December 28: The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and…
December 28: The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and…
December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from…
December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of…
December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations.…
December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is…
December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage.…
December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year.…
December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving.…
December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity.…
December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly…
December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners.…
December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project.…
December 26: The eighth general convention and 18th annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of…
December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day.…
December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 28: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Sabina Shakya informed that the westerly low-pressure system will become weak from Thursday leading to improvement in the weather. Currently, the weather in most of the places across the country is generally cloudy. The mountainous region and hill areas will remain fully cloudy, said meteorologist Shakya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Most parts of the country is expected to be fully cloudy on Tuesday (December 28) while light to moderate rainfall is expected in many places on the same day. The mountainous region will experience light to moderate snowfall, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update of the department stated that the minimum temperature in Kathmandu Valley was 5.4 degree Celsius and the maximum 17.4 degree Celsius on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the lowest temperature of -1.4 degree Celsius was recorded in Jumla and the maximum of 28 degree Celsius was recorded in Bhairahawa, RSS added. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14296', 'image' => '20211228015243_20210203122659_20181230033201_2222.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 13:51:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14550', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 51K People Visit Chitwan National Park in Current FY', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP's information and assistant conservation officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said 51,304 people visited the national park during this period. According to him, the highest number of visitors was recorded in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November). Altogether 21,506 people visited the national park in mid-October to mid-November, followed by 19,580 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 5,835 people visited CNP in the month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), 2,977 in the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and 1,906 in the month of Shrawn (mid-July to mid-August). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP has collected revenue of Rs 12.99 million as entry fee from the visitors so far, Tiwari said. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14295', 'image' => '20211228120847_20210729013117_20150914111210_chitwan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 12:07:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14549', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jade Consult bags Consultancy Contract for Hydro Project in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India.', '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"">December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India. </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 consultancy firm has been bagged the contract for the external monitoring (environmental and social) of Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project (120 MW) in Assam, India along with other two international firms as a joint venture. </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 power plant is being constructed by Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited under the ADB-funded Assam Power Sector Investment Program. The project will use the hydropower potential of the Kopili River, a south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14294', 'image' => '20211228115705_194773117_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 11:56:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14548', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Adding New Aircraft to their Fleet', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Air, and Guna Airlines are preparing to add new aircraft and operate flights to new destinations.</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"">Domestic flights were shut down for several months due to the impact of Covid-19 causing heavy losses. According to a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, domestic airlines have lost Rs 25 billion in revenue. However, as the coronavirus infection is declining, the aviation sector is gaining momentum.</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"">Private sector airlines have put forward plans to bring in new aircraft. On December 25, Shree Airlines brought an additional plane.</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 spokesperson of the company Anil Manandhar informed that the airlines will operate the new aircraft to Surkhet, Tumlingtar, and Bharatpur. He informed that the airlines has brought in a turboprop aircraft to Nepal on Saturday night, and another aircraft would arrive in January.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the number of aircraft has increased with the demand in the market. Yeti Airlines is also planning to add four more aircraft within 2022.</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"">Spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula informed that two aircraft will be brought within the next four to five months, and two more planes will be purchased within two years.</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 airline is preparing to add four aircraft in 2022, mostly ATR. Of these, 2 are ATR-47 and 2 are ATR-72. Bartaula informed that the two planes in the first phase are ATR-47 and ATR-72. Yeti has five ATR with a capacity of 72 seats.</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 addition of new planes, there are plans to expand our destinations," said Bartaula. "We will also expand our destinations to places where there are few flights." He said that after the arrival of the aircraft, there will be continuous flights to the new destinations.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He also said that there are plans to fly to new destinations in Surkhet and Dhangadhi. Yeti’s sister company Tara Air had 10 aircraft. However, Tara sold five aircraft to Guna Airlines.</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 market share has also declined due to the decline in the number of aircraft, which occupy the second market share for domestic flights. Until the sale of the aircraft, the market share was 31 percent, but after the number of planes decreased, its market share dropped to 24 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14293', 'image' => '20211227045751_ATR.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:56:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14547', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FCAN, IPPAN Warn of Protest against New Insurance Premium Rate', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">development.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN) have warned of starting an agitation from January 2 if the issue is not immediately resolved. </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"">A joint delegation of FCAN and IPPAN on Sunday handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN) in this regard. They have objected to the directive issued by the board for all non-life insurance companies on September 22. </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"">They are of the view that since the basic concept of insurance has been limited to formalities by the directive of this nature, the directive is contrary to the principle of insurance. </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 memorandum states that the new directive discourages the private sector and hinders Nepal's economic prosperity. "The directive, which was issued by increasing the premium without any discussion with the stakeholders, is almost certain to destroy the private sector, including Nepal's energy sector and construction industry," the memorandum further states. </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 memorandum signed by FCAN President Ravi Singh and IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya, states that the directive has increased the business cost. They claim that this will increase the production cost of Nepali goods and services and also reduce competitiveness. </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 directive states that even if the insured pays the premium fee, the insured will not be able to claim the compensation from the insurer. They allege that this could lead to a situation where the insured has to pay only the premium but cannot claim the insurance. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14292', 'image' => '20211227044017_20200503041304_20191023114923_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:38:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14546', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Working Aggressively to Control Power Leakage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. The NEA has been able to reduce the leakage in the system to 14.35 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal Year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA stated that it managed to reduce the leakage in the system from 17.18 percent in the last fiscal year to 14.35 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year by conducting leakage control campaigns. NEA can save around Rs 150 billion by controlling at least three percent of leakage on average.</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"">Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEA was lagging behind to control the leakage. As the effects of pandemic are waning, NEA has resumed nationwide programmes to control the leakages thereby bringing in significant results. </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"">Stating that power leakage control is synonymous to electricity generation, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has directed the NEA to take forward leakage control tasks in collaboration with the local administration. She has directed to take action against people involved in power theft.</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 local administration is also helping in controlling the leakage. Managing Director of NEA, Kulman Ghising, is regularly involved in leakage control campaign to increase electricity consumption. Ghising said that every provincial office and local distribution center has been given clear instructions not to compromise on leakage control.</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 of mid-November 2021, a total of 9.24 percent of the leakage was associated with distribution and the rest was due to transmission and production. NEA has set a target to limit the leakage of electricity to 15.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Ghising informed that the target will be achieved this year as the leakage is less than the target in the first four 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"">NEA reduced the leakage from 25.78 percent to 15.25 percent in 2019/20. The leakage had increased by 1.91 percent and reached 17.18 percent in 2020/21. </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"">“We have achieved good results due to effective leakage control campaign, upgradation of substations’ capacity, additional conductors, replacement of old overloaded transformers and use of three phase meters," Ghising 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"">He informed that the power supply to the industries has increased and the leakage control campaign has been made more effective. </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 Ghising tasks including non-technical leakage control, theft control, collection of due tariff, strict action against those bypassing and hooking the meter, encouraging people to use meter, are being carried out as a part of campaign," he said, adding, "While controlling the theft, NEA staff have been attacked in many places. Even in that case, NEA is determined towards effective service delivery with the support from local administration." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He further added that leakage cases are high in Kathmandu valley in the winter and in summer in Terai region, so NEA will run the campaign aggressively to achieve the set target. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14291', 'image' => '20211227010631_Energy-Theft-Cartoon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 13:03:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14545', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Approves Budget of Rs 43.6 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. ', '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"">December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. A meeting of the Board of Directors of CAAN on Sunday (December 26) approved the budget of Rs 43.60 billion. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale.</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 aviation regulatory body’s budget has been passed after the passage of five and a half months of the current fiscal year. Out of the budget passed by the board meeting, most of the budget has been allocated for the airports which are currently under construction.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14290', 'image' => '20211227124852_CAAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:48:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14544', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Market Expansion Driving Rise in Imports’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. ', '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"">December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. The volume of export exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last fiscal year. Exports have already exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last five months of the current fiscal year.</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"">If the volume of export increases at the same rate, exports will be around Rs 250 billion this fiscal year, says Chandra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Ghimire warned that the volume of imports have also grown excessively. </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 increase in our income source can be seen through the market demand, which would be difficult to control through imports,” says Ghimire. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ghimire, there is a high demand for four types of goods in the market which include consumer goods, luxury items, industrial raw materials and goods for capital investment. Ghimire argues that the increase in demand for luxury items is not healthy for our economy. The increase in imports is also linked with rise in international prices of petroleum products, he further said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Materials brought for the capital investment have also contributed to the trade deficit. Since it will help to recoup the investment in the future, it is not something to be worried about.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14289', 'image' => '20211227120330_global-busines70711.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:02:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14543', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA's Subsidiary gets Permission for Power Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. A recent meeting of the Council of Ministers issued the permission to the Nepal Power Trade Company of NEA to trade electricity.</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"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal unveiled the cabinet decision in this regard at a press conference on Friday, December 24. She also said that the government is making preparations to allow private companies to get involved in electricity trading.</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 the press conference, Minister Bhusal also said that the government will formulate a policy related to electricity consumption in order to reduce the import of petroleum products.</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"">She said that the government has already adopted a policy to replace gas stoves being used in the organized sector with electric stoves.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government has adopted a policy of encouraging the establishment of big industries that consume electricity and the promotion of electric vehicles. For this, I am having regular discussions with government and private sector organizations,” she 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"">Minister Bhusal also informed that the Electricity Distribution Regulation 2069 has been amended and rephrased to Consumer Friendly Electricity Distribution Regulation. According to Minister Bhusal, customers can get electricity easily when they ask for it. Electricity up to 100 kV will be available to all. Likewise, community dairy farms, cold storages, and drinking water and irrigation sector will be availed up to 200 kV from the transformer of NEA.</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"">"Now, even those living in rented houses can become customers of NEA by subscribing a separate meter from the authority, and even those living in apartments and colonies can become customers by taking a separate meter. Millions of people living in urban areas will benefit from this," she shared. </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"">Minister Bhusal added that initiative has been taken by preparing an action plan to fully electrify the country within the next two years in collaboration with Nepal Electricity Authority and Alternative Energy Promotion Center.</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"">Stating that the construction works of national pride projects have been expedited, she said that the irrigation facility has been expanded by constructing shallow and deep tube wells.</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"">Bhusal said that action plans are being prepared to move forward semi-reservoir and reservoir projects in every state through the Electricity Authority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, stating that special priority has been given to the monitoring and necessary coordination for speedy completion of transmission lines that are currently under construction, Minister Bhusal said that the construction of transmission lines and substations has been expedited through coordination between NEVIPRA and National Grid Broadcasting Company.</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"">Likewise, stating that the tariff of charging stations of electric vehicle has been fixed to encourage the use of electric vehicles, she said, "The construction work of charging stations across the country has been expedited through NEA." Arrangements have been made to set up charging stations individually, privately, and institutionally.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14288', 'image' => '20211226074909_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 19:47:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14542', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rain and Snow Forecast until Wednesday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, there are chances of light snowfall at some places in the high hills and mountainous regions, and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department further said that the influence of this system will remain until coming Wednesday. Sabina Shakya, a meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said the mercury level will further drop with the decline in the maximum and minimum temperatures due to the influence of the westerly wind. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has predicted generally cloudy weather on Monday in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and the rest of the hill region while it will be partly cloudy in other regions. There is possibility of light rainfall at a few places of the hilly region in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces as well as other provinces. Likewise, there are chances of light to moderate snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous region, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Meteorological Forecasting Division has urged one and all to adopt precaution and safety measures to protect from cold as the mercury level is dipping across the country given the chances of light snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous regions and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. The division has warned theoccurrence of fog in the Tarai region during the morning time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update shared by the Division shows that Kathmandu Valley recorded minimum temperature of 4.1 degrees Celsius and maximum of 17.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Similarly, Jumla recorded the lowest minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the maximum 28.3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14287', 'image' => '20211226061913_20190127032506_rukum (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:18:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14541', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Facing Budget Crunch to Compensate Families Displaced by Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. Since a lump sum has not been allocated for the compensation to the displaced families in the multi-year project, the budget from other headings is being transferred to meet requirement for the compensation amount. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although a budget of Rs 1.14 billion is required for compensation, the project has so far received only Rs 300 million. The project requires an additional Rs 450 million budget within next week. For this, the Department of Roads is preparing to transfer the budget of other projects. Project Chief Naresh Man Shakya informed that Rs 40 million has already been paid to the displaced families. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We are managing the extra budget by transferring the budget of the Department of Roads," said Shakya, </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The breakthrough of the main tunnel of the project was started in December last year while 2.5 km of tunnel has been dug in a year. Of the total 5.49 km long tunnel project, the length of the main tunnel is 2.86 km. Shakya said that Rs 2.5 billion budget has been spent in the current fiscal year, out of which Rs 1 billion has already been paid and a bill of Rs 1.5 billion has already been received. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated a total of Rs 9.67 billion budget for the project. It has been mentioned that the budget allocated by the government is only for the construction of the project and additional resources have to be sought for the compensation. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14286', 'image' => '20211226060644_202825123459_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:05:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14540', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Hints at Terminating Contract of Budhigandaki Project with Chinese company', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. However, the government does not have any backup plan on how to proceed further after terminating the contract with the company.</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 a press conference, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said Gezhouba has been given a deadline to complete the project. She said the government can't afford to wait any longer for the completion of the project. The government seems to have adopted a strategy of terminating the contract with Gezhouba. </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"">A senior official of the ministry said there was no plan on how to move forward in case the contract is terminated with the Chinese company. He said that the ministry is forming a special committee to study on how to move the project forward. A decision will be taken after a committee submits its report. The decision has to be made without affecting the bilateral relations with the two 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"">The government has already made up a plan to build the project with domestic investment. The Chinese company was handed over the contract when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Maoist Centre, was leading the government. Later, PM Deuba-led government scrapped the agreement but the project was again handed over to the Chinese company by former PM KP Sharma Oli. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The government had planned to build the project in the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) model. In this regard, several discussions were held between the Ministry and the Chinese company. However, that discussion has not reached any conclusions. </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"">None of the existing laws allow the construction of hydropower projects in the EPCF model. During the discussion, officials had said the agreement can't be signed in this model and sought for further study on how to build the project. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile the government is said to be fully prepared to move ahead with the construction of the project. It has completed all the tasks including DPR, environmental impact assessment report approval and compensation distribution. In that case, the government can't wait for the Chinese company any longer, said officials of the ministry.</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 EPCF model, the technical and financial aspects of the project are the responsibility of the company. The company should build the project with its own investment. After the construction, the government has to pay back to the company for its investment including for a certain period of time. However, the government has not yet reached an agreement with the company on construction modalities and investment. In a meeting held in December 2018, both sides had agreed to bring a proper proposal. Despite repeated discussions, none of the governments of Nepal have been able to reach an agreement with the company.</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 construction of Budhigandaki project is being looked upon with huge significance. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 300 billion. The government has been collecting tax of Rs 5 per liter on petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for this purpose since 2015/16.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14285', 'image' => '20211226024136_1640493225.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 14:40:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14539', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FWEAN gets New Leadership', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The eighth general convention and 18th annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.', '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"">December 26: The eighth general convention and 18</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.</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"">For the first time, the general assembly appointed members of the working committee representing all the seven provinces in accordance with the provincial structure of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A new 25-member executive committee has been formed under the leadership of Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri.</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"">Shova Gyawali is the first vice president, Darshana Shrestha is the second vice president, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha is the third vice president, Basanti Pradhan is the fourth vice president, Mahalaxmi Shrestha is the general secretary, Sabita Subedi is the secretary and Kunnam Pokhrel is the treasurer of the new executive committee.</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, Sumitra Palanchoke, Deepa Thapaliya, Neeta Pyakurel, Shradha Joshi, Soni Joshi, Shema Bista, Kriti Shrestha from Province No. 1, Dev Kumari Poudel from Province No. 2, Arpana Pradhan Bhandari from Province No. 3 and Parbati Poudel from Province No. 4, Saraswati Sharma from Province No. 5, Kavita Sodari from Province No. 6 and Meena Fulara from Province No. 7 have been appointed as executive members.</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, Aarti Nepal and Mallika Shrestha have been nominated as the invited members. The federation informed that the remaining two members will be nominated later.</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 federation's annual general meeting was held on Friday, 24</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> December, 2021. </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"">FWEAN also distributed the best district entrepreneur award along with the active member award, and best employee award of the year. The founding members were given letter of appreciation while the lifetime members were honored on the occasion.