and to further track and block stolen and lost mobile sets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In accordance to the Customs Act, 2064, the authority has requested Nepalese coming from abroad to update the system of their mobile phone brought for personal use if they have not registered it in the MDMS yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the rules, mobile phone sets that have not been declared at the customs will not be registered from December 30 onwards and the operation of such mobile sets will also be banned. So, the authority has requested to go to MDMS and register such mobile sets brought for personal use along with the passport/citizenship/national identity card.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when buying a mobile phone within Nepal, it is possible to confirm whether the mobile set is registered with the Nepal Telecommunication Authority's MDMS system or not. Thus, the authority mentioned in the notice that mobile importers and sellers must take the pre-approval of the authority before importing mobile phones.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16342', 'image' => '20221226113313_nokia-3210-hero.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16600', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NPC's Study Opposes Foreign Investment in Primary Sector of Agriculture ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 25: A study conducted by the National Planning Commission (NPC) has concluded that foreign investment should not be made in the primary sector of agriculture that involves production of food. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The study report on 'foreign investment potential in agriculture, 2022' released last Thursday suggested the government not to bring in foreign investment for food production. However, foreign investment can be brought for storage, processing and marketing. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"There is no need to bring in foreign direct investment in the primary sector of agriculture. Banks of Nepal have adequately floated loan in this sector and the government has also given continuity to the discount on taxes. There are also other policy benefits," the report mentioned, arguing that as the companies working in the primary sector of agriculture are not listed in Nepal Stock Exchange, such companies are in need of search for foreign investment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""> In such situation, it is not logical to float foreign investment in the agriculture sector. However, it can be obtained for processing, storage and marketing to add value to the agricultural products, the report added. Foreign direct investment is essential for cold storage, canning, processing, mill etc. With this, a separate regulation is necessary on foreign direct investment in these sectors, the report further said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The regulation to be framed to govern FDI in secondary sectors of agriculture should clearly mention the area where the investment is permitted, according to the study report. Similarly, how the investors would enjoy the rights as ownership of foreign land here needs to addressed clearly, added the report. The rights and benefits of farmers should also be incorporated in the regulation. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the recent years, the contribution of the agriculture sector to the GDP has declined in Nepal. Although 66 percent of population is said to be dependent on agriculture, the production in this sector is not up to the mark. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two years back, the government had decided to allow foreign investment in agriculture, but the Supreme Court had issued an interlocutory order asking the government to not implement the decision. The case is sub judice at Supreme Court. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-26', 'modified' => '2022-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16341', 'image' => '20221226110836_agri maize.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-26 11:07:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
