March 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per…
March 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per…
March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five…
March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable…
March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International…
March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on…
March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of…
March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh…
March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters…
March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound…
March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity…
March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum…
March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good…
March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the…
March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s…
March 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY…
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Now, the base rate has been fixed at a maximum of Rs 5.94 per unit.</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"">NEA had already decided to sign PPA with the solar plants through open competition. However, the base rate of PPA was not specified. A task force formed for the same purpose has fixed the PPA rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This is also the maximum base rate. The contractors participating in the open competition have to submit bids at rates lower than the base rate.</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"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai confirmed that the base rate for PPA with solar plants has been fixed at Rs 5.94. He said that the companies participating in the tender bids for PPA should submit bids equal to or lower than the base rate.</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, NEA has set certain criteria for the companies participating in the PPA. </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 solar projects must set up plants in places where we say if they want to participate in PPA,” said Bhattarai.</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 such criteria have been set keeping in view the technical aspects including the transmission line of NEA and the areas where electricity is in demand.</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 PPA rate of solar plants has been reduced in line with the international market rate. "It costs less to build a solar plant. On top of that, it will generate electricity only in the afternoon when NRs 3. Moreover, solar power is cheap in the international market,” said Bhattarai.</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"">Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Acharya, chairman of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), said that they will study the base rate set by NEA and then only come up with an official view.</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"">NEA had decided to sign PPA with solar plants through open competition as per the policy of making electricity tariff universally accessible and in line with international norms.</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"">NEA is now preparing to invite tenders for PPA with solar plants by completing the required process. NEA will have to sign PPA in such a way that the contribution of solar plants to the national grid does not exceed 10 percent of the total capacity. The government has adopted a concept of energy mix under which the share of electricity generated by solar projects should be 10 percent of the total capacity of the national grid.</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 installed capacity of electricity in the national grid is about 2200 MW. Accordingly, NEA will be able to purchase 220 MW of power from the solar projects immediately. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14675', 'image' => '20220315024600_shutterstock_1126547147.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 14:45:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports 24,000 kg of Gold in 5 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years. This is the record of gold imported through legal channels. Gold is also smuggled into Nepal through various illegal channels.</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"">Since the last few years, the price of gold has been on a constant rise although the pattern of import has remained almost constant. This has raised questions about where all the gold is used in the country and for what purpose.</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"">Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association said that 95 percent of the gold imported in Nepal is used by housewives as jewelry.</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 per the records of the Department of Customs, the total value of gold imported from fiscal year 2074/75 to mid-February of the fiscal year 2078/79 amounts to Rs 132.38 billion. Economists say that the increase in transaction of gold should be considered as an increase in purchasing power of Nepali citizens. </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"">On the other hand, economist Jitendra Upadhyaya says that the more amount is spent on the purchase of gold, the more negative impact it will have on the economy of the country. Economists argue that investment in productive sector creates employment opportunities and such activities should be encouraged rather than the trend of decorating oneself with jewelry.</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"">In the last few years, the purchasing power of Nepali citizens has increased due to an increase in the number of people going for foreign employment. But the money earned from foreign employment being spent on luxury items often results in shortage of money when needed in future. Experts suggest investing the money in businesses rather than spending on luxury items. However, the suggestion has neither been adopted by the general public nor the government has succeeded to formulate a plan for the utilization of remittance.</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 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), out of the total remittance entering the country, only 2 percent is utilized for investments. Experts express their concern stating that most of the remittance is returning back with the purchase of luxury items.</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 per the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Rs 961 billion entered the country last year as remittance. This year, Rs 540 billion has already entered the country as remittance within just seven months. In Nepal, housewives consume most of the imported gold for making jewelry. Apart from this, gold is also used for making gold plated art pieces to attract tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Executive Director of NRB, Nar Bahadur Thapa says that although businessmen reap the profits from selling gold, it has a negative impact on the economy of the country. </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"">“Since the government has not brought any policies to invest remittance into the productive sector, the expenditure of money earned from foreign employment is increasing towards the unproductive sector,” said Thapa, adding, “If such expenditures continue to grow, the banks will face scarcity of investible capital. Therefore, the government should pay proper attention to such issues.”</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"">In the seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 3,643 kg of gold worth Rs 252.1 billion has already been imported in Nepal. During last fiscal year, altogether 3,924 kg of gold worth Rs 273.4 billion was imported into the country.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14674', 'image' => '20220315123434_goldee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 12:33:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari for Addressing Root Causes of Foreign Employment ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Receiving the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ issued after the 5th National Meeting of Victims of Trafficking to Combat Human Trafficking, the president said the state should create employment opportunities at home so that there will be no compulsion for the citizens to go for overseas job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kathmandu Declaration was jointly submitted to the president on Monday (March 14) by two civil society organisations named Shakti Samuha and AATWIN Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the president said, “A thorough study on women’s obligation for overseas migration should be conducted to identify the reasons and the state should address the causes of foreign employment for once and all.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president was of the view that women's migration is taking place most probably due to economic, social and educational issues and suggested that the government should unveil employment generating programmes in the districts with high rate of overseas migration. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating the poor implementation of Act and laws relating to foreign employment and trafficking in persons are also a problem, President Bhandari also assured to take initiatives to address the problems existing in the foreign employment sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president stated that the woes and sufferings of women migrant workers are of the entire country not merely of women migrants and pledged to address the issues of returnee women migrants through the ‘President Women Upliftment’ programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day meeting concluded in Kathmandu on Monday by issuing a 29-point declaration. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14673', 'image' => '20220315124315_RS_KTM-3A9526.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jazeera Airways to Operate Regular Flights to Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has filed an application with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in order to conduct regular flights from May 22 coinciding with the Buddha Jayanti Festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Director General of CAAN, Dev Chandra Lal Karna, shared that the airways has filed application in order to operate one flight per day. It will operate direct flights between Kuwait and Bhairahawa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has now been operating regular flights at Tribhuvan International Airport. </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 Nepal Airlines Corporation would conduct test flights at Gautam Buddha Airport from April 14 and the airport would be opened for commercial flights from April 20, Karna added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">All necessary preparations for commercial flights have been completed, he said. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14672', 'image' => '20220315081135_Jazeera-Airways.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:10:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘World Faces Food Crisis due to Russia-Ukraine War’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news agency, several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Those include Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The United States and its European allies have cast Putin's invasion as an imperial-style land grab that has so far been poorly executed because Moscow under-estimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The West has sanctioned Russian businessmen, including European Union sanctions on Melnichenko, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force defiant Putin to change course. Putin has called the war a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists and Nazis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Reuters made public a statement emailed by Melnichenko, 50, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food," said Melnichenko, who founded EuroChem, Russia's largest ammonium nitrate producer, which is based in Zug, Switzerland, and SUEK, Russia's top coal producer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced more than 2 million people, and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">FOOD WAR?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Putin reportedly warned on Thursday that food prices would rise globally due to soaring fertiliser prices if the West created problems for Russia's export of fertilisers - which account for 13 percent of world output.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen containing fertilisers - major crop and soil nutrients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilisers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko said. He said food supply chains already disrupted by COVID-19 were now even more distressed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world’s poorest countries," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's trade and industry ministry told the country's fertiliser producers to temporarily halt exports earlier this month.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14671', 'image' => '20220314083303_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 20:31:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Consumer Groups Urge Government to Halt Export of Cooking Oil', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal had been importing a considerable amount of food items including mustard seeds, soybean and sunflower oil, wheat, corn and other food items from Ukraine. But the orders for all goods have been canceled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer-based organizations have demanded that the government should immediately coordinate with the industrialists and traders to ensure smooth supply of goods by changing the tax rates and to control inflation and price hike. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Public Forum, Uttam Dhungel said that crucial steps should be taken to increase the stock of such items and halt the exports to create an environment where the general consumers can easily buy food and other consumer goods at affordable prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “The prices of edible oil have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the full effects are expected to surface only two months later,” Dhungel said. Dhungel suggested a curb on exports in order to remove the shortage of oil in Nepal due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the central chairman of Consumer Awareness Campaign, Nepal, said that the irresponsibility of the government has encouraged unethical approach of industrialists and businessmen in price hike of goods taking advantage of the current situation. He said that the devaluation of Nepali currency against the dollar and increase in the price of petroleum products have affected all sides but the general consumers have been affected more due to the government's silence in controlling the inflation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Chandra Dhungana, spokesperson of the Biratnagar Customs Office, refined oils worth Rs 12.34 billion prepared from palm, soybean and sunflower have been exported from July to March. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, refined edible oil worth Rs 6.43 billion was exported. Biratnagar Customs Chief Tara Prasad Sapkota said that he has not received any information from any state body about halting the export of oil. He also informed that refined oil is being exported under normal conditions at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the records kept by Morang Merchants’ Association and Morang Industries Association, refined oil worth Rs 12.36 billion has been exported from Jogbani customs point in the current fiscal year. Exports from Nepal have increased since last year due to the increased demand for refined oil in India. According to the concerned industrialists, their target is to extract refined oil worth Rs 20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14670', 'image' => '20220314051708_oil1501009175_7.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 17:16:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14927', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '90 percent of Nepali Migrant Workers opt for Gulf Region', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.</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 Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), inflow of remittance decreased by 4.9 percent to Rs 540.12 billion from July to January. Remittances had increased by 10.9 percent in the corresponding period of the previous 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"">With the decline in remittance inflows, there is still no sign of improvement in the overall economy. Experts have cited declining remittance inflows as the main reason for the economy not moving in a positive direction. Economist Dr Poshraj Pandey says that remittances cannot be a permanent income of any country but unfortunately there is no alternative to remittances for Nepal at the moment. </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 inflow of remittance will not be the same all the time, the government should not delay in emphasizing other plans, including increasing domestic production," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts argue that the number of Nepali nationals going for foreign employment has reached its peak at this time. Out of 500,000 people who enter the labor market every year, barely 50,000 can find employment in the country. Those who do not find employment at home go to different countries, including India, for foreign employment. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, around 500,000 young people used to go for foreign employment every year with new and renewable work permits.</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 Foreign Employment has informed that the number of people going for foreign employment has decreased after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the department, 352,427 youths have gone for foreign employment in the current fiscal year. Among them, the number of people going for work in four Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait is alone 320,533. This is about 90 percent of the total number of people going for foreign employment in 7 months.</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"">During this period, most Nepalis have gone to Saudi Arabia in search of work. A total of 124,035 young people have gone to Saudi Arabia for work. Similarly, 116,153 Nepalis went to Qatar and 70,132 went to the UAE, and 10,213 to Kuwait, according to the department. Experts believe that one of the reasons why the inflow of remittances has not improved in recent times is due to youths choosing Gulf countries as their work destination.</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 Executive Director of the Foreign Employment Board Raghuraj Kafle says it is too late to find employment options in the Gulf countries. He said that the remittance inflow has been affected as Nepalis going to the Gulf countries get low wages but 90 percent go to those countries.</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 the government has opened 110 countries for employment, most of the demand has come from the Gulf countries. "If we can send Nepali workers to rich and developed countries, we will get more remittances than we are getting now," said Shesh Narayan Poudel, director-general of the department.