</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"">General Secretary of the former executive committee, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha, presented the annual report and the action plan for the coming year. Similarly, outgoing treasurer Mahalaxmi Shrestha presented the financial report before the formation of the new committee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14284', 'image' => '20211226015845_1640412825.Picture of FWEAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 13:58:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14538', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM Getting Ready to Print 10,000 Smart License Cards per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. ', '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"">December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. People are struggling to get their driving licenses due to the shortage of license cards with the government. Although the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) recently purchased 1.4 million smart cards from the international market, it is yet to start printing those cards. To address this issue, the DoTM is making preparations to print 10,000 smart license cards per day. The DoTM aims to overcome this problem within the next four to six months.</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"">As there is an immediate demand of just 700,000 cards, the rest of the cards will be kept in stock for future requirement, said Dr Lok Nath Bhusal, the director of DoTM, while conversing with New Business Age. “The Department of Transport Management has a machine capable of printing four cards per minute. We are preparing to print the cards immediately by managing three shifts, in the morning, afternoon and evening,” said Bhusal.</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""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20151201120540_smartl.jpg" style="height:322px; width:500px" /></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 recently purchased cards were tested in an international lab before bringing them to the department. The work of printing those cards will start this week itself, said the departments director Bhusal.</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 dismissed rumors that the department was planning to scrap the cards purchased some time ago as it was difficult to distinguish those cards from fake ones. </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"">“Smart cards have been brought in sufficiently. The DoTM, its subordinate offices and the traffic police also have card testing machines available to check whether the cards are genuine or not. That is why the cards will not be cancelled. Instead, we are thinking of including barcodes on the license,” said the Director Bhusal.</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"">However, the traffic police officials say that they lack of sufficient devices needed to test smart licenses. Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division SP Sanjiv Sharma Das said that there is only one device at the office. He said that if any license is to be checked or monitored, they need to obtain the details by contacting the Department of Transport Management. </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, however, said that this was not a big problem and necessary work was being done in coordination with the department. </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 smart license cards were last printed last in July 2020. Since then, the printing of such cards has not been regular. Distribution has been affected due to a halt in printing for a protracted period.</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"">Millions of vehicle across the country are awaiting for smart licenses. Some of them have passed the test and applied for new license, while others are awaiting to get smart licenses after renewal of their expired paper licenses.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the department, printing was affected due to the lack of cards required for licenses. “Printing software, printers and cards are required to print the license. There was a problem with the card delivery which has now been resolved. That is why we are about to start printing,” said Director Bhusal. </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 software for the smart license was developed by Madras Security Press Printers. After the implementation of the software system in 2017, the department itself took the responsibility of printing driving license. The department had called for tender last year after they ran out of cards purchased earlier. In the month of November of the same year, a French company SELP got the contract to bring the cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the agreement between the department and SELP, the company had to hand over 1.4 million cards to the department within 90 days. However, the company could not deliver the cards on time due to various technical reasons as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, the problem became much worse. According to the DoTM, the cards have been received one year after the agreement was signed. </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, drivers who have passed the trial and test and those who have applied for renewal are given a trial driver's license after paying the revenue. Such license is valid only for one year. Earlier, the trial license was said to be a temporary alternative for the time being while the DoTM was not able to print the smart license cards. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14283', 'image' => '20211226120058_20210301033304_1614549604.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 11:59:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14537', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CONCOR Plays Spoilsport', 'sub_title' => 'The company unwilling to provide rail racks to other competitors', 'summary' => 'December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Om Prakash Khanal</span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers. However, the costs outweigh the benefits to the importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It has been three months since a private train started operating from Kolkata and Visakhapatnam ports in India to transport goods to Nepal. This competition has become another issue for Nepali importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The amendment of the Nepal-India Railway Service Agreement ended the monopoly of the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) for the transportation of container goods to Nepal. The importers say that CONCOR, which had been enjoying a monopoly on transportation for a decade and a half, is now quarreling under various pretexts.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the last week of August, India's Hind Terminal, a rival of CONCOR, brought the first train to the dry port of Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the same day, CONCOR tried to discourage its competitor by reducing fares by 30 to 35 percent but failed. Now, the problem is related to loading of container from Kolkata, said a representative of the shipping company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, CONCOR as well as Hind Terminal and Prestin Logistics Infra Projects are providing transportation services from Indian ports.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, shipments have been delayed due to CONCOR's failure to provide rail racks at the Kolkata port. The shipping company has blamed that CONCOR did not provide a rack for the transportation of container to CIF Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Representatives of the shipping company said that even the containers were unloaded on December 3 it is still stuck at the Kolkata port after CONCOR did not provide the rack. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Pradip Kumar Kedia said that the risk of business loss due to late delivery of goods has increased even though the burden of delay fee in Kolkata does not fall directly on the importer.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, the importers have not got any benefits from competition among the transportation companies. It is the shipping company that has been taking advantage instead.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers are now unable to get container on time due to the attitude of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The importers are worried that the shipping company will recover the financial loss from the importer. Ultimately, this cost burden goes to the consumers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">CONCOR, which initially tried to impress the importers by lowering the fares, has now been playing the spoilsport by not providing rail racks to other competitors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As other competing companies are weak in terms of infrastructure, 90 percent of container shipments are still under the command of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"It simply came to our notice then. We have initiated a solution by coordinating with the officials of CONCOR,” said Nepal’s Consul General to Kolkata, Ishwar Raj Poudel. According to Poudel, shipping companies and importers have informed the Consulate in Kolkata that CONCOR has not provided them racks. Consul General Poudel said that he had met the senior manager of CONCOR M Mathur and asked him to allocate the necessary racks. He had expressed his commitment to facilitating the racks, added Poudel.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-24', 'modified' => '2021-12-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14282', 'image' => '20211224050233_1640303739.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-24 17:00:20', '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' => '14552', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Weather Expected to Improve from Thursday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 28: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Sabina Shakya informed that the westerly low-pressure system will become weak from Thursday leading to improvement in the weather. Currently, the weather in most of the places across the country is generally cloudy. The mountainous region and hill areas will remain fully cloudy, said meteorologist Shakya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Most parts of the country is expected to be fully cloudy on Tuesday (December 28) while light to moderate rainfall is expected in many places on the same day. The mountainous region will experience light to moderate snowfall, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update of the department stated that the minimum temperature in Kathmandu Valley was 5.4 degree Celsius and the maximum 17.4 degree Celsius on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the lowest temperature of -1.4 degree Celsius was recorded in Jumla and the maximum of 28 degree Celsius was recorded in Bhairahawa, RSS added. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14296', 'image' => '20211228015243_20210203122659_20181230033201_2222.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 13:51:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14550', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 51K People Visit Chitwan National Park in Current FY', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP's information and assistant conservation officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said 51,304 people visited the national park during this period. According to him, the highest number of visitors was recorded in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November). Altogether 21,506 people visited the national park in mid-October to mid-November, followed by 19,580 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 5,835 people visited CNP in the month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), 2,977 in the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and 1,906 in the month of Shrawn (mid-July to mid-August). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP has collected revenue of Rs 12.99 million as entry fee from the visitors so far, Tiwari said. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14295', 'image' => '20211228120847_20210729013117_20150914111210_chitwan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 12:07:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14549', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jade Consult bags Consultancy Contract for Hydro Project in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India.', '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"">December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India. </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 consultancy firm has been bagged the contract for the external monitoring (environmental and social) of Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project (120 MW) in Assam, India along with other two international firms as a joint venture. </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 power plant is being constructed by Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited under the ADB-funded Assam Power Sector Investment Program. The project will use the hydropower potential of the Kopili River, a south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14294', 'image' => '20211228115705_194773117_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 11:56:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14548', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Adding New Aircraft to their Fleet', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Air, and Guna Airlines are preparing to add new aircraft and operate flights to new destinations.</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"">Domestic flights were shut down for several months due to the impact of Covid-19 causing heavy losses. According to a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, domestic airlines have lost Rs 25 billion in revenue. However, as the coronavirus infection is declining, the aviation sector is gaining momentum.</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"">Private sector airlines have put forward plans to bring in new aircraft. On December 25, Shree Airlines brought an additional plane.</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 spokesperson of the company Anil Manandhar informed that the airlines will operate the new aircraft to Surkhet, Tumlingtar, and Bharatpur. He informed that the airlines has brought in a turboprop aircraft to Nepal on Saturday night, and another aircraft would arrive in January.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the number of aircraft has increased with the demand in the market. Yeti Airlines is also planning to add four more aircraft within 2022.</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"">Spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula informed that two aircraft will be brought within the next four to five months, and two more planes will be purchased within two years.</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 airline is preparing to add four aircraft in 2022, mostly ATR. Of these, 2 are ATR-47 and 2 are ATR-72. Bartaula informed that the two planes in the first phase are ATR-47 and ATR-72. Yeti has five ATR with a capacity of 72 seats.</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 addition of new planes, there are plans to expand our destinations," said Bartaula. "We will also expand our destinations to places where there are few flights." He said that after the arrival of the aircraft, there will be continuous flights to the new destinations.