March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to…
March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to…
March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak.…
March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to…
March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations.…
March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant…
March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects.…
March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming…
March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started…
March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United…
March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY…
March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue…
March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf…
March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial…
March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in…
March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal.…
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The occupancy of hotels in the Kathmandu valley as well as other tourist destinations has started to improve.</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 hoteliers, their business is gradually improving. Hotel occupancy, which fell to 5 percent during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, has risen to 35 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"">Shreejana Rana, president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), said that the situation at present has improved compared to the past.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> She said that the hotel sector has become active due to domestic and Indian tourists. </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 Ukraine-Russia war has made the arrival of European tourist uncertain," Rana said. She said that the government should give more priority to identifying tourist destinations and their marketing.</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"">Rana stressed on the need for training to provide a better environment to the Indian tourists. She urged the authorities to set up “Namaste Desks” in the border areas to facilitate Indian tourists. Sajan Shakya, executive director of Kathmandu Prince Hotel and general secretary of HAN, informed that the occupancy of hotels has increased on an 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"">He noted that the hotel business has improved in February and March compared to the last month of 2021 and the beginning of January 2022. "March and April are also tourist seasons," said Shakya. "This season, the number of tourists coming for trekking is on the rise. He said that the tourists are interested in trekking and adventure activities.</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, Bikal Tulachan, president of HAN's Pokhara chapter, said that although the occupancy rate could not improve significantly due to the reduction in night stay, tourism activities have increased overall. He said that the presence of domestic tourists was significant while the number of foreign tourists has also increased to some extent.</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"">At present, the number of tourists arriving from European countries is low, he said. According to him, even though the occupancy rate of hotels in Pokhara is 10 percent, arrival of tourists is improving. Businessmen in the Bhairahawa area of Rupandehi said that tourism activities have increased due to the presence of Indian tourists. </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"">CP Shrestha, president of Siddhartha Hotel Association of Nepal, said that the improvement in the arrival of Indian tourists and the influx of tourists due to various project works have improved the business of hotels.</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 the occupancy rate of hotels is at least 25 to 30 percent at present. Similarly, up to 15 percent of booking has been done from Maharashtra and other states of India, he said. Arrival of tourists has almost doubled in February 2022 compared to the period of Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 36,741 tourists from 33 countries visited Nepal in the first two months of 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-04-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14705', 'image' => '20220321115638_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 11:55:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 the Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported. </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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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"">During his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further reported. </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 the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14959', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CBFIN and ADB to Collaborate for Self-Reliant Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The delegates of ADB on a visit to Nepal have agreed to work in collaboration with the CBFIN to strengthen the financial sector, provide easy access to credit to the local industries and productive sector and to promote the domestic economy through infrastructure development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In a meeting organized by CBFIN on Friday, Manmohan Prakash, Deputy Director General of Manila-based ADB for overseeing South Asian affairs, announced that they would be working with focus on production based on new and locally-available raw materials. He stated that the country's own resources should make the economy sustainable by providing credit, global market opportunities, exploration and new technologies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The small and medium entrepreneurs can run their business smoothly only if they are provided the loans without collateral. Such industries need to be supported with access to finance, market and infrastructure as well as skills as MSMEs create huge employment opportunities,” said Prakash.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prakash also said that MSMEs could survive only if they were given loans without collateral with reasonable interest rates to operate their business effectively without any procedural hurdles. During the meeting, CBFIN Chairman Pawan Kumar Golyan requested ADB to provide more than Rs 1 billion soft loan to Nepal taking the current financial crisis into account.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Golyan expressed his opinion saying that if ADB agrees to provide the soft loan, the problem of liquidity crisis would get resolved as well as the banks and financial sectors could provide loans to the targeted sectors.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14701', 'image' => '20220320053302_1647606057.ADB gathering photo better (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 17:31:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14958', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Prioritize Large Reservoir-Based Projects: PM Deuba ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. He made such remark on Saturday while inaugurating the 220-132 KV Khimti Substation under the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project in Dolakha.</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"">While inaugurating the new substation, PM Deuba said that the government will also expedite the Budhigandaki and West Seti reservoir projects which have been stalled since a long time due to procedural hurdles. </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"">On the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba said that the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, built with Nepal's own investment and hard work, has made a great contribution to the supply of electricity and thanked all the employees and construction entrepreneurs. </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"">He further said that the government will not entertain the trend of construction companies seeking license and not completing the works on time. </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"">With the completion of the Khimti substation, all the works related to the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, one of the national pride projects, have been completed.</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 Upper Tamakoshi project, which was inaugurated in last June, has so far generated one billion units of electricity. It took almost 11 years to complete the project.</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"">PM Deuba added that the government would soon finalize the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. </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 prime minister was of the view that these projects are important for energy security, especially during the dry season. He also said that large and reservoir projects were also necessary for clean and green energy and the government was doing its homework accordingly. </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 Prime Minister also clarified that appropriate decision would be taken regarding the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which has not been able to move forward for a long time. The energy producers have been saying that the construction of the projects has been disrupted due to the failure of PPA. </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"">Also addressing the program, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal shared that preparations are being made to build large reservoir projects in all the provinces except Madhes Province. </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"">She stressed on the need to develop reservoir-based projects for energy security. </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 the minister, special attention should be given to the development of Nepal's energy sector to reduce the trade deficit and the government was committed to this end. </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"">On the occasion, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that the NEA is preparing to move ahead with big projects with the investment of the people. He termed the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project as a "game changer project" and said that it has also made significant contribution in improving the economic condition of the NEA. </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"">Energy Secretary Devendra Karki said that the government was ready to address any grievances of the locals affected by the hydropower project. </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> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14700', 'image' => '20220320035121_1647681941.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 15:47:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14957', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Summit in September ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September. According to the committee’s coordinator Rajaram Giri, tourism ministers from major countries contributing to Nepal’s tourism sector will be invited to the mega event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objective of the summit is to send the message to the world that Nepal’s tourism industry is now back to normalcy. Giri further said that they want to assure the tourists of warm hospitality through the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We want to tell the world that we are eager to welcome tourists in Nepal,” he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition to this, Giri said that celebrities from Nepal, India, the UK, the US and other countries will be urged to contribute for the publicity of Nepal’s tourism destinations and a special visit package will be launched to this end. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As part of its efforts to revive the tourism business, the committee will be producing short audio clips giving information about Nepal’s tourism industry and will be seeking the help of international media to present tourism-related documentaries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, the committee plans to develop a digitalized map incorporating tourist sites in all the 77 districts of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, a rapid rescue team will be set up to stay stand by to facilitate the travelers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 19-member panel formed by the government is headed by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It aims to formulate and implement plans for reviving the tourism industry of Nepal that has been bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Its expected works include exploration of potentialities in the related field, tracking new destinations and promoting them thus contributing to creating self-employment opportunities as well as helping build investment-friendly atmosphere in the country. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14699', 'image' => '20220320014041_Tourist.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:39:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14956', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Deposit Collection of Banks Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing. BFIs have reported an increase in deposit collection with the increase in capital expenditure of the government and the increase in interest rates on deposits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Nepal Bankers Association, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 22 billion between mid-February to mid-March. A month ago, deposit collection had declined by Rs 13 billion between mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to January, the banks had raised interest rates on savings by 10 percent in February. Accordingly, the maximum interest rate on fixed deposits of commercial banks was raised to 11.3 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of Nepal Bankers’ Association Anil Kumar Upadhyay said that although there has been no significant growth in deposits, there has been a general improvement. Banks have not raised interest rates in March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to mid-January, deposits of 17 banks have increased and deposits of 10 banks have decreased in mid-February. The deposits of Machhapuchhre Bank increased by Rs 4.81 billion. Similarly, deposits of Nabil Bank declined the most by Rs 2.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The credit flow of banks, which had been aggressive in the beginning of the current fiscal year, has started shrinking to maintain the credit-deposit (CD) ratio of banks and also due to liquidity crisis. Banks have extended credit of Rs 17 billion in mid-February/mid-March. Last month, they have invested only Rs 12 billion credit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Bankers’ Association informed that the average CD ratio of banks was 90.99 percent till March 14. The central bank has directed banks to reduce the CD ratio to less than 90 percent by July 16.