May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on…
May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday.…
May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level…
May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes.…
May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and…
May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical…
May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90…
May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with…
May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines.…
May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district.…
May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including…
May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political…
May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May…
May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on…
May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Nepal's ambassador-designate to India, Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma highlighted the robust economic ties between Nepal and India. Encouraging the Indian investors to make investments in Nepal, the Ambassador stated that, in addition to others, a moderate climate, geographical proximity and availability of the means of air and land transport, language and cultural similarity, and close working relations between Nepali and Indian nationals and duty-free and quota-free provisions for export in most products are favourable factors giving advantages for Indian investors to invest in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also emphasized for the enhanced political linkages as it is important for any investor and businessperson, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi stated in a press release. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Regarding remittance, Ambassador Sharma encouraged everyone to use banking channel to remit their earnings as it is safe, secure, simple and transparent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ambassador Sharma requested the bank officials to facilitate the process for opening bank accounts to everyone by creating awareness campaign and putting information in websites as far as practicable. He assured the participants of every possible support from the Eebassy in this endeavor. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In his welcome address, Deputy Chief of Mission Ram Prasad Subedi highlighted the objectives of the programme. He called for the Nepali national working in India to remit their earnings through banking channel as it can help to sustain Nepali economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the export trade and investment opportunity in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi, and the Chairperson of the programme, Yubraj Baral, called for every member of the Nepali community to encourage Indian investors and businessperson to invest in Nepal as they have established good relations with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also requested the embassy for coordination and facilitation wherever it is needed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Basu Dev Bhattarai, director of the Foreign Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank spoke on the existing policies and practices for remittance, foreign investment and the limitation to carry cash amount by travelers from and to Nepal. He also briefed on how foreign currency is spent and gave an account of its current situation and reserves in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nohan Karki, General Secretary, Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries made a presentation, highlighting on the objectives, programmes and activities of the association and shared that the people of Nepali origin in India have emotional attachment to Nepal and Nepali people and always wish for their progress and prosperity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on the occasion, the representative of Global IME, Bank, Kathmandu, </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swechchha Rana requested Nepali nationals to use banking channels for remitting their earnings. She informed the audience about the provisions and arrangements made by the bank in several countries to open up bank account for Nepali citizens while staying abroad. She also elaborated on the various facilities and incentives made by the bank, including high interest rate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representative of Everest Bank Limited Kathamdu, Nikhil Shrestha thanked the ambassador and the embassy of Nepal for hosting the event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Executive Chief of IME Bank Khilendra Paudel, underlined the difficulties faced by common Nepalis at border points. He mentioned that in absence of clear guidelines and regulations, at present, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to approach and get services from banks by himself/herself to remit money to Nepal. He requested facilitation on behalf of the government. -- RSS </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-11', 'modified' => '2022-05-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14990', 'image' => '20220511082151_1652173851.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-11 08:21:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'US Dollar at Record High against Nepali Currency', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. According to the foreign exchange rate announced by Nepal Rastra Bank for Tuesday, the buying rate of one dollar has been fixed at Rs 123.65.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The selling rate of the dollar was Rs 124.25 on Tuesday. It means that Nepali nationals will have to spend Rs 124 and 25 paisa to buy one dollar. This is the first time that the US dollar has become so expensive in the Nepali market. The dollar had reached a new high on the previous day as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar index had risen to 104.19 points in international currency market on Monday. This is the highest since July 2002. As the dollar strengthened, the Indian rupee depreciated to a record low against the dollar, making a direct impact on the Nepalese rupee. The Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">That is, there is a fixed exchange rate between the two currencies. The dollar exchange rate has a direct effect on the Nepalese rupee. On Monday, the dollar’s value had closed at IRs 77.31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar has been gaining ground in recent days after the United States last week raised interest rates to a two-decade high. With the dollar strengthening and US bond yields rising, foreign investors are pulling out of the Indian market. This has put pressure on the rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The recent rise in investment in the dollar as a safe-haven asset has also pushed up its price. The dollar rose against most of the major currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound, on Monday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14989', 'image' => '20220510074245_1652147317.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 19:41:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sale and Consumption of Liquor Banned in View of Local Election ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. </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"">Issuing separate notices on Tuesday, the respective DAO informed that the decision shall come into effect from midnight today and continue till May 13, the day fixed for holding the elections at entire 753 local units in a single phase. </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"">Lalitpur's chief district officer Ghanshyam Upadhyay confirmed that the office has issued a public notice about the prohibition of sale and intake of alcohol. Security agencies in all six local levels in the district have directed the subordinate security bodies to ensure the effective enforcement of the decision. </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"">According to Bhaktapur CDO Rudradevi Sharma, violation of the order is punishable and the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited near the vote counting venues until the counting gets over. She said that the use of liquor may rise during the election period and it may jeopardize security, that's why its sale and consumption is prohibited during election. </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"">Likewise, the Kathmandu DAO said it will not allow the sale and use of alcohol from midnight today till May 13. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14988', 'image' => '20220510060522_drink.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 18:04:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Crackdown on Smuggled Cigarettes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. They have demanded to stop the sale and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes that are openly sold in Kathmandu and the Terai region.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen say that a large amount of revenue is being leaked due to smuggling of cigarettes. Surya Nepal, a domestic cigarette manufacturer, said that with the increase in number of tourists after the decline in Covid-19 cases, the trade of illegally imported cigarettes has increased as well. An official of the company said that illegal (smuggled) cigarettes are sold and distributed in the market unhindered. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As a result, the domestic industries have lost market and the government has lost revenue. If the smuggling is not controlled, the government won’t be able to collect revenue and the consumption of such products will increase as well,” said the official.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company also stated that the sale of counterfeit cigarettes has increased in the Kathmandu valley. The official said that cigarettes of international brands are now available in the market targeting tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Raising taxes also makes a difference in the consumption of cigarettes. Every aspect should be analyzed before imposing taxes on tobacco products. The government should not make decisions based solely on just a single aspect,” the official further said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the government should take policy only after analyzing the situation of production of domestic tobacco companies. He said that even though the tax on tobacco products is low, the highest selling Pilot cigarette of Surya Nepal pays 70 percent tax. He said that raising the tax would increase the price of cigarettes and it would lead to consumption of other tobacco products like ‘gutkha’ and reduce revenue collection as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the illegal trade of cigarettes has been taking place in Nepal in two ways -- cigarettes of international brands are being traded illegally in big cities including Kathmandu and Pokhara and counterfeit cigarettes of Nepali brand are being imported from India in the border areas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Till date, 55 to 70 percent taxes have been levied on the sales of cigarette. Cigarettes are subject to excise duty, health risk tax, value added tax, customs duty and other taxes.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14987', 'image' => '20220510043801_istockphoto-1133345196-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 16:37:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Food Crisis Looms as Russia Blocks Black Sea Ports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Agencies</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the BBC, Ukraine and the EU discussed taking "immediate measures to unblock Ukraine's ports for grain exports" after Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports has forced its grain exporters to look for alternatives to move their cargo.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed preventing "a global food crisis triggered by Russia's aggressive actions" during talks with European Council President Charles Michel on his visit to Odesa on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Reuters reported that buildings in Odesa, a major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products, lay in ruins on Tuesday, a day after Kremlin forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Before the war, Ukraine exported 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports -12% of the world's wheat, 15% of its corn and 50% of its sunflower oil, the AFP news agency reports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But the invasion has crippled its export capacity, with Russia destroying transportation infrastructure and blockading Odesa, the main port for grain exports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response," BBC quoted Michael as saying.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14986', 'image' => '20220510014342_wheat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 13:43:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banana Farming affected due to Lack of Fertilizers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers. Benu Parajuli of Kankai Municipality-3, who used to cultivate bananas on 50 bighas of land in the past, now cultivates banana in just 30 bighas of land as the income from farming declined. Parajuli said that even though banana farming started with the objective of creating a 'banana zone', the farmers had to incur huge losses due to lack of fertilizer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The farmers who received government subsidies by declaring pocket and block areas in the past have now started reducing banana cultivation by returning the land to the landowners. In the past, Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms were cultivating bananas commercially in 400 bighas of land in Kankai Municipality-5, Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, Barhadashi Rural Municipality-6 and Jhapa Rural Municipality-7.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Farmers like Benu Parajuli, Himdal Parajuli, Kul Prasad Chimariya, Laxmi Chimariya and Ganesh Sangraula jointly operated the farm. Although they started collective banana farming by leasing the land of local farmers for five years, they stopped cultivating bananas, and returned the land to the owners after failing to raise investment in three years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms, known as the largest banana farms in Jhapa, destroyed the banana cultivation in about 100 bighas of land this time. Laxmi Chimariya, chairperson of the farm, said that the production declines when there is scarcity of chemical fertilizers when needed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that bananas need fertilizers up to three times a year, he complained that the production declined due to the failure in acquiring fertilizer even once last year. Banana cultivation requires fertilizers such as urea, DAP, potassium and phosphorus. The farm had received a grant of Rs 5 million from the Agriculture Knowledge Center for two years on the condition of investing 50 percent in farming.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14985', 'image' => '20220510123328_istockphoto-1030232778-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 12:32:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15242', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CD Ratio of 18 Banks still above 90 Percent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent. This is more than the limit set by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) which the banks have to comply within mid-July. The CD ratio of the remaining nine banks is less than 90 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bankers say the CD ratio has risen to more than 90 percent as deposits could not grow. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Through the monetary policy, NRB has implemented the provision of maintaining CD ratio by removing the provision of capital, loan and deposit (CCD) ratio in banks and financial institutions. As per the announcement of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year (FY), the central bank had issued a directive in August asking the banks and financial institutions to maintain the CD ratio up to 90 percent. Banks with higher than the ratio specified in the directive were given time till mid-July 2022 to bring the ratio within the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Until mid-July, banks will be able to calculate the amount of debentures and refinancing in the CD ratio as deposits. Similarly, the central bank has allowed the banks to calculate 80 percent of the amount at the local level as deposits. The bankers say that since the facility will end in mid-July, there will be more pressure on the CD ratio. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sunil KC, vice-president of Nepal Bankers' Association and chief executive officer of NMB Bank, said that it would be difficult to bring the CD ratio of banks and financial institutions within the limit in this month as the average CD ratio of BFIs is 91 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“While the credit flow has increased by 12 percent in the current FY, the deposit collection has increased by only 4 percent,” he said, adding, “It is difficult to maintain the prescribed CD ratio as there is no sign of significant growth.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Bankers' Association had urged the NRB to facilitate the implementation of CD ratio in the mid-term assessment of monetary policy. As per the demand of the association, NRB had extended the time till mid-July. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The banker says that more time is needed as it is difficult to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit even in July. According to the association, the CD ratio of only nine banks was within the limit as of April. The CD ratio is more than 91 percent of a dozen banks. The remaining half a dozen have the ratio of 90 percent in average. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the other hand, NRB officials say that the banks should continue to operate as per the existing system until further notice. “The banks and financial institutions are given time till mid-July to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit,” said Narayan Prasad Pokharel, deputy spokesperson of NRB, adding, “Within that time, banks should bring the ratio within prescribed limits even by managing the deposit and credit investment.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that as the action plan to bring the CD ratio within the prescribed limits has been approved by the Board of Directors and presented to the central bank, the banks should work accordingly. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recently, banks have not been able to disburse credit due to high CD ratio. The CD ratio of Standard Chartered, Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Laxmi and NMB Bank is below 90 percent. Similarly, the CD ratio of Sanima, Machhapuchhre and NCC Bank is also below the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14984', 'image' => '20220510111650_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 11:16:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Garbage Piled Up Yet Again in Kathmandu Valley ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City said waste management on Sunday and Monday was affected in the valley since the workers were working to manage space for more garbage in the Sisdole landfill site. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Environment Department of KMC Sarita Rai said garbage collection would resume from Tuesday morning if the waste adjustment gets completed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The waste from the Kathmandu Valley has been disposed in Sisdole for the past 15 years although the site was prepared to adjust waste for just two years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC officials said sustainable waste management has become challenging as the under-construction landfill site at Banchare Danda has not been completed within the deadline. As much as 1,200 metric tonnes of waste is being managed in Sisdole landfill site every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It may be noted that garbage collection from the Kathmandu Valley had just resumed from Saturday after 14 days of disruption caused by the residents of the Pasang Lhyamu Highway. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14983', 'image' => '20220510075250_fta-141015-04-np-te.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 07:51:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing Directive to Rent Out Transmission Lines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. The Electricity Regulatory Commission informed that it has already initiated the process in this regard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission says that the transmission lines can be rented after the government issues a directive to this effect. Chairman of the commission Dilli Bahadur Singh informed that they are currently preparing a directive to rent out the transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We have already prepared a draft of the directive. We will soon finalize it,” said Singh.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission is preparing such directive to allow the private sector to trade electricity. As the private sector has not set up its own transmission lines, it has to rely on government-owned transmission lines. The private sector had been demanding the government to rent its transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority is currently involved in setting up transmission lines. The government has also established the National Grid Company especially for this purpose.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive gets ready, it will open the door for the private sector to use the state-owned transmission lines for electricity trade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The directive will focus on the rental charge for the use of transmission lines by the private sector, informed Singh. However, the rental charge of the transmission lines has not yet been fixed. Singh informed that they are conducing necessary study and discussions in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It is not that easy to determine the charge,” said Singh, adding, “The charge has to be determined considering the length of the transmission line as well as the amount of electricity and the time used for the transmission of electricity.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive is ready, other institutions can set up separate transmission lines and use them for rental purpose, said Singh.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14982', 'image' => '20220509064230_Transmission.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 18:41:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFI Staffers Busy in Election', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. Employees of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Bank, Agricultural Development Bank and Grameen Bikas Laghu Bittiya Sanstha Ltd have been deployed for the elections by the District Election Office, Rautahat.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service of the financial sector has been affected after the staff were deployed for the elections. Service seekers who reached banks on Friday were deprived of prompt service as the employees of banks and financial institutions were reportedly attending the training given to the polling officer and assistant polling officer. The service seekers complained that the transactions and business were affected on Friday as the bank employees went for training. Meanwhile, the banks of the private sector were open on Friday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Election Officer of the District Election Office Chhote Lal Das claimed that the bank staff were deployed in such a way that it would not hinder their work. He claimed that the banks and financial institutions were asked to report immediately in case of any obstruction in the office. He said that only a small number of employees from banks and microfinance have been deployed for the poll. According to him, employees of banks and financial institutions were deployed in the previous election as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14981', 'image' => '20220510111757_Bankkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 16:32:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15238', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Nepal Exporting Shoes to 17 Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India. Nepali shoes, which used to be exported only to India in the past, are now available from the Gulf countries to developed countries like the USA, the UK and Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic shoe manufacturers are excited that the Nepali shoes have entered the international market. They say that the shoes could be exported to more countries that with the help of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nani Raj Ghimire, president of the Shoe Producers Association of Nepal, said that domestic industries are currently producing less shoes than their capacity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the footwear export which was limited to India has now reached more than 17 countries, he said that the volume of exports could be increased with the help of the government. "Earlier, we had problems in exporting shoes due to poor quality," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If the Nepali shoe industries operate at full capacity, they can produce 160 million pairs of shoes annually. According to the stakeholders, shoe production started to gain momentum in Nepal since 2070 BS. Domestic shoe manufacturer had invested heavily in production before Covid-19. The investment has been affected heavily in the last two years due to the pandemic. According to businessmen, more than Rs 30 billion has been invested in 1,500 industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal's internal demand for footwear is 100 million pairs annually. According to President Ghimire, more than 30 million pairs of shoes have been exported to different countries in recent times. Footwear entrepreneurs said that the volume of export can be increased and the basis for long-term export can be made if government agencies like foreign embassies and consulates help in promotion by setting up separate desks. They complained that there are problems due to unstable interest rates and lack of provision for industrial loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, industries are not operating at full capacity. "The footwear industry produces only 35 to 40 per cent of the total capacity," he said, adding that "It meets 65 per cent of the domestic demand."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Currently, more than 50,000 people are directly employed by footwear industries," Ghimire said. "With the help of the state, it can be increased to 75,000."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14980', 'image' => '20220509023224_20180104031625_gs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:31:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15237', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'MCC Impact: More than Rs 100 Billion Financial Assistance in 2 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement to provide US$500 million (approx Rs 60 billion) in grants to Nepal under the MCC project was approved by the Parliament of Nepal on February 27. According to Shalikram Pokharel, advisor to the Ministry of Finance, aid agreements worth more than Rs 100 billion have been signed with the United States and other donor agencies since then. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The MCC has been instrumental in bringing in foreign aid. Other donors are excited after the MCC was approved,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance on a grant of about Rs 80 billion was signed on May 5, 2022. USAID is providing a grant of US$ 659 million (approx Rs 79.71 billion) to Nepal to be spent within five years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The US is providing this assistance to help Nepal in its efforts to become a middle-income country. This assistance will be mobilized in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Nepal and for democratic governance as well as enterprise-focused economic growth. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank on May 4 agreed to provide a loan of US$150 million (approximately Rs 18 billion) to strengthen the financial sector of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This loan is in the process of implementation after finance secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, signed the ‘Finance for Growth’ Development Policy to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions and increase access to financial services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the MoF, the support will help open up capital, insurance and disaster risk financial markets and promote the new financial services. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the government is taking a concessional loan of Rs 18 billion from the International Development Association of World Bank Group. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14979', 'image' => '20220509020457_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:04:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Share Transactions Available till Friday from May 15', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15. Till date, the transactions of securities in the secondary market are done between Sunday to Thursday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the announcement of the government to give holidays on Saturday and Sunday, NEPSE made arrangements to continue with share transactions on Fridays as well in order to prevent a reduction in the number of transactions of securities in the secondary market. The Board of Directors of NEPSE reached the decision in a meeting held on May 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On Sunday, NEPSE directed all the brokers to make arrangements for share transactions from Monday to Friday. Starting from May 15, NEPSE will keep its offices operational from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, as per the decision of the Council of Ministers made on May 6. NEPSE informed that the share market will be open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Fridays.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14978', 'image' => '20220509124220_istockphoto-1322201350-170667a.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 12:41:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15234', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Spring Expedition begins after Icefall Doctors Fix Ropes on Everest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday. </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"">As part of the rope fixing, mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, reportedly scaled the world's highest peak for a record 26th time, breaking his own previous record for climbing Mt Everest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism confirmed the beginning of the mountaineering season from Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At present, around 90 percent mountaineers at the Mt Everest Base Camp are waiting for the green signal to climb the peak, said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, director of the Department's mountaineering section. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As part of the rope fixing, Kami Rita Sherpa reached atop Everest for a record 26 times. We will officially announce the news after verifying it," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department is expected to get the highest number of application for climbing Mount Everest as this season is favourable to scale the world's highest peak. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of 11 Sherpa summiteers from the Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd successfully scaled the peak for rope fixing on Saturday evening at 6:55 pm. The team announced that Everest is ready for climbing. Last year, the spring climbing season started from April 27. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14977', 'image' => '20220509081240_Spring Expedition (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:11:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15249', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'Nepali Embassy in New Delhi holds Interaction on Investment, Export, Banking and Remittance Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Nepal's ambassador-designate to India, Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma highlighted the robust economic ties between Nepal and India. Encouraging the Indian investors to make investments in Nepal, the Ambassador stated that, in addition to others, a moderate climate, geographical proximity and availability of the means of air and land transport, language and cultural similarity, and close working relations between Nepali and Indian nationals and duty-free and quota-free provisions for export in most products are favourable factors giving advantages for Indian investors to invest in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also emphasized for the enhanced political linkages as it is important for any investor and businessperson, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi stated in a press release. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Regarding remittance, Ambassador Sharma encouraged everyone to use banking channel to remit their earnings as it is safe, secure, simple and transparent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ambassador Sharma requested the bank officials to facilitate the process for opening bank accounts to everyone by creating awareness campaign and putting information in websites as far as practicable. He assured the participants of every possible support from the Eebassy in this endeavor. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In his welcome address, Deputy Chief of Mission Ram Prasad Subedi highlighted the objectives of the programme. He called for the Nepali national working in India to remit their earnings through banking channel as it can help to sustain Nepali economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the export trade and investment opportunity in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi, and the Chairperson of the programme, Yubraj Baral, called for every member of the Nepali community to encourage Indian investors and businessperson to invest in Nepal as they have established good relations with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also requested the embassy for coordination and facilitation wherever it is needed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Basu Dev Bhattarai, director of the Foreign Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank spoke on the existing policies and practices for remittance, foreign investment and the limitation to carry cash amount by travelers from and to Nepal. He also briefed on how foreign currency is spent and gave an account of its current situation and reserves in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nohan Karki, General Secretary, Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries made a presentation, highlighting on the objectives, programmes and activities of the association and shared that the people of Nepali origin in India have emotional attachment to Nepal and Nepali people and always wish for their progress and prosperity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on the occasion, the representative of Global IME, Bank, Kathmandu, </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swechchha Rana requested Nepali nationals to use banking channels for remitting their earnings. She informed the audience about the provisions and arrangements made by the bank in several countries to open up bank account for Nepali citizens while staying abroad. She also elaborated on the various facilities and incentives made by the bank, including high interest rate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representative of Everest Bank Limited Kathamdu, Nikhil Shrestha thanked the ambassador and the embassy of Nepal for hosting the event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Executive Chief of IME Bank Khilendra Paudel, underlined the difficulties faced by common Nepalis at border points. He mentioned that in absence of clear guidelines and regulations, at present, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to approach and get services from banks by himself/herself to remit money to Nepal. He requested facilitation on behalf of the government. -- RSS </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-11', 'modified' => '2022-05-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14990', 'image' => '20220511082151_1652173851.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-11 08:21:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'US Dollar at Record High against Nepali Currency', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. According to the foreign exchange rate announced by Nepal Rastra Bank for Tuesday, the buying rate of one dollar has been fixed at Rs 123.65.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The selling rate of the dollar was Rs 124.25 on Tuesday. It means that Nepali nationals will have to spend Rs 124 and 25 paisa to buy one dollar. This is the first time that the US dollar has become so expensive in the Nepali market. The dollar had reached a new high on the previous day as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar index had risen to 104.19 points in international currency market on Monday. This is the highest since July 2002. As the dollar strengthened, the Indian rupee depreciated to a record low against the dollar, making a direct impact on the Nepalese rupee. The Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">That is, there is a fixed exchange rate between the two currencies. The dollar exchange rate has a direct effect on the Nepalese rupee. On Monday, the dollar’s value had closed at IRs 77.31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar has been gaining ground in recent days after the United States last week raised interest rates to a two-decade high. With the dollar strengthening and US bond yields rising, foreign investors are pulling out of the Indian market. This has put pressure on the rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The recent rise in investment in the dollar as a safe-haven asset has also pushed up its price. The dollar rose against most of the major currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound, on Monday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14989', 'image' => '20220510074245_1652147317.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 19:41:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sale and Consumption of Liquor Banned in View of Local Election ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. </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"">Issuing separate notices on Tuesday, the respective DAO informed that the decision shall come into effect from midnight today and continue till May 13, the day fixed for holding the elections at entire 753 local units in a single phase. </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"">Lalitpur's chief district officer Ghanshyam Upadhyay confirmed that the office has issued a public notice about the prohibition of sale and intake of alcohol. Security agencies in all six local levels in the district have directed the subordinate security bodies to ensure the effective enforcement of the decision. </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"">According to Bhaktapur CDO Rudradevi Sharma, violation of the order is punishable and the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited near the vote counting venues until the counting gets over. She said that the use of liquor may rise during the election period and it may jeopardize security, that's why its sale and consumption is prohibited during election. </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"">Likewise, the Kathmandu DAO said it will not allow the sale and use of alcohol from midnight today till May 13. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14988', 'image' => '20220510060522_drink.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 18:04:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Crackdown on Smuggled Cigarettes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. They have demanded to stop the sale and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes that are openly sold in Kathmandu and the Terai region.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen say that a large amount of revenue is being leaked due to smuggling of cigarettes. Surya Nepal, a domestic cigarette manufacturer, said that with the increase in number of tourists after the decline in Covid-19 cases, the trade of illegally imported cigarettes has increased as well. An official of the company said that illegal (smuggled) cigarettes are sold and distributed in the market unhindered. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As a result, the domestic industries have lost market and the government has lost revenue. If the smuggling is not controlled, the government won’t be able to collect revenue and the consumption of such products will increase as well,” said the official.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company also stated that the sale of counterfeit cigarettes has increased in the Kathmandu valley. The official said that cigarettes of international brands are now available in the market targeting tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Raising taxes also makes a difference in the consumption of cigarettes. Every aspect should be analyzed before imposing taxes on tobacco products. The government should not make decisions based solely on just a single aspect,” the official further said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the government should take policy only after analyzing the situation of production of domestic tobacco companies. He said that even though the tax on tobacco products is low, the highest selling Pilot cigarette of Surya Nepal pays 70 percent tax. He said that raising the tax would increase the price of cigarettes and it would lead to consumption of other tobacco products like ‘gutkha’ and reduce revenue collection as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the illegal trade of cigarettes has been taking place in Nepal in two ways -- cigarettes of international brands are being traded illegally in big cities including Kathmandu and Pokhara and counterfeit cigarettes of Nepali brand are being imported from India in the border areas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Till date, 55 to 70 percent taxes have been levied on the sales of cigarette. Cigarettes are subject to excise duty, health risk tax, value added tax, customs duty and other taxes.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14987', 'image' => '20220510043801_istockphoto-1133345196-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 16:37:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Food Crisis Looms as Russia Blocks Black Sea Ports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Agencies</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the BBC, Ukraine and the EU discussed taking "immediate measures to unblock Ukraine's ports for grain exports" after Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports has forced its grain exporters to look for alternatives to move their cargo.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed preventing "a global food crisis triggered by Russia's aggressive actions" during talks with European Council President Charles Michel on his visit to Odesa on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Reuters reported that buildings in Odesa, a major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products, lay in ruins on Tuesday, a day after Kremlin forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Before the war, Ukraine exported 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports -12% of the world's wheat, 15% of its corn and 50% of its sunflower oil, the AFP news agency reports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But the invasion has crippled its export capacity, with Russia destroying transportation infrastructure and blockading Odesa, the main port for grain exports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response," BBC quoted Michael as saying.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14986', 'image' => '20220510014342_wheat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 13:43:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banana Farming affected due to Lack of Fertilizers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers. Benu Parajuli of Kankai Municipality-3, who used to cultivate bananas on 50 bighas of land in the past, now cultivates banana in just 30 bighas of land as the income from farming declined. Parajuli said that even though banana farming started with the objective of creating a 'banana zone', the farmers had to incur huge losses due to lack of fertilizer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The farmers who received government subsidies by declaring pocket and block areas in the past have now started reducing banana cultivation by returning the land to the landowners. In the past, Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms were cultivating bananas commercially in 400 bighas of land in Kankai Municipality-5, Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, Barhadashi Rural Municipality-6 and Jhapa Rural Municipality-7.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Farmers like Benu Parajuli, Himdal Parajuli, Kul Prasad Chimariya, Laxmi Chimariya and Ganesh Sangraula jointly operated the farm. Although they started collective banana farming by leasing the land of local farmers for five years, they stopped cultivating bananas, and returned the land to the owners after failing to raise investment in three years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms, known as the largest banana farms in Jhapa, destroyed the banana cultivation in about 100 bighas of land this time. Laxmi Chimariya, chairperson of the farm, said that the production declines when there is scarcity of chemical fertilizers when needed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that bananas need fertilizers up to three times a year, he complained that the production declined due to the failure in acquiring fertilizer even once last year. Banana cultivation requires fertilizers such as urea, DAP, potassium and phosphorus. The farm had received a grant of Rs 5 million from the Agriculture Knowledge Center for two years on the condition of investing 50 percent in farming.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14985', 'image' => '20220510123328_istockphoto-1030232778-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 12:32:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15242', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CD Ratio of 18 Banks still above 90 Percent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent. This is more than the limit set by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) which the banks have to comply within mid-July. The CD ratio of the remaining nine banks is less than 90 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bankers say the CD ratio has risen to more than 90 percent as deposits could not grow. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Through the monetary policy, NRB has implemented the provision of maintaining CD ratio by removing the provision of capital, loan and deposit (CCD) ratio in banks and financial institutions. As per the announcement of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year (FY), the central bank had issued a directive in August asking the banks and financial institutions to maintain the CD ratio up to 90 percent. Banks with higher than the ratio specified in the directive were given time till mid-July 2022 to bring the ratio within the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Until mid-July, banks will be able to calculate the amount of debentures and refinancing in the CD ratio as deposits. Similarly, the central bank has allowed the banks to calculate 80 percent of the amount at the local level as deposits. The bankers say that since the facility will end in mid-July, there will be more pressure on the CD ratio. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sunil KC, vice-president of Nepal Bankers' Association and chief executive officer of NMB Bank, said that it would be difficult to bring the CD ratio of banks and financial institutions within the limit in this month as the average CD ratio of BFIs is 91 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“While the credit flow has increased by 12 percent in the current FY, the deposit collection has increased by only 4 percent,” he said, adding, “It is difficult to maintain the prescribed CD ratio as there is no sign of significant growth.