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14669', 'image' => '20220314044317_Remittance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 16:41:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14926', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shares Gain as Oil Slips on Hopes for Ukraine Progress', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported. The news agency further said that bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While Russian missiles hit a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday, both sides gave their most upbeat assessment yet of prospects for talks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Just the chance of peace saw S&P 500 stock futures add 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4 percent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.5 percent and FTSE futures 0.2 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dragged down 1.6 percent by losses in China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chinese blue chips shed 1.7 percent after a jump in coronavirus cases saw the southern city of Shenzen locked down and stoked speculation about more policy easing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bonds elsewhere remained under pressure having taken a beating last week as surging commodity prices looked set to boost inflation further, with yields on 10-year Treasuries rising four basis points to 2.04 percent, Reuters further reported .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The euro was stuck at $1.0905 , and not far from its recent 22-month trough of $1.0804, while the dollar hit a fresh five-year peak on the yen at 117.87 .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Gold lost some of its safe-haven charm on Monday, easing 0.5 percent to $1,975 an ounce and away for last week's peak at $2,069.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, the chance of progress on Ukraine saw oil prices surrender a little of their recent gains, even as talks with producer Iran seemed to be stalled, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Brent was last quoted $2.13 lower at $110.54, while US crude fell $2.46 to $106.84.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14668', 'image' => '20220314022755_61108396_303.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:27:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14925', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '200,000 Tons of Coal stuck at Haldia Port', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.</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"">Nepali importers based in Birgunj have sought help from Nepal’s Consulate in Kolkata to release the coal. Vice President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Madhav Rajpal has written a letter to the consulate in this regard. Rajpal, who is also a coal importer, informed that the Indian Railways have not provided rake at Haldia port for the past 12 days. According to him, no rake has been provided for Nepal due to increasing pressure of coal supply to power plants in India itself.</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"">Consul General in Kolkata Ishwar Raj Poudel said that the consulate has already written letters to the Indian Railways to provide the required number of rakes. He said that they acted as soon as they were notified about the problem.</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"">“About 52 rakes of coal are stuck at the port. Despite repeated requests to the Indian Railways, there is still no response,” said Rajpal. He added that the market is already facing shortage of coal as around 200,000 metric tons of coal is stuck at the port.</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 Nepali importers, about 1.5 million metric tons of coal is imported to Nepal annually from India, Indonesia, the USA, Australia and South Africa. Coal imports have increased along with the growth of clinker-based cement industries in Nepal. Coal is an auxiliary raw material of the clinker industry. Coal is also used in brick kilns. According to the industrialists, two-thirds of the total imports of coal are consumed in the clinker industry.</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"">Consul General Poudel is scheduled to inspect the Haldia port on Tuesday to resolve the issue. “We have already written to the southeastern office of the railways. We are going to conduct an on-site inspection of the situation in Haldia,” Poudel said. Haldia Port is 150 kilometers away from Kolkata port.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14667', 'image' => '20220314021043_18e588c0-ab9d-4e06-aac1-eda206712995.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:09:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14924', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs Decide not to Increase Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made it mandatory for BFIs to issue a public notice regarding the hike of interest rate a day before the beginning of a new month. As the banks have decided not to increase the interest rate, the existing rates will be applicable for the new month as per the Nepali calendar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate meetings of Nepal Bankers’ Association, the umbrella body of the CEOs of commercial banks of Nepal, Development Bankers’ Association and Nepal Finance Companies’ Association decided not to increase the interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We agreed not to increase interest rates as it is not the solution to the liquidity crisis. Increasing the interest rate doesn’t necessarily increase deposits and resolve the liquidity crisis,” said Pradhuman Pokharel, chairman of the Development Bankers’ Association.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the existing rules set by the NRB, BFIs had increased the interest rate for the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March) by 10 percent. During the review month, banks had fixed the maximum interest rate on personal fixed deposits at 11.03 percent. Similarly, development banks had fixed the maximum interest rate at 12.65 percent while the finance companies had set the interest rate at a maximum of 11.71 percent. The same rates will be applicable in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">BFIs were involved in an unhealthy competition of increasing interest rates due to the lack of investible capital in the banking system in the current fiscal year. The interest rates of commercial banks had almost reached 12 percent some four months ago. The central bank then intervened and ordered the banks to lower the interest rates to a single digit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a circular in the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), the central bank had allowed banks to increase or decrease the interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent every month. BFIs didn’t increase the interest rates for the next two months after the NRB issued such circular but they decided to increase the interest rate by 10 percent in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the BFIs had increased the interest rates with permission from Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma was unhappy about such decision. Similarly, businessmen and entrepreneurs of the country had also issued separate statements denouncing the hike in interest rates. Despite increasing the interest rate, BFIs have not witnessed any significant improvement in deposit collection.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14666', 'image' => '20220314115308_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 11:52:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14923', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Demand Hike in Public Transport Fare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Organising a press conference on Sunday, the federation urged the government to adjust the fare at the earliest while expressing concern over the government's apathy despite skyrocketing price of fuel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's representatives argued that they will be forced to increase the fare themselves if the government does not review the fare.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's Chairman Yogendra Nath Karmacharya said they would adjust the fare on the basis of scientific fare procedure if the existing rate is not reviewed by March 21. He said the transportation fare has not been adjusted even once although the price of the petroleum products has been hiked seven times since July 2021. FNNTE informed that the fare of public transport has not been revised since October 13, 2021. Back then, the price of diesel was Rs 104 per liter, but now the price has jumped to Rs 133 per liter, the transport entrepreneurs said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The transport entrepreneurs said that scientific fare adjustment is needed at the moment when the price of every commodity is increasing in the market. The federation expressed displeasure stating that the government turned a deaf ear to their pleas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, a delegation of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, Nepal (FTTEN) had separately met the Director General of Department of Transport Management, Namaraj Ghimire seeking the government initiatives to resolve problems existing in the transportation sector. During the meeting, the delegation submitted a memorandum to Director General Ghimire demanding the adjustment of transport fare to keep up with the increased price of petroleum products </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14665', 'image' => '20220314110643_20200722015124_20171109120628_20171108035347_busbus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 08:22:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14922', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Paddy Farmers Demand Compensation for Faulty Seeds', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest. Kasthamandap Trade Point had sold paddy seed named DY-28 which was developed by Chinese company and had claimed that the seed would yield plenty of harvest. However, the farmers complained that the plants didn’t develop rice panicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All the investment made by the farmers went down the drain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the government has neither taken action against the company nor provided any compensation to the farmers. The farmers have accused that the government of protecting the company. They have also demanded compensation from the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company had made such faulty seeds available to more than 2,200 farmers nine months ago just ahead of the planting season. None of the farmers who planted the DY-28 seeds were able to harvest any grain. The seeds provided by the company grow at an altitude of 700 meters above the sea level while the altitude of Kathmandu is 1,400 meters above the sea level.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Treasurer of the All Nepal Farmers Federation Krishna Prasad Adhikari said that the altitude is the reason why the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. He accused that the company deceived them in buying inappropriate seeds. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Seed Quality Control Centre, around 7,745 ropanis of land where the seeds were planted didn’t produce any grains. According to Adhikari, the farmers had staged protest at Maitighar about five months ago after the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. Following the protest, the company had reached an understanding with the Seed Quality Control Centre to provide compensation of Rs 2,500 per ropani to the farmers. However, the decision has not been implemented yet.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14664', 'image' => '20220313090149_padd.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 21:01:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14921', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepali Contractors Lack Expertise and Experience to bag Contracts Under MCC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The technology, qualifications and experience required for the construction of the transmission line, substation and road under the MCC project are highly advanced, unlike those used by Nepali construction companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inaugurating the 23rd Annual General Assembly and 12th Convention of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) in Kathmandu on Friday, PM Deuba said that Nepali companies should be successful in getting MCC contracts. “As per the provisions of MCC, international bids are invited for the contract,” he said adding, “China and India are the likely contenders for the bids. But, a Nepali construction companies should also be able to come take benefit.” The US government will be spending around USD 500 million (around Rs 55 billion) and the government of Nepal will contribute USD 130 million (around Rs 15 billion) under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With large investment projects operating in Nepal, it is even more difficult for a Nepali construction company to win a contract. Khadga Bahadur Bista, executive director of Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA) Nepal, informed that the Nepalese companies face an uphill battle to participate in road construction under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Stating that international tender bids will be called within the next six months for the construction of substation, transmission line and road, Bista said that Nepali companies will be able to participate in this tender. “However, the Nepali company must be able to meet the criteria for the contract (package),” said Bista adding, “Besides, due to lack of experience in technology and technical expertise in the construction of roads, transmission lines and substations under the MCC project, the chances of Nepali construction entrepreneurs getting a contract is quite slim.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bista added that it is even more difficult for Nepali construction companies to get involved in road construction but said that the construction of transmission lines and substations can be done through joint venture (JV) companies and subcontractors. Although many are not in favor of splitting the package for the construction of the project, Bista said that discussions are underway to make several packages for the transmission line. He argued that discussions are being held to make some packages for the transmission lines as there could be problems if only one company is selected for the construction of the 315 km transmission line. Separate contracts will be called for substation and transmission line, said Bista.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, for the first time in Nepal, new technology is being used in the construction of a 77 km road in the East-West Highway with this grant. Due to this reason, it is expected that it will be more difficult for Nepali construction companies to build the road. An infrastructure expert said, “Even with the limited financial capacity, technology and experience of the domestic construction companies, it is almost impossible for them to participate in the MCC project on their own, although they can participate through JV.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">New technologies such as 'Full Depth Reclamation' and 'Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)' will be used in the road to be constructed under this project. ‘Full depth reclamation’ is the removal of sand and ballast from the road to be constructed. The old material is reused by adding new cement to it. Similarly, in ‘Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)’ the road surface is leveled. As this technology is new in Nepal, it seems that the qualification and experience of the domestic construction companies is not enough.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chairman of Sharma & Company Ramesh Sharma, on the other hand, said that the size of the contract will depend on the size of the package after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. He says that the Nepali construction companies can participate in contracts worth up to Rs 8 billion alone. “If a contract worth Rs 3/4 billion is proposed, it is possible for a Nepali company to get a contract from MCC,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Construction companies of Nepal are now eligible to bid for contracts up to Rs 3 billion after the government increased the capacity through amendment of the procurement regulations. This has also boosted the morale of the domestic companies of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As there is a provision that Nepali companies can bag a contract up to Rs 10 billion through JV, Nepali companies will be able to land the contract of MCC even through JV. Chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya emphasized on the need to give opportunity to Nepali construction companies. Arguing that the Nepali companies are financially capable and the consultants are also groomed in Nepal, he said that the opportunity should be given to the domestic companies as well.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14663', 'image' => '20220313053813_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 17:37:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14920', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cash Margin on Imports to Address Challenges in Economy: Minister Sharma ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. </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"">Addressing a seminar organised by the Department of Customs on Sunday, Minister Sharma directed the employees at the department to work hard to achieve the target although the revenue collection was affected due to the tightening of imports </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"">"At present, the country's economy is in a challenging situation. To address the issue, we have imposed margin on some of the imported goods. It will not last forever. Once the challenges are over, the existing situation will ease," said Minister Sharma. </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 expressed his confidence that the seminar would be effective to help resolve the issues relating to the Department of Customs as well as to deal with the new challenges emerged due to the new policy. </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"">Similarly, the Minister directed the customs officials to seek solutions through the seminar to address the discontentment of the entrepreneurs with the classification in imports. </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 him, guidelines on vehicle scanning in the customs was in the offing and would be enforced soon. On the occasion, Minister Sharma expressed happiness over the gradual improvement in export business. </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 contribution of export is 10 percent to the total foreign trade,” he said, adding that the country recorded the export business worth Rs 131 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. “But we are not expected to stop here. Our ultimate goal should be for achieving a self-sufficient economy by increasing our contribution to export by 10 percent each year.” </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"">Deputy director general of the department Ananda Kafle said that revenue collection during the first seven months of the current fiscal was Rs 308 billion, a 29 percent rise compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14662', 'image' => '20220313045813_fin min sharma.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:57:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14919', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Paddy Worth Over Rs 12 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 state-owned national news agency of Nepal RSS, a total of 426,357,810 kilogrammes of paddy was imported during this period. </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"">Similarly, Nepal imported various species of paddy seedlings worth Rs 30 million from India during the same period. </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 import of paddy as well as paddy seedling and rice has been increasing since some years, shows the data of the Department of Customs. </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"">Paddy weighing over 420 million kilogrammes were procured from India in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14661', 'image' => '20220313043930_1647080623.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:38:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Lowers PPA Rate of Energy Produced by Solar Plants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per unit.', '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 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per unit.