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deputy spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank Narayan Prasad Pokhrel said that the CD ratio of 22 banks is more than 90 percent at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 131.12 billion and disbursed loans of Rs 451.24 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the credit flow of the banks exceeds the annual target, the NRB has increased the bank rate to discourage them and has also made provision for keeping cash margin for import of various goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14698', 'image' => '20220320012429_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:23:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14955', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is the Happiest Country in South Asia: UN Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report released on Friday, Nepal is ranked 84th in the world and top in South Asia, followed by Bangladesh which is ranked 94th and Pakistan (121rd), Sri Lanka (127th), and India (136th). The report shows Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in South Asia as well as the world with its lowest world ranking of 146 among all the surveyed countries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, nieghbouring China is ranked 82nd, three places above Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Finland has been listed as the happiest country of the world this year as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report states that Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Denmark continues to occupy second place, followed by Iceland, Switzerland the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the UN, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world. However, in 2022, only 146 countries were surveyed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN further says that the World Happiness Report 2022 outlines a bright light in dark times in this troubled period of war and pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence,” said Jeffrey Sachs, adding, “This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14697', 'image' => '20220320114648_happy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14954', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Fruits Worth Around Rs 7 Billion this Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</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 the Department of Customs, fruits such as apples, oranges, lemons mangoes and grapes were imported in highest quantity during this period. Apples of various species constituted the highest import among the fruits at 38,359,133 kgs worth Rs 4.3 billion followed by oranges, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Apples were imported mostly from China (worth over Rs 3.2 billion), India (over Rs 1.1 billion) and Egypt (over Rs 2.6 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the country recorded import of 14,570,000 kg of oranges worth more than Rs 780 million during the same period, majority of them were from India (worth over Rs 770 million), South Africa (over Rs 9 million) and Egypt (over Rs 1.1 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the budget announcement of FY 2020/21 claimed to make country self-sufficient in fruits within three years, Nepal still heavily relies on other countries for the supply of fruits. Data of the department clearly shows that the import of fruits is skyrocketing in the recent years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, lemons make up the third highest import of Nepal among the fruits. A total of 6,884,396 kg of lemons worth Rs 540 million were imported during the review period. Lemon farming has become a huge attraction among farmers in Nepal lately as it can fetch them good income. However, due to the short-supply of home-grown lemons, Nepal relies heavily on imports to meet the demand.</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"">Agriculture experts estimate that farmers could fetch as much as Rs 1 million annually from lemon farming on 13 ropanis (1.63 acres) of land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, 9,574,534 kg of mangoes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from India, Thailand and Uganda from mid-July last year to mid-January this year. Similarly, 4,893,008 kg of grapes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from China, India and Egypt. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Other fruits worth Rs 3 billion including pineapples from India, avocados from Uganda and Mexico, watermelons from India, pears from China, kiwis from India, pomegranates from India and various citrus fruits were also imported during the period, RSS reported citing the department. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14696', 'image' => '20220320110507_photo-1619566636858-adf3ef46400b.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:04:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14953', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails in Development despite Success in Revenue Collection', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.</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 government’s failure in capital expenditure has not only deprived the people of timely development but has also created a crisis in the economy as a whole.</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"">Banks and financial institutions have not been able to extend credit due to lack of liquidity. </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, industries and businesses have been struggling due to lack of capital.</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"">Although the government had announced capital budget of Rs 378 billion for the current fiscal year, it has been able to spend only Rs 80 for development works. So far, only 20.73 percent of the allocated capital budget has been spent on development. On the other hand, revenue collection has been encouraging during this period. The government has been able to meet its revenue collection target within the first eight months of the current fiscal year.</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 Department of Customs and the Inland Revenue Department, which are the bodies responsible to collect revenue, have succeeded in collecting revenue as per their target. According to the Department of Customs, it has collected revenue worth Rs 41.19 billion in the eighth month of FY 2078/79 alone. The target for the month was Rs 45.08 billion. This is 91 percent of the target. According to the director of the department, Punya Bikram Khadka, the revenue collection has reached almost Rs 349 billion so far during this fiscal year. The target for the same period was Rs 350 billion.</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 Inland Revenue Department has also raised revenue close to the target. According to the department, revenue worth Rs 28.37 billion has been collected in the current fiscal year. The department had set a target of collecting Rs 28.72 billion from income tax, VAT, and excise duty by mid-February. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the government has already collected revenue worth Rs 684 billion so far.</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"">According to Deputy Financial Comptroller General Nawaraj Dhungana, revenue collection is 58 percent of the overall target. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has been repeatedly instructing the departmental officials to increase development expenditure and collect revenue as per the target.</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"">According to an official of the Inland Revenue Department, even though they have met the revenue collection target so far, it cannot be said whether they will be able to meet the annual target or not. </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"">Ravi Singh, the newly elected president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN), shared that the government is responsible for the poor capital expenditure.</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"">According to him, the problem has arisen due to the delays in bidding of the development work and not creating a conducive environment for work.</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"">He is of the view that the Public Procurement Act and regulations are also an obstacle for the weak development expenditure.</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"">According to Singh, the recent rise in fuel prices has also affected development work. He argues that this will increase the cost of the project. </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"">Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Pushparaj Kandel said that the government is dishonest towards the people as it has been collecting revenue but is not able to spend the development budget. He said that the government should mobilize the taxes collected from the citizens for development in a timely manner for the benefit of the people.</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"">He is of the view that the lack of development expenditure is due to some policy issues and also due to some political interests. Former vice-chairman of the commission Kandel says that the current government has stopped some of the plans and programs brought by the previous government due to its vested interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14695', 'image' => '20220318064706_1641427053.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 18:46:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14952', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Labor Minister takes Stock of Nepali Workers’ Situation in Dubai', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Nepali delegation visited the UAE’s state-run Migrant Domestic Worker Service Provider (Tad-beer Center) in Dubai and learned about the workplace status of domestic workers, the legal system, remuneration, leave, social security, risk of violence and security guarantees. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, government officials of the UAE and managers of Tad-beer Service Center assured the visiting delegation about the security for Nepali workers in the UAE. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They briefed Minister Shrestha about the rights and security of domestic workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite the government's ban on sending domestic helps to the Gulf countries since 1973, the flow of illegal workers has not stopped. Recently, the government made arrangements for Nepali women who have been working as domestic helps in different countries to come back to their homeland. As the risk of sending workers through illegal channels has increased more than sending workers through legal channels, voices have been raised to create a safe and legal working environment for the workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha has been discussing with the concerned authorities about the matter of providing security guarantees to the domestic workers. This was also discussed at the Nepal-UAE Joint Committee meeting on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14694', 'image' => '20220318050519_400.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 17:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14951', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Indulge in Unhealthy Competition over Interest Rates amid Liquidity Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. </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"">It has been found that the banks have collected deposits violating the interest rate guidelines set by Nepal Rastra Bank. </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 central bank has taken action against a dozen banks in the second quarter of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2078/79 (mid-October to mid-January) for fixing interest rates against the directives of NRB. </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"">NRB officials say that even if the banks are free to set interest rates, they have to do so within the criteria set by the central bank.</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 central banks monitors their activities and takes action in case of any violation.</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"">Deputy Spokesperson of the central bank, Narayan Prasad Pokharel, said that the chief executive officers of some banks that violated the directive on setting interest rates, have been warned not to repeat the mistake again in the coming days. </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"">According to the NRB, banks are not allowed to change the interest rate on fixed deposits for up to three months. NRB said that the action has been taken for violating the provision that the difference between the maximum and minimum interest rates given on deposit accounts should not be more than 5 percentage points. </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"">Banks were aggressive in extending credit at the beginning of the current fiscal year after the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown and prohibitory order was eased. Despite the expansion of credit beyond the annual target, the deposit collection did not increase accordingly, leading towards the liquidity crisis. </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"">Along with the liquidity crisis, there was competition between banks and financial institutions to raise interest rates. NRB had instructed the banks to keep the interest rate within a single digit after the commercial banks increased the interest rate on deposits up to 12 percent in October. </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"">Similarly, issuing a directive on October 20, the central bank stated that the interest rate can be changed by only 10 percent every month. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14693', 'image' => '20220318031635_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 15:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14950', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Talks with India Underway for Electricity Export: Energy Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. </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"">Minister Bhusal made such remarks while inaugurating the New Butwal Sub-Station at Sunwal Municipality-13 in Nawalparasi West on Thursday. </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 government has set a target of ensuring every household’s access to electricity within two years,” she said, adding that the electricity is however wasted in rainy season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">For the utilization of surplus energy, international trade is a must, she added. Minister Bhusal also underscored the need to use electric devices to help resolve the energy crisis. Use of electrical appliances would be important also in the wake of rising price of petroleum products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of New Butwal Sub-Station is expected to enhance supply of regular energy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Executive Director at NEA Kulman Ghising informed that the Sub-Station was built with the efforts of Nepal government and loan assistance of Asian Development. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14692', 'image' => '20220318015632_electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 13:54:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14949', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Flexible about Allowing Foreign Banks to Open Branches in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. In this regard, the central bank has lowered the provision of minimum paid-up capital required for foreign banks to open branches in Nepal by scrapping the policy issued in 2010 regarding opening of branches in Nepal. </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"">NRB confirmed that it has scrapped the Policy Provision for Opening Branch Office by Foreign Bank or Financial Institution in Nepal, 2010 and issued Foreign Bank Branch Licensing Policy, 2022 in its place.</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"">Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the central bank said it has made arrangements that allow foreign banks to open branches in Nepal with a minimum paid-up capital of USD 20 million. Initially, the minimum paid-up capital was set at US$ 20 million US dollars, but in 2014, it was amended to maintain the paid-up capital on par with that of Nepali banks. </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"">At present, the minimum paid-up capital of commercial banks is Rs 8 billion and the foreign banks should also maintain the same amount. However, as per the new directive, up to USD 20 million is enough to open branches of the foreign banks. </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"">Executive Director of NRB Dev Kumar Dhakal said that the arrangement of paid-up capital has been made flexible to attract foreign banks to Nepal. "Foreign banks were not attracted because of the earlier provisions," he said, "So we have given some additional facilities." </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"">Even though NRB had issued a policy to open a branch 12 years ago, no foreign bank has opened a branch in Nepal so far. Only Doha Bank of Qatar, Masrek Bank of the UAE and ICICI Bank of India have opened liaison offices. The liaison office is not allowed to conduct banking transactions. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14691', 'image' => '20220318120723_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 12:06:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14963', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Hotel Occupancy Climbs to 35 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to normalcy.', '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"">March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to normalcy. The occupancy of hotels in the Kathmandu valley as well as other tourist destinations has started to improve.