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He also said that there are plans to fly to new destinations in Surkhet and Dhangadhi. Yeti’s sister company Tara Air had 10 aircraft. However, Tara sold five aircraft to Guna Airlines.</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 market share has also declined due to the decline in the number of aircraft, which occupy the second market share for domestic flights. Until the sale of the aircraft, the market share was 31 percent, but after the number of planes decreased, its market share dropped to 24 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14293', 'image' => '20211227045751_ATR.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:56:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14547', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FCAN, IPPAN Warn of Protest against New Insurance Premium Rate', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">development.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN) have warned of starting an agitation from January 2 if the issue is not immediately resolved. </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"">A joint delegation of FCAN and IPPAN on Sunday handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN) in this regard. They have objected to the directive issued by the board for all non-life insurance companies on September 22. </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"">They are of the view that since the basic concept of insurance has been limited to formalities by the directive of this nature, the directive is contrary to the principle of insurance. </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 memorandum states that the new directive discourages the private sector and hinders Nepal's economic prosperity. "The directive, which was issued by increasing the premium without any discussion with the stakeholders, is almost certain to destroy the private sector, including Nepal's energy sector and construction industry," the memorandum further states. </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 memorandum signed by FCAN President Ravi Singh and IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya, states that the directive has increased the business cost. They claim that this will increase the production cost of Nepali goods and services and also reduce competitiveness. </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 directive states that even if the insured pays the premium fee, the insured will not be able to claim the compensation from the insurer. They allege that this could lead to a situation where the insured has to pay only the premium but cannot claim the insurance. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14292', 'image' => '20211227044017_20200503041304_20191023114923_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:38:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14546', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Working Aggressively to Control Power Leakage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. The NEA has been able to reduce the leakage in the system to 14.35 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal Year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA stated that it managed to reduce the leakage in the system from 17.18 percent in the last fiscal year to 14.35 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year by conducting leakage control campaigns. NEA can save around Rs 150 billion by controlling at least three percent of leakage on average.</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"">Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEA was lagging behind to control the leakage. As the effects of pandemic are waning, NEA has resumed nationwide programmes to control the leakages thereby bringing in significant results. </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"">Stating that power leakage control is synonymous to electricity generation, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has directed the NEA to take forward leakage control tasks in collaboration with the local administration. She has directed to take action against people involved in power theft.</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 local administration is also helping in controlling the leakage. Managing Director of NEA, Kulman Ghising, is regularly involved in leakage control campaign to increase electricity consumption. Ghising said that every provincial office and local distribution center has been given clear instructions not to compromise on leakage control.</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 of mid-November 2021, a total of 9.24 percent of the leakage was associated with distribution and the rest was due to transmission and production. NEA has set a target to limit the leakage of electricity to 15.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Ghising informed that the target will be achieved this year as the leakage is less than the target in the first four 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"">NEA reduced the leakage from 25.78 percent to 15.25 percent in 2019/20. The leakage had increased by 1.91 percent and reached 17.18 percent in 2020/21. </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"">“We have achieved good results due to effective leakage control campaign, upgradation of substations’ capacity, additional conductors, replacement of old overloaded transformers and use of three phase meters," Ghising 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"">He informed that the power supply to the industries has increased and the leakage control campaign has been made more effective. </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 Ghising tasks including non-technical leakage control, theft control, collection of due tariff, strict action against those bypassing and hooking the meter, encouraging people to use meter, are being carried out as a part of campaign," he said, adding, "While controlling the theft, NEA staff have been attacked in many places. Even in that case, NEA is determined towards effective service delivery with the support from local administration." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He further added that leakage cases are high in Kathmandu valley in the winter and in summer in Terai region, so NEA will run the campaign aggressively to achieve the set target. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14291', 'image' => '20211227010631_Energy-Theft-Cartoon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 13:03:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14545', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Approves Budget of Rs 43.6 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. ', '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"">December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. A meeting of the Board of Directors of CAAN on Sunday (December 26) approved the budget of Rs 43.60 billion. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale.</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 aviation regulatory body’s budget has been passed after the passage of five and a half months of the current fiscal year. Out of the budget passed by the board meeting, most of the budget has been allocated for the airports which are currently under construction.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14290', 'image' => '20211227124852_CAAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:48:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14544', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Market Expansion Driving Rise in Imports’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. ', '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"">December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. The volume of export exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last fiscal year. Exports have already exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last five months of the current fiscal year.</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"">If the volume of export increases at the same rate, exports will be around Rs 250 billion this fiscal year, says Chandra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Ghimire warned that the volume of imports have also grown excessively. </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 increase in our income source can be seen through the market demand, which would be difficult to control through imports,” says Ghimire. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ghimire, there is a high demand for four types of goods in the market which include consumer goods, luxury items, industrial raw materials and goods for capital investment. Ghimire argues that the increase in demand for luxury items is not healthy for our economy. The increase in imports is also linked with rise in international prices of petroleum products, he further said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Materials brought for the capital investment have also contributed to the trade deficit. Since it will help to recoup the investment in the future, it is not something to be worried about.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14289', 'image' => '20211227120330_global-busines70711.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:02:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14543', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA's Subsidiary gets Permission for Power Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. A recent meeting of the Council of Ministers issued the permission to the Nepal Power Trade Company of NEA to trade electricity.</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"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal unveiled the cabinet decision in this regard at a press conference on Friday, December 24. She also said that the government is making preparations to allow private companies to get involved in electricity trading.</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 the press conference, Minister Bhusal also said that the government will formulate a policy related to electricity consumption in order to reduce the import of petroleum products.</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"">She said that the government has already adopted a policy to replace gas stoves being used in the organized sector with electric stoves.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government has adopted a policy of encouraging the establishment of big industries that consume electricity and the promotion of electric vehicles. For this, I am having regular discussions with government and private sector organizations,” she 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"">Minister Bhusal also informed that the Electricity Distribution Regulation 2069 has been amended and rephrased to Consumer Friendly Electricity Distribution Regulation. According to Minister Bhusal, customers can get electricity easily when they ask for it. Electricity up to 100 kV will be available to all. Likewise, community dairy farms, cold storages, and drinking water and irrigation sector will be availed up to 200 kV from the transformer of NEA.</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"">"Now, even those living in rented houses can become customers of NEA by subscribing a separate meter from the authority, and even those living in apartments and colonies can become customers by taking a separate meter. Millions of people living in urban areas will benefit from this," she shared. </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"">Minister Bhusal added that initiative has been taken by preparing an action plan to fully electrify the country within the next two years in collaboration with Nepal Electricity Authority and Alternative Energy Promotion Center.</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"">Stating that the construction works of national pride projects have been expedited, she said that the irrigation facility has been expanded by constructing shallow and deep tube wells.</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"">Bhusal said that action plans are being prepared to move forward semi-reservoir and reservoir projects in every state through the Electricity Authority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, stating that special priority has been given to the monitoring and necessary coordination for speedy completion of transmission lines that are currently under construction, Minister Bhusal said that the construction of transmission lines and substations has been expedited through coordination between NEVIPRA and National Grid Broadcasting Company.</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"">Likewise, stating that the tariff of charging stations of electric vehicle has been fixed to encourage the use of electric vehicles, she said, "The construction work of charging stations across the country has been expedited through NEA." Arrangements have been made to set up charging stations individually, privately, and institutionally.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14288', 'image' => '20211226074909_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 19:47:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14542', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rain and Snow Forecast until Wednesday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, there are chances of light snowfall at some places in the high hills and mountainous regions, and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department further said that the influence of this system will remain until coming Wednesday. Sabina Shakya, a meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said the mercury level will further drop with the decline in the maximum and minimum temperatures due to the influence of the westerly wind. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has predicted generally cloudy weather on Monday in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and the rest of the hill region while it will be partly cloudy in other regions. There is possibility of light rainfall at a few places of the hilly region in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces as well as other provinces. Likewise, there are chances of light to moderate snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous region, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Meteorological Forecasting Division has urged one and all to adopt precaution and safety measures to protect from cold as the mercury level is dipping across the country given the chances of light snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous regions and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. The division has warned theoccurrence of fog in the Tarai region during the morning time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update shared by the Division shows that Kathmandu Valley recorded minimum temperature of 4.1 degrees Celsius and maximum of 17.