</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"">Earlier, the NEA had fixed Rs 7.30 per unit for power purchase agreement with solar plants. Now, the base rate has been fixed at a maximum of Rs 5.94 per unit.</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"">NEA had already decided to sign PPA with the solar plants through open competition. However, the base rate of PPA was not specified. A task force formed for the same purpose has fixed the PPA rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This is also the maximum base rate. The contractors participating in the open competition have to submit bids at rates lower than the base rate.</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"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai confirmed that the base rate for PPA with solar plants has been fixed at Rs 5.94. He said that the companies participating in the tender bids for PPA should submit bids equal to or lower than the base rate.</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, NEA has set certain criteria for the companies participating in the PPA. </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 solar projects must set up plants in places where we say if they want to participate in PPA,” said Bhattarai.</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 such criteria have been set keeping in view the technical aspects including the transmission line of NEA and the areas where electricity is in demand.</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 PPA rate of solar plants has been reduced in line with the international market rate. "It costs less to build a solar plant. On top of that, it will generate electricity only in the afternoon when NRs 3. Moreover, solar power is cheap in the international market,” said Bhattarai.</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"">Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Acharya, chairman of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), said that they will study the base rate set by NEA and then only come up with an official view.</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"">NEA had decided to sign PPA with solar plants through open competition as per the policy of making electricity tariff universally accessible and in line with international norms.</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"">NEA is now preparing to invite tenders for PPA with solar plants by completing the required process. NEA will have to sign PPA in such a way that the contribution of solar plants to the national grid does not exceed 10 percent of the total capacity. The government has adopted a concept of energy mix under which the share of electricity generated by solar projects should be 10 percent of the total capacity of the national grid.</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 installed capacity of electricity in the national grid is about 2200 MW. Accordingly, NEA will be able to purchase 220 MW of power from the solar projects immediately. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14675', 'image' => '20220315024600_shutterstock_1126547147.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 14:45:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports 24,000 kg of Gold in 5 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years. This is the record of gold imported through legal channels. Gold is also smuggled into Nepal through various illegal channels.</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"">Since the last few years, the price of gold has been on a constant rise although the pattern of import has remained almost constant. This has raised questions about where all the gold is used in the country and for what purpose.</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"">Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association said that 95 percent of the gold imported in Nepal is used by housewives as jewelry.</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 per the records of the Department of Customs, the total value of gold imported from fiscal year 2074/75 to mid-February of the fiscal year 2078/79 amounts to Rs 132.38 billion. Economists say that the increase in transaction of gold should be considered as an increase in purchasing power of Nepali citizens. </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"">On the other hand, economist Jitendra Upadhyaya says that the more amount is spent on the purchase of gold, the more negative impact it will have on the economy of the country. Economists argue that investment in productive sector creates employment opportunities and such activities should be encouraged rather than the trend of decorating oneself with jewelry.</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"">In the last few years, the purchasing power of Nepali citizens has increased due to an increase in the number of people going for foreign employment. But the money earned from foreign employment being spent on luxury items often results in shortage of money when needed in future. Experts suggest investing the money in businesses rather than spending on luxury items. However, the suggestion has neither been adopted by the general public nor the government has succeeded to formulate a plan for the utilization of remittance.</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 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), out of the total remittance entering the country, only 2 percent is utilized for investments. Experts express their concern stating that most of the remittance is returning back with the purchase of luxury items.</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 per the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Rs 961 billion entered the country last year as remittance. This year, Rs 540 billion has already entered the country as remittance within just seven months. In Nepal, housewives consume most of the imported gold for making jewelry. Apart from this, gold is also used for making gold plated art pieces to attract tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Executive Director of NRB, Nar Bahadur Thapa says that although businessmen reap the profits from selling gold, it has a negative impact on the economy of the country. </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"">“Since the government has not brought any policies to invest remittance into the productive sector, the expenditure of money earned from foreign employment is increasing towards the unproductive sector,” said Thapa, adding, “If such expenditures continue to grow, the banks will face scarcity of investible capital. Therefore, the government should pay proper attention to such issues.”</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"">In the seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 3,643 kg of gold worth Rs 252.1 billion has already been imported in Nepal. During last fiscal year, altogether 3,924 kg of gold worth Rs 273.4 billion was imported into the country.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14674', 'image' => '20220315123434_goldee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 12:33:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari for Addressing Root Causes of Foreign Employment ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Receiving the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ issued after the 5th National Meeting of Victims of Trafficking to Combat Human Trafficking, the president said the state should create employment opportunities at home so that there will be no compulsion for the citizens to go for overseas job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kathmandu Declaration was jointly submitted to the president on Monday (March 14) by two civil society organisations named Shakti Samuha and AATWIN Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the president said, “A thorough study on women’s obligation for overseas migration should be conducted to identify the reasons and the state should address the causes of foreign employment for once and all.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president was of the view that women's migration is taking place most probably due to economic, social and educational issues and suggested that the government should unveil employment generating programmes in the districts with high rate of overseas migration. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating the poor implementation of Act and laws relating to foreign employment and trafficking in persons are also a problem, President Bhandari also assured to take initiatives to address the problems existing in the foreign employment sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president stated that the woes and sufferings of women migrant workers are of the entire country not merely of women migrants and pledged to address the issues of returnee women migrants through the ‘President Women Upliftment’ programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day meeting concluded in Kathmandu on Monday by issuing a 29-point declaration. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14673', 'image' => '20220315124315_RS_KTM-3A9526.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jazeera Airways to Operate Regular Flights to Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has filed an application with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in order to conduct regular flights from May 22 coinciding with the Buddha Jayanti Festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Director General of CAAN, Dev Chandra Lal Karna, shared that the airways has filed application in order to operate one flight per day. It will operate direct flights between Kuwait and Bhairahawa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has now been operating regular flights at Tribhuvan International Airport. </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 Nepal Airlines Corporation would conduct test flights at Gautam Buddha Airport from April 14 and the airport would be opened for commercial flights from April 20, Karna added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">All necessary preparations for commercial flights have been completed, he said. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14672', 'image' => '20220315081135_Jazeera-Airways.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:10:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘World Faces Food Crisis due to Russia-Ukraine War’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news agency, several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Those include Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The United States and its European allies have cast Putin's invasion as an imperial-style land grab that has so far been poorly executed because Moscow under-estimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The West has sanctioned Russian businessmen, including European Union sanctions on Melnichenko, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force defiant Putin to change course. Putin has called the war a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists and Nazis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Reuters made public a statement emailed by Melnichenko, 50, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food," said Melnichenko, who founded EuroChem, Russia's largest ammonium nitrate producer, which is based in Zug, Switzerland, and SUEK, Russia's top coal producer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced more than 2 million people, and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">FOOD WAR?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Putin reportedly warned on Thursday that food prices would rise globally due to soaring fertiliser prices if the West created problems for Russia's export of fertilisers - which account for 13 percent of world output.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen containing fertilisers - major crop and soil nutrients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilisers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko said. He said food supply chains already disrupted by COVID-19 were now even more distressed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world’s poorest countries," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's trade and industry ministry told the country's fertiliser producers to temporarily halt exports earlier this month.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14671', 'image' => '20220314083303_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 20:31:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Consumer Groups Urge Government to Halt Export of Cooking Oil', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal had been importing a considerable amount of food items including mustard seeds, soybean and sunflower oil, wheat, corn and other food items from Ukraine. But the orders for all goods have been canceled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer-based organizations have demanded that the government should immediately coordinate with the industrialists and traders to ensure smooth supply of goods by changing the tax rates and to control inflation and price hike. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Public Forum, Uttam Dhungel said that crucial steps should be taken to increase the stock of such items and halt the exports to create an environment where the general consumers can easily buy food and other consumer goods at affordable prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “The prices of edible oil have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the full effects are expected to surface only two months later,” Dhungel said. Dhungel suggested a curb on exports in order to remove the shortage of oil in Nepal due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the central chairman of Consumer Awareness Campaign, Nepal, said that the irresponsibility of the government has encouraged unethical approach of industrialists and businessmen in price hike of goods taking advantage of the current situation. He said that the devaluation of Nepali currency against the dollar and increase in the price of petroleum products have affected all sides but the general consumers have been affected more due to the government's silence in controlling the inflation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Chandra Dhungana, spokesperson of the Biratnagar Customs Office, refined oils worth Rs 12.34 billion prepared from palm, soybean and sunflower have been exported from July to March. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, refined edible oil worth Rs 6.43 billion was exported. Biratnagar Customs Chief Tara Prasad Sapkota said that he has not received any information from any state body about halting the export of oil. He also informed that refined oil is being exported under normal conditions at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the records kept by Morang Merchants’ Association and Morang Industries Association, refined oil worth Rs 12.36 billion has been exported from Jogbani customs point in the current fiscal year. Exports from Nepal have increased since last year due to the increased demand for refined oil in India. According to the concerned industrialists, their target is to extract refined oil worth Rs 20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14670', 'image' => '20220314051708_oil1501009175_7.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 17:16:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14927', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '90 percent of Nepali Migrant Workers opt for Gulf Region', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.</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 Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), inflow of remittance decreased by 4.9 percent to Rs 540.12 billion from July to January. Remittances had increased by 10.9 percent in the corresponding period of the previous 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"">With the decline in remittance inflows, there is still no sign of improvement in the overall economy. Experts have cited declining remittance inflows as the main reason for the economy not moving in a positive direction. Economist Dr Poshraj Pandey says that remittances cannot be a permanent income of any country but unfortunately there is no alternative to remittances for Nepal at the moment. </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 inflow of remittance will not be the same all the time, the government should not delay in emphasizing other plans, including increasing domestic production," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts argue that the number of Nepali nationals going for foreign employment has reached its peak at this time. Out of 500,000 people who enter the labor market every year, barely 50,000 can find employment in the country. Those who do not find employment at home go to different countries, including India, for foreign employment. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, around 500,000 young people used to go for foreign employment every year with new and renewable work permits.</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 Foreign Employment has informed that the number of people going for foreign employment has decreased after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the department, 352,427 youths have gone for foreign employment in the current fiscal year. Among them, the number of people going for work in four Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait is alone 320,533. This is about 90 percent of the total number of people going for foreign employment in 7 months.</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"">During this period, most Nepalis have gone to Saudi Arabia in search of work. A total of 124,035 young people have gone to Saudi Arabia for work. Similarly, 116,153 Nepalis went to Qatar and 70,132 went to the UAE, and 10,213 to Kuwait, according to the department. Experts believe that one of the reasons why the inflow of remittances has not improved in recent times is due to youths choosing Gulf countries as their work destination.</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 Executive Director of the Foreign Employment Board Raghuraj Kafle says it is too late to find employment options in the Gulf countries. He said that the remittance inflow has been affected as Nepalis going to the Gulf countries get low wages but 90 percent go to those countries.</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 the government has opened 110 countries for employment, most of the demand has come from the Gulf countries. "If we can send Nepali workers to rich and developed countries, we will get more remittances than we are getting now," said Shesh Narayan Poudel, director-general of the department.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14669', 'image' => '20220314044317_Remittance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 16:41:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14926', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shares Gain as Oil Slips on Hopes for Ukraine Progress', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported. The news agency further said that bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While Russian missiles hit a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday, both sides gave their most upbeat assessment yet of prospects for talks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Just the chance of peace saw S&P 500 stock futures add 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4 percent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.5 percent and FTSE futures 0.2 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dragged down 1.6 percent by losses in China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chinese blue chips shed 1.7 percent after a jump in coronavirus cases saw the southern city of Shenzen locked down and stoked speculation about more policy easing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bonds elsewhere remained under pressure having taken a beating last week as surging commodity prices looked set to boost inflation further, with yields on 10-year Treasuries rising four basis points to 2.04 percent, Reuters further reported .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The euro was stuck at $1.0905 , and not far from its recent 22-month trough of $1.0804, while the dollar hit a fresh five-year peak on the yen at 117.87 .