</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 hoteliers, their business is gradually improving. Hotel occupancy, which fell to 5 percent during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, has risen to 35 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"">Shreejana Rana, president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), said that the situation at present has improved compared to the past.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> She said that the hotel sector has become active due to domestic and Indian tourists. </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 Ukraine-Russia war has made the arrival of European tourist uncertain," Rana said. She said that the government should give more priority to identifying tourist destinations and their marketing.</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"">Rana stressed on the need for training to provide a better environment to the Indian tourists. She urged the authorities to set up “Namaste Desks” in the border areas to facilitate Indian tourists. Sajan Shakya, executive director of Kathmandu Prince Hotel and general secretary of HAN, informed that the occupancy of hotels has increased on an 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"">He noted that the hotel business has improved in February and March compared to the last month of 2021 and the beginning of January 2022. "March and April are also tourist seasons," said Shakya. "This season, the number of tourists coming for trekking is on the rise. He said that the tourists are interested in trekking and adventure activities.</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, Bikal Tulachan, president of HAN's Pokhara chapter, said that although the occupancy rate could not improve significantly due to the reduction in night stay, tourism activities have increased overall. He said that the presence of domestic tourists was significant while the number of foreign tourists has also increased to some extent.</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"">At present, the number of tourists arriving from European countries is low, he said. According to him, even though the occupancy rate of hotels in Pokhara is 10 percent, arrival of tourists is improving. Businessmen in the Bhairahawa area of Rupandehi said that tourism activities have increased due to the presence of Indian tourists. </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"">CP Shrestha, president of Siddhartha Hotel Association of Nepal, said that the improvement in the arrival of Indian tourists and the influx of tourists due to various project works have improved the business of hotels.</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 the occupancy rate of hotels is at least 25 to 30 percent at present. Similarly, up to 15 percent of booking has been done from Maharashtra and other states of India, he said. Arrival of tourists has almost doubled in February 2022 compared to the period of Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 36,741 tourists from 33 countries visited Nepal in the first two months of 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-04-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14705', 'image' => '20220321115638_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 11:55:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 the Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported. </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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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"">During his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further reported. </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 the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14959', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CBFIN and ADB to Collaborate for Self-Reliant Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The delegates of ADB on a visit to Nepal have agreed to work in collaboration with the CBFIN to strengthen the financial sector, provide easy access to credit to the local industries and productive sector and to promote the domestic economy through infrastructure development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In a meeting organized by CBFIN on Friday, Manmohan Prakash, Deputy Director General of Manila-based ADB for overseeing South Asian affairs, announced that they would be working with focus on production based on new and locally-available raw materials. He stated that the country's own resources should make the economy sustainable by providing credit, global market opportunities, exploration and new technologies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The small and medium entrepreneurs can run their business smoothly only if they are provided the loans without collateral. Such industries need to be supported with access to finance, market and infrastructure as well as skills as MSMEs create huge employment opportunities,” said Prakash.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prakash also said that MSMEs could survive only if they were given loans without collateral with reasonable interest rates to operate their business effectively without any procedural hurdles. During the meeting, CBFIN Chairman Pawan Kumar Golyan requested ADB to provide more than Rs 1 billion soft loan to Nepal taking the current financial crisis into account.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Golyan expressed his opinion saying that if ADB agrees to provide the soft loan, the problem of liquidity crisis would get resolved as well as the banks and financial sectors could provide loans to the targeted sectors.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14701', 'image' => '20220320053302_1647606057.ADB gathering photo better (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 17:31:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14958', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Prioritize Large Reservoir-Based Projects: PM Deuba ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. He made such remark on Saturday while inaugurating the 220-132 KV Khimti Substation under the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project in Dolakha.</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"">While inaugurating the new substation, PM Deuba said that the government will also expedite the Budhigandaki and West Seti reservoir projects which have been stalled since a long time due to procedural hurdles. </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"">On the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba said that the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, built with Nepal's own investment and hard work, has made a great contribution to the supply of electricity and thanked all the employees and construction entrepreneurs. </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"">He further said that the government will not entertain the trend of construction companies seeking license and not completing the works on time. </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"">With the completion of the Khimti substation, all the works related to the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, one of the national pride projects, have been completed.</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 Upper Tamakoshi project, which was inaugurated in last June, has so far generated one billion units of electricity. It took almost 11 years to complete the project.</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"">PM Deuba added that the government would soon finalize the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. </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 prime minister was of the view that these projects are important for energy security, especially during the dry season. He also said that large and reservoir projects were also necessary for clean and green energy and the government was doing its homework accordingly. </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 Prime Minister also clarified that appropriate decision would be taken regarding the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which has not been able to move forward for a long time. The energy producers have been saying that the construction of the projects has been disrupted due to the failure of PPA. </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"">Also addressing the program, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal shared that preparations are being made to build large reservoir projects in all the provinces except Madhes Province. </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"">She stressed on the need to develop reservoir-based projects for energy security. </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 the minister, special attention should be given to the development of Nepal's energy sector to reduce the trade deficit and the government was committed to this end. </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"">On the occasion, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that the NEA is preparing to move ahead with big projects with the investment of the people. He termed the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project as a "game changer project" and said that it has also made significant contribution in improving the economic condition of the NEA. </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"">Energy Secretary Devendra Karki said that the government was ready to address any grievances of the locals affected by the hydropower project. </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> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14700', 'image' => '20220320035121_1647681941.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 15:47:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14957', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Summit in September ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September. According to the committee’s coordinator Rajaram Giri, tourism ministers from major countries contributing to Nepal’s tourism sector will be invited to the mega event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objective of the summit is to send the message to the world that Nepal’s tourism industry is now back to normalcy. Giri further said that they want to assure the tourists of warm hospitality through the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We want to tell the world that we are eager to welcome tourists in Nepal,” he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition to this, Giri said that celebrities from Nepal, India, the UK, the US and other countries will be urged to contribute for the publicity of Nepal’s tourism destinations and a special visit package will be launched to this end. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As part of its efforts to revive the tourism business, the committee will be producing short audio clips giving information about Nepal’s tourism industry and will be seeking the help of international media to present tourism-related documentaries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, the committee plans to develop a digitalized map incorporating tourist sites in all the 77 districts of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, a rapid rescue team will be set up to stay stand by to facilitate the travelers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 19-member panel formed by the government is headed by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It aims to formulate and implement plans for reviving the tourism industry of Nepal that has been bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Its expected works include exploration of potentialities in the related field, tracking new destinations and promoting them thus contributing to creating self-employment opportunities as well as helping build investment-friendly atmosphere in the country. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14699', 'image' => '20220320014041_Tourist.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:39:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14956', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Deposit Collection of Banks Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing. BFIs have reported an increase in deposit collection with the increase in capital expenditure of the government and the increase in interest rates on deposits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Nepal Bankers Association, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 22 billion between mid-February to mid-March. A month ago, deposit collection had declined by Rs 13 billion between mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to January, the banks had raised interest rates on savings by 10 percent in February. Accordingly, the maximum interest rate on fixed deposits of commercial banks was raised to 11.3 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of Nepal Bankers’ Association Anil Kumar Upadhyay said that although there has been no significant growth in deposits, there has been a general improvement. Banks have not raised interest rates in March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to mid-January, deposits of 17 banks have increased and deposits of 10 banks have decreased in mid-February. The deposits of Machhapuchhre Bank increased by Rs 4.81 billion. Similarly, deposits of Nabil Bank declined the most by Rs 2.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The credit flow of banks, which had been aggressive in the beginning of the current fiscal year, has started shrinking to maintain the credit-deposit (CD) ratio of banks and also due to liquidity crisis. Banks have extended credit of Rs 17 billion in mid-February/mid-March. Last month, they have invested only Rs 12 billion credit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Bankers’ Association informed that the average CD ratio of banks was 90.99 percent till March 14. The central bank has directed banks to reduce the CD ratio to less than 90 percent by July 16.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deputy spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank Narayan Prasad Pokhrel said that the CD ratio of 22 banks is more than 90 percent at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 131.12 billion and disbursed loans of Rs 451.24 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the credit flow of the banks exceeds the annual target, the NRB has increased the bank rate to discourage them and has also made provision for keeping cash margin for import of various goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14698', 'image' => '20220320012429_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:23:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14955', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is the Happiest Country in South Asia: UN Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report released on Friday, Nepal is ranked 84th in the world and top in South Asia, followed by Bangladesh which is ranked 94th and Pakistan (121rd), Sri Lanka (127th), and India (136th). The report shows Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in South Asia as well as the world with its lowest world ranking of 146 among all the surveyed countries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, nieghbouring China is ranked 82nd, three places above Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Finland has been listed as the happiest country of the world this year as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report states that Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Denmark continues to occupy second place, followed by Iceland, Switzerland the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the UN, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world. However, in 2022, only 146 countries were surveyed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN further says that the World Happiness Report 2022 outlines a bright light in dark times in this troubled period of war and pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence,” said Jeffrey Sachs, adding, “This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14697', 'image' => '20220320114648_happy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14954', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Fruits Worth Around Rs 7 Billion this Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</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 the Department of Customs, fruits such as apples, oranges, lemons mangoes and grapes were imported in highest quantity during this period. Apples of various species constituted the highest import among the fruits at 38,359,133 kgs worth Rs 4.3 billion followed by oranges, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Apples were imported mostly from China (worth over Rs 3.2 billion), India (over Rs 1.1 billion) and Egypt (over Rs 2.6 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the country recorded import of 14,570,000 kg of oranges worth more than Rs 780 million during the same period, majority of them were from India (worth over Rs 770 million), South Africa (over Rs 9 million) and Egypt (over Rs 1.1 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the budget announcement of FY 2020/21 claimed to make country self-sufficient in fruits within three years, Nepal still heavily relies on other countries for the supply of fruits. Data of the department clearly shows that the import of fruits is skyrocketing in the recent years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, lemons make up the third highest import of Nepal among the fruits. A total of 6,884,396 kg of lemons worth Rs 540 million were imported during the review period. Lemon farming has become a huge attraction among farmers in Nepal lately as it can fetch them good income. However, due to the short-supply of home-grown lemons, Nepal relies heavily on imports to meet the demand.