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Bankers' Association had urged the NRB to facilitate the implementation of CD ratio in the mid-term assessment of monetary policy. As per the demand of the association, NRB had extended the time till mid-July. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The banker says that more time is needed as it is difficult to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit even in July. According to the association, the CD ratio of only nine banks was within the limit as of April. The CD ratio is more than 91 percent of a dozen banks. The remaining half a dozen have the ratio of 90 percent in average. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the other hand, NRB officials say that the banks should continue to operate as per the existing system until further notice. “The banks and financial institutions are given time till mid-July to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit,” said Narayan Prasad Pokharel, deputy spokesperson of NRB, adding, “Within that time, banks should bring the ratio within prescribed limits even by managing the deposit and credit investment.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that as the action plan to bring the CD ratio within the prescribed limits has been approved by the Board of Directors and presented to the central bank, the banks should work accordingly. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recently, banks have not been able to disburse credit due to high CD ratio. The CD ratio of Standard Chartered, Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Laxmi and NMB Bank is below 90 percent. Similarly, the CD ratio of Sanima, Machhapuchhre and NCC Bank is also below the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14984', 'image' => '20220510111650_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 11:16:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Garbage Piled Up Yet Again in Kathmandu Valley ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City said waste management on Sunday and Monday was affected in the valley since the workers were working to manage space for more garbage in the Sisdole landfill site. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Environment Department of KMC Sarita Rai said garbage collection would resume from Tuesday morning if the waste adjustment gets completed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The waste from the Kathmandu Valley has been disposed in Sisdole for the past 15 years although the site was prepared to adjust waste for just two years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC officials said sustainable waste management has become challenging as the under-construction landfill site at Banchare Danda has not been completed within the deadline. As much as 1,200 metric tonnes of waste is being managed in Sisdole landfill site every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It may be noted that garbage collection from the Kathmandu Valley had just resumed from Saturday after 14 days of disruption caused by the residents of the Pasang Lhyamu Highway. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14983', 'image' => '20220510075250_fta-141015-04-np-te.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 07:51:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing Directive to Rent Out Transmission Lines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. The Electricity Regulatory Commission informed that it has already initiated the process in this regard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission says that the transmission lines can be rented after the government issues a directive to this effect. Chairman of the commission Dilli Bahadur Singh informed that they are currently preparing a directive to rent out the transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We have already prepared a draft of the directive. We will soon finalize it,” said Singh.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission is preparing such directive to allow the private sector to trade electricity. As the private sector has not set up its own transmission lines, it has to rely on government-owned transmission lines. The private sector had been demanding the government to rent its transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority is currently involved in setting up transmission lines. The government has also established the National Grid Company especially for this purpose.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive gets ready, it will open the door for the private sector to use the state-owned transmission lines for electricity trade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The directive will focus on the rental charge for the use of transmission lines by the private sector, informed Singh. However, the rental charge of the transmission lines has not yet been fixed. Singh informed that they are conducing necessary study and discussions in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It is not that easy to determine the charge,” said Singh, adding, “The charge has to be determined considering the length of the transmission line as well as the amount of electricity and the time used for the transmission of electricity.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive is ready, other institutions can set up separate transmission lines and use them for rental purpose, said Singh.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14982', 'image' => '20220509064230_Transmission.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 18:41:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFI Staffers Busy in Election', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. Employees of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Bank, Agricultural Development Bank and Grameen Bikas Laghu Bittiya Sanstha Ltd have been deployed for the elections by the District Election Office, Rautahat.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service of the financial sector has been affected after the staff were deployed for the elections. Service seekers who reached banks on Friday were deprived of prompt service as the employees of banks and financial institutions were reportedly attending the training given to the polling officer and assistant polling officer. The service seekers complained that the transactions and business were affected on Friday as the bank employees went for training. Meanwhile, the banks of the private sector were open on Friday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Election Officer of the District Election Office Chhote Lal Das claimed that the bank staff were deployed in such a way that it would not hinder their work. He claimed that the banks and financial institutions were asked to report immediately in case of any obstruction in the office. He said that only a small number of employees from banks and microfinance have been deployed for the poll. According to him, employees of banks and financial institutions were deployed in the previous election as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14981', 'image' => '20220510111757_Bankkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 16:32:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15238', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Nepal Exporting Shoes to 17 Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India. Nepali shoes, which used to be exported only to India in the past, are now available from the Gulf countries to developed countries like the USA, the UK and Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic shoe manufacturers are excited that the Nepali shoes have entered the international market. They say that the shoes could be exported to more countries that with the help of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nani Raj Ghimire, president of the Shoe Producers Association of Nepal, said that domestic industries are currently producing less shoes than their capacity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the footwear export which was limited to India has now reached more than 17 countries, he said that the volume of exports could be increased with the help of the government. "Earlier, we had problems in exporting shoes due to poor quality," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If the Nepali shoe industries operate at full capacity, they can produce 160 million pairs of shoes annually. According to the stakeholders, shoe production started to gain momentum in Nepal since 2070 BS. Domestic shoe manufacturer had invested heavily in production before Covid-19. The investment has been affected heavily in the last two years due to the pandemic. According to businessmen, more than Rs 30 billion has been invested in 1,500 industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal's internal demand for footwear is 100 million pairs annually. According to President Ghimire, more than 30 million pairs of shoes have been exported to different countries in recent times. Footwear entrepreneurs said that the volume of export can be increased and the basis for long-term export can be made if government agencies like foreign embassies and consulates help in promotion by setting up separate desks. They complained that there are problems due to unstable interest rates and lack of provision for industrial loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, industries are not operating at full capacity. "The footwear industry produces only 35 to 40 per cent of the total capacity," he said, adding that "It meets 65 per cent of the domestic demand."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Currently, more than 50,000 people are directly employed by footwear industries," Ghimire said. "With the help of the state, it can be increased to 75,000."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14980', 'image' => '20220509023224_20180104031625_gs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:31:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15237', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'MCC Impact: More than Rs 100 Billion Financial Assistance in 2 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement to provide US$500 million (approx Rs 60 billion) in grants to Nepal under the MCC project was approved by the Parliament of Nepal on February 27. According to Shalikram Pokharel, advisor to the Ministry of Finance, aid agreements worth more than Rs 100 billion have been signed with the United States and other donor agencies since then. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The MCC has been instrumental in bringing in foreign aid. Other donors are excited after the MCC was approved,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance on a grant of about Rs 80 billion was signed on May 5, 2022. USAID is providing a grant of US$ 659 million (approx Rs 79.71 billion) to Nepal to be spent within five years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The US is providing this assistance to help Nepal in its efforts to become a middle-income country. This assistance will be mobilized in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Nepal and for democratic governance as well as enterprise-focused economic growth. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank on May 4 agreed to provide a loan of US$150 million (approximately Rs 18 billion) to strengthen the financial sector of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This loan is in the process of implementation after finance secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, signed the ‘Finance for Growth’ Development Policy to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions and increase access to financial services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the MoF, the support will help open up capital, insurance and disaster risk financial markets and promote the new financial services. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the government is taking a concessional loan of Rs 18 billion from the International Development Association of World Bank Group. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14979', 'image' => '20220509020457_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:04:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Share Transactions Available till Friday from May 15', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15. Till date, the transactions of securities in the secondary market are done between Sunday to Thursday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the announcement of the government to give holidays on Saturday and Sunday, NEPSE made arrangements to continue with share transactions on Fridays as well in order to prevent a reduction in the number of transactions of securities in the secondary market. The Board of Directors of NEPSE reached the decision in a meeting held on May 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On Sunday, NEPSE directed all the brokers to make arrangements for share transactions from Monday to Friday. Starting from May 15, NEPSE will keep its offices operational from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, as per the decision of the Council of Ministers made on May 6. NEPSE informed that the share market will be open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Fridays.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14978', 'image' => '20220509124220_istockphoto-1322201350-170667a.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 12:41:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15234', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Spring Expedition begins after Icefall Doctors Fix Ropes on Everest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday. </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"">As part of the rope fixing, mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, reportedly scaled the world's highest peak for a record 26th time, breaking his own previous record for climbing Mt Everest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism confirmed the beginning of the mountaineering season from Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At present, around 90 percent mountaineers at the Mt Everest Base Camp are waiting for the green signal to climb the peak, said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, director of the Department's mountaineering section. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As part of the rope fixing, Kami Rita Sherpa reached atop Everest for a record 26 times. We will officially announce the news after verifying it," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department is expected to get the highest number of application for climbing Mount Everest as this season is favourable to scale the world's highest peak. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of 11 Sherpa summiteers from the Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd successfully scaled the peak for rope fixing on Saturday evening at 6:55 pm. The team announced that Everest is ready for climbing. Last year, the spring climbing season started from April 27. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14977', 'image' => '20220509081240_Spring Expedition (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:11:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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' => '15249', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'Nepali Embassy in New Delhi holds Interaction on Investment, Export, Banking and Remittance Services', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Nepal's ambassador-designate to India, Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma highlighted the robust economic ties between Nepal and India. Encouraging the Indian investors to make investments in Nepal, the Ambassador stated that, in addition to others, a moderate climate, geographical proximity and availability of the means of air and land transport, language and cultural similarity, and close working relations between Nepali and Indian nationals and duty-free and quota-free provisions for export in most products are favourable factors giving advantages for Indian investors to invest in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also emphasized for the enhanced political linkages as it is important for any investor and businessperson, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi stated in a press release. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Regarding remittance, Ambassador Sharma encouraged everyone to use banking channel to remit their earnings as it is safe, secure, simple and transparent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ambassador Sharma requested the bank officials to facilitate the process for opening bank accounts to everyone by creating awareness campaign and putting information in websites as far as practicable. He assured the participants of every possible support from the Eebassy in this endeavor. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In his welcome address, Deputy Chief of Mission Ram Prasad Subedi highlighted the objectives of the programme. He called for the Nepali national working in India to remit their earnings through banking channel as it can help to sustain Nepali economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the export trade and investment opportunity in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi, and the Chairperson of the programme, Yubraj Baral, called for every member of the Nepali community to encourage Indian investors and businessperson to invest in Nepal as they have established good relations with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also requested the embassy for coordination and facilitation wherever it is needed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Basu Dev Bhattarai, director of the Foreign Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank spoke on the existing policies and practices for remittance, foreign investment and the limitation to carry cash amount by travelers from and to Nepal. He also briefed on how foreign currency is spent and gave an account of its current situation and reserves in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nohan Karki, General Secretary, Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries made a presentation, highlighting on the objectives, programmes and activities of the association and shared that the people of Nepali origin in India have emotional attachment to Nepal and Nepali people and always wish for their progress and prosperity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on the occasion, the representative of Global IME, Bank, Kathmandu, </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swechchha Rana requested Nepali nationals to use banking channels for remitting their earnings. She informed the audience about the provisions and arrangements made by the bank in several countries to open up bank account for Nepali citizens while staying abroad. She also elaborated on the various facilities and incentives made by the bank, including high interest rate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representative of Everest Bank Limited Kathamdu, Nikhil Shrestha thanked the ambassador and the embassy of Nepal for hosting the event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Executive Chief of IME Bank Khilendra Paudel, underlined the difficulties faced by common Nepalis at border points. He mentioned that in absence of clear guidelines and regulations, at present, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to approach and get services from banks by himself/herself to remit money to Nepal. He requested facilitation on behalf of the government. -- RSS </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-11', 'modified' => '2022-05-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14990', 'image' => '20220511082151_1652173851.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-11 08:21:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'US Dollar at Record High against Nepali Currency', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. According to the foreign exchange rate announced by Nepal Rastra Bank for Tuesday, the buying rate of one dollar has been fixed at Rs 123.65.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The selling rate of the dollar was Rs 124.25 on Tuesday. It means that Nepali nationals will have to spend Rs 124 and 25 paisa to buy one dollar. This is the first time that the US dollar has become so expensive in the Nepali market. The dollar had reached a new high on the previous day as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar index had risen to 104.19 points in international currency market on Monday. This is the highest since July 2002. As the dollar strengthened, the Indian rupee depreciated to a record low against the dollar, making a direct impact on the Nepalese rupee. The Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">That is, there is a fixed exchange rate between the two currencies. The dollar exchange rate has a direct effect on the Nepalese rupee. On Monday, the dollar’s value had closed at IRs 77.31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar has been gaining ground in recent days after the United States last week raised interest rates to a two-decade high. With the dollar strengthening and US bond yields rising, foreign investors are pulling out of the Indian market. This has put pressure on the rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The recent rise in investment in the dollar as a safe-haven asset has also pushed up its price. The dollar rose against most of the major currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound, on Monday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14989', 'image' => '20220510074245_1652147317.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 19:41:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sale and Consumption of Liquor Banned in View of Local Election ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. </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"">Issuing separate notices on Tuesday, the respective DAO informed that the decision shall come into effect from midnight today and continue till May 13, the day fixed for holding the elections at entire 753 local units in a single phase. </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"">Lalitpur's chief district officer Ghanshyam Upadhyay confirmed that the office has issued a public notice about the prohibition of sale and intake of alcohol. Security agencies in all six local levels in the district have directed the subordinate security bodies to ensure the effective enforcement of the decision. </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"">According to Bhaktapur CDO Rudradevi Sharma, violation of the order is punishable and the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited near the vote counting venues until the counting gets over. She said that the use of liquor may rise during the election period and it may jeopardize security, that's why its sale and consumption is prohibited during election. </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"">Likewise, the Kathmandu DAO said it will not allow the sale and use of alcohol from midnight today till May 13. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14988', 'image' => '20220510060522_drink.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 18:04:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Crackdown on Smuggled Cigarettes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. They have demanded to stop the sale and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes that are openly sold in Kathmandu and the Terai region.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen say that a large amount of revenue is being leaked due to smuggling of cigarettes. Surya Nepal, a domestic cigarette manufacturer, said that with the increase in number of tourists after the decline in Covid-19 cases, the trade of illegally imported cigarettes has increased as well. An official of the company said that illegal (smuggled) cigarettes are sold and distributed in the market unhindered. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As a result, the domestic industries have lost market and the government has lost revenue. If the smuggling is not controlled, the government won’t be able to collect revenue and the consumption of such products will increase as well,” said the official.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company also stated that the sale of counterfeit cigarettes has increased in the Kathmandu valley. The official said that cigarettes of international brands are now available in the market targeting tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Raising taxes also makes a difference in the consumption of cigarettes. Every aspect should be analyzed before imposing taxes on tobacco products. The government should not make decisions based solely on just a single aspect,” the official further said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the government should take policy only after analyzing the situation of production of domestic tobacco companies. He said that even though the tax on tobacco products is low, the highest selling Pilot cigarette of Surya Nepal pays 70 percent tax. He said that raising the tax would increase the price of cigarettes and it would lead to consumption of other tobacco products like ‘gutkha’ and reduce revenue collection as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the illegal trade of cigarettes has been taking place in Nepal in two ways -- cigarettes of international brands are being traded illegally in big cities including Kathmandu and Pokhara and counterfeit cigarettes of Nepali brand are being imported from India in the border areas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Till date, 55 to 70 percent taxes have been levied on the sales of cigarette. Cigarettes are subject to excise duty, health risk tax, value added tax, customs duty and other taxes.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14987', 'image' => '20220510043801_istockphoto-1133345196-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 16:37:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Food Crisis Looms as Russia Blocks Black Sea Ports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Agencies</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the BBC, Ukraine and the EU discussed taking "immediate measures to unblock Ukraine's ports for grain exports" after Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports has forced its grain exporters to look for alternatives to move their cargo.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed preventing "a global food crisis triggered by Russia's aggressive actions" during talks with European Council President Charles Michel on his visit to Odesa on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Reuters reported that buildings in Odesa, a major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products, lay in ruins on Tuesday, a day after Kremlin forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Before the war, Ukraine exported 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports -12% of the world's wheat, 15% of its corn and 50% of its sunflower oil, the AFP news agency reports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But the invasion has crippled its export capacity, with Russia destroying transportation infrastructure and blockading Odesa, the main port for grain exports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response," BBC quoted Michael as saying.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14986', 'image' => '20220510014342_wheat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 13:43:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banana Farming affected due to Lack of Fertilizers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers. Benu Parajuli of Kankai Municipality-3, who used to cultivate bananas on 50 bighas of land in the past, now cultivates banana in just 30 bighas of land as the income from farming declined. Parajuli said that even though banana farming started with the objective of creating a 'banana zone', the farmers had to incur huge losses due to lack of fertilizer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The farmers who received government subsidies by declaring pocket and block areas in the past have now started reducing banana cultivation by returning the land to the landowners. In the past, Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms were cultivating bananas commercially in 400 bighas of land in Kankai Municipality-5, Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, Barhadashi Rural Municipality-6 and Jhapa Rural Municipality-7.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Farmers like Benu Parajuli, Himdal Parajuli, Kul Prasad Chimariya, Laxmi Chimariya and Ganesh Sangraula jointly operated the farm. Although they started collective banana farming by leasing the land of local farmers for five years, they stopped cultivating bananas, and returned the land to the owners after failing to raise investment in three years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms, known as the largest banana farms in Jhapa, destroyed the banana cultivation in about 100 bighas of land this time. Laxmi Chimariya, chairperson of the farm, said that the production declines when there is scarcity of chemical fertilizers when needed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that bananas need fertilizers up to three times a year, he complained that the production declined due to the failure in acquiring fertilizer even once last year. Banana cultivation requires fertilizers such as urea, DAP, potassium and phosphorus. The farm had received a grant of Rs 5 million from the Agriculture Knowledge Center for two years on the condition of investing 50 percent in farming.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14985', 'image' => '20220510123328_istockphoto-1030232778-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 12:32:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15242', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CD Ratio of 18 Banks still above 90 Percent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent. This is more than the limit set by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) which the banks have to comply within mid-July. The CD ratio of the remaining nine banks is less than 90 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bankers say the CD ratio has risen to more than 90 percent as deposits could not grow. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Through the monetary policy, NRB has implemented the provision of maintaining CD ratio by removing the provision of capital, loan and deposit (CCD) ratio in banks and financial institutions. As per the announcement of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year (FY), the central bank had issued a directive in August asking the banks and financial institutions to maintain the CD ratio up to 90 percent. Banks with higher than the ratio specified in the directive were given time till mid-July 2022 to bring the ratio within the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Until mid-July, banks will be able to calculate the amount of debentures and refinancing in the CD ratio as deposits. Similarly, the central bank has allowed the banks to calculate 80 percent of the amount at the local level as deposits. The bankers say that since the facility will end in mid-July, there will be more pressure on the CD ratio. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sunil KC, vice-president of Nepal Bankers' Association and chief executive officer of NMB Bank, said that it would be difficult to bring the CD ratio of banks and financial institutions within the limit in this month as the average CD ratio of BFIs is 91 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“While the credit flow has increased by 12 percent in the current FY, the deposit collection has increased by only 4 percent,” he said, adding, “It is difficult to maintain the prescribed CD ratio as there is no sign of significant growth.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Bankers' Association had urged the NRB to facilitate the implementation of CD ratio in the mid-term assessment of monetary policy. As per the demand of the association, NRB had extended the time till mid-July. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The banker says that more time is needed as it is difficult to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit even in July. According to the association, the CD ratio of only nine banks was within the limit as of April. The CD ratio is more than 91 percent of a dozen banks. The remaining half a dozen have the ratio of 90 percent in average. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the other hand, NRB officials say that the banks should continue to operate as per the existing system until further notice. “The banks and financial institutions are given time till mid-July to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit,” said Narayan Prasad Pokharel, deputy spokesperson of NRB, adding, “Within that time, banks should bring the ratio within prescribed limits even by managing the deposit and credit investment.