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Gold lost some of its safe-haven charm on Monday, easing 0.5 percent to $1,975 an ounce and away for last week's peak at $2,069.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, the chance of progress on Ukraine saw oil prices surrender a little of their recent gains, even as talks with producer Iran seemed to be stalled, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Brent was last quoted $2.13 lower at $110.54, while US crude fell $2.46 to $106.84.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14668', 'image' => '20220314022755_61108396_303.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:27:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14925', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '200,000 Tons of Coal stuck at Haldia Port', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.</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"">Nepali importers based in Birgunj have sought help from Nepal’s Consulate in Kolkata to release the coal. Vice President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Madhav Rajpal has written a letter to the consulate in this regard. Rajpal, who is also a coal importer, informed that the Indian Railways have not provided rake at Haldia port for the past 12 days. According to him, no rake has been provided for Nepal due to increasing pressure of coal supply to power plants in India itself.</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"">Consul General in Kolkata Ishwar Raj Poudel said that the consulate has already written letters to the Indian Railways to provide the required number of rakes. He said that they acted as soon as they were notified about the problem.</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"">“About 52 rakes of coal are stuck at the port. Despite repeated requests to the Indian Railways, there is still no response,” said Rajpal. He added that the market is already facing shortage of coal as around 200,000 metric tons of coal is stuck at the port.</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 Nepali importers, about 1.5 million metric tons of coal is imported to Nepal annually from India, Indonesia, the USA, Australia and South Africa. Coal imports have increased along with the growth of clinker-based cement industries in Nepal. Coal is an auxiliary raw material of the clinker industry. Coal is also used in brick kilns. According to the industrialists, two-thirds of the total imports of coal are consumed in the clinker industry.</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"">Consul General Poudel is scheduled to inspect the Haldia port on Tuesday to resolve the issue. “We have already written to the southeastern office of the railways. We are going to conduct an on-site inspection of the situation in Haldia,” Poudel said. Haldia Port is 150 kilometers away from Kolkata port.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14667', 'image' => '20220314021043_18e588c0-ab9d-4e06-aac1-eda206712995.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:09:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14924', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs Decide not to Increase Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made it mandatory for BFIs to issue a public notice regarding the hike of interest rate a day before the beginning of a new month. As the banks have decided not to increase the interest rate, the existing rates will be applicable for the new month as per the Nepali calendar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate meetings of Nepal Bankers’ Association, the umbrella body of the CEOs of commercial banks of Nepal, Development Bankers’ Association and Nepal Finance Companies’ Association decided not to increase the interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We agreed not to increase interest rates as it is not the solution to the liquidity crisis. Increasing the interest rate doesn’t necessarily increase deposits and resolve the liquidity crisis,” said Pradhuman Pokharel, chairman of the Development Bankers’ Association.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the existing rules set by the NRB, BFIs had increased the interest rate for the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March) by 10 percent. During the review month, banks had fixed the maximum interest rate on personal fixed deposits at 11.03 percent. Similarly, development banks had fixed the maximum interest rate at 12.65 percent while the finance companies had set the interest rate at a maximum of 11.71 percent. The same rates will be applicable in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">BFIs were involved in an unhealthy competition of increasing interest rates due to the lack of investible capital in the banking system in the current fiscal year. The interest rates of commercial banks had almost reached 12 percent some four months ago. The central bank then intervened and ordered the banks to lower the interest rates to a single digit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a circular in the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), the central bank had allowed banks to increase or decrease the interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent every month. BFIs didn’t increase the interest rates for the next two months after the NRB issued such circular but they decided to increase the interest rate by 10 percent in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the BFIs had increased the interest rates with permission from Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma was unhappy about such decision. Similarly, businessmen and entrepreneurs of the country had also issued separate statements denouncing the hike in interest rates. Despite increasing the interest rate, BFIs have not witnessed any significant improvement in deposit collection.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14666', 'image' => '20220314115308_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 11:52:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14923', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Demand Hike in Public Transport Fare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Organising a press conference on Sunday, the federation urged the government to adjust the fare at the earliest while expressing concern over the government's apathy despite skyrocketing price of fuel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's representatives argued that they will be forced to increase the fare themselves if the government does not review the fare.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's Chairman Yogendra Nath Karmacharya said they would adjust the fare on the basis of scientific fare procedure if the existing rate is not reviewed by March 21. He said the transportation fare has not been adjusted even once although the price of the petroleum products has been hiked seven times since July 2021. FNNTE informed that the fare of public transport has not been revised since October 13, 2021. Back then, the price of diesel was Rs 104 per liter, but now the price has jumped to Rs 133 per liter, the transport entrepreneurs said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The transport entrepreneurs said that scientific fare adjustment is needed at the moment when the price of every commodity is increasing in the market. The federation expressed displeasure stating that the government turned a deaf ear to their pleas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, a delegation of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, Nepal (FTTEN) had separately met the Director General of Department of Transport Management, Namaraj Ghimire seeking the government initiatives to resolve problems existing in the transportation sector. During the meeting, the delegation submitted a memorandum to Director General Ghimire demanding the adjustment of transport fare to keep up with the increased price of petroleum products </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14665', 'image' => '20220314110643_20200722015124_20171109120628_20171108035347_busbus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 08:22:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14922', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Paddy Farmers Demand Compensation for Faulty Seeds', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest. Kasthamandap Trade Point had sold paddy seed named DY-28 which was developed by Chinese company and had claimed that the seed would yield plenty of harvest. However, the farmers complained that the plants didn’t develop rice panicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All the investment made by the farmers went down the drain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the government has neither taken action against the company nor provided any compensation to the farmers. The farmers have accused that the government of protecting the company. They have also demanded compensation from the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company had made such faulty seeds available to more than 2,200 farmers nine months ago just ahead of the planting season. None of the farmers who planted the DY-28 seeds were able to harvest any grain. The seeds provided by the company grow at an altitude of 700 meters above the sea level while the altitude of Kathmandu is 1,400 meters above the sea level.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Treasurer of the All Nepal Farmers Federation Krishna Prasad Adhikari said that the altitude is the reason why the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. He accused that the company deceived them in buying inappropriate seeds. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Seed Quality Control Centre, around 7,745 ropanis of land where the seeds were planted didn’t produce any grains. According to Adhikari, the farmers had staged protest at Maitighar about five months ago after the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. Following the protest, the company had reached an understanding with the Seed Quality Control Centre to provide compensation of Rs 2,500 per ropani to the farmers. However, the decision has not been implemented yet.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14664', 'image' => '20220313090149_padd.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 21:01:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14921', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepali Contractors Lack Expertise and Experience to bag Contracts Under MCC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The technology, qualifications and experience required for the construction of the transmission line, substation and road under the MCC project are highly advanced, unlike those used by Nepali construction companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inaugurating the 23rd Annual General Assembly and 12th Convention of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) in Kathmandu on Friday, PM Deuba said that Nepali companies should be successful in getting MCC contracts. “As per the provisions of MCC, international bids are invited for the contract,” he said adding, “China and India are the likely contenders for the bids. But, a Nepali construction companies should also be able to come take benefit.” The US government will be spending around USD 500 million (around Rs 55 billion) and the government of Nepal will contribute USD 130 million (around Rs 15 billion) under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With large investment projects operating in Nepal, it is even more difficult for a Nepali construction company to win a contract. Khadga Bahadur Bista, executive director of Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA) Nepal, informed that the Nepalese companies face an uphill battle to participate in road construction under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Stating that international tender bids will be called within the next six months for the construction of substation, transmission line and road, Bista said that Nepali companies will be able to participate in this tender. “However, the Nepali company must be able to meet the criteria for the contract (package),” said Bista adding, “Besides, due to lack of experience in technology and technical expertise in the construction of roads, transmission lines and substations under the MCC project, the chances of Nepali construction entrepreneurs getting a contract is quite slim.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bista added that it is even more difficult for Nepali construction companies to get involved in road construction but said that the construction of transmission lines and substations can be done through joint venture (JV) companies and subcontractors. Although many are not in favor of splitting the package for the construction of the project, Bista said that discussions are underway to make several packages for the transmission line. He argued that discussions are being held to make some packages for the transmission lines as there could be problems if only one company is selected for the construction of the 315 km transmission line. Separate contracts will be called for substation and transmission line, said Bista.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, for the first time in Nepal, new technology is being used in the construction of a 77 km road in the East-West Highway with this grant. Due to this reason, it is expected that it will be more difficult for Nepali construction companies to build the road. An infrastructure expert said, “Even with the limited financial capacity, technology and experience of the domestic construction companies, it is almost impossible for them to participate in the MCC project on their own, although they can participate through JV.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">New technologies such as 'Full Depth Reclamation' and 'Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)' will be used in the road to be constructed under this project. ‘Full depth reclamation’ is the removal of sand and ballast from the road to be constructed. The old material is reused by adding new cement to it. Similarly, in ‘Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)’ the road surface is leveled. As this technology is new in Nepal, it seems that the qualification and experience of the domestic construction companies is not enough.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chairman of Sharma & Company Ramesh Sharma, on the other hand, said that the size of the contract will depend on the size of the package after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. He says that the Nepali construction companies can participate in contracts worth up to Rs 8 billion alone. “If a contract worth Rs 3/4 billion is proposed, it is possible for a Nepali company to get a contract from MCC,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Construction companies of Nepal are now eligible to bid for contracts up to Rs 3 billion after the government increased the capacity through amendment of the procurement regulations. This has also boosted the morale of the domestic companies of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As there is a provision that Nepali companies can bag a contract up to Rs 10 billion through JV, Nepali companies will be able to land the contract of MCC even through JV. Chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya emphasized on the need to give opportunity to Nepali construction companies. Arguing that the Nepali companies are financially capable and the consultants are also groomed in Nepal, he said that the opportunity should be given to the domestic companies as well.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14663', 'image' => '20220313053813_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 17:37:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14920', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cash Margin on Imports to Address Challenges in Economy: Minister Sharma ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. </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"">Addressing a seminar organised by the Department of Customs on Sunday, Minister Sharma directed the employees at the department to work hard to achieve the target although the revenue collection was affected due to the tightening of imports </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"">"At present, the country's economy is in a challenging situation. To address the issue, we have imposed margin on some of the imported goods. It will not last forever. Once the challenges are over, the existing situation will ease," said Minister Sharma. </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 expressed his confidence that the seminar would be effective to help resolve the issues relating to the Department of Customs as well as to deal with the new challenges emerged due to the new policy. </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"">Similarly, the Minister directed the customs officials to seek solutions through the seminar to address the discontentment of the entrepreneurs with the classification in imports. </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 him, guidelines on vehicle scanning in the customs was in the offing and would be enforced soon. On the occasion, Minister Sharma expressed happiness over the gradual improvement in export business. </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 contribution of export is 10 percent to the total foreign trade,” he said, adding that the country recorded the export business worth Rs 131 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. “But we are not expected to stop here. Our ultimate goal should be for achieving a self-sufficient economy by increasing our contribution to export by 10 percent each year.” </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"">Deputy director general of the department Ananda Kafle said that revenue collection during the first seven months of the current fiscal was Rs 308 billion, a 29 percent rise compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14662', 'image' => '20220313045813_fin min sharma.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:57:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14919', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Paddy Worth Over Rs 12 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 state-owned national news agency of Nepal RSS, a total of 426,357,810 kilogrammes of paddy was imported during this period. </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"">Similarly, Nepal imported various species of paddy seedlings worth Rs 30 million from India during the same period. </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 import of paddy as well as paddy seedling and rice has been increasing since some years, shows the data of the Department of Customs. </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"">Paddy weighing over 420 million kilogrammes were procured from India in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14661', 'image' => '20220313043930_1647080623.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:38:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Lowers PPA Rate of Energy Produced by Solar Plants', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per unit.', '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 15: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reduced the power purchase agreement (PPA) rate for solar power projects by Rs 1.36 per unit.</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"">Earlier, the NEA had fixed Rs 7.30 per unit for power purchase agreement with solar plants. Now, the base rate has been fixed at a maximum of Rs 5.94 per unit.</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"">NEA had already decided to sign PPA with the solar plants through open competition. However, the base rate of PPA was not specified. A task force formed for the same purpose has fixed the PPA rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This is also the maximum base rate. The contractors participating in the open competition have to submit bids at rates lower than the base rate.</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"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai confirmed that the base rate for PPA with solar plants has been fixed at Rs 5.94. He said that the companies participating in the tender bids for PPA should submit bids equal to or lower than the base rate.