</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"">Agriculture experts estimate that farmers could fetch as much as Rs 1 million annually from lemon farming on 13 ropanis (1.63 acres) of land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, 9,574,534 kg of mangoes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from India, Thailand and Uganda from mid-July last year to mid-January this year. Similarly, 4,893,008 kg of grapes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from China, India and Egypt. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Other fruits worth Rs 3 billion including pineapples from India, avocados from Uganda and Mexico, watermelons from India, pears from China, kiwis from India, pomegranates from India and various citrus fruits were also imported during the period, RSS reported citing the department. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14696', 'image' => '20220320110507_photo-1619566636858-adf3ef46400b.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:04:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14953', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails in Development despite Success in Revenue Collection', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.</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 government’s failure in capital expenditure has not only deprived the people of timely development but has also created a crisis in the economy as a whole.</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"">Banks and financial institutions have not been able to extend credit due to lack of liquidity. </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, industries and businesses have been struggling due to lack of capital.</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"">Although the government had announced capital budget of Rs 378 billion for the current fiscal year, it has been able to spend only Rs 80 for development works. So far, only 20.73 percent of the allocated capital budget has been spent on development. On the other hand, revenue collection has been encouraging during this period. The government has been able to meet its revenue collection target within the first eight months of the current fiscal year.</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 Department of Customs and the Inland Revenue Department, which are the bodies responsible to collect revenue, have succeeded in collecting revenue as per their target. According to the Department of Customs, it has collected revenue worth Rs 41.19 billion in the eighth month of FY 2078/79 alone. The target for the month was Rs 45.08 billion. This is 91 percent of the target. According to the director of the department, Punya Bikram Khadka, the revenue collection has reached almost Rs 349 billion so far during this fiscal year. The target for the same period was Rs 350 billion.</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 Inland Revenue Department has also raised revenue close to the target. According to the department, revenue worth Rs 28.37 billion has been collected in the current fiscal year. The department had set a target of collecting Rs 28.72 billion from income tax, VAT, and excise duty by mid-February. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the government has already collected revenue worth Rs 684 billion so far.</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"">According to Deputy Financial Comptroller General Nawaraj Dhungana, revenue collection is 58 percent of the overall target. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has been repeatedly instructing the departmental officials to increase development expenditure and collect revenue as per the target.</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"">According to an official of the Inland Revenue Department, even though they have met the revenue collection target so far, it cannot be said whether they will be able to meet the annual target or not. </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"">Ravi Singh, the newly elected president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN), shared that the government is responsible for the poor capital expenditure.</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"">According to him, the problem has arisen due to the delays in bidding of the development work and not creating a conducive environment for work.</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"">He is of the view that the Public Procurement Act and regulations are also an obstacle for the weak development expenditure.</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"">According to Singh, the recent rise in fuel prices has also affected development work. He argues that this will increase the cost of the project. </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"">Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Pushparaj Kandel said that the government is dishonest towards the people as it has been collecting revenue but is not able to spend the development budget. He said that the government should mobilize the taxes collected from the citizens for development in a timely manner for the benefit of the people.</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"">He is of the view that the lack of development expenditure is due to some policy issues and also due to some political interests. Former vice-chairman of the commission Kandel says that the current government has stopped some of the plans and programs brought by the previous government due to its vested interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14695', 'image' => '20220318064706_1641427053.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 18:46:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14952', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Labor Minister takes Stock of Nepali Workers’ Situation in Dubai', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Nepali delegation visited the UAE’s state-run Migrant Domestic Worker Service Provider (Tad-beer Center) in Dubai and learned about the workplace status of domestic workers, the legal system, remuneration, leave, social security, risk of violence and security guarantees. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, government officials of the UAE and managers of Tad-beer Service Center assured the visiting delegation about the security for Nepali workers in the UAE. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They briefed Minister Shrestha about the rights and security of domestic workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite the government's ban on sending domestic helps to the Gulf countries since 1973, the flow of illegal workers has not stopped. Recently, the government made arrangements for Nepali women who have been working as domestic helps in different countries to come back to their homeland. As the risk of sending workers through illegal channels has increased more than sending workers through legal channels, voices have been raised to create a safe and legal working environment for the workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha has been discussing with the concerned authorities about the matter of providing security guarantees to the domestic workers. This was also discussed at the Nepal-UAE Joint Committee meeting on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14694', 'image' => '20220318050519_400.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 17:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14951', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Indulge in Unhealthy Competition over Interest Rates amid Liquidity Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. </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"">It has been found that the banks have collected deposits violating the interest rate guidelines set by Nepal Rastra Bank. </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 central bank has taken action against a dozen banks in the second quarter of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2078/79 (mid-October to mid-January) for fixing interest rates against the directives of NRB. </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"">NRB officials say that even if the banks are free to set interest rates, they have to do so within the criteria set by the central bank.</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 central banks monitors their activities and takes action in case of any violation.</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"">Deputy Spokesperson of the central bank, Narayan Prasad Pokharel, said that the chief executive officers of some banks that violated the directive on setting interest rates, have been warned not to repeat the mistake again in the coming days. </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"">According to the NRB, banks are not allowed to change the interest rate on fixed deposits for up to three months. NRB said that the action has been taken for violating the provision that the difference between the maximum and minimum interest rates given on deposit accounts should not be more than 5 percentage points. </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"">Banks were aggressive in extending credit at the beginning of the current fiscal year after the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown and prohibitory order was eased. Despite the expansion of credit beyond the annual target, the deposit collection did not increase accordingly, leading towards the liquidity crisis. </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"">Along with the liquidity crisis, there was competition between banks and financial institutions to raise interest rates. NRB had instructed the banks to keep the interest rate within a single digit after the commercial banks increased the interest rate on deposits up to 12 percent in October. </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"">Similarly, issuing a directive on October 20, the central bank stated that the interest rate can be changed by only 10 percent every month. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14693', 'image' => '20220318031635_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 15:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14950', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Talks with India Underway for Electricity Export: Energy Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. </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"">Minister Bhusal made such remarks while inaugurating the New Butwal Sub-Station at Sunwal Municipality-13 in Nawalparasi West on Thursday. </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 government has set a target of ensuring every household’s access to electricity within two years,” she said, adding that the electricity is however wasted in rainy season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">For the utilization of surplus energy, international trade is a must, she added. Minister Bhusal also underscored the need to use electric devices to help resolve the energy crisis. Use of electrical appliances would be important also in the wake of rising price of petroleum products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of New Butwal Sub-Station is expected to enhance supply of regular energy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Executive Director at NEA Kulman Ghising informed that the Sub-Station was built with the efforts of Nepal government and loan assistance of Asian Development. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14692', 'image' => '20220318015632_electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 13:54:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14949', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Flexible about Allowing Foreign Banks to Open Branches in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. In this regard, the central bank has lowered the provision of minimum paid-up capital required for foreign banks to open branches in Nepal by scrapping the policy issued in 2010 regarding opening of branches in Nepal. </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"">NRB confirmed that it has scrapped the Policy Provision for Opening Branch Office by Foreign Bank or Financial Institution in Nepal, 2010 and issued Foreign Bank Branch Licensing Policy, 2022 in its place.</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"">Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the central bank said it has made arrangements that allow foreign banks to open branches in Nepal with a minimum paid-up capital of USD 20 million. Initially, the minimum paid-up capital was set at US$ 20 million US dollars, but in 2014, it was amended to maintain the paid-up capital on par with that of Nepali banks. </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"">At present, the minimum paid-up capital of commercial banks is Rs 8 billion and the foreign banks should also maintain the same amount. However, as per the new directive, up to USD 20 million is enough to open branches of the foreign banks. </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"">Executive Director of NRB Dev Kumar Dhakal said that the arrangement of paid-up capital has been made flexible to attract foreign banks to Nepal. "Foreign banks were not attracted because of the earlier provisions," he said, "So we have given some additional facilities." </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"">Even though NRB had issued a policy to open a branch 12 years ago, no foreign bank has opened a branch in Nepal so far. Only Doha Bank of Qatar, Masrek Bank of the UAE and ICICI Bank of India have opened liaison offices. The liaison office is not allowed to conduct banking transactions. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14691', 'image' => '20220318120723_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 12:06:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14963', 'article_category_id' => '239', 'title' => 'Hotel Occupancy Climbs to 35 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to normalcy.', '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"">March 21: The hotel business that was badly affected by the Covid-19 is gradually returning back to normalcy. The occupancy of hotels in the Kathmandu valley as well as other tourist destinations has started to improve.</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 hoteliers, their business is gradually improving. Hotel occupancy, which fell to 5 percent during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, has risen to 35 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"">Shreejana Rana, president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), said that the situation at present has improved compared to the past.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> She said that the hotel sector has become active due to domestic and Indian tourists. </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 Ukraine-Russia war has made the arrival of European tourist uncertain," Rana said. She said that the government should give more priority to identifying tourist destinations and their marketing.