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that as the action plan to bring the CD ratio within the prescribed limits has been approved by the Board of Directors and presented to the central bank, the banks should work accordingly. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recently, banks have not been able to disburse credit due to high CD ratio. The CD ratio of Standard Chartered, Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Laxmi and NMB Bank is below 90 percent. Similarly, the CD ratio of Sanima, Machhapuchhre and NCC Bank is also below the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14984', 'image' => '20220510111650_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 11:16:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Garbage Piled Up Yet Again in Kathmandu Valley ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City said waste management on Sunday and Monday was affected in the valley since the workers were working to manage space for more garbage in the Sisdole landfill site. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Environment Department of KMC Sarita Rai said garbage collection would resume from Tuesday morning if the waste adjustment gets completed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The waste from the Kathmandu Valley has been disposed in Sisdole for the past 15 years although the site was prepared to adjust waste for just two years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC officials said sustainable waste management has become challenging as the under-construction landfill site at Banchare Danda has not been completed within the deadline. As much as 1,200 metric tonnes of waste is being managed in Sisdole landfill site every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It may be noted that garbage collection from the Kathmandu Valley had just resumed from Saturday after 14 days of disruption caused by the residents of the Pasang Lhyamu Highway. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14983', 'image' => '20220510075250_fta-141015-04-np-te.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 07:51:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing Directive to Rent Out Transmission Lines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. The Electricity Regulatory Commission informed that it has already initiated the process in this regard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission says that the transmission lines can be rented after the government issues a directive to this effect. Chairman of the commission Dilli Bahadur Singh informed that they are currently preparing a directive to rent out the transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We have already prepared a draft of the directive. We will soon finalize it,” said Singh.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission is preparing such directive to allow the private sector to trade electricity. As the private sector has not set up its own transmission lines, it has to rely on government-owned transmission lines. The private sector had been demanding the government to rent its transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority is currently involved in setting up transmission lines. The government has also established the National Grid Company especially for this purpose.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive gets ready, it will open the door for the private sector to use the state-owned transmission lines for electricity trade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The directive will focus on the rental charge for the use of transmission lines by the private sector, informed Singh. However, the rental charge of the transmission lines has not yet been fixed. Singh informed that they are conducing necessary study and discussions in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It is not that easy to determine the charge,” said Singh, adding, “The charge has to be determined considering the length of the transmission line as well as the amount of electricity and the time used for the transmission of electricity.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive is ready, other institutions can set up separate transmission lines and use them for rental purpose, said Singh.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14982', 'image' => '20220509064230_Transmission.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 18:41:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFI Staffers Busy in Election', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. Employees of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Bank, Agricultural Development Bank and Grameen Bikas Laghu Bittiya Sanstha Ltd have been deployed for the elections by the District Election Office, Rautahat.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service of the financial sector has been affected after the staff were deployed for the elections. Service seekers who reached banks on Friday were deprived of prompt service as the employees of banks and financial institutions were reportedly attending the training given to the polling officer and assistant polling officer. The service seekers complained that the transactions and business were affected on Friday as the bank employees went for training. Meanwhile, the banks of the private sector were open on Friday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Election Officer of the District Election Office Chhote Lal Das claimed that the bank staff were deployed in such a way that it would not hinder their work. He claimed that the banks and financial institutions were asked to report immediately in case of any obstruction in the office. He said that only a small number of employees from banks and microfinance have been deployed for the poll. According to him, employees of banks and financial institutions were deployed in the previous election as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14981', 'image' => '20220510111757_Bankkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 16:32:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15238', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Nepal Exporting Shoes to 17 Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India. Nepali shoes, which used to be exported only to India in the past, are now available from the Gulf countries to developed countries like the USA, the UK and Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic shoe manufacturers are excited that the Nepali shoes have entered the international market. They say that the shoes could be exported to more countries that with the help of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nani Raj Ghimire, president of the Shoe Producers Association of Nepal, said that domestic industries are currently producing less shoes than their capacity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the footwear export which was limited to India has now reached more than 17 countries, he said that the volume of exports could be increased with the help of the government. "Earlier, we had problems in exporting shoes due to poor quality," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If the Nepali shoe industries operate at full capacity, they can produce 160 million pairs of shoes annually. According to the stakeholders, shoe production started to gain momentum in Nepal since 2070 BS. Domestic shoe manufacturer had invested heavily in production before Covid-19. The investment has been affected heavily in the last two years due to the pandemic. According to businessmen, more than Rs 30 billion has been invested in 1,500 industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal's internal demand for footwear is 100 million pairs annually. According to President Ghimire, more than 30 million pairs of shoes have been exported to different countries in recent times. Footwear entrepreneurs said that the volume of export can be increased and the basis for long-term export can be made if government agencies like foreign embassies and consulates help in promotion by setting up separate desks. They complained that there are problems due to unstable interest rates and lack of provision for industrial loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, industries are not operating at full capacity. "The footwear industry produces only 35 to 40 per cent of the total capacity," he said, adding that "It meets 65 per cent of the domestic demand."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Currently, more than 50,000 people are directly employed by footwear industries," Ghimire said. "With the help of the state, it can be increased to 75,000."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14980', 'image' => '20220509023224_20180104031625_gs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:31:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15237', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'MCC Impact: More than Rs 100 Billion Financial Assistance in 2 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement to provide US$500 million (approx Rs 60 billion) in grants to Nepal under the MCC project was approved by the Parliament of Nepal on February 27. According to Shalikram Pokharel, advisor to the Ministry of Finance, aid agreements worth more than Rs 100 billion have been signed with the United States and other donor agencies since then. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The MCC has been instrumental in bringing in foreign aid. Other donors are excited after the MCC was approved,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance on a grant of about Rs 80 billion was signed on May 5, 2022. USAID is providing a grant of US$ 659 million (approx Rs 79.71 billion) to Nepal to be spent within five years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The US is providing this assistance to help Nepal in its efforts to become a middle-income country. This assistance will be mobilized in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Nepal and for democratic governance as well as enterprise-focused economic growth. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank on May 4 agreed to provide a loan of US$150 million (approximately Rs 18 billion) to strengthen the financial sector of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This loan is in the process of implementation after finance secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, signed the ‘Finance for Growth’ Development Policy to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions and increase access to financial services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the MoF, the support will help open up capital, insurance and disaster risk financial markets and promote the new financial services. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the government is taking a concessional loan of Rs 18 billion from the International Development Association of World Bank Group. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14979', 'image' => '20220509020457_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:04:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Share Transactions Available till Friday from May 15', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15. Till date, the transactions of securities in the secondary market are done between Sunday to Thursday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the announcement of the government to give holidays on Saturday and Sunday, NEPSE made arrangements to continue with share transactions on Fridays as well in order to prevent a reduction in the number of transactions of securities in the secondary market. The Board of Directors of NEPSE reached the decision in a meeting held on May 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On Sunday, NEPSE directed all the brokers to make arrangements for share transactions from Monday to Friday. Starting from May 15, NEPSE will keep its offices operational from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, as per the decision of the Council of Ministers made on May 6. NEPSE informed that the share market will be open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Fridays.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14978', 'image' => '20220509124220_istockphoto-1322201350-170667a.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 12:41:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15234', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Spring Expedition begins after Icefall Doctors Fix Ropes on Everest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday. </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"">As part of the rope fixing, mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, reportedly scaled the world's highest peak for a record 26th time, breaking his own previous record for climbing Mt Everest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism confirmed the beginning of the mountaineering season from Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At present, around 90 percent mountaineers at the Mt Everest Base Camp are waiting for the green signal to climb the peak, said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, director of the Department's mountaineering section. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As part of the rope fixing, Kami Rita Sherpa reached atop Everest for a record 26 times. We will officially announce the news after verifying it," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department is expected to get the highest number of application for climbing Mount Everest as this season is favourable to scale the world's highest peak. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of 11 Sherpa summiteers from the Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd successfully scaled the peak for rope fixing on Saturday evening at 6:55 pm. The team announced that Everest is ready for climbing. Last year, the spring climbing season started from April 27. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14977', 'image' => '20220509081240_Spring Expedition (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:11:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 11: The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi organized an interaction programme on 'Banking and Remittance Services, Export-Trade and Investment Opportunity in Nepal' in collaboration with the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Indian capital on Sunday. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Nepal's ambassador-designate to India, Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma highlighted the robust economic ties between Nepal and India. Encouraging the Indian investors to make investments in Nepal, the Ambassador stated that, in addition to others, a moderate climate, geographical proximity and availability of the means of air and land transport, language and cultural similarity, and close working relations between Nepali and Indian nationals and duty-free and quota-free provisions for export in most products are favourable factors giving advantages for Indian investors to invest in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also emphasized for the enhanced political linkages as it is important for any investor and businessperson, the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi stated in a press release. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Regarding remittance, Ambassador Sharma encouraged everyone to use banking channel to remit their earnings as it is safe, secure, simple and transparent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ambassador Sharma requested the bank officials to facilitate the process for opening bank accounts to everyone by creating awareness campaign and putting information in websites as far as practicable. He assured the participants of every possible support from the Eebassy in this endeavor. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In his welcome address, Deputy Chief of Mission Ram Prasad Subedi highlighted the objectives of the programme. He called for the Nepali national working in India to remit their earnings through banking channel as it can help to sustain Nepali economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted the export trade and investment opportunity in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">President of the Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries, New Delhi, and the Chairperson of the programme, Yubraj Baral, called for every member of the Nepali community to encourage Indian investors and businessperson to invest in Nepal as they have established good relations with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He also requested the embassy for coordination and facilitation wherever it is needed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Basu Dev Bhattarai, director of the Foreign Exchange Department of Nepal Rastra Bank spoke on the existing policies and practices for remittance, foreign investment and the limitation to carry cash amount by travelers from and to Nepal. He also briefed on how foreign currency is spent and gave an account of its current situation and reserves in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nohan Karki, General Secretary, Everest Chamber of Commerce and Industries made a presentation, highlighting on the objectives, programmes and activities of the association and shared that the people of Nepali origin in India have emotional attachment to Nepal and Nepali people and always wish for their progress and prosperity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Speaking on the occasion, the representative of Global IME, Bank, Kathmandu, </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Swechchha Rana requested Nepali nationals to use banking channels for remitting their earnings. She informed the audience about the provisions and arrangements made by the bank in several countries to open up bank account for Nepali citizens while staying abroad. She also elaborated on the various facilities and incentives made by the bank, including high interest rate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Representative of Everest Bank Limited Kathamdu, Nikhil Shrestha thanked the ambassador and the embassy of Nepal for hosting the event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Executive Chief of IME Bank Khilendra Paudel, underlined the difficulties faced by common Nepalis at border points. He mentioned that in absence of clear guidelines and regulations, at present, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to approach and get services from banks by himself/herself to remit money to Nepal. He requested facilitation on behalf of the government. -- RSS </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-11', 'modified' => '2022-05-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14990', 'image' => '20220511082151_1652173851.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-11 08:21:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15247', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'US Dollar at Record High against Nepali Currency', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The US dollar has become most expensive compared to the Nepali currency on Tuesday. According to the foreign exchange rate announced by Nepal Rastra Bank for Tuesday, the buying rate of one dollar has been fixed at Rs 123.65.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The selling rate of the dollar was Rs 124.25 on Tuesday. It means that Nepali nationals will have to spend Rs 124 and 25 paisa to buy one dollar. This is the first time that the US dollar has become so expensive in the Nepali market. The dollar had reached a new high on the previous day as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar index had risen to 104.19 points in international currency market on Monday. This is the highest since July 2002. As the dollar strengthened, the Indian rupee depreciated to a record low against the dollar, making a direct impact on the Nepalese rupee. The Nepalese rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">That is, there is a fixed exchange rate between the two currencies. The dollar exchange rate has a direct effect on the Nepalese rupee. On Monday, the dollar’s value had closed at IRs 77.31.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The dollar has been gaining ground in recent days after the United States last week raised interest rates to a two-decade high. With the dollar strengthening and US bond yields rising, foreign investors are pulling out of the Indian market. This has put pressure on the rupee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The recent rise in investment in the dollar as a safe-haven asset has also pushed up its price. The dollar rose against most of the major currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound, on Monday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14989', 'image' => '20220510074245_1652147317.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 19:41:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15246', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sale and Consumption of Liquor Banned in View of Local Election ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: District administration offices in all three districts in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to ban the supply and consumption of alcoholic products in view of the May 13 local level elections. </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"">Issuing separate notices on Tuesday, the respective DAO informed that the decision shall come into effect from midnight today and continue till May 13, the day fixed for holding the elections at entire 753 local units in a single phase. </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"">Lalitpur's chief district officer Ghanshyam Upadhyay confirmed that the office has issued a public notice about the prohibition of sale and intake of alcohol. Security agencies in all six local levels in the district have directed the subordinate security bodies to ensure the effective enforcement of the decision. </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"">According to Bhaktapur CDO Rudradevi Sharma, violation of the order is punishable and the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited near the vote counting venues until the counting gets over. She said that the use of liquor may rise during the election period and it may jeopardize security, that's why its sale and consumption is prohibited during election. </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"">Likewise, the Kathmandu DAO said it will not allow the sale and use of alcohol from midnight today till May 13. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14988', 'image' => '20220510060522_drink.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 18:04:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15245', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Stakeholders Demand Crackdown on Smuggled Cigarettes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Stakeholders have expressed their concerns that the domestic production of cigarettes has been affected due to the increase in smuggling of cigarettes. They have demanded to stop the sale and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes that are openly sold in Kathmandu and the Terai region.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Businessmen say that a large amount of revenue is being leaked due to smuggling of cigarettes. Surya Nepal, a domestic cigarette manufacturer, said that with the increase in number of tourists after the decline in Covid-19 cases, the trade of illegally imported cigarettes has increased as well. An official of the company said that illegal (smuggled) cigarettes are sold and distributed in the market unhindered. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“As a result, the domestic industries have lost market and the government has lost revenue. If the smuggling is not controlled, the government won’t be able to collect revenue and the consumption of such products will increase as well,” said the official.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company also stated that the sale of counterfeit cigarettes has increased in the Kathmandu valley. The official said that cigarettes of international brands are now available in the market targeting tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Raising taxes also makes a difference in the consumption of cigarettes. Every aspect should be analyzed before imposing taxes on tobacco products. The government should not make decisions based solely on just a single aspect,” the official further said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the government should take policy only after analyzing the situation of production of domestic tobacco companies. He said that even though the tax on tobacco products is low, the highest selling Pilot cigarette of Surya Nepal pays 70 percent tax. He said that raising the tax would increase the price of cigarettes and it would lead to consumption of other tobacco products like ‘gutkha’ and reduce revenue collection as well.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The official added that the illegal trade of cigarettes has been taking place in Nepal in two ways -- cigarettes of international brands are being traded illegally in big cities including Kathmandu and Pokhara and counterfeit cigarettes of Nepali brand are being imported from India in the border areas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Till date, 55 to 70 percent taxes have been levied on the sales of cigarette. Cigarettes are subject to excise duty, health risk tax, value added tax, customs duty and other taxes.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14987', 'image' => '20220510043801_istockphoto-1133345196-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 16:37:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15244', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Global Food Crisis Looms as Russia Blocks Black Sea Ports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Agencies</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 10: Ukraine and its allies have intensified efforts to unblock ports or provide alternate routes for exporting its significant crops of grain, wheat and corn.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the BBC, Ukraine and the EU discussed taking "immediate measures to unblock Ukraine's ports for grain exports" after Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports has forced its grain exporters to look for alternatives to move their cargo.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed preventing "a global food crisis triggered by Russia's aggressive actions" during talks with European Council President Charles Michel on his visit to Odesa on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Reuters reported that buildings in Odesa, a major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products, lay in ruins on Tuesday, a day after Kremlin forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Before the war, Ukraine exported 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports -12% of the world's wheat, 15% of its corn and 50% of its sunflower oil, the AFP news agency reports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But the invasion has crippled its export capacity, with Russia destroying transportation infrastructure and blockading Odesa, the main port for grain exports.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response," BBC quoted Michael as saying.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14986', 'image' => '20220510014342_wheat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 13:43:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15243', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banana Farming affected due to Lack of Fertilizers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: Banana farms in Jhapa are declining due to lack of chemical fertilizers. Benu Parajuli of Kankai Municipality-3, who used to cultivate bananas on 50 bighas of land in the past, now cultivates banana in just 30 bighas of land as the income from farming declined. Parajuli said that even though banana farming started with the objective of creating a 'banana zone', the farmers had to incur huge losses due to lack of fertilizer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The farmers who received government subsidies by declaring pocket and block areas in the past have now started reducing banana cultivation by returning the land to the landowners. In the past, Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms were cultivating bananas commercially in 400 bighas of land in Kankai Municipality-5, Shivasatakshi Municipality-7, Barhadashi Rural Municipality-6 and Jhapa Rural Municipality-7.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Farmers like Benu Parajuli, Himdal Parajuli, Kul Prasad Chimariya, Laxmi Chimariya and Ganesh Sangraula jointly operated the farm. Although they started collective banana farming by leasing the land of local farmers for five years, they stopped cultivating bananas, and returned the land to the owners after failing to raise investment in three years.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Durgamata and Kolakheti agricultural farms, known as the largest banana farms in Jhapa, destroyed the banana cultivation in about 100 bighas of land this time. Laxmi Chimariya, chairperson of the farm, said that the production declines when there is scarcity of chemical fertilizers when needed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that bananas need fertilizers up to three times a year, he complained that the production declined due to the failure in acquiring fertilizer even once last year. Banana cultivation requires fertilizers such as urea, DAP, potassium and phosphorus. The farm had received a grant of Rs 5 million from the Agriculture Knowledge Center for two years on the condition of investing 50 percent in farming.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14985', 'image' => '20220510123328_istockphoto-1030232778-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 12:32:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15242', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CD Ratio of 18 Banks still above 90 Percent ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 10: The credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 18 out of the 27 commercial banks in operation in Nepal is above 90 percent. This is more than the limit set by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) which the banks have to comply within mid-July. The CD ratio of the remaining nine banks is less than 90 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bankers say the CD ratio has risen to more than 90 percent as deposits could not grow. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Through the monetary policy, NRB has implemented the provision of maintaining CD ratio by removing the provision of capital, loan and deposit (CCD) ratio in banks and financial institutions. As per the announcement of the monetary policy for the current fiscal year (FY), the central bank had issued a directive in August asking the banks and financial institutions to maintain the CD ratio up to 90 percent. Banks with higher than the ratio specified in the directive were given time till mid-July 2022 to bring the ratio within the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Until mid-July, banks will be able to calculate the amount of debentures and refinancing in the CD ratio as deposits. Similarly, the central bank has allowed the banks to calculate 80 percent of the amount at the local level as deposits. The bankers say that since the facility will end in mid-July, there will be more pressure on the CD ratio. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sunil KC, vice-president of Nepal Bankers' Association and chief executive officer of NMB Bank, said that it would be difficult to bring the CD ratio of banks and financial institutions within the limit in this month as the average CD ratio of BFIs is 91 percent. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“While the credit flow has increased by 12 percent in the current FY, the deposit collection has increased by only 4 percent,” he said, adding, “It is difficult to maintain the prescribed CD ratio as there is no sign of significant growth.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Bankers' Association had urged the NRB to facilitate the implementation of CD ratio in the mid-term assessment of monetary policy. As per the demand of the association, NRB had extended the time till mid-July. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The banker says that more time is needed as it is difficult to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit even in July. According to the association, the CD ratio of only nine banks was within the limit as of April. The CD ratio is more than 91 percent of a dozen banks. The remaining half a dozen have the ratio of 90 percent in average. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the other hand, NRB officials say that the banks should continue to operate as per the existing system until further notice. “The banks and financial institutions are given time till mid-July to bring the CD ratio within the stipulated limit,” said Narayan Prasad Pokharel, deputy spokesperson of NRB, adding, “Within that time, banks should bring the ratio within prescribed limits even by managing the deposit and credit investment.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that as the action plan to bring the CD ratio within the prescribed limits has been approved by the Board of Directors and presented to the central bank, the banks should work accordingly. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recently, banks have not been able to disburse credit due to high CD ratio. The CD ratio of Standard Chartered, Prabhu Bank, NIC Asia, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Laxmi and NMB Bank is below 90 percent. Similarly, the CD ratio of Sanima, Machhapuchhre and NCC Bank is also below the limit. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14984', 'image' => '20220510111650_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 11:16:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15241', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Garbage Piled Up Yet Again in Kathmandu Valley ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 10: Waste management of all 18 local levels in the Kathmandu Valley has been affected yet again as the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot district has been full with garbage. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City said waste management on Sunday and Monday was affected in the valley since the workers were working to manage space for more garbage in the Sisdole landfill site. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Environment Department of KMC Sarita Rai said garbage collection would resume from Tuesday morning if the waste adjustment gets completed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The waste from the Kathmandu Valley has been disposed in Sisdole for the past 15 years although the site was prepared to adjust waste for just two years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The KMC officials said sustainable waste management has become challenging as the under-construction landfill site at Banchare Danda has not been completed within the deadline. As much as 1,200 metric tonnes of waste is being managed in Sisdole landfill site every day. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It may be noted that garbage collection from the Kathmandu Valley had just resumed from Saturday after 14 days of disruption caused by the residents of the Pasang Lhyamu Highway. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-10', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14983', 'image' => '20220510075250_fta-141015-04-np-te.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-10 07:51:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15240', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Preparing Directive to Rent Out Transmission Lines', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 9: The government is preparing to adopt a policy related to wheeling charge for renting out transmission lines. The Electricity Regulatory Commission informed that it has already initiated the process in this regard. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission says that the transmission lines can be rented after the government issues a directive to this effect. Chairman of the commission Dilli Bahadur Singh informed that they are currently preparing a directive to rent out the transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We have already prepared a draft of the directive. We will soon finalize it,” said Singh.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The commission is preparing such directive to allow the private sector to trade electricity. As the private sector has not set up its own transmission lines, it has to rely on government-owned transmission lines. The private sector had been demanding the government to rent its transmission lines.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority is currently involved in setting up transmission lines. The government has also established the National Grid Company especially for this purpose.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive gets ready, it will open the door for the private sector to use the state-owned transmission lines for electricity trade.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The directive will focus on the rental charge for the use of transmission lines by the private sector, informed Singh. However, the rental charge of the transmission lines has not yet been fixed. Singh informed that they are conducing necessary study and discussions in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It is not that easy to determine the charge,” said Singh, adding, “The charge has to be determined considering the length of the transmission line as well as the amount of electricity and the time used for the transmission of electricity.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Once the directive is ready, other institutions can set up separate transmission lines and use them for rental purpose, said Singh.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14982', 'image' => '20220509064230_Transmission.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 18:41:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15239', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFI Staffers Busy in Election', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: With the upcoming local level elections just around the corner, employees of banks and microfinance have been found involved in preparation for the poll in Rautahat district. Employees of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Bank, Agricultural Development Bank and Grameen Bikas Laghu Bittiya Sanstha Ltd have been deployed for the elections by the District Election Office, Rautahat.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service of the financial sector has been affected after the staff were deployed for the elections. Service seekers who reached banks on Friday were deprived of prompt service as the employees of banks and financial institutions were reportedly attending the training given to the polling officer and assistant polling officer. The service seekers complained that the transactions and business were affected on Friday as the bank employees went for training. Meanwhile, the banks of the private sector were open on Friday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Election Officer of the District Election Office Chhote Lal Das claimed that the bank staff were deployed in such a way that it would not hinder their work. He claimed that the banks and financial institutions were asked to report immediately in case of any obstruction in the office. He said that only a small number of employees from banks and microfinance have been deployed for the poll. According to him, employees of banks and financial institutions were deployed in the previous election as well.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14981', 'image' => '20220510111757_Bankkk.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 16:32:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15238', 'article_category_id' => '268', 'title' => 'Nepal Exporting Shoes to 17 Countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal has been exporting shoes manufactured in the country to 17 nations, including India. Nepali shoes, which used to be exported only to India in the past, are now available from the Gulf countries to developed countries like the USA, the UK and Japan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic shoe manufacturers are excited that the Nepali shoes have entered the international market. They say that the shoes could be exported to more countries that with the help of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nani Raj Ghimire, president of the Shoe Producers Association of Nepal, said that domestic industries are currently producing less shoes than their capacity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the footwear export which was limited to India has now reached more than 17 countries, he said that the volume of exports could be increased with the help of the government. "Earlier, we had problems in exporting shoes due to poor quality," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If the Nepali shoe industries operate at full capacity, they can produce 160 million pairs of shoes annually. According to the stakeholders, shoe production started to gain momentum in Nepal since 2070 BS. Domestic shoe manufacturer had invested heavily in production before Covid-19. The investment has been affected heavily in the last two years due to the pandemic. According to businessmen, more than Rs 30 billion has been invested in 1,500 industries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal's internal demand for footwear is 100 million pairs annually. According to President Ghimire, more than 30 million pairs of shoes have been exported to different countries in recent times. Footwear entrepreneurs said that the volume of export can be increased and the basis for long-term export can be made if government agencies like foreign embassies and consulates help in promotion by setting up separate desks. They complained that there are problems due to unstable interest rates and lack of provision for industrial loans.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, industries are not operating at full capacity. "The footwear industry produces only 35 to 40 per cent of the total capacity," he said, adding that "It meets 65 per cent of the domestic demand."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Currently, more than 50,000 people are directly employed by footwear industries," Ghimire said. "With the help of the state, it can be increased to 75,000."</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14980', 'image' => '20220509023224_20180104031625_gs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:31:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15237', 'article_category_id' => '279', 'title' => 'MCC Impact: More than Rs 100 Billion Financial Assistance in 2 Months ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: The impact of the US-funded project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been felt as soon as the House of Representatives endorsed it amid differences among political parties. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The agreement to provide US$500 million (approx Rs 60 billion) in grants to Nepal under the MCC project was approved by the Parliament of Nepal on February 27. According to Shalikram Pokharel, advisor to the Ministry of Finance, aid agreements worth more than Rs 100 billion have been signed with the United States and other donor agencies since then. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The MCC has been instrumental in bringing in foreign aid. Other donors are excited after the MCC was approved,” he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Finance on a grant of about Rs 80 billion was signed on May 5, 2022. USAID is providing a grant of US$ 659 million (approx Rs 79.71 billion) to Nepal to be spent within five years. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The US is providing this assistance to help Nepal in its efforts to become a middle-income country. This assistance will be mobilized in collaboration with the Government of Nepal, civil society and the private sector to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of Nepal and for democratic governance as well as enterprise-focused economic growth. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank on May 4 agreed to provide a loan of US$150 million (approximately Rs 18 billion) to strengthen the financial sector of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This loan is in the process of implementation after finance secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank’s country director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, signed the ‘Finance for Growth’ Development Policy to strengthen financial sector stability, diversify financial solutions and increase access to financial services in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the MoF, the support will help open up capital, insurance and disaster risk financial markets and promote the new financial services. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, the government is taking a concessional loan of Rs 18 billion from the International Development Association of World Bank Group. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14979', 'image' => '20220509020457_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 14:04:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15236', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Share Transactions Available till Friday from May 15', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 9: Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), the secondary market of securities, will now continue its transactions on Fridays as well from May 15. Till date, the transactions of securities in the secondary market are done between Sunday to Thursday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the announcement of the government to give holidays on Saturday and Sunday, NEPSE made arrangements to continue with share transactions on Fridays as well in order to prevent a reduction in the number of transactions of securities in the secondary market. The Board of Directors of NEPSE reached the decision in a meeting held on May 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On Sunday, NEPSE directed all the brokers to make arrangements for share transactions from Monday to Friday. Starting from May 15, NEPSE will keep its offices operational from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, as per the decision of the Council of Ministers made on May 6. NEPSE informed that the share market will be open from 11 AM to 3 PM on Fridays.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14978', 'image' => '20220509124220_istockphoto-1322201350-170667a.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 12:41:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15234', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Spring Expedition begins after Icefall Doctors Fix Ropes on Everest', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: This year's spring mountaineering expedition to Everest has started after the fixing of ropes on the world's highest peak by a group of Sherpa climbers completed on Saturday. </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"">As part of the rope fixing, mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, reportedly scaled the world's highest peak for a record 26th time, breaking his own previous record for climbing Mt Everest. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Department of Tourism confirmed the beginning of the mountaineering season from Saturday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">At present, around 90 percent mountaineers at the Mt Everest Base Camp are waiting for the green signal to climb the peak, said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, director of the Department's mountaineering section. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"As part of the rope fixing, Kami Rita Sherpa reached atop Everest for a record 26 times. We will officially announce the news after verifying it," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department is expected to get the highest number of application for climbing Mount Everest as this season is favourable to scale the world's highest peak. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A team of 11 Sherpa summiteers from the Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd successfully scaled the peak for rope fixing on Saturday evening at 6:55 pm. The team announced that Everest is ready for climbing. Last year, the spring climbing season started from April 27. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14977', 'image' => '20220509081240_Spring Expedition (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:11:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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