</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, NEA has set certain criteria for the companies participating in the PPA. </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 solar projects must set up plants in places where we say if they want to participate in PPA,” said Bhattarai.</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 such criteria have been set keeping in view the technical aspects including the transmission line of NEA and the areas where electricity is in demand.</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 PPA rate of solar plants has been reduced in line with the international market rate. "It costs less to build a solar plant. On top of that, it will generate electricity only in the afternoon when NRs 3. Moreover, solar power is cheap in the international market,” said Bhattarai.</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"">Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Acharya, chairman of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), said that they will study the base rate set by NEA and then only come up with an official view.</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"">NEA had decided to sign PPA with solar plants through open competition as per the policy of making electricity tariff universally accessible and in line with international norms.</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"">NEA is now preparing to invite tenders for PPA with solar plants by completing the required process. NEA will have to sign PPA in such a way that the contribution of solar plants to the national grid does not exceed 10 percent of the total capacity. The government has adopted a concept of energy mix under which the share of electricity generated by solar projects should be 10 percent of the total capacity of the national grid.</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 installed capacity of electricity in the national grid is about 2200 MW. Accordingly, NEA will be able to purchase 220 MW of power from the solar projects immediately. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14675', 'image' => '20220315024600_shutterstock_1126547147.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 14:45:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports 24,000 kg of Gold in 5 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years. This is the record of gold imported through legal channels. Gold is also smuggled into Nepal through various illegal channels.</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"">Since the last few years, the price of gold has been on a constant rise although the pattern of import has remained almost constant. This has raised questions about where all the gold is used in the country and for what purpose.</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"">Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association said that 95 percent of the gold imported in Nepal is used by housewives as jewelry.</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 per the records of the Department of Customs, the total value of gold imported from fiscal year 2074/75 to mid-February of the fiscal year 2078/79 amounts to Rs 132.38 billion. Economists say that the increase in transaction of gold should be considered as an increase in purchasing power of Nepali citizens. </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"">On the other hand, economist Jitendra Upadhyaya says that the more amount is spent on the purchase of gold, the more negative impact it will have on the economy of the country. Economists argue that investment in productive sector creates employment opportunities and such activities should be encouraged rather than the trend of decorating oneself with jewelry.</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"">In the last few years, the purchasing power of Nepali citizens has increased due to an increase in the number of people going for foreign employment. But the money earned from foreign employment being spent on luxury items often results in shortage of money when needed in future. Experts suggest investing the money in businesses rather than spending on luxury items. However, the suggestion has neither been adopted by the general public nor the government has succeeded to formulate a plan for the utilization of remittance.</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 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), out of the total remittance entering the country, only 2 percent is utilized for investments. Experts express their concern stating that most of the remittance is returning back with the purchase of luxury items.</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 per the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Rs 961 billion entered the country last year as remittance. This year, Rs 540 billion has already entered the country as remittance within just seven months. In Nepal, housewives consume most of the imported gold for making jewelry. Apart from this, gold is also used for making gold plated art pieces to attract tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Executive Director of NRB, Nar Bahadur Thapa says that although businessmen reap the profits from selling gold, it has a negative impact on the economy of the country. </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"">“Since the government has not brought any policies to invest remittance into the productive sector, the expenditure of money earned from foreign employment is increasing towards the unproductive sector,” said Thapa, adding, “If such expenditures continue to grow, the banks will face scarcity of investible capital. Therefore, the government should pay proper attention to such issues.”</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"">In the seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 3,643 kg of gold worth Rs 252.1 billion has already been imported in Nepal. During last fiscal year, altogether 3,924 kg of gold worth Rs 273.4 billion was imported into the country.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14674', 'image' => '20220315123434_goldee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 12:33:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari for Addressing Root Causes of Foreign Employment ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Receiving the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ issued after the 5th National Meeting of Victims of Trafficking to Combat Human Trafficking, the president said the state should create employment opportunities at home so that there will be no compulsion for the citizens to go for overseas job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kathmandu Declaration was jointly submitted to the president on Monday (March 14) by two civil society organisations named Shakti Samuha and AATWIN Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the president said, “A thorough study on women’s obligation for overseas migration should be conducted to identify the reasons and the state should address the causes of foreign employment for once and all.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president was of the view that women's migration is taking place most probably due to economic, social and educational issues and suggested that the government should unveil employment generating programmes in the districts with high rate of overseas migration. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating the poor implementation of Act and laws relating to foreign employment and trafficking in persons are also a problem, President Bhandari also assured to take initiatives to address the problems existing in the foreign employment sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president stated that the woes and sufferings of women migrant workers are of the entire country not merely of women migrants and pledged to address the issues of returnee women migrants through the ‘President Women Upliftment’ programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day meeting concluded in Kathmandu on Monday by issuing a 29-point declaration. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14673', 'image' => '20220315124315_RS_KTM-3A9526.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jazeera Airways to Operate Regular Flights to Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has filed an application with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in order to conduct regular flights from May 22 coinciding with the Buddha Jayanti Festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Director General of CAAN, Dev Chandra Lal Karna, shared that the airways has filed application in order to operate one flight per day. It will operate direct flights between Kuwait and Bhairahawa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has now been operating regular flights at Tribhuvan International Airport. </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 Nepal Airlines Corporation would conduct test flights at Gautam Buddha Airport from April 14 and the airport would be opened for commercial flights from April 20, Karna added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">All necessary preparations for commercial flights have been completed, he said. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14672', 'image' => '20220315081135_Jazeera-Airways.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:10:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘World Faces Food Crisis due to Russia-Ukraine War’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news agency, several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Those include Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The United States and its European allies have cast Putin's invasion as an imperial-style land grab that has so far been poorly executed because Moscow under-estimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The West has sanctioned Russian businessmen, including European Union sanctions on Melnichenko, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force defiant Putin to change course. Putin has called the war a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists and Nazis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Reuters made public a statement emailed by Melnichenko, 50, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food," said Melnichenko, who founded EuroChem, Russia's largest ammonium nitrate producer, which is based in Zug, Switzerland, and SUEK, Russia's top coal producer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced more than 2 million people, and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">FOOD WAR?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Putin reportedly warned on Thursday that food prices would rise globally due to soaring fertiliser prices if the West created problems for Russia's export of fertilisers - which account for 13 percent of world output.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen containing fertilisers - major crop and soil nutrients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilisers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko said. He said food supply chains already disrupted by COVID-19 were now even more distressed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world’s poorest countries," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's trade and industry ministry told the country's fertiliser producers to temporarily halt exports earlier this month.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14671', 'image' => '20220314083303_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 20:31:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Consumer Groups Urge Government to Halt Export of Cooking Oil', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal had been importing a considerable amount of food items including mustard seeds, soybean and sunflower oil, wheat, corn and other food items from Ukraine. But the orders for all goods have been canceled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer-based organizations have demanded that the government should immediately coordinate with the industrialists and traders to ensure smooth supply of goods by changing the tax rates and to control inflation and price hike. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Public Forum, Uttam Dhungel said that crucial steps should be taken to increase the stock of such items and halt the exports to create an environment where the general consumers can easily buy food and other consumer goods at affordable prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “The prices of edible oil have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the full effects are expected to surface only two months later,” Dhungel said. Dhungel suggested a curb on exports in order to remove the shortage of oil in Nepal due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the central chairman of Consumer Awareness Campaign, Nepal, said that the irresponsibility of the government has encouraged unethical approach of industrialists and businessmen in price hike of goods taking advantage of the current situation. He said that the devaluation of Nepali currency against the dollar and increase in the price of petroleum products have affected all sides but the general consumers have been affected more due to the government's silence in controlling the inflation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Chandra Dhungana, spokesperson of the Biratnagar Customs Office, refined oils worth Rs 12.34 billion prepared from palm, soybean and sunflower have been exported from July to March. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, refined edible oil worth Rs 6.43 billion was exported. Biratnagar Customs Chief Tara Prasad Sapkota said that he has not received any information from any state body about halting the export of oil. He also informed that refined oil is being exported under normal conditions at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the records kept by Morang Merchants’ Association and Morang Industries Association, refined oil worth Rs 12.36 billion has been exported from Jogbani customs point in the current fiscal year. Exports from Nepal have increased since last year due to the increased demand for refined oil in India. According to the concerned industrialists, their target is to extract refined oil worth Rs 20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14670', 'image' => '20220314051708_oil1501009175_7.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 17:16:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14927', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '90 percent of Nepali Migrant Workers opt for Gulf Region', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.</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 Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), inflow of remittance decreased by 4.9 percent to Rs 540.12 billion from July to January. Remittances had increased by 10.9 percent in the corresponding period of the previous 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"">With the decline in remittance inflows, there is still no sign of improvement in the overall economy. Experts have cited declining remittance inflows as the main reason for the economy not moving in a positive direction. Economist Dr Poshraj Pandey says that remittances cannot be a permanent income of any country but unfortunately there is no alternative to remittances for Nepal at the moment. </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 inflow of remittance will not be the same all the time, the government should not delay in emphasizing other plans, including increasing domestic production," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts argue that the number of Nepali nationals going for foreign employment has reached its peak at this time. Out of 500,000 people who enter the labor market every year, barely 50,000 can find employment in the country. Those who do not find employment at home go to different countries, including India, for foreign employment. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, around 500,000 young people used to go for foreign employment every year with new and renewable work permits.</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 Foreign Employment has informed that the number of people going for foreign employment has decreased after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the department, 352,427 youths have gone for foreign employment in the current fiscal year. Among them, the number of people going for work in four Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait is alone 320,533. This is about 90 percent of the total number of people going for foreign employment in 7 months.</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"">During this period, most Nepalis have gone to Saudi Arabia in search of work. A total of 124,035 young people have gone to Saudi Arabia for work. Similarly, 116,153 Nepalis went to Qatar and 70,132 went to the UAE, and 10,213 to Kuwait, according to the department. Experts believe that one of the reasons why the inflow of remittances has not improved in recent times is due to youths choosing Gulf countries as their work destination.</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 Executive Director of the Foreign Employment Board Raghuraj Kafle says it is too late to find employment options in the Gulf countries. He said that the remittance inflow has been affected as Nepalis going to the Gulf countries get low wages but 90 percent go to those countries.</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 the government has opened 110 countries for employment, most of the demand has come from the Gulf countries. "If we can send Nepali workers to rich and developed countries, we will get more remittances than we are getting now," said Shesh Narayan Poudel, director-general of the department.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14669', 'image' => '20220314044317_Remittance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 16:41:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14926', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shares Gain as Oil Slips on Hopes for Ukraine Progress', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported. The news agency further said that bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While Russian missiles hit a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday, both sides gave their most upbeat assessment yet of prospects for talks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Just the chance of peace saw S&P 500 stock futures add 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4 percent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.5 percent and FTSE futures 0.2 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dragged down 1.6 percent by losses in China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chinese blue chips shed 1.7 percent after a jump in coronavirus cases saw the southern city of Shenzen locked down and stoked speculation about more policy easing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bonds elsewhere remained under pressure having taken a beating last week as surging commodity prices looked set to boost inflation further, with yields on 10-year Treasuries rising four basis points to 2.04 percent, Reuters further reported .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The euro was stuck at $1.0905 , and not far from its recent 22-month trough of $1.0804, while the dollar hit a fresh five-year peak on the yen at 117.87 .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Gold lost some of its safe-haven charm on Monday, easing 0.5 percent to $1,975 an ounce and away for last week's peak at $2,069.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, the chance of progress on Ukraine saw oil prices surrender a little of their recent gains, even as talks with producer Iran seemed to be stalled, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Brent was last quoted $2.13 lower at $110.54, while US crude fell $2.46 to $106.84.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14668', 'image' => '20220314022755_61108396_303.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:27:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14925', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '200,000 Tons of Coal stuck at Haldia Port', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.