</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"">Rana stressed on the need for training to provide a better environment to the Indian tourists. She urged the authorities to set up “Namaste Desks” in the border areas to facilitate Indian tourists. Sajan Shakya, executive director of Kathmandu Prince Hotel and general secretary of HAN, informed that the occupancy of hotels has increased on an 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"">He noted that the hotel business has improved in February and March compared to the last month of 2021 and the beginning of January 2022. "March and April are also tourist seasons," said Shakya. "This season, the number of tourists coming for trekking is on the rise. He said that the tourists are interested in trekking and adventure activities.</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, Bikal Tulachan, president of HAN's Pokhara chapter, said that although the occupancy rate could not improve significantly due to the reduction in night stay, tourism activities have increased overall. He said that the presence of domestic tourists was significant while the number of foreign tourists has also increased to some extent.</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"">At present, the number of tourists arriving from European countries is low, he said. According to him, even though the occupancy rate of hotels in Pokhara is 10 percent, arrival of tourists is improving. Businessmen in the Bhairahawa area of Rupandehi said that tourism activities have increased due to the presence of Indian tourists. </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"">CP Shrestha, president of Siddhartha Hotel Association of Nepal, said that the improvement in the arrival of Indian tourists and the influx of tourists due to various project works have improved the business of hotels.</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 the occupancy rate of hotels is at least 25 to 30 percent at present. Similarly, up to 15 percent of booking has been done from Maharashtra and other states of India, he said. Arrival of tourists has almost doubled in February 2022 compared to the period of Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 36,741 tourists from 33 countries visited Nepal in the first two months of 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-04-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14705', 'image' => '20220321115638_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 11:55:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 the Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported. </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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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"">During his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further reported. </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 the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14959', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CBFIN and ADB to Collaborate for Self-Reliant Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The delegates of ADB on a visit to Nepal have agreed to work in collaboration with the CBFIN to strengthen the financial sector, provide easy access to credit to the local industries and productive sector and to promote the domestic economy through infrastructure development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In a meeting organized by CBFIN on Friday, Manmohan Prakash, Deputy Director General of Manila-based ADB for overseeing South Asian affairs, announced that they would be working with focus on production based on new and locally-available raw materials. He stated that the country's own resources should make the economy sustainable by providing credit, global market opportunities, exploration and new technologies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The small and medium entrepreneurs can run their business smoothly only if they are provided the loans without collateral. Such industries need to be supported with access to finance, market and infrastructure as well as skills as MSMEs create huge employment opportunities,” said Prakash.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prakash also said that MSMEs could survive only if they were given loans without collateral with reasonable interest rates to operate their business effectively without any procedural hurdles. During the meeting, CBFIN Chairman Pawan Kumar Golyan requested ADB to provide more than Rs 1 billion soft loan to Nepal taking the current financial crisis into account.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Golyan expressed his opinion saying that if ADB agrees to provide the soft loan, the problem of liquidity crisis would get resolved as well as the banks and financial sectors could provide loans to the targeted sectors.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14701', 'image' => '20220320053302_1647606057.ADB gathering photo better (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 17:31:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14958', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Prioritize Large Reservoir-Based Projects: PM Deuba ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. He made such remark on Saturday while inaugurating the 220-132 KV Khimti Substation under the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project in Dolakha.</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"">While inaugurating the new substation, PM Deuba said that the government will also expedite the Budhigandaki and West Seti reservoir projects which have been stalled since a long time due to procedural hurdles. </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"">On the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba said that the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, built with Nepal's own investment and hard work, has made a great contribution to the supply of electricity and thanked all the employees and construction entrepreneurs. </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"">He further said that the government will not entertain the trend of construction companies seeking license and not completing the works on time. </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"">With the completion of the Khimti substation, all the works related to the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, one of the national pride projects, have been completed.</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 Upper Tamakoshi project, which was inaugurated in last June, has so far generated one billion units of electricity. It took almost 11 years to complete the project.</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"">PM Deuba added that the government would soon finalize the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. </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 prime minister was of the view that these projects are important for energy security, especially during the dry season. He also said that large and reservoir projects were also necessary for clean and green energy and the government was doing its homework accordingly. </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 Prime Minister also clarified that appropriate decision would be taken regarding the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which has not been able to move forward for a long time. The energy producers have been saying that the construction of the projects has been disrupted due to the failure of PPA. </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"">Also addressing the program, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal shared that preparations are being made to build large reservoir projects in all the provinces except Madhes Province. </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"">She stressed on the need to develop reservoir-based projects for energy security. </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 the minister, special attention should be given to the development of Nepal's energy sector to reduce the trade deficit and the government was committed to this end. </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"">On the occasion, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that the NEA is preparing to move ahead with big projects with the investment of the people. He termed the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project as a "game changer project" and said that it has also made significant contribution in improving the economic condition of the NEA. </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"">Energy Secretary Devendra Karki said that the government was ready to address any grievances of the locals affected by the hydropower project. </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> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14700', 'image' => '20220320035121_1647681941.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 15:47:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14957', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Summit in September ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September. According to the committee’s coordinator Rajaram Giri, tourism ministers from major countries contributing to Nepal’s tourism sector will be invited to the mega event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objective of the summit is to send the message to the world that Nepal’s tourism industry is now back to normalcy. Giri further said that they want to assure the tourists of warm hospitality through the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We want to tell the world that we are eager to welcome tourists in Nepal,” he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition to this, Giri said that celebrities from Nepal, India, the UK, the US and other countries will be urged to contribute for the publicity of Nepal’s tourism destinations and a special visit package will be launched to this end. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As part of its efforts to revive the tourism business, the committee will be producing short audio clips giving information about Nepal’s tourism industry and will be seeking the help of international media to present tourism-related documentaries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, the committee plans to develop a digitalized map incorporating tourist sites in all the 77 districts of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, a rapid rescue team will be set up to stay stand by to facilitate the travelers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 19-member panel formed by the government is headed by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It aims to formulate and implement plans for reviving the tourism industry of Nepal that has been bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Its expected works include exploration of potentialities in the related field, tracking new destinations and promoting them thus contributing to creating self-employment opportunities as well as helping build investment-friendly atmosphere in the country. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14699', 'image' => '20220320014041_Tourist.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:39:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14956', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Deposit Collection of Banks Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing. BFIs have reported an increase in deposit collection with the increase in capital expenditure of the government and the increase in interest rates on deposits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Nepal Bankers Association, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 22 billion between mid-February to mid-March. A month ago, deposit collection had declined by Rs 13 billion between mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to January, the banks had raised interest rates on savings by 10 percent in February. Accordingly, the maximum interest rate on fixed deposits of commercial banks was raised to 11.3 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of Nepal Bankers’ Association Anil Kumar Upadhyay said that although there has been no significant growth in deposits, there has been a general improvement. Banks have not raised interest rates in March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to mid-January, deposits of 17 banks have increased and deposits of 10 banks have decreased in mid-February. The deposits of Machhapuchhre Bank increased by Rs 4.81 billion. Similarly, deposits of Nabil Bank declined the most by Rs 2.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The credit flow of banks, which had been aggressive in the beginning of the current fiscal year, has started shrinking to maintain the credit-deposit (CD) ratio of banks and also due to liquidity crisis. Banks have extended credit of Rs 17 billion in mid-February/mid-March. Last month, they have invested only Rs 12 billion credit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Bankers’ Association informed that the average CD ratio of banks was 90.99 percent till March 14. The central bank has directed banks to reduce the CD ratio to less than 90 percent by July 16.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deputy spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank Narayan Prasad Pokhrel said that the CD ratio of 22 banks is more than 90 percent at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 131.12 billion and disbursed loans of Rs 451.24 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the credit flow of the banks exceeds the annual target, the NRB has increased the bank rate to discourage them and has also made provision for keeping cash margin for import of various goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14698', 'image' => '20220320012429_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:23:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14955', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is the Happiest Country in South Asia: UN Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report released on Friday, Nepal is ranked 84th in the world and top in South Asia, followed by Bangladesh which is ranked 94th and Pakistan (121rd), Sri Lanka (127th), and India (136th). The report shows Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in South Asia as well as the world with its lowest world ranking of 146 among all the surveyed countries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, nieghbouring China is ranked 82nd, three places above Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Finland has been listed as the happiest country of the world this year as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report states that Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Denmark continues to occupy second place, followed by Iceland, Switzerland the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the UN, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world. However, in 2022, only 146 countries were surveyed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN further says that the World Happiness Report 2022 outlines a bright light in dark times in this troubled period of war and pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence,” said Jeffrey Sachs, adding, “This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14697', 'image' => '20220320114648_happy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14954', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Fruits Worth Around Rs 7 Billion this Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</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 the Department of Customs, fruits such as apples, oranges, lemons mangoes and grapes were imported in highest quantity during this period. Apples of various species constituted the highest import among the fruits at 38,359,133 kgs worth Rs 4.3 billion followed by oranges, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Apples were imported mostly from China (worth over Rs 3.2 billion), India (over Rs 1.1 billion) and Egypt (over Rs 2.6 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the country recorded import of 14,570,000 kg of oranges worth more than Rs 780 million during the same period, majority of them were from India (worth over Rs 770 million), South Africa (over Rs 9 million) and Egypt (over Rs 1.1 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the budget announcement of FY 2020/21 claimed to make country self-sufficient in fruits within three years, Nepal still heavily relies on other countries for the supply of fruits. Data of the department clearly shows that the import of fruits is skyrocketing in the recent years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, lemons make up the third highest import of Nepal among the fruits. A total of 6,884,396 kg of lemons worth Rs 540 million were imported during the review period. Lemon farming has become a huge attraction among farmers in Nepal lately as it can fetch them good income. However, due to the short-supply of home-grown lemons, Nepal relies heavily on imports to meet the demand.