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Similarly, Jumla recorded the lowest minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the maximum 28.3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14287', 'image' => '20211226061913_20190127032506_rukum (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:18:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14541', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Facing Budget Crunch to Compensate Families Displaced by Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. Since a lump sum has not been allocated for the compensation to the displaced families in the multi-year project, the budget from other headings is being transferred to meet requirement for the compensation amount. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although a budget of Rs 1.14 billion is required for compensation, the project has so far received only Rs 300 million. The project requires an additional Rs 450 million budget within next week. For this, the Department of Roads is preparing to transfer the budget of other projects. Project Chief Naresh Man Shakya informed that Rs 40 million has already been paid to the displaced families. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We are managing the extra budget by transferring the budget of the Department of Roads," said Shakya, </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The breakthrough of the main tunnel of the project was started in December last year while 2.5 km of tunnel has been dug in a year. Of the total 5.49 km long tunnel project, the length of the main tunnel is 2.86 km. Shakya said that Rs 2.5 billion budget has been spent in the current fiscal year, out of which Rs 1 billion has already been paid and a bill of Rs 1.5 billion has already been received. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated a total of Rs 9.67 billion budget for the project. It has been mentioned that the budget allocated by the government is only for the construction of the project and additional resources have to be sought for the compensation. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14286', 'image' => '20211226060644_202825123459_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:05:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14540', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Hints at Terminating Contract of Budhigandaki Project with Chinese company', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. However, the government does not have any backup plan on how to proceed further after terminating the contract with the company.</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 a press conference, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said Gezhouba has been given a deadline to complete the project. She said the government can't afford to wait any longer for the completion of the project. The government seems to have adopted a strategy of terminating the contract with Gezhouba. </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"">A senior official of the ministry said there was no plan on how to move forward in case the contract is terminated with the Chinese company. He said that the ministry is forming a special committee to study on how to move the project forward. A decision will be taken after a committee submits its report. The decision has to be made without affecting the bilateral relations with the two 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"">The government has already made up a plan to build the project with domestic investment. The Chinese company was handed over the contract when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Maoist Centre, was leading the government. Later, PM Deuba-led government scrapped the agreement but the project was again handed over to the Chinese company by former PM KP Sharma Oli. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The government had planned to build the project in the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) model. In this regard, several discussions were held between the Ministry and the Chinese company. However, that discussion has not reached any conclusions. </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"">None of the existing laws allow the construction of hydropower projects in the EPCF model. During the discussion, officials had said the agreement can't be signed in this model and sought for further study on how to build the project. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile the government is said to be fully prepared to move ahead with the construction of the project. It has completed all the tasks including DPR, environmental impact assessment report approval and compensation distribution. In that case, the government can't wait for the Chinese company any longer, said officials of the ministry.</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 EPCF model, the technical and financial aspects of the project are the responsibility of the company. The company should build the project with its own investment. After the construction, the government has to pay back to the company for its investment including for a certain period of time. However, the government has not yet reached an agreement with the company on construction modalities and investment. In a meeting held in December 2018, both sides had agreed to bring a proper proposal. Despite repeated discussions, none of the governments of Nepal have been able to reach an agreement with the company.</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 construction of Budhigandaki project is being looked upon with huge significance. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 300 billion. The government has been collecting tax of Rs 5 per liter on petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for this purpose since 2015/16.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14285', 'image' => '20211226024136_1640493225.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 14:40:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14539', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FWEAN gets New Leadership', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The eighth general convention and 18th annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.', '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"">December 26: The eighth general convention and 18</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.</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"">For the first time, the general assembly appointed members of the working committee representing all the seven provinces in accordance with the provincial structure of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A new 25-member executive committee has been formed under the leadership of Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri.</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"">Shova Gyawali is the first vice president, Darshana Shrestha is the second vice president, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha is the third vice president, Basanti Pradhan is the fourth vice president, Mahalaxmi Shrestha is the general secretary, Sabita Subedi is the secretary and Kunnam Pokhrel is the treasurer of the new executive committee.</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, Sumitra Palanchoke, Deepa Thapaliya, Neeta Pyakurel, Shradha Joshi, Soni Joshi, Shema Bista, Kriti Shrestha from Province No. 1, Dev Kumari Poudel from Province No. 2, Arpana Pradhan Bhandari from Province No. 3 and Parbati Poudel from Province No. 4, Saraswati Sharma from Province No. 5, Kavita Sodari from Province No. 6 and Meena Fulara from Province No. 7 have been appointed as executive members.</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, Aarti Nepal and Mallika Shrestha have been nominated as the invited members. The federation informed that the remaining two members will be nominated later.</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 federation's annual general meeting was held on Friday, 24</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> December, 2021. </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"">FWEAN also distributed the best district entrepreneur award along with the active member award, and best employee award of the year. The founding members were given letter of appreciation while the lifetime members were honored on the occasion.</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"">General Secretary of the former executive committee, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha, presented the annual report and the action plan for the coming year. Similarly, outgoing treasurer Mahalaxmi Shrestha presented the financial report before the formation of the new committee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14284', 'image' => '20211226015845_1640412825.Picture of FWEAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 13:58:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14538', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM Getting Ready to Print 10,000 Smart License Cards per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. ', '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"">December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. People are struggling to get their driving licenses due to the shortage of license cards with the government. Although the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) recently purchased 1.4 million smart cards from the international market, it is yet to start printing those cards. To address this issue, the DoTM is making preparations to print 10,000 smart license cards per day. The DoTM aims to overcome this problem within the next four to six months.</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"">As there is an immediate demand of just 700,000 cards, the rest of the cards will be kept in stock for future requirement, said Dr Lok Nath Bhusal, the director of DoTM, while conversing with New Business Age. “The Department of Transport Management has a machine capable of printing four cards per minute. We are preparing to print the cards immediately by managing three shifts, in the morning, afternoon and evening,” said Bhusal.</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""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20151201120540_smartl.jpg" style="height:322px; width:500px" /></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 recently purchased cards were tested in an international lab before bringing them to the department. The work of printing those cards will start this week itself, said the departments director Bhusal.</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 dismissed rumors that the department was planning to scrap the cards purchased some time ago as it was difficult to distinguish those cards from fake ones. </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"">“Smart cards have been brought in sufficiently. The DoTM, its subordinate offices and the traffic police also have card testing machines available to check whether the cards are genuine or not. That is why the cards will not be cancelled. Instead, we are thinking of including barcodes on the license,” said the Director Bhusal.</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"">However, the traffic police officials say that they lack of sufficient devices needed to test smart licenses. Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division SP Sanjiv Sharma Das said that there is only one device at the office. He said that if any license is to be checked or monitored, they need to obtain the details by contacting the Department of Transport Management. </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, however, said that this was not a big problem and necessary work was being done in coordination with the department. </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 smart license cards were last printed last in July 2020. Since then, the printing of such cards has not been regular. Distribution has been affected due to a halt in printing for a protracted period.</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"">Millions of vehicle across the country are awaiting for smart licenses. Some of them have passed the test and applied for new license, while others are awaiting to get smart licenses after renewal of their expired paper licenses.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the department, printing was affected due to the lack of cards required for licenses. “Printing software, printers and cards are required to print the license. There was a problem with the card delivery which has now been resolved. That is why we are about to start printing,” said Director Bhusal. </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 software for the smart license was developed by Madras Security Press Printers. After the implementation of the software system in 2017, the department itself took the responsibility of printing driving license. The department had called for tender last year after they ran out of cards purchased earlier. In the month of November of the same year, a French company SELP got the contract to bring the cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the agreement between the department and SELP, the company had to hand over 1.4 million cards to the department within 90 days. However, the company could not deliver the cards on time due to various technical reasons as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, the problem became much worse. According to the DoTM, the cards have been received one year after the agreement was signed. </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, drivers who have passed the trial and test and those who have applied for renewal are given a trial driver's license after paying the revenue. Such license is valid only for one year. Earlier, the trial license was said to be a temporary alternative for the time being while the DoTM was not able to print the smart license cards. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14283', 'image' => '20211226120058_20210301033304_1614549604.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 11:59:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14537', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CONCOR Plays Spoilsport', 'sub_title' => 'The company unwilling to provide rail racks to other competitors', 'summary' => 'December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Om Prakash Khanal</span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers. However, the costs outweigh the benefits to the importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It has been three months since a private train started operating from Kolkata and Visakhapatnam ports in India to transport goods to Nepal. This competition has become another issue for Nepali importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The amendment of the Nepal-India Railway Service Agreement ended the monopoly of the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) for the transportation of container goods to Nepal. The importers say that CONCOR, which had been enjoying a monopoly on transportation for a decade and a half, is now quarreling under various pretexts.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the last week of August, India's Hind Terminal, a rival of CONCOR, brought the first train to the dry port of Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the same day, CONCOR tried to discourage its competitor by reducing fares by 30 to 35 percent but failed. Now, the problem is related to loading of container from Kolkata, said a representative of the shipping company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, CONCOR as well as Hind Terminal and Prestin Logistics Infra Projects are providing transportation services from Indian ports.