</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"">Nepali importers based in Birgunj have sought help from Nepal’s Consulate in Kolkata to release the coal. Vice President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Madhav Rajpal has written a letter to the consulate in this regard. Rajpal, who is also a coal importer, informed that the Indian Railways have not provided rake at Haldia port for the past 12 days. According to him, no rake has been provided for Nepal due to increasing pressure of coal supply to power plants in India itself.</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"">Consul General in Kolkata Ishwar Raj Poudel said that the consulate has already written letters to the Indian Railways to provide the required number of rakes. He said that they acted as soon as they were notified about the problem.</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"">“About 52 rakes of coal are stuck at the port. Despite repeated requests to the Indian Railways, there is still no response,” said Rajpal. He added that the market is already facing shortage of coal as around 200,000 metric tons of coal is stuck at the port.</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 Nepali importers, about 1.5 million metric tons of coal is imported to Nepal annually from India, Indonesia, the USA, Australia and South Africa. Coal imports have increased along with the growth of clinker-based cement industries in Nepal. Coal is an auxiliary raw material of the clinker industry. Coal is also used in brick kilns. According to the industrialists, two-thirds of the total imports of coal are consumed in the clinker industry.</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"">Consul General Poudel is scheduled to inspect the Haldia port on Tuesday to resolve the issue. “We have already written to the southeastern office of the railways. We are going to conduct an on-site inspection of the situation in Haldia,” Poudel said. Haldia Port is 150 kilometers away from Kolkata port.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14667', 'image' => '20220314021043_18e588c0-ab9d-4e06-aac1-eda206712995.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:09:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14924', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs Decide not to Increase Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made it mandatory for BFIs to issue a public notice regarding the hike of interest rate a day before the beginning of a new month. As the banks have decided not to increase the interest rate, the existing rates will be applicable for the new month as per the Nepali calendar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate meetings of Nepal Bankers’ Association, the umbrella body of the CEOs of commercial banks of Nepal, Development Bankers’ Association and Nepal Finance Companies’ Association decided not to increase the interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We agreed not to increase interest rates as it is not the solution to the liquidity crisis. Increasing the interest rate doesn’t necessarily increase deposits and resolve the liquidity crisis,” said Pradhuman Pokharel, chairman of the Development Bankers’ Association.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the existing rules set by the NRB, BFIs had increased the interest rate for the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March) by 10 percent. During the review month, banks had fixed the maximum interest rate on personal fixed deposits at 11.03 percent. Similarly, development banks had fixed the maximum interest rate at 12.65 percent while the finance companies had set the interest rate at a maximum of 11.71 percent. The same rates will be applicable in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">BFIs were involved in an unhealthy competition of increasing interest rates due to the lack of investible capital in the banking system in the current fiscal year. The interest rates of commercial banks had almost reached 12 percent some four months ago. The central bank then intervened and ordered the banks to lower the interest rates to a single digit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a circular in the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), the central bank had allowed banks to increase or decrease the interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent every month. BFIs didn’t increase the interest rates for the next two months after the NRB issued such circular but they decided to increase the interest rate by 10 percent in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the BFIs had increased the interest rates with permission from Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma was unhappy about such decision. Similarly, businessmen and entrepreneurs of the country had also issued separate statements denouncing the hike in interest rates. Despite increasing the interest rate, BFIs have not witnessed any significant improvement in deposit collection.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14666', 'image' => '20220314115308_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 11:52:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14923', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Demand Hike in Public Transport Fare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Organising a press conference on Sunday, the federation urged the government to adjust the fare at the earliest while expressing concern over the government's apathy despite skyrocketing price of fuel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's representatives argued that they will be forced to increase the fare themselves if the government does not review the fare.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's Chairman Yogendra Nath Karmacharya said they would adjust the fare on the basis of scientific fare procedure if the existing rate is not reviewed by March 21. He said the transportation fare has not been adjusted even once although the price of the petroleum products has been hiked seven times since July 2021. FNNTE informed that the fare of public transport has not been revised since October 13, 2021. Back then, the price of diesel was Rs 104 per liter, but now the price has jumped to Rs 133 per liter, the transport entrepreneurs said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The transport entrepreneurs said that scientific fare adjustment is needed at the moment when the price of every commodity is increasing in the market. The federation expressed displeasure stating that the government turned a deaf ear to their pleas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, a delegation of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, Nepal (FTTEN) had separately met the Director General of Department of Transport Management, Namaraj Ghimire seeking the government initiatives to resolve problems existing in the transportation sector. During the meeting, the delegation submitted a memorandum to Director General Ghimire demanding the adjustment of transport fare to keep up with the increased price of petroleum products </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14665', 'image' => '20220314110643_20200722015124_20171109120628_20171108035347_busbus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 08:22:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14922', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Paddy Farmers Demand Compensation for Faulty Seeds', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest. Kasthamandap Trade Point had sold paddy seed named DY-28 which was developed by Chinese company and had claimed that the seed would yield plenty of harvest. However, the farmers complained that the plants didn’t develop rice panicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All the investment made by the farmers went down the drain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the government has neither taken action against the company nor provided any compensation to the farmers. The farmers have accused that the government of protecting the company. They have also demanded compensation from the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company had made such faulty seeds available to more than 2,200 farmers nine months ago just ahead of the planting season. None of the farmers who planted the DY-28 seeds were able to harvest any grain. The seeds provided by the company grow at an altitude of 700 meters above the sea level while the altitude of Kathmandu is 1,400 meters above the sea level.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Treasurer of the All Nepal Farmers Federation Krishna Prasad Adhikari said that the altitude is the reason why the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. He accused that the company deceived them in buying inappropriate seeds. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Seed Quality Control Centre, around 7,745 ropanis of land where the seeds were planted didn’t produce any grains. According to Adhikari, the farmers had staged protest at Maitighar about five months ago after the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. Following the protest, the company had reached an understanding with the Seed Quality Control Centre to provide compensation of Rs 2,500 per ropani to the farmers. However, the decision has not been implemented yet.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14664', 'image' => '20220313090149_padd.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 21:01:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14921', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepali Contractors Lack Expertise and Experience to bag Contracts Under MCC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The technology, qualifications and experience required for the construction of the transmission line, substation and road under the MCC project are highly advanced, unlike those used by Nepali construction companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inaugurating the 23rd Annual General Assembly and 12th Convention of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) in Kathmandu on Friday, PM Deuba said that Nepali companies should be successful in getting MCC contracts. “As per the provisions of MCC, international bids are invited for the contract,” he said adding, “China and India are the likely contenders for the bids. But, a Nepali construction companies should also be able to come take benefit.” The US government will be spending around USD 500 million (around Rs 55 billion) and the government of Nepal will contribute USD 130 million (around Rs 15 billion) under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With large investment projects operating in Nepal, it is even more difficult for a Nepali construction company to win a contract. Khadga Bahadur Bista, executive director of Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA) Nepal, informed that the Nepalese companies face an uphill battle to participate in road construction under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Stating that international tender bids will be called within the next six months for the construction of substation, transmission line and road, Bista said that Nepali companies will be able to participate in this tender. “However, the Nepali company must be able to meet the criteria for the contract (package),” said Bista adding, “Besides, due to lack of experience in technology and technical expertise in the construction of roads, transmission lines and substations under the MCC project, the chances of Nepali construction entrepreneurs getting a contract is quite slim.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bista added that it is even more difficult for Nepali construction companies to get involved in road construction but said that the construction of transmission lines and substations can be done through joint venture (JV) companies and subcontractors. Although many are not in favor of splitting the package for the construction of the project, Bista said that discussions are underway to make several packages for the transmission line. He argued that discussions are being held to make some packages for the transmission lines as there could be problems if only one company is selected for the construction of the 315 km transmission line. Separate contracts will be called for substation and transmission line, said Bista.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, for the first time in Nepal, new technology is being used in the construction of a 77 km road in the East-West Highway with this grant. Due to this reason, it is expected that it will be more difficult for Nepali construction companies to build the road. An infrastructure expert said, “Even with the limited financial capacity, technology and experience of the domestic construction companies, it is almost impossible for them to participate in the MCC project on their own, although they can participate through JV.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">New technologies such as 'Full Depth Reclamation' and 'Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)' will be used in the road to be constructed under this project. ‘Full depth reclamation’ is the removal of sand and ballast from the road to be constructed. The old material is reused by adding new cement to it. Similarly, in ‘Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)’ the road surface is leveled. As this technology is new in Nepal, it seems that the qualification and experience of the domestic construction companies is not enough.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chairman of Sharma & Company Ramesh Sharma, on the other hand, said that the size of the contract will depend on the size of the package after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. He says that the Nepali construction companies can participate in contracts worth up to Rs 8 billion alone. “If a contract worth Rs 3/4 billion is proposed, it is possible for a Nepali company to get a contract from MCC,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Construction companies of Nepal are now eligible to bid for contracts up to Rs 3 billion after the government increased the capacity through amendment of the procurement regulations. This has also boosted the morale of the domestic companies of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As there is a provision that Nepali companies can bag a contract up to Rs 10 billion through JV, Nepali companies will be able to land the contract of MCC even through JV. Chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya emphasized on the need to give opportunity to Nepali construction companies. Arguing that the Nepali companies are financially capable and the consultants are also groomed in Nepal, he said that the opportunity should be given to the domestic companies as well.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14663', 'image' => '20220313053813_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 17:37:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14920', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cash Margin on Imports to Address Challenges in Economy: Minister Sharma ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. </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"">Addressing a seminar organised by the Department of Customs on Sunday, Minister Sharma directed the employees at the department to work hard to achieve the target although the revenue collection was affected due to the tightening of imports </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"">"At present, the country's economy is in a challenging situation. To address the issue, we have imposed margin on some of the imported goods. It will not last forever. Once the challenges are over, the existing situation will ease," said Minister Sharma. </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 expressed his confidence that the seminar would be effective to help resolve the issues relating to the Department of Customs as well as to deal with the new challenges emerged due to the new policy. </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"">Similarly, the Minister directed the customs officials to seek solutions through the seminar to address the discontentment of the entrepreneurs with the classification in imports. </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 him, guidelines on vehicle scanning in the customs was in the offing and would be enforced soon. On the occasion, Minister Sharma expressed happiness over the gradual improvement in export business. </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 contribution of export is 10 percent to the total foreign trade,” he said, adding that the country recorded the export business worth Rs 131 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. “But we are not expected to stop here. Our ultimate goal should be for achieving a self-sufficient economy by increasing our contribution to export by 10 percent each year.” </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"">Deputy director general of the department Ananda Kafle said that revenue collection during the first seven months of the current fiscal was Rs 308 billion, a 29 percent rise compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14662', 'image' => '20220313045813_fin min sharma.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:57:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14919', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Paddy Worth Over Rs 12 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 state-owned national news agency of Nepal RSS, a total of 426,357,810 kilogrammes of paddy was imported during this period. </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"">Similarly, Nepal imported various species of paddy seedlings worth Rs 30 million from India during the same period. </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 import of paddy as well as paddy seedling and rice has been increasing since some years, shows the data of the Department of Customs. </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"">Paddy weighing over 420 million kilogrammes were procured from India in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14661', 'image' => '20220313043930_1647080623.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:38:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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Now, the base rate has been fixed at a maximum of Rs 5.94 per unit.</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"">NEA had already decided to sign PPA with the solar plants through open competition. However, the base rate of PPA was not specified. A task force formed for the same purpose has fixed the PPA rate.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This is also the maximum base rate. The contractors participating in the open competition have to submit bids at rates lower than the base rate.</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"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai confirmed that the base rate for PPA with solar plants has been fixed at Rs 5.94. He said that the companies participating in the tender bids for PPA should submit bids equal to or lower than the base rate.</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, NEA has set certain criteria for the companies participating in the PPA. </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 solar projects must set up plants in places where we say if they want to participate in PPA,” said Bhattarai.</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 such criteria have been set keeping in view the technical aspects including the transmission line of NEA and the areas where electricity is in demand.</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 PPA rate of solar plants has been reduced in line with the international market rate. "It costs less to build a solar plant. On top of that, it will generate electricity only in the afternoon when NRs 3. Moreover, solar power is cheap in the international market,” said Bhattarai.</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"">Meanwhile, Krishna Prasad Acharya, chairman of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), said that they will study the base rate set by NEA and then only come up with an official view.</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"">NEA had decided to sign PPA with solar plants through open competition as per the policy of making electricity tariff universally accessible and in line with international norms.