</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"">Agriculture experts estimate that farmers could fetch as much as Rs 1 million annually from lemon farming on 13 ropanis (1.63 acres) of land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, 9,574,534 kg of mangoes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from India, Thailand and Uganda from mid-July last year to mid-January this year. Similarly, 4,893,008 kg of grapes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from China, India and Egypt. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Other fruits worth Rs 3 billion including pineapples from India, avocados from Uganda and Mexico, watermelons from India, pears from China, kiwis from India, pomegranates from India and various citrus fruits were also imported during the period, RSS reported citing the department. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14696', 'image' => '20220320110507_photo-1619566636858-adf3ef46400b.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:04:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14953', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails in Development despite Success in Revenue Collection', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.</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 government’s failure in capital expenditure has not only deprived the people of timely development but has also created a crisis in the economy as a whole.</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"">Banks and financial institutions have not been able to extend credit due to lack of liquidity. </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, industries and businesses have been struggling due to lack of capital.</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"">Although the government had announced capital budget of Rs 378 billion for the current fiscal year, it has been able to spend only Rs 80 for development works. So far, only 20.73 percent of the allocated capital budget has been spent on development. On the other hand, revenue collection has been encouraging during this period. The government has been able to meet its revenue collection target within the first eight months of the current fiscal year.</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 Department of Customs and the Inland Revenue Department, which are the bodies responsible to collect revenue, have succeeded in collecting revenue as per their target. According to the Department of Customs, it has collected revenue worth Rs 41.19 billion in the eighth month of FY 2078/79 alone. The target for the month was Rs 45.08 billion. This is 91 percent of the target. According to the director of the department, Punya Bikram Khadka, the revenue collection has reached almost Rs 349 billion so far during this fiscal year. The target for the same period was Rs 350 billion.</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 Inland Revenue Department has also raised revenue close to the target. According to the department, revenue worth Rs 28.37 billion has been collected in the current fiscal year. The department had set a target of collecting Rs 28.72 billion from income tax, VAT, and excise duty by mid-February. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the government has already collected revenue worth Rs 684 billion so far.</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"">According to Deputy Financial Comptroller General Nawaraj Dhungana, revenue collection is 58 percent of the overall target. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has been repeatedly instructing the departmental officials to increase development expenditure and collect revenue as per the target.</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"">According to an official of the Inland Revenue Department, even though they have met the revenue collection target so far, it cannot be said whether they will be able to meet the annual target or not. </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"">Ravi Singh, the newly elected president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN), shared that the government is responsible for the poor capital expenditure.</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"">According to him, the problem has arisen due to the delays in bidding of the development work and not creating a conducive environment for work.</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"">He is of the view that the Public Procurement Act and regulations are also an obstacle for the weak development expenditure.</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"">According to Singh, the recent rise in fuel prices has also affected development work. He argues that this will increase the cost of the project. </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"">Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Pushparaj Kandel said that the government is dishonest towards the people as it has been collecting revenue but is not able to spend the development budget. He said that the government should mobilize the taxes collected from the citizens for development in a timely manner for the benefit of the people.</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"">He is of the view that the lack of development expenditure is due to some policy issues and also due to some political interests. Former vice-chairman of the commission Kandel says that the current government has stopped some of the plans and programs brought by the previous government due to its vested interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14695', 'image' => '20220318064706_1641427053.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 18:46:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14952', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Labor Minister takes Stock of Nepali Workers’ Situation in Dubai', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Nepali delegation visited the UAE’s state-run Migrant Domestic Worker Service Provider (Tad-beer Center) in Dubai and learned about the workplace status of domestic workers, the legal system, remuneration, leave, social security, risk of violence and security guarantees. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, government officials of the UAE and managers of Tad-beer Service Center assured the visiting delegation about the security for Nepali workers in the UAE. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They briefed Minister Shrestha about the rights and security of domestic workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite the government's ban on sending domestic helps to the Gulf countries since 1973, the flow of illegal workers has not stopped. Recently, the government made arrangements for Nepali women who have been working as domestic helps in different countries to come back to their homeland. As the risk of sending workers through illegal channels has increased more than sending workers through legal channels, voices have been raised to create a safe and legal working environment for the workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha has been discussing with the concerned authorities about the matter of providing security guarantees to the domestic workers. This was also discussed at the Nepal-UAE Joint Committee meeting on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14694', 'image' => '20220318050519_400.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 17:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14951', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Indulge in Unhealthy Competition over Interest Rates amid Liquidity Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. </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"">It has been found that the banks have collected deposits violating the interest rate guidelines set by Nepal Rastra Bank. </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 central bank has taken action against a dozen banks in the second quarter of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2078/79 (mid-October to mid-January) for fixing interest rates against the directives of NRB. </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"">NRB officials say that even if the banks are free to set interest rates, they have to do so within the criteria set by the central bank.</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 central banks monitors their activities and takes action in case of any violation.</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"">Deputy Spokesperson of the central bank, Narayan Prasad Pokharel, said that the chief executive officers of some banks that violated the directive on setting interest rates, have been warned not to repeat the mistake again in the coming days. </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"">According to the NRB, banks are not allowed to change the interest rate on fixed deposits for up to three months. NRB said that the action has been taken for violating the provision that the difference between the maximum and minimum interest rates given on deposit accounts should not be more than 5 percentage points. </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"">Banks were aggressive in extending credit at the beginning of the current fiscal year after the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown and prohibitory order was eased. Despite the expansion of credit beyond the annual target, the deposit collection did not increase accordingly, leading towards the liquidity crisis. </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"">Along with the liquidity crisis, there was competition between banks and financial institutions to raise interest rates. NRB had instructed the banks to keep the interest rate within a single digit after the commercial banks increased the interest rate on deposits up to 12 percent in October. </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"">Similarly, issuing a directive on October 20, the central bank stated that the interest rate can be changed by only 10 percent every month. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14693', 'image' => '20220318031635_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 15:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14950', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Talks with India Underway for Electricity Export: Energy Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. </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"">Minister Bhusal made such remarks while inaugurating the New Butwal Sub-Station at Sunwal Municipality-13 in Nawalparasi West on Thursday. </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 government has set a target of ensuring every household’s access to electricity within two years,” she said, adding that the electricity is however wasted in rainy season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">For the utilization of surplus energy, international trade is a must, she added. Minister Bhusal also underscored the need to use electric devices to help resolve the energy crisis. Use of electrical appliances would be important also in the wake of rising price of petroleum products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of New Butwal Sub-Station is expected to enhance supply of regular energy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Executive Director at NEA Kulman Ghising informed that the Sub-Station was built with the efforts of Nepal government and loan assistance of Asian Development. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14692', 'image' => '20220318015632_electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 13:54:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14949', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Flexible about Allowing Foreign Banks to Open Branches in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. In this regard, the central bank has lowered the provision of minimum paid-up capital required for foreign banks to open branches in Nepal by scrapping the policy issued in 2010 regarding opening of branches in Nepal. </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"">NRB confirmed that it has scrapped the Policy Provision for Opening Branch Office by Foreign Bank or Financial Institution in Nepal, 2010 and issued Foreign Bank Branch Licensing Policy, 2022 in its place.</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"">Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the central bank said it has made arrangements that allow foreign banks to open branches in Nepal with a minimum paid-up capital of USD 20 million. Initially, the minimum paid-up capital was set at US$ 20 million US dollars, but in 2014, it was amended to maintain the paid-up capital on par with that of Nepali banks. </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"">At present, the minimum paid-up capital of commercial banks is Rs 8 billion and the foreign banks should also maintain the same amount. However, as per the new directive, up to USD 20 million is enough to open branches of the foreign banks. </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"">Executive Director of NRB Dev Kumar Dhakal said that the arrangement of paid-up capital has been made flexible to attract foreign banks to Nepal. "Foreign banks were not attracted because of the earlier provisions," he said, "So we have given some additional facilities." </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"">Even though NRB had issued a policy to open a branch 12 years ago, no foreign bank has opened a branch in Nepal so far. Only Doha Bank of Qatar, Masrek Bank of the UAE and ICICI Bank of India have opened liaison offices. The liaison office is not allowed to conduct banking transactions. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14691', 'image' => '20220318120723_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 12:06:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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The occupancy of hotels in the Kathmandu valley as well as other tourist destinations has started to improve.</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 hoteliers, their business is gradually improving. Hotel occupancy, which fell to 5 percent during the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, has risen to 35 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"">Shreejana Rana, president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), said that the situation at present has improved compared to the past.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> She said that the hotel sector has become active due to domestic and Indian tourists. </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 Ukraine-Russia war has made the arrival of European tourist uncertain," Rana said. She said that the government should give more priority to identifying tourist destinations and their marketing.</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"">Rana stressed on the need for training to provide a better environment to the Indian tourists. She urged the authorities to set up “Namaste Desks” in the border areas to facilitate Indian tourists. Sajan Shakya, executive director of Kathmandu Prince Hotel and general secretary of HAN, informed that the occupancy of hotels has increased on an 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"">He noted that the hotel business has improved in February and March compared to the last month of 2021 and the beginning of January 2022. "March and April are also tourist seasons," said Shakya. "This season, the number of tourists coming for trekking is on the rise. He said that the tourists are interested in trekking and adventure activities.</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, Bikal Tulachan, president of HAN's Pokhara chapter, said that although the occupancy rate could not improve significantly due to the reduction in night stay, tourism activities have increased overall. He said that the presence of domestic tourists was significant while the number of foreign tourists has also increased to some extent.