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, shipments have been delayed due to CONCOR's failure to provide rail racks at the Kolkata port. The shipping company has blamed that CONCOR did not provide a rack for the transportation of container to CIF Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Representatives of the shipping company said that even the containers were unloaded on December 3 it is still stuck at the Kolkata port after CONCOR did not provide the rack. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Pradip Kumar Kedia said that the risk of business loss due to late delivery of goods has increased even though the burden of delay fee in Kolkata does not fall directly on the importer.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, the importers have not got any benefits from competition among the transportation companies. It is the shipping company that has been taking advantage instead.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers are now unable to get container on time due to the attitude of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The importers are worried that the shipping company will recover the financial loss from the importer. Ultimately, this cost burden goes to the consumers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">CONCOR, which initially tried to impress the importers by lowering the fares, has now been playing the spoilsport by not providing rail racks to other competitors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As other competing companies are weak in terms of infrastructure, 90 percent of container shipments are still under the command of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"It simply came to our notice then. We have initiated a solution by coordinating with the officials of CONCOR,” said Nepal’s Consul General to Kolkata, Ishwar Raj Poudel. According to Poudel, shipping companies and importers have informed the Consulate in Kolkata that CONCOR has not provided them racks. Consul General Poudel said that he had met the senior manager of CONCOR M Mathur and asked him to allocate the necessary racks. He had expressed his commitment to facilitating the racks, added Poudel.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-24', 'modified' => '2021-12-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14282', 'image' => '20211224050233_1640303739.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-24 17:00:20', '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' => '14552', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Weather Expected to Improve from Thursday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 28: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Sabina Shakya informed that the westerly low-pressure system will become weak from Thursday leading to improvement in the weather. Currently, the weather in most of the places across the country is generally cloudy. The mountainous region and hill areas will remain fully cloudy, said meteorologist Shakya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Most parts of the country is expected to be fully cloudy on Tuesday (December 28) while light to moderate rainfall is expected in many places on the same day. The mountainous region will experience light to moderate snowfall, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update of the department stated that the minimum temperature in Kathmandu Valley was 5.4 degree Celsius and the maximum 17.4 degree Celsius on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the lowest temperature of -1.4 degree Celsius was recorded in Jumla and the maximum of 28 degree Celsius was recorded in Bhairahawa, RSS added. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14296', 'image' => '20211228015243_20210203122659_20181230033201_2222.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 13:51:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14550', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 51K People Visit Chitwan National Park in Current FY', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP's information and assistant conservation officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said 51,304 people visited the national park during this period. According to him, the highest number of visitors was recorded in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November). Altogether 21,506 people visited the national park in mid-October to mid-November, followed by 19,580 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 5,835 people visited CNP in the month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), 2,977 in the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and 1,906 in the month of Shrawn (mid-July to mid-August). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP has collected revenue of Rs 12.99 million as entry fee from the visitors so far, Tiwari said. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14295', 'image' => '20211228120847_20210729013117_20150914111210_chitwan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 12:07:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14549', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jade Consult bags Consultancy Contract for Hydro Project in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India.', '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"">December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India. </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 consultancy firm has been bagged the contract for the external monitoring (environmental and social) of Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project (120 MW) in Assam, India along with other two international firms as a joint venture. </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 power plant is being constructed by Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited under the ADB-funded Assam Power Sector Investment Program. The project will use the hydropower potential of the Kopili River, a south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14294', 'image' => '20211228115705_194773117_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 11:56:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14548', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Adding New Aircraft to their Fleet', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Air, and Guna Airlines are preparing to add new aircraft and operate flights to new destinations.</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"">Domestic flights were shut down for several months due to the impact of Covid-19 causing heavy losses. According to a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, domestic airlines have lost Rs 25 billion in revenue. However, as the coronavirus infection is declining, the aviation sector is gaining momentum.</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"">Private sector airlines have put forward plans to bring in new aircraft. On December 25, Shree Airlines brought an additional plane.</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 spokesperson of the company Anil Manandhar informed that the airlines will operate the new aircraft to Surkhet, Tumlingtar, and Bharatpur. He informed that the airlines has brought in a turboprop aircraft to Nepal on Saturday night, and another aircraft would arrive in January.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the number of aircraft has increased with the demand in the market. Yeti Airlines is also planning to add four more aircraft within 2022.</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"">Spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula informed that two aircraft will be brought within the next four to five months, and two more planes will be purchased within two years.</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 airline is preparing to add four aircraft in 2022, mostly ATR. Of these, 2 are ATR-47 and 2 are ATR-72. Bartaula informed that the two planes in the first phase are ATR-47 and ATR-72. Yeti has five ATR with a capacity of 72 seats.</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 addition of new planes, there are plans to expand our destinations," said Bartaula. "We will also expand our destinations to places where there are few flights." He said that after the arrival of the aircraft, there will be continuous flights to the new destinations.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He also said that there are plans to fly to new destinations in Surkhet and Dhangadhi. Yeti’s sister company Tara Air had 10 aircraft. However, Tara sold five aircraft to Guna Airlines.</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 market share has also declined due to the decline in the number of aircraft, which occupy the second market share for domestic flights. Until the sale of the aircraft, the market share was 31 percent, but after the number of planes decreased, its market share dropped to 24 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14293', 'image' => '20211227045751_ATR.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:56:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14547', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FCAN, IPPAN Warn of Protest against New Insurance Premium Rate', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">development.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN) have warned of starting an agitation from January 2 if the issue is not immediately resolved. </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"">A joint delegation of FCAN and IPPAN on Sunday handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN) in this regard. They have objected to the directive issued by the board for all non-life insurance companies on September 22. </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"">They are of the view that since the basic concept of insurance has been limited to formalities by the directive of this nature, the directive is contrary to the principle of insurance. </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 memorandum states that the new directive discourages the private sector and hinders Nepal's economic prosperity. "The directive, which was issued by increasing the premium without any discussion with the stakeholders, is almost certain to destroy the private sector, including Nepal's energy sector and construction industry," the memorandum further states. </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 memorandum signed by FCAN President Ravi Singh and IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya, states that the directive has increased the business cost. They claim that this will increase the production cost of Nepali goods and services and also reduce competitiveness. </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 directive states that even if the insured pays the premium fee, the insured will not be able to claim the compensation from the insurer. They allege that this could lead to a situation where the insured has to pay only the premium but cannot claim the insurance. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14292', 'image' => '20211227044017_20200503041304_20191023114923_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:38:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14546', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Working Aggressively to Control Power Leakage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. The NEA has been able to reduce the leakage in the system to 14.35 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal Year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA stated that it managed to reduce the leakage in the system from 17.18 percent in the last fiscal year to 14.35 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year by conducting leakage control campaigns. NEA can save around Rs 150 billion by controlling at least three percent of leakage on average.</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"">Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEA was lagging behind to control the leakage. As the effects of pandemic are waning, NEA has resumed nationwide programmes to control the leakages thereby bringing in significant results. </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"">Stating that power leakage control is synonymous to electricity generation, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has directed the NEA to take forward leakage control tasks in collaboration with the local administration. She has directed to take action against people involved in power theft.</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 local administration is also helping in controlling the leakage. Managing Director of NEA, Kulman Ghising, is regularly involved in leakage control campaign to increase electricity consumption. Ghising said that every provincial office and local distribution center has been given clear instructions not to compromise on leakage control.</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 of mid-November 2021, a total of 9.24 percent of the leakage was associated with distribution and the rest was due to transmission and production. NEA has set a target to limit the leakage of electricity to 15.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Ghising informed that the target will be achieved this year as the leakage is less than the target in the first four 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"">NEA reduced the leakage from 25.78 percent to 15.25 percent in 2019/20. The leakage had increased by 1.91 percent and reached 17.18 percent in 2020/21. </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"">“We have achieved good results due to effective leakage control campaign, upgradation of substations’ capacity, additional conductors, replacement of old overloaded transformers and use of three phase meters," Ghising 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"">He informed that the power supply to the industries has increased and the leakage control campaign has been made more effective. </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 Ghising tasks including non-technical leakage control, theft control, collection of due tariff, strict action against those bypassing and hooking the meter, encouraging people to use meter, are being carried out as a part of campaign," he said, adding, "While controlling the theft, NEA staff have been attacked in many places. Even in that case, NEA is determined towards effective service delivery with the support from local administration." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He further added that leakage cases are high in Kathmandu valley in the winter and in summer in Terai region, so NEA will run the campaign aggressively to achieve the set target. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14291', 'image' => '20211227010631_Energy-Theft-Cartoon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 13:03:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14545', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Approves Budget of Rs 43.6 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. ', '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"">December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. A meeting of the Board of Directors of CAAN on Sunday (December 26) approved the budget of Rs 43.60 billion. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale.</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 aviation regulatory body’s budget has been passed after the passage of five and a half months of the current fiscal year. Out of the budget passed by the board meeting, most of the budget has been allocated for the airports which are currently under construction.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14290', 'image' => '20211227124852_CAAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:48:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14544', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Market Expansion Driving Rise in Imports’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. ', '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"">December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. The volume of export exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last fiscal year. Exports have already exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last five months of the current fiscal year.</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"">If the volume of export increases at the same rate, exports will be around Rs 250 billion this fiscal year, says Chandra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Ghimire warned that the volume of imports have also grown excessively. </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 increase in our income source can be seen through the market demand, which would be difficult to control through imports,” says Ghimire. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ghimire, there is a high demand for four types of goods in the market which include consumer goods, luxury items, industrial raw materials and goods for capital investment. Ghimire argues that the increase in demand for luxury items is not healthy for our economy. The increase in imports is also linked with rise in international prices of petroleum products, he further said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Materials brought for the capital investment have also contributed to the trade deficit. Since it will help to recoup the investment in the future, it is not something to be worried about.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14289', 'image' => '20211227120330_global-busines70711.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:02:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14543', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA's Subsidiary gets Permission for Power Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. A recent meeting of the Council of Ministers issued the permission to the Nepal Power Trade Company of NEA to trade electricity.</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"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal unveiled the cabinet decision in this regard at a press conference on Friday, December 24. She also said that the government is making preparations to allow private companies to get involved in electricity trading.</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 the press conference, Minister Bhusal also said that the government will formulate a policy related to electricity consumption in order to reduce the import of petroleum products.</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"">She said that the government has already adopted a policy to replace gas stoves being used in the organized sector with electric stoves.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government has adopted a policy of encouraging the establishment of big industries that consume electricity and the promotion of electric vehicles. For this, I am having regular discussions with government and private sector organizations,” she 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"">Minister Bhusal also informed that the Electricity Distribution Regulation 2069 has been amended and rephrased to Consumer Friendly Electricity Distribution Regulation. According to Minister Bhusal, customers can get electricity easily when they ask for it. Electricity up to 100 kV will be available to all. Likewise, community dairy farms, cold storages, and drinking water and irrigation sector will be availed up to 200 kV from the transformer of NEA.</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"">"Now, even those living in rented houses can become customers of NEA by subscribing a separate meter from the authority, and even those living in apartments and colonies can become customers by taking a separate meter. Millions of people living in urban areas will benefit from this," she shared. </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"">Minister Bhusal added that initiative has been taken by preparing an action plan to fully electrify the country within the next two years in collaboration with Nepal Electricity Authority and Alternative Energy Promotion Center.</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"">Stating that the construction works of national pride projects have been expedited, she said that the irrigation facility has been expanded by constructing shallow and deep tube wells.</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"">Bhusal said that action plans are being prepared to move forward semi-reservoir and reservoir projects in every state through the Electricity Authority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, stating that special priority has been given to the monitoring and necessary coordination for speedy completion of transmission lines that are currently under construction, Minister Bhusal said that the construction of transmission lines and substations has been expedited through coordination between NEVIPRA and National Grid Broadcasting Company.</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"">Likewise, stating that the tariff of charging stations of electric vehicle has been fixed to encourage the use of electric vehicles, she said, "The construction work of charging stations across the country has been expedited through NEA." Arrangements have been made to set up charging stations individually, privately, and institutionally.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14288', 'image' => '20211226074909_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 19:47:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14542', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rain and Snow Forecast until Wednesday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, there are chances of light snowfall at some places in the high hills and mountainous regions, and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department further said that the influence of this system will remain until coming Wednesday. Sabina Shakya, a meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said the mercury level will further drop with the decline in the maximum and minimum temperatures due to the influence of the westerly wind. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has predicted generally cloudy weather on Monday in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and the rest of the hill region while it will be partly cloudy in other regions. There is possibility of light rainfall at a few places of the hilly region in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces as well as other provinces. Likewise, there are chances of light to moderate snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous region, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Meteorological Forecasting Division has urged one and all to adopt precaution and safety measures to protect from cold as the mercury level is dipping across the country given the chances of light snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous regions and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. The division has warned theoccurrence of fog in the Tarai region during the morning time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update shared by the Division shows that Kathmandu Valley recorded minimum temperature of 4.1 degrees Celsius and maximum of 17.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Similarly, Jumla recorded the lowest minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the maximum 28.3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14287', 'image' => '20211226061913_20190127032506_rukum (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:18:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14541', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Facing Budget Crunch to Compensate Families Displaced by Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. Since a lump sum has not been allocated for the compensation to the displaced families in the multi-year project, the budget from other headings is being transferred to meet requirement for the compensation amount. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although a budget of Rs 1.14 billion is required for compensation, the project has so far received only Rs 300 million. The project requires an additional Rs 450 million budget within next week. For this, the Department of Roads is preparing to transfer the budget of other projects. Project Chief Naresh Man Shakya informed that Rs 40 million has already been paid to the displaced families. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We are managing the extra budget by transferring the budget of the Department of Roads," said Shakya, </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The breakthrough of the main tunnel of the project was started in December last year while 2.5 km of tunnel has been dug in a year. Of the total 5.49 km long tunnel project, the length of the main tunnel is 2.86 km. Shakya said that Rs 2.5 billion budget has been spent in the current fiscal year, out of which Rs 1 billion has already been paid and a bill of Rs 1.5 billion has already been received. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated a total of Rs 9.67 billion budget for the project. It has been mentioned that the budget allocated by the government is only for the construction of the project and additional resources have to be sought for the compensation. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14286', 'image' => '20211226060644_202825123459_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:05:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14540', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Hints at Terminating Contract of Budhigandaki Project with Chinese company', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. However, the government does not have any backup plan on how to proceed further after terminating the contract with the company.</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 a press conference, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said Gezhouba has been given a deadline to complete the project. She said the government can't afford to wait any longer for the completion of the project. The government seems to have adopted a strategy of terminating the contract with Gezhouba. </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"">A senior official of the ministry said there was no plan on how to move forward in case the contract is terminated with the Chinese company. He said that the ministry is forming a special committee to study on how to move the project forward. A decision will be taken after a committee submits its report. The decision has to be made without affecting the bilateral relations with the two 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"">The government has already made up a plan to build the project with domestic investment. The Chinese company was handed over the contract when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Maoist Centre, was leading the government. Later, PM Deuba-led government scrapped the agreement but the project was again handed over to the Chinese company by former PM KP Sharma Oli. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The government had planned to build the project in the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) model. In this regard, several discussions were held between the Ministry and the Chinese company. However, that discussion has not reached any conclusions. </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"">None of the existing laws allow the construction of hydropower projects in the EPCF model. During the discussion, officials had said the agreement can't be signed in this model and sought for further study on how to build the project. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile the government is said to be fully prepared to move ahead with the construction of the project. It has completed all the tasks including DPR, environmental impact assessment report approval and compensation distribution. In that case, the government can't wait for the Chinese company any longer, said officials of the ministry.</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 EPCF model, the technical and financial aspects of the project are the responsibility of the company. The company should build the project with its own investment. After the construction, the government has to pay back to the company for its investment including for a certain period of time. However, the government has not yet reached an agreement with the company on construction modalities and investment. In a meeting held in December 2018, both sides had agreed to bring a proper proposal. Despite repeated discussions, none of the governments of Nepal have been able to reach an agreement with the company.</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 construction of Budhigandaki project is being looked upon with huge significance. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 300 billion. The government has been collecting tax of Rs 5 per liter on petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for this purpose since 2015/16.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14285', 'image' => '20211226024136_1640493225.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 14:40:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14539', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FWEAN gets New Leadership', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The eighth general convention and 18th annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.', '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"">December 26: The eighth general convention and 18</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.</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"">For the first time, the general assembly appointed members of the working committee representing all the seven provinces in accordance with the provincial structure of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A new 25-member executive committee has been formed under the leadership of Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri.</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"">Shova Gyawali is the first vice president, Darshana Shrestha is the second vice president, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha is the third vice president, Basanti Pradhan is the fourth vice president, Mahalaxmi Shrestha is the general secretary, Sabita Subedi is the secretary and Kunnam Pokhrel is the treasurer of the new executive committee.</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, Sumitra Palanchoke, Deepa Thapaliya, Neeta Pyakurel, Shradha Joshi, Soni Joshi, Shema Bista, Kriti Shrestha from Province No. 1, Dev Kumari Poudel from Province No. 2, Arpana Pradhan Bhandari from Province No. 3 and Parbati Poudel from Province No. 4, Saraswati Sharma from Province No. 5, Kavita Sodari from Province No. 6 and Meena Fulara from Province No. 7 have been appointed as executive members.</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, Aarti Nepal and Mallika Shrestha have been nominated as the invited members. The federation informed that the remaining two members will be nominated later.</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 federation's annual general meeting was held on Friday, 24</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> December, 2021. </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"">FWEAN also distributed the best district entrepreneur award along with the active member award, and best employee award of the year. The founding members were given letter of appreciation while the lifetime members were honored on the occasion.</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"">General Secretary of the former executive committee, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha, presented the annual report and the action plan for the coming year. Similarly, outgoing treasurer Mahalaxmi Shrestha presented the financial report before the formation of the new committee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14284', 'image' => '20211226015845_1640412825.Picture of FWEAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 13:58:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14538', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM Getting Ready to Print 10,000 Smart License Cards per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. ', '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"">December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. People are struggling to get their driving licenses due to the shortage of license cards with the government. Although the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) recently purchased 1.4 million smart cards from the international market, it is yet to start printing those cards. To address this issue, the DoTM is making preparations to print 10,000 smart license cards per day. The DoTM aims to overcome this problem within the next four to six months.</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"">As there is an immediate demand of just 700,000 cards, the rest of the cards will be kept in stock for future requirement, said Dr Lok Nath Bhusal, the director of DoTM, while conversing with New Business Age. “The Department of Transport Management has a machine capable of printing four cards per minute. We are preparing to print the cards immediately by managing three shifts, in the morning, afternoon and evening,” said Bhusal.</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""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20151201120540_smartl.jpg" style="height:322px; width:500px" /></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 recently purchased cards were tested in an international lab before bringing them to the department. The work of printing those cards will start this week itself, said the departments director Bhusal.</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 dismissed rumors that the department was planning to scrap the cards purchased some time ago as it was difficult to distinguish those cards from fake ones. </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"">“Smart cards have been brought in sufficiently. The DoTM, its subordinate offices and the traffic police also have card testing machines available to check whether the cards are genuine or not. That is why the cards will not be cancelled. Instead, we are thinking of including barcodes on the license,” said the Director Bhusal.</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"">However, the traffic police officials say that they lack of sufficient devices needed to test smart licenses. Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division SP Sanjiv Sharma Das said that there is only one device at the office. He said that if any license is to be checked or monitored, they need to obtain the details by contacting the Department of Transport Management. </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, however, said that this was not a big problem and necessary work was being done in coordination with the department. </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 smart license cards were last printed last in July 2020. Since then, the printing of such cards has not been regular. Distribution has been affected due to a halt in printing for a protracted period.</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"">Millions of vehicle across the country are awaiting for smart licenses. Some of them have passed the test and applied for new license, while others are awaiting to get smart licenses after renewal of their expired paper licenses.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the department, printing was affected due to the lack of cards required for licenses. “Printing software, printers and cards are required to print the license. There was a problem with the card delivery which has now been resolved. That is why we are about to start printing,” said Director Bhusal. </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 software for the smart license was developed by Madras Security Press Printers. After the implementation of the software system in 2017, the department itself took the responsibility of printing driving license. The department had called for tender last year after they ran out of cards purchased earlier. In the month of November of the same year, a French company SELP got the contract to bring the cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the agreement between the department and SELP, the company had to hand over 1.4 million cards to the department within 90 days. However, the company could not deliver the cards on time due to various technical reasons as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, the problem became much worse. According to the DoTM, the cards have been received one year after the agreement was signed. </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, drivers who have passed the trial and test and those who have applied for renewal are given a trial driver's license after paying the revenue. Such license is valid only for one year. Earlier, the trial license was said to be a temporary alternative for the time being while the DoTM was not able to print the smart license cards. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14283', 'image' => '20211226120058_20210301033304_1614549604.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 11:59:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14537', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CONCOR Plays Spoilsport', 'sub_title' => 'The company unwilling to provide rail racks to other competitors', 'summary' => 'December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Om Prakash Khanal</span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers. However, the costs outweigh the benefits to the importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It has been three months since a private train started operating from Kolkata and Visakhapatnam ports in India to transport goods to Nepal. This competition has become another issue for Nepali importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The amendment of the Nepal-India Railway Service Agreement ended the monopoly of the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) for the transportation of container goods to Nepal. The importers say that CONCOR, which had been enjoying a monopoly on transportation for a decade and a half, is now quarreling under various pretexts.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the last week of August, India's Hind Terminal, a rival of CONCOR, brought the first train to the dry port of Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the same day, CONCOR tried to discourage its competitor by reducing fares by 30 to 35 percent but failed. Now, the problem is related to loading of container from Kolkata, said a representative of the shipping company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, CONCOR as well as Hind Terminal and Prestin Logistics Infra Projects are providing transportation services from Indian ports.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, shipments have been delayed due to CONCOR's failure to provide rail racks at the Kolkata port. The shipping company has blamed that CONCOR did not provide a rack for the transportation of container to CIF Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Representatives of the shipping company said that even the containers were unloaded on December 3 it is still stuck at the Kolkata port after CONCOR did not provide the rack. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Pradip Kumar Kedia said that the risk of business loss due to late delivery of goods has increased even though the burden of delay fee in Kolkata does not fall directly on the importer.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, the importers have not got any benefits from competition among the transportation companies. It is the shipping company that has been taking advantage instead.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers are now unable to get container on time due to the attitude of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The importers are worried that the shipping company will recover the financial loss from the importer. Ultimately, this cost burden goes to the consumers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">CONCOR, which initially tried to impress the importers by lowering the fares, has now been playing the spoilsport by not providing rail racks to other competitors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As other competing companies are weak in terms of infrastructure, 90 percent of container shipments are still under the command of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"It simply came to our notice then. We have initiated a solution by coordinating with the officials of CONCOR,” said Nepal’s Consul General to Kolkata, Ishwar Raj Poudel. According to Poudel, shipping companies and importers have informed the Consulate in Kolkata that CONCOR has not provided them racks. Consul General Poudel said that he had met the senior manager of CONCOR M Mathur and asked him to allocate the necessary racks. He had expressed his commitment to facilitating the racks, added Poudel.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-24', 'modified' => '2021-12-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14282', 'image' => '20211224050233_1640303739.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-24 17:00:20', '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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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 28: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather that has been impacted by the westerly low-pressure system since a few days will gradually start improving from Thursday (December 30), according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meteorologist Sabina Shakya informed that the westerly low-pressure system will become weak from Thursday leading to improvement in the weather. Currently, the weather in most of the places across the country is generally cloudy. The mountainous region and hill areas will remain fully cloudy, said meteorologist Shakya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Most parts of the country is expected to be fully cloudy on Tuesday (December 28) while light to moderate rainfall is expected in many places on the same day. The mountainous region will experience light to moderate snowfall, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing the department. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update of the department stated that the minimum temperature in Kathmandu Valley was 5.4 degree Celsius and the maximum 17.4 degree Celsius on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the lowest temperature of -1.4 degree Celsius was recorded in Jumla and the maximum of 28 degree Celsius was recorded in Bhairahawa, RSS added. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14296', 'image' => '20211228015243_20210203122659_20181230033201_2222.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 13:51:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14550', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 51K People Visit Chitwan National Park in Current FY', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 28: More than 51,000 people visited Chitwan National Park (CNP) in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) starting from mid-July. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP's information and assistant conservation officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said 51,304 people visited the national park during this period. According to him, the highest number of visitors was recorded in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November). Altogether 21,506 people visited the national park in mid-October to mid-November, followed by 19,580 in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 5,835 people visited CNP in the month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), 2,977 in the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) and 1,906 in the month of Shrawn (mid-July to mid-August). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">CNP has collected revenue of Rs 12.99 million as entry fee from the visitors so far, Tiwari said. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14295', 'image' => '20211228120847_20210729013117_20150914111210_chitwan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 12:07:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14549', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Jade Consult bags Consultancy Contract for Hydro Project in India', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India.', '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"">December 28: Jade Consult Pvt Ltd of Nepal has been awarded the contract for consultancy service of a hydropower project to be built in Assam of India. </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 consultancy firm has been bagged the contract for the external monitoring (environmental and social) of Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project (120 MW) in Assam, India along with other two international firms as a joint venture. </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 power plant is being constructed by Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited under the ADB-funded Assam Power Sector Investment Program. The project will use the hydropower potential