</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"">NEA is now preparing to invite tenders for PPA with solar plants by completing the required process. NEA will have to sign PPA in such a way that the contribution of solar plants to the national grid does not exceed 10 percent of the total capacity. The government has adopted a concept of energy mix under which the share of electricity generated by solar projects should be 10 percent of the total capacity of the national grid.</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 installed capacity of electricity in the national grid is about 2200 MW. Accordingly, NEA will be able to purchase 220 MW of power from the solar projects immediately. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14675', 'image' => '20220315024600_shutterstock_1126547147.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 14:45:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports 24,000 kg of Gold in 5 Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 15: Around 24,693 kilograms of gold have been imported into Nepal in the last five years. This is the record of gold imported through legal channels. Gold is also smuggled into Nepal through various illegal channels.</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"">Since the last few years, the price of gold has been on a constant rise although the pattern of import has remained almost constant. This has raised questions about where all the gold is used in the country and for what purpose.</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"">Manik Ratna Shakya, president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association said that 95 percent of the gold imported in Nepal is used by housewives as jewelry.</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 per the records of the Department of Customs, the total value of gold imported from fiscal year 2074/75 to mid-February of the fiscal year 2078/79 amounts to Rs 132.38 billion. Economists say that the increase in transaction of gold should be considered as an increase in purchasing power of Nepali citizens. </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"">On the other hand, economist Jitendra Upadhyaya says that the more amount is spent on the purchase of gold, the more negative impact it will have on the economy of the country. Economists argue that investment in productive sector creates employment opportunities and such activities should be encouraged rather than the trend of decorating oneself with jewelry.</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"">In the last few years, the purchasing power of Nepali citizens has increased due to an increase in the number of people going for foreign employment. But the money earned from foreign employment being spent on luxury items often results in shortage of money when needed in future. Experts suggest investing the money in businesses rather than spending on luxury items. However, the suggestion has neither been adopted by the general public nor the government has succeeded to formulate a plan for the utilization of remittance.</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 Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), out of the total remittance entering the country, only 2 percent is utilized for investments. Experts express their concern stating that most of the remittance is returning back with the purchase of luxury items.</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 per the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Rs 961 billion entered the country last year as remittance. This year, Rs 540 billion has already entered the country as remittance within just seven months. In Nepal, housewives consume most of the imported gold for making jewelry. Apart from this, gold is also used for making gold plated art pieces to attract tourists. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Executive Director of NRB, Nar Bahadur Thapa says that although businessmen reap the profits from selling gold, it has a negative impact on the economy of the country. </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"">“Since the government has not brought any policies to invest remittance into the productive sector, the expenditure of money earned from foreign employment is increasing towards the unproductive sector,” said Thapa, adding, “If such expenditures continue to grow, the banks will face scarcity of investible capital. Therefore, the government should pay proper attention to such issues.”</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"">In the seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 3,643 kg of gold worth Rs 252.1 billion has already been imported in Nepal. During last fiscal year, altogether 3,924 kg of gold worth Rs 273.4 billion was imported into the country.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14674', 'image' => '20220315123434_goldee.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 12:33:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari for Addressing Root Causes of Foreign Employment ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said the root causes of foreign employment should be addressed for its sustainable solution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Receiving the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ issued after the 5th National Meeting of Victims of Trafficking to Combat Human Trafficking, the president said the state should create employment opportunities at home so that there will be no compulsion for the citizens to go for overseas job. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Kathmandu Declaration was jointly submitted to the president on Monday (March 14) by two civil society organisations named Shakti Samuha and AATWIN Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On the occasion, the president said, “A thorough study on women’s obligation for overseas migration should be conducted to identify the reasons and the state should address the causes of foreign employment for once and all.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president was of the view that women's migration is taking place most probably due to economic, social and educational issues and suggested that the government should unveil employment generating programmes in the districts with high rate of overseas migration. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Stating the poor implementation of Act and laws relating to foreign employment and trafficking in persons are also a problem, President Bhandari also assured to take initiatives to address the problems existing in the foreign employment sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The president stated that the woes and sufferings of women migrant workers are of the entire country not merely of women migrants and pledged to address the issues of returnee women migrants through the ‘President Women Upliftment’ programme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The two-day meeting concluded in Kathmandu on Monday by issuing a 29-point declaration. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14673', 'image' => '20220315124315_RS_KTM-3A9526.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jazeera Airways to Operate Regular Flights to Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 15: Jazeera Airways of Kuwait is all set to make first commercial flight at Gautam Buddha International Airport. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has filed an application with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in order to conduct regular flights from May 22 coinciding with the Buddha Jayanti Festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Deputy Director General of CAAN, Dev Chandra Lal Karna, shared that the airways has filed application in order to operate one flight per day. It will operate direct flights between Kuwait and Bhairahawa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airways has now been operating regular flights at Tribhuvan International Airport. </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 Nepal Airlines Corporation would conduct test flights at Gautam Buddha Airport from April 14 and the airport would be opened for commercial flights from April 20, Karna added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">All necessary preparations for commercial flights have been completed, he said. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-15', 'modified' => '2022-03-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14672', 'image' => '20220315081135_Jazeera-Airways.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-15 08:10:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘World Faces Food Crisis due to Russia-Ukraine War’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: A global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertiliser prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients, Reuters quoted Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko as saying on Monday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news agency, several of Russia's richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Those include Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The United States and its European allies have cast Putin's invasion as an imperial-style land grab that has so far been poorly executed because Moscow under-estimated Ukrainian resistance and Western resolve to punish Russia, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The West has sanctioned Russian businessmen, including European Union sanctions on Melnichenko, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy in an attempt to force defiant Putin to change course. Putin has called the war a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of dangerous nationalists and Nazis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Reuters made public a statement emailed by Melnichenko, 50, who is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food," said Melnichenko, who founded EuroChem, Russia's largest ammonium nitrate producer, which is based in Zug, Switzerland, and SUEK, Russia's top coal producer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced more than 2 million people, and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">FOOD WAR?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Putin reportedly warned on Thursday that food prices would rise globally due to soaring fertiliser prices if the West created problems for Russia's export of fertilisers - which account for 13 percent of world output.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Reuters, Russia is a major producer of potash, phosphate and nitrogen containing fertilisers - major crop and soil nutrients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The war "has already led to soaring prices in fertilisers which are no longer affordable to farmers," Melnichenko said. He said food supply chains already disrupted by COVID-19 were now even more distressed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Now it will lead to even higher food inflation in Europe and likely food shortages in the world’s poorest countries," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Russia's trade and industry ministry told the country's fertiliser producers to temporarily halt exports earlier this month.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14671', 'image' => '20220314083303_aaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 20:31:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Consumer Groups Urge Government to Halt Export of Cooking Oil', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Consumer-based organisations have urged the government to limit exports of processed food items from the country after facing problems in importing raw materials required for the food industry in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal had been importing a considerable amount of food items including mustard seeds, soybean and sunflower oil, wheat, corn and other food items from Ukraine. But the orders for all goods have been canceled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer-based organizations have demanded that the government should immediately coordinate with the industrialists and traders to ensure smooth supply of goods by changing the tax rates and to control inflation and price hike. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Public Forum, Uttam Dhungel said that crucial steps should be taken to increase the stock of such items and halt the exports to create an environment where the general consumers can easily buy food and other consumer goods at affordable prices.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “The prices of edible oil have skyrocketed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the full effects are expected to surface only two months later,” Dhungel said. Dhungel suggested a curb on exports in order to remove the shortage of oil in Nepal due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Bhandari, the central chairman of Consumer Awareness Campaign, Nepal, said that the irresponsibility of the government has encouraged unethical approach of industrialists and businessmen in price hike of goods taking advantage of the current situation. He said that the devaluation of Nepali currency against the dollar and increase in the price of petroleum products have affected all sides but the general consumers have been affected more due to the government's silence in controlling the inflation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Chandra Dhungana, spokesperson of the Biratnagar Customs Office, refined oils worth Rs 12.34 billion prepared from palm, soybean and sunflower have been exported from July to March. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, refined edible oil worth Rs 6.43 billion was exported. Biratnagar Customs Chief Tara Prasad Sapkota said that he has not received any information from any state body about halting the export of oil. He also informed that refined oil is being exported under normal conditions at present.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the records kept by Morang Merchants’ Association and Morang Industries Association, refined oil worth Rs 12.36 billion has been exported from Jogbani customs point in the current fiscal year. Exports from Nepal have increased since last year due to the increased demand for refined oil in India. According to the concerned industrialists, their target is to extract refined oil worth Rs 20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14670', 'image' => '20220314051708_oil1501009175_7.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 17:16:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14927', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '90 percent of Nepali Migrant Workers opt for Gulf Region', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: The remittance inflow, which has been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), has not improved even in the seventh month.</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 Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), inflow of remittance decreased by 4.9 percent to Rs 540.12 billion from July to January. Remittances had increased by 10.9 percent in the corresponding period of the previous 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"">With the decline in remittance inflows, there is still no sign of improvement in the overall economy. Experts have cited declining remittance inflows as the main reason for the economy not moving in a positive direction. Economist Dr Poshraj Pandey says that remittances cannot be a permanent income of any country but unfortunately there is no alternative to remittances for Nepal at the moment. </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 inflow of remittance will not be the same all the time, the government should not delay in emphasizing other plans, including increasing domestic production," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some experts argue that the number of Nepali nationals going for foreign employment has reached its peak at this time. Out of 500,000 people who enter the labor market every year, barely 50,000 can find employment in the country. Those who do not find employment at home go to different countries, including India, for foreign employment. Before the outbreak of Covid-19, around 500,000 young people used to go for foreign employment every year with new and renewable work permits.</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 Foreign Employment has informed that the number of people going for foreign employment has decreased after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the department, 352,427 youths have gone for foreign employment in the current fiscal year. Among them, the number of people going for work in four Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait is alone 320,533. This is about 90 percent of the total number of people going for foreign employment in 7 months.</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"">During this period, most Nepalis have gone to Saudi Arabia in search of work. A total of 124,035 young people have gone to Saudi Arabia for work. Similarly, 116,153 Nepalis went to Qatar and 70,132 went to the UAE, and 10,213 to Kuwait, according to the department. Experts believe that one of the reasons why the inflow of remittances has not improved in recent times is due to youths choosing Gulf countries as their work destination.</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 Executive Director of the Foreign Employment Board Raghuraj Kafle says it is too late to find employment options in the Gulf countries. He said that the remittance inflow has been affected as Nepalis going to the Gulf countries get low wages but 90 percent go to those countries.</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 the government has opened 110 countries for employment, most of the demand has come from the Gulf countries. "If we can send Nepali workers to rich and developed countries, we will get more remittances than we are getting now," said Shesh Narayan Poudel, director-general of the department.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14669', 'image' => '20220314044317_Remittance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 16:41:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14926', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shares Gain as Oil Slips on Hopes for Ukraine Progress', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Most share markets firmed on Monday while oil slid on hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued to rage, Reuters reported. The news agency further said that bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While Russian missiles hit a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday, both sides gave their most upbeat assessment yet of prospects for talks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Just the chance of peace saw S&P 500 stock futures add 0.5 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4 percent. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.5 percent and FTSE futures 0.2 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dragged down 1.6 percent by losses in China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chinese blue chips shed 1.7 percent after a jump in coronavirus cases saw the southern city of Shenzen locked down and stoked speculation about more policy easing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bonds elsewhere remained under pressure having taken a beating last week as surging commodity prices looked set to boost inflation further, with yields on 10-year Treasuries rising four basis points to 2.04 percent, Reuters further reported .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The euro was stuck at $1.0905 , and not far from its recent 22-month trough of $1.0804, while the dollar hit a fresh five-year peak on the yen at 117.87 .</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Gold lost some of its safe-haven charm on Monday, easing 0.5 percent to $1,975 an ounce and away for last week's peak at $2,069.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, the chance of progress on Ukraine saw oil prices surrender a little of their recent gains, even as talks with producer Iran seemed to be stalled, Reuters further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Brent was last quoted $2.13 lower at $110.54, while US crude fell $2.46 to $106.84.