</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"">At present, the number of tourists arriving from European countries is low, he said. According to him, even though the occupancy rate of hotels in Pokhara is 10 percent, arrival of tourists is improving. Businessmen in the Bhairahawa area of Rupandehi said that tourism activities have increased due to the presence of Indian tourists. </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"">CP Shrestha, president of Siddhartha Hotel Association of Nepal, said that the improvement in the arrival of Indian tourists and the influx of tourists due to various project works have improved the business of hotels.</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 the occupancy rate of hotels is at least 25 to 30 percent at present. Similarly, up to 15 percent of booking has been done from Maharashtra and other states of India, he said. Arrival of tourists has almost doubled in February 2022 compared to the period of Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 36,741 tourists from 33 countries visited Nepal in the first two months of 2022.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-04-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14705', 'image' => '20220321115638_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 11:55:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 the Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported. </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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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"">During his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further reported. </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 the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14959', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CBFIN and ADB to Collaborate for Self-Reliant Economy', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal (CBFIN) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining hands to work together for a self-reliant economy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The delegates of ADB on a visit to Nepal have agreed to work in collaboration with the CBFIN to strengthen the financial sector, provide easy access to credit to the local industries and productive sector and to promote the domestic economy through infrastructure development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In a meeting organized by CBFIN on Friday, Manmohan Prakash, Deputy Director General of Manila-based ADB for overseeing South Asian affairs, announced that they would be working with focus on production based on new and locally-available raw materials. He stated that the country's own resources should make the economy sustainable by providing credit, global market opportunities, exploration and new technologies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The small and medium entrepreneurs can run their business smoothly only if they are provided the loans without collateral. Such industries need to be supported with access to finance, market and infrastructure as well as skills as MSMEs create huge employment opportunities,” said Prakash.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prakash also said that MSMEs could survive only if they were given loans without collateral with reasonable interest rates to operate their business effectively without any procedural hurdles. During the meeting, CBFIN Chairman Pawan Kumar Golyan requested ADB to provide more than Rs 1 billion soft loan to Nepal taking the current financial crisis into account.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Golyan expressed his opinion saying that if ADB agrees to provide the soft loan, the problem of liquidity crisis would get resolved as well as the banks and financial sectors could provide loans to the targeted sectors.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14701', 'image' => '20220320053302_1647606057.ADB gathering photo better (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 17:31:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14958', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Prioritize Large Reservoir-Based Projects: PM Deuba ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the government would give high priority for the development of large reservoir-based projects. He made such remark on Saturday while inaugurating the 220-132 KV Khimti Substation under the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project in Dolakha.</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"">While inaugurating the new substation, PM Deuba said that the government will also expedite the Budhigandaki and West Seti reservoir projects which have been stalled since a long time due to procedural hurdles. </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"">On the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba said that the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, built with Nepal's own investment and hard work, has made a great contribution to the supply of electricity and thanked all the employees and construction entrepreneurs. </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"">He further said that the government will not entertain the trend of construction companies seeking license and not completing the works on time. </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"">With the completion of the Khimti substation, all the works related to the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, one of the national pride projects, have been completed.</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 Upper Tamakoshi project, which was inaugurated in last June, has so far generated one billion units of electricity. It took almost 11 years to complete the project.</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"">PM Deuba added that the government would soon finalize the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project. </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 prime minister was of the view that these projects are important for energy security, especially during the dry season. He also said that large and reservoir projects were also necessary for clean and green energy and the government was doing its homework accordingly. </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 Prime Minister also clarified that appropriate decision would be taken regarding the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) which has not been able to move forward for a long time. The energy producers have been saying that the construction of the projects has been disrupted due to the failure of PPA. </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"">Also addressing the program, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal shared that preparations are being made to build large reservoir projects in all the provinces except Madhes Province. </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"">She stressed on the need to develop reservoir-based projects for energy security. </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 the minister, special attention should be given to the development of Nepal's energy sector to reduce the trade deficit and the government was committed to this end. </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"">On the occasion, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that the NEA is preparing to move ahead with big projects with the investment of the people. He termed the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project as a "game changer project" and said that it has also made significant contribution in improving the economic condition of the NEA. </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"">Energy Secretary Devendra Karki said that the government was ready to address any grievances of the locals affected by the hydropower project. </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> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14700', 'image' => '20220320035121_1647681941.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 15:47:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14957', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tourism Summit in September ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: The Tourism Recovery Steering Committee is planning to host a ‘Tourism Summit’ in upcoming September. According to the committee’s coordinator Rajaram Giri, tourism ministers from major countries contributing to Nepal’s tourism sector will be invited to the mega event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The objective of the summit is to send the message to the world that Nepal’s tourism industry is now back to normalcy. Giri further said that they want to assure the tourists of warm hospitality through the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We want to tell the world that we are eager to welcome tourists in Nepal,” he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In addition to this, Giri said that celebrities from Nepal, India, the UK, the US and other countries will be urged to contribute for the publicity of Nepal’s tourism destinations and a special visit package will be launched to this end. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As part of its efforts to revive the tourism business, the committee will be producing short audio clips giving information about Nepal’s tourism industry and will be seeking the help of international media to present tourism-related documentaries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Moreover, the committee plans to develop a digitalized map incorporating tourist sites in all the 77 districts of the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, a rapid rescue team will be set up to stay stand by to facilitate the travelers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 19-member panel formed by the government is headed by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It aims to formulate and implement plans for reviving the tourism industry of Nepal that has been bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Its expected works include exploration of potentialities in the related field, tracking new destinations and promoting them thus contributing to creating self-employment opportunities as well as helping build investment-friendly atmosphere in the country. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14699', 'image' => '20220320014041_Tourist.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:39:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14956', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Deposit Collection of Banks Increases', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 20: Deposit collection of banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have started increasing. BFIs have reported an increase in deposit collection with the increase in capital expenditure of the government and the increase in interest rates on deposits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Nepal Bankers Association, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 22 billion between mid-February to mid-March. A month ago, deposit collection had declined by Rs 13 billion between mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to January, the banks had raised interest rates on savings by 10 percent in February. Accordingly, the maximum interest rate on fixed deposits of commercial banks was raised to 11.3 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President of Nepal Bankers’ Association Anil Kumar Upadhyay said that although there has been no significant growth in deposits, there has been a general improvement. Banks have not raised interest rates in March.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Compared to mid-January, deposits of 17 banks have increased and deposits of 10 banks have decreased in mid-February. The deposits of Machhapuchhre Bank increased by Rs 4.81 billion. Similarly, deposits of Nabil Bank declined the most by Rs 2.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The credit flow of banks, which had been aggressive in the beginning of the current fiscal year, has started shrinking to maintain the credit-deposit (CD) ratio of banks and also due to liquidity crisis. Banks have extended credit of Rs 17 billion in mid-February/mid-March. Last month, they have invested only Rs 12 billion credit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Bankers’ Association informed that the average CD ratio of banks was 90.99 percent till March 14. The central bank has directed banks to reduce the CD ratio to less than 90 percent by July 16.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deputy spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank Narayan Prasad Pokhrel said that the CD ratio of 22 banks is more than 90 percent at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, commercial banks have collected deposits of Rs 131.12 billion and disbursed loans of Rs 451.24 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the credit flow of the banks exceeds the annual target, the NRB has increased the bank rate to discourage them and has also made provision for keeping cash margin for import of various goods.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14698', 'image' => '20220320012429_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 13:23:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14955', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal is the Happiest Country in South Asia: UN Report ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: Nepal ranks top among the South Asian countries in terms of level of happiness, according to the World Happiness Report released by the United Nations.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report released on Friday, Nepal is ranked 84th in the world and top in South Asia, followed by Bangladesh which is ranked 94th and Pakistan (121rd), Sri Lanka (127th), and India (136th). The report shows Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in South Asia as well as the world with its lowest world ranking of 146 among all the surveyed countries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the report, nieghbouring China is ranked 82nd, three places above Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Finland has been listed as the happiest country of the world this year as well. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The report states that Finland took the top spot as the happiest country in the world for the fifth year in a row.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Denmark continues to occupy second place, followed by Iceland, Switzerland the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The top ten are rounded out by Sweden, Norway, Israel and New Zealand. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the UN, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the World Happiness Report, which uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives in more than 150 countries around the world. However, in 2022, only 146 countries were surveyed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN further says that the World Happiness Report 2022 outlines a bright light in dark times in this troubled period of war and pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We found during 2021 remarkable worldwide growth in all three acts of kindness monitored in the Gallup World Poll. Helping strangers, volunteering, and donations in 2021 were strongly up in every part of the world, reaching levels almost 25% above their pre-pandemic prevalence,” said Jeffrey Sachs, adding, “This surge of benevolence, which was especially great for the helping of strangers, provides powerful evidence that people respond to help others in need, creating in the process more happiness for the beneficiaries, good examples for others to follow, and better lives for themselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Past reports have looked at the links between people's trust in government and institutions with happiness. The findings demonstrate that communities with high levels of trust are happier and more resilient in the face of a wide range of crises.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14697', 'image' => '20220320114648_happy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:45:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14954', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Fruits Worth Around Rs 7 Billion this Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Fruits of different varieties worth Rs 6.6 billion have been imported in the country in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22).</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 the Department of Customs, fruits such as apples, oranges, lemons mangoes and grapes were imported in highest quantity during this period. Apples of various species constituted the highest import among the fruits at 38,359,133 kgs worth Rs 4.3 billion followed by oranges, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Apples were imported mostly from China (worth over Rs 3.2 billion), India (over Rs 1.1 billion) and Egypt (over Rs 2.6 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the country recorded import of 14,570,000 kg of oranges worth more than Rs 780 million during the same period, majority of them were from India (worth over Rs 770 million), South Africa (over Rs 9 million) and Egypt (over Rs 1.1 million). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Although the budget announcement of FY 2020/21 claimed to make country self-sufficient in fruits within three years, Nepal still heavily relies on other countries for the supply of fruits. Data of the department clearly shows that the import of fruits is skyrocketing in the recent years. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, lemons make up the third highest import of Nepal among the fruits. A total of 6,884,396 kg of lemons worth Rs 540 million were imported during the review period. Lemon farming has become a huge attraction among farmers in Nepal lately as it can fetch them good income. However, due to the short-supply of home-grown lemons, Nepal relies heavily on imports to meet the demand.</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"">Agriculture experts estimate that farmers could fetch as much as Rs 1 million annually from lemon farming on 13 ropanis (1.63 acres) of land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, 9,574,534 kg of mangoes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from India, Thailand and Uganda from mid-July last year to mid-January this year. Similarly, 4,893,008 kg of grapes worth over Rs 450 million were imported from China, India and Egypt. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Other fruits worth Rs 3 billion including pineapples from India, avocados from Uganda and Mexico, watermelons from India, pears from China, kiwis from India, pomegranates from India and various citrus fruits were also imported during the period, RSS reported citing the department. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14696', 'image' => '20220320110507_photo-1619566636858-adf3ef46400b.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 11:04:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14953', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails in Development despite Success in Revenue Collection', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: The government, which has failed to spend development budget right from the beginning of the current fiscal year, has apparently succeeded in revenue collection.</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 government’s failure in capital expenditure has not only deprived the people of timely development but has also created a crisis in the economy as a whole.</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"">Banks and financial institutions have not been able to extend credit due to lack of liquidity. </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, industries and businesses have been struggling due to lack of capital.</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"">Although the government had announced capital budget of Rs 378 billion for the current fiscal year, it has been able to spend only Rs 80 for development works. So far, only 20.73 percent of the allocated capital budget has been spent on development. On the other hand, revenue collection has been encouraging during this period. The government has been able to meet its revenue collection target within the first eight months of the current fiscal year.</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 Department of Customs and the Inland Revenue Department, which are the bodies responsible to collect revenue, have succeeded in collecting revenue as per their target. According to the Department of Customs, it has collected revenue worth Rs 41.19 billion in the eighth month of FY 2078/79 alone. The target for the month was Rs 45.08 billion. This is 91 percent of the target. According to the director of the department, Punya Bikram Khadka, the revenue collection has reached almost Rs 349 billion so far during this fiscal year. The target for the same period was Rs 350 billion.</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 Inland Revenue Department has also raised revenue close to the target. According to the department, revenue worth Rs 28.37 billion has been collected in the current fiscal year. The department had set a target of collecting Rs 28.72 billion from income tax, VAT, and excise duty by mid-February. According to the Financial Comptroller General’s Office, the government has already collected revenue worth Rs 684 billion so far.</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"">According to Deputy Financial Comptroller General Nawaraj Dhungana, revenue collection is 58 percent of the overall target. Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has been repeatedly instructing the departmental officials to increase development expenditure and collect revenue as per the target.</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"">According to an official of the Inland Revenue Department, even though they have met the revenue collection target so far, it cannot be said whether they will be able to meet the annual target or not. </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"">Ravi Singh, the newly elected president of the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN), shared that the government is responsible for the poor capital expenditure.</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"">According to him, the problem has arisen due to the delays in bidding of the development work and not creating a conducive environment for work.</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"">He is of the view that the Public Procurement Act and regulations are also an obstacle for the weak development expenditure.</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"">According to Singh, the recent rise in fuel prices has also affected development work. He argues that this will increase the cost of the project. </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"">Former Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr Pushparaj Kandel said that the government is dishonest towards the people as it has been collecting revenue but is not able to spend the development budget. He said that the government should mobilize the taxes collected from the citizens for development in a timely manner for the benefit of the people.</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"">He is of the view that the lack of development expenditure is due to some policy issues and also due to some political interests. Former vice-chairman of the commission Kandel says that the current government has stopped some of the plans and programs brought by the previous government due to its vested interests.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14695', 'image' => '20220318064706_1641427053.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 18:46:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14952', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Labor Minister takes Stock of Nepali Workers’ Situation in Dubai', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 18: A delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, took stock of the conditions and security of domestic workers in the UAE and also inquired about their services, salaries and perks with the concerned authorities of the Gulf nation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Nepali delegation visited the UAE’s state-run Migrant Domestic Worker Service Provider (Tad-beer Center) in Dubai and learned about the workplace status of domestic workers, the legal system, remuneration, leave, social security, risk of violence and security guarantees. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the occasion, government officials of the UAE and managers of Tad-beer Service Center assured the visiting delegation about the security for Nepali workers in the UAE. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They briefed Minister Shrestha about the rights and security of domestic workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite the government's ban on sending domestic helps to the Gulf countries since 1973, the flow of illegal workers has not stopped. Recently, the government made arrangements for Nepali women who have been working as domestic helps in different countries to come back to their homeland. As the risk of sending workers through illegal channels has increased more than sending workers through legal channels, voices have been raised to create a safe and legal working environment for the workers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha has been discussing with the concerned authorities about the matter of providing security guarantees to the domestic workers. This was also discussed at the Nepal-UAE Joint Committee meeting on Tuesday.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14694', 'image' => '20220318050519_400.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 17:04:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14951', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Indulge in Unhealthy Competition over Interest Rates amid Liquidity Crisis', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Unhealthy competition among banks over the issue of interest rates has increased due to the liquidity crisis in banks and financial institutions. </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"">It has been found that the banks have collected deposits violating the interest rate guidelines set by Nepal Rastra Bank. </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 central bank has taken action against a dozen banks in the second quarter of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2078/79 (mid-October to mid-January) for fixing interest rates against the directives of NRB. </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"">NRB officials say that even if the banks are free to set interest rates, they have to do so within the criteria set by the central bank.</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 central banks monitors their activities and takes action in case of any violation.</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"">Deputy Spokesperson of the central bank, Narayan Prasad Pokharel, said that the chief executive officers of some banks that violated the directive on setting interest rates, have been warned not to repeat the mistake again in the coming days. </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"">According to the NRB, banks are not allowed to change the interest rate on fixed deposits for up to three months. NRB said that the action has been taken for violating the provision that the difference between the maximum and minimum interest rates given on deposit accounts should not be more than 5 percentage points. </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"">Banks were aggressive in extending credit at the beginning of the current fiscal year after the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdown and prohibitory order was eased. Despite the expansion of credit beyond the annual target, the deposit collection did not increase accordingly, leading towards the liquidity crisis. </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"">Along with the liquidity crisis, there was competition between banks and financial institutions to raise interest rates. NRB had instructed the banks to keep the interest rate within a single digit after the commercial banks increased the interest rate on deposits up to 12 percent in October. </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"">Similarly, issuing a directive on October 20, the central bank stated that the interest rate can be changed by only 10 percent every month. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14693', 'image' => '20220318031635_Banks.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 15:15:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14950', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Talks with India Underway for Electricity Export: Energy Minister ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 18: Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, has said talks with India were underway for the export of surplus electricity. She called the private sectors to invest in hydropower. </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"">Minister Bhusal made such remarks while inaugurating the New Butwal Sub-Station at Sunwal Municipality-13 in Nawalparasi West on Thursday. </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 government has set a target of ensuring every household’s access to electricity within two years,” she said, adding that the electricity is however wasted in rainy season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">For the utilization of surplus energy, international trade is a must, she added. Minister Bhusal also underscored the need to use electric devices to help resolve the energy crisis. Use of electrical appliances would be important also in the wake of rising price of petroleum products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of New Butwal Sub-Station is expected to enhance supply of regular energy. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, Executive Director at NEA Kulman Ghising informed that the Sub-Station was built with the efforts of Nepal government and loan assistance of Asian Development. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14692', 'image' => '20220318015632_electricity.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 13:54:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14949', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Flexible about Allowing Foreign Banks to Open Branches in Nepal', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 18: Nepal Rastra Bank has shown flexibility in allowing foreign banks to open branches in Nepal. In this regard, the central bank has lowered the provision of minimum paid-up capital required for foreign banks to open branches in Nepal by scrapping the policy issued in 2010 regarding opening of branches in Nepal. </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"">NRB confirmed that it has scrapped the Policy Provision for Opening Branch Office by Foreign Bank or Financial Institution in Nepal, 2010 and issued Foreign Bank Branch Licensing Policy, 2022 in its place.</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"">Issuing a notice on Wednesday, the central bank said it has made arrangements that allow foreign banks to open branches in Nepal with a minimum paid-up capital of USD 20 million. Initially, the minimum paid-up capital was set at US$ 20 million US dollars, but in 2014, it was amended to maintain the paid-up capital on par with that of Nepali banks. </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"">At present, the minimum paid-up capital of commercial banks is Rs 8 billion and the foreign banks should also maintain the same amount. However, as per the new directive, up to USD 20 million is enough to open branches of the foreign banks. </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"">Executive Director of NRB Dev Kumar Dhakal said that the arrangement of paid-up capital has been made flexible to attract foreign banks to Nepal. "Foreign banks were not attracted because of the earlier provisions," he said, "So we have given some additional facilities." </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"">Even though NRB had issued a policy to open a branch 12 years ago, no foreign bank has opened a branch in Nepal so far. Only Doha Bank of Qatar, Masrek Bank of the UAE and ICICI Bank of India have opened liaison offices. The liaison office is not allowed to conduct banking transactions. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-18', 'modified' => '2022-03-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14691', 'image' => '20220318120723_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-18 12:06:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