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14668', 'image' => '20220314022755_61108396_303.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:27:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14925', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '200,000 Tons of Coal stuck at Haldia Port', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 14: Around 200,000 metric tons of coal have been stuck at the Haldia Port of India after the Indian Railways refused to provide rail rakes to transport the Nepal-bound goods.</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"">Nepali importers based in Birgunj have sought help from Nepal’s Consulate in Kolkata to release the coal. Vice President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Madhav Rajpal has written a letter to the consulate in this regard. Rajpal, who is also a coal importer, informed that the Indian Railways have not provided rake at Haldia port for the past 12 days. According to him, no rake has been provided for Nepal due to increasing pressure of coal supply to power plants in India itself.</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"">Consul General in Kolkata Ishwar Raj Poudel said that the consulate has already written letters to the Indian Railways to provide the required number of rakes. He said that they acted as soon as they were notified about the problem.</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"">“About 52 rakes of coal are stuck at the port. Despite repeated requests to the Indian Railways, there is still no response,” said Rajpal. He added that the market is already facing shortage of coal as around 200,000 metric tons of coal is stuck at the port.</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 Nepali importers, about 1.5 million metric tons of coal is imported to Nepal annually from India, Indonesia, the USA, Australia and South Africa. Coal imports have increased along with the growth of clinker-based cement industries in Nepal. Coal is an auxiliary raw material of the clinker industry. Coal is also used in brick kilns. According to the industrialists, two-thirds of the total imports of coal are consumed in the clinker industry.</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"">Consul General Poudel is scheduled to inspect the Haldia port on Tuesday to resolve the issue. “We have already written to the southeastern office of the railways. We are going to conduct an on-site inspection of the situation in Haldia,” Poudel said. Haldia Port is 150 kilometers away from Kolkata port.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14667', 'image' => '20220314021043_18e588c0-ab9d-4e06-aac1-eda206712995.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 14:09:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14924', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'BFIs Decide not to Increase Interest Rates', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have decided not to increase interest on deposits in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) after concluding that it is not the solution to the current liquidity crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made it mandatory for BFIs to issue a public notice regarding the hike of interest rate a day before the beginning of a new month. As the banks have decided not to increase the interest rate, the existing rates will be applicable for the new month as per the Nepali calendar. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Separate meetings of Nepal Bankers’ Association, the umbrella body of the CEOs of commercial banks of Nepal, Development Bankers’ Association and Nepal Finance Companies’ Association decided not to increase the interest rates.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We agreed not to increase interest rates as it is not the solution to the liquidity crisis. Increasing the interest rate doesn’t necessarily increase deposits and resolve the liquidity crisis,” said Pradhuman Pokharel, chairman of the Development Bankers’ Association.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the existing rules set by the NRB, BFIs had increased the interest rate for the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March) by 10 percent. During the review month, banks had fixed the maximum interest rate on personal fixed deposits at 11.03 percent. Similarly, development banks had fixed the maximum interest rate at 12.65 percent while the finance companies had set the interest rate at a maximum of 11.71 percent. The same rates will be applicable in the month of Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">BFIs were involved in an unhealthy competition of increasing interest rates due to the lack of investible capital in the banking system in the current fiscal year. The interest rates of commercial banks had almost reached 12 percent some four months ago. The central bank then intervened and ordered the banks to lower the interest rates to a single digit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Issuing a circular in the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November), the central bank had allowed banks to increase or decrease the interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent every month. BFIs didn’t increase the interest rates for the next two months after the NRB issued such circular but they decided to increase the interest rate by 10 percent in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the BFIs had increased the interest rates with permission from Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma was unhappy about such decision. Similarly, businessmen and entrepreneurs of the country had also issued separate statements denouncing the hike in interest rates. Despite increasing the interest rate, BFIs have not witnessed any significant improvement in deposit collection.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14666', 'image' => '20220314115308_Banks - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 11:52:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14923', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Demand Hike in Public Transport Fare ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 14: The Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) has asked the government to adjust the public transportation fare in the wake of the price hike of petroleum products. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Organising a press conference on Sunday, the federation urged the government to adjust the fare at the earliest while expressing concern over the government's apathy despite skyrocketing price of fuel. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's representatives argued that they will be forced to increase the fare themselves if the government does not review the fare.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The federation's Chairman Yogendra Nath Karmacharya said they would adjust the fare on the basis of scientific fare procedure if the existing rate is not reviewed by March 21. He said the transportation fare has not been adjusted even once although the price of the petroleum products has been hiked seven times since July 2021. FNNTE informed that the fare of public transport has not been revised since October 13, 2021. Back then, the price of diesel was Rs 104 per liter, but now the price has jumped to Rs 133 per liter, the transport entrepreneurs said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The transport entrepreneurs said that scientific fare adjustment is needed at the moment when the price of every commodity is increasing in the market. The federation expressed displeasure stating that the government turned a deaf ear to their pleas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, a delegation of the Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, Nepal (FTTEN) had separately met the Director General of Department of Transport Management, Namaraj Ghimire seeking the government initiatives to resolve problems existing in the transportation sector. During the meeting, the delegation submitted a memorandum to Director General Ghimire demanding the adjustment of transport fare to keep up with the increased price of petroleum products </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-14', 'modified' => '2022-03-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14665', 'image' => '20220314110643_20200722015124_20171109120628_20171108035347_busbus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-14 08:22:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14922', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Paddy Farmers Demand Compensation for Faulty Seeds', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Farmers of Kathmandu valley have been cheated by a company which provided them “unsuitable” paddy seeds promising them of good harvest. Kasthamandap Trade Point had sold paddy seed named DY-28 which was developed by Chinese company and had claimed that the seed would yield plenty of harvest. However, the farmers complained that the plants didn’t develop rice panicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All the investment made by the farmers went down the drain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the government has neither taken action against the company nor provided any compensation to the farmers. The farmers have accused that the government of protecting the company. They have also demanded compensation from the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company had made such faulty seeds available to more than 2,200 farmers nine months ago just ahead of the planting season. None of the farmers who planted the DY-28 seeds were able to harvest any grain. The seeds provided by the company grow at an altitude of 700 meters above the sea level while the altitude of Kathmandu is 1,400 meters above the sea level.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Treasurer of the All Nepal Farmers Federation Krishna Prasad Adhikari said that the altitude is the reason why the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. He accused that the company deceived them in buying inappropriate seeds. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Seed Quality Control Centre, around 7,745 ropanis of land where the seeds were planted didn’t produce any grains. According to Adhikari, the farmers had staged protest at Maitighar about five months ago after the plants didn’t develop rice panicles. Following the protest, the company had reached an understanding with the Seed Quality Control Centre to provide compensation of Rs 2,500 per ropani to the farmers. However, the decision has not been implemented yet.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14664', 'image' => '20220313090149_padd.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 21:01:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14921', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepali Contractors Lack Expertise and Experience to bag Contracts Under MCC', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 13: Although Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba called upon the Nepali construction companies to take maximum benefit from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ratified by the parliament, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to apply for the contract. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The technology, qualifications and experience required for the construction of the transmission line, substation and road under the MCC project are highly advanced, unlike those used by Nepali construction companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Inaugurating the 23rd Annual General Assembly and 12th Convention of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN) in Kathmandu on Friday, PM Deuba said that Nepali companies should be successful in getting MCC contracts. “As per the provisions of MCC, international bids are invited for the contract,” he said adding, “China and India are the likely contenders for the bids. But, a Nepali construction companies should also be able to come take benefit.” The US government will be spending around USD 500 million (around Rs 55 billion) and the government of Nepal will contribute USD 130 million (around Rs 15 billion) under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">With large investment projects operating in Nepal, it is even more difficult for a Nepali construction company to win a contract. Khadga Bahadur Bista, executive director of Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA) Nepal, informed that the Nepalese companies face an uphill battle to participate in road construction under this project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Stating that international tender bids will be called within the next six months for the construction of substation, transmission line and road, Bista said that Nepali companies will be able to participate in this tender. “However, the Nepali company must be able to meet the criteria for the contract (package),” said Bista adding, “Besides, due to lack of experience in technology and technical expertise in the construction of roads, transmission lines and substations under the MCC project, the chances of Nepali construction entrepreneurs getting a contract is quite slim.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bista added that it is even more difficult for Nepali construction companies to get involved in road construction but said that the construction of transmission lines and substations can be done through joint venture (JV) companies and subcontractors. Although many are not in favor of splitting the package for the construction of the project, Bista said that discussions are underway to make several packages for the transmission line. He argued that discussions are being held to make some packages for the transmission lines as there could be problems if only one company is selected for the construction of the 315 km transmission line. Separate contracts will be called for substation and transmission line, said Bista.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, for the first time in Nepal, new technology is being used in the construction of a 77 km road in the East-West Highway with this grant. Due to this reason, it is expected that it will be more difficult for Nepali construction companies to build the road. An infrastructure expert said, “Even with the limited financial capacity, technology and experience of the domestic construction companies, it is almost impossible for them to participate in the MCC project on their own, although they can participate through JV.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">New technologies such as 'Full Depth Reclamation' and 'Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)' will be used in the road to be constructed under this project. ‘Full depth reclamation’ is the removal of sand and ballast from the road to be constructed. The old material is reused by adding new cement to it. Similarly, in ‘Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement (SuperPave)’ the road surface is leveled. As this technology is new in Nepal, it seems that the qualification and experience of the domestic construction companies is not enough.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Chairman of Sharma & Company Ramesh Sharma, on the other hand, said that the size of the contract will depend on the size of the package after the detailed project report (DPR) is prepared. He says that the Nepali construction companies can participate in contracts worth up to Rs 8 billion alone. “If a contract worth Rs 3/4 billion is proposed, it is possible for a Nepali company to get a contract from MCC,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Construction companies of Nepal are now eligible to bid for contracts up to Rs 3 billion after the government increased the capacity through amendment of the procurement regulations. This has also boosted the morale of the domestic companies of Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As there is a provision that Nepali companies can bag a contract up to Rs 10 billion through JV, Nepali companies will be able to land the contract of MCC even through JV. Chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya emphasized on the need to give opportunity to Nepali construction companies. Arguing that the Nepali companies are financially capable and the consultants are also groomed in Nepal, he said that the opportunity should be given to the domestic companies as well.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14663', 'image' => '20220313053813_MCC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 17:37:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14920', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Cash Margin on Imports to Address Challenges in Economy: Minister Sharma ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 13: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma argues that the government imposed cash margin on imports to address the challenges seen in the country’s economy. </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"">Addressing a seminar organised by the Department of Customs on Sunday, Minister Sharma directed the employees at the department to work hard to achieve the target although the revenue collection was affected due to the tightening of imports </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"">"At present, the country's economy is in a challenging situation. To address the issue, we have imposed margin on some of the imported goods. It will not last forever. Once the challenges are over, the existing situation will ease," said Minister Sharma. </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 expressed his confidence that the seminar would be effective to help resolve the issues relating to the Department of Customs as well as to deal with the new challenges emerged due to the new policy. </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"">Similarly, the Minister directed the customs officials to seek solutions through the seminar to address the discontentment of the entrepreneurs with the classification in imports. </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 him, guidelines on vehicle scanning in the customs was in the offing and would be enforced soon. On the occasion, Minister Sharma expressed happiness over the gradual improvement in export business. </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 contribution of export is 10 percent to the total foreign trade,” he said, adding that the country recorded the export business worth Rs 131 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. “But we are not expected to stop here. Our ultimate goal should be for achieving a self-sufficient economy by increasing our contribution to export by 10 percent each year.” </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"">Deputy director general of the department Ananda Kafle said that revenue collection during the first seven months of the current fiscal was Rs 308 billion, a 29 percent rise compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14662', 'image' => '20220313045813_fin min sharma.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:57:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14919', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Imports Paddy Worth Over Rs 12 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 13: Nepal imported paddy worth more than Rs 12 billion 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 state-owned national news agency of Nepal RSS, a total of 426,357,810 kilogrammes of paddy was imported during this period. </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"">Similarly, Nepal imported various species of paddy seedlings worth Rs 30 million from India during the same period. </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 import of paddy as well as paddy seedling and rice has been increasing since some years, shows the data of the Department of Customs. </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"">Paddy weighing over 420 million kilogrammes were procured from India in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, according to the Department of Customs. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-13', 'modified' => '2022-03-13', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14661', 'image' => '20220313043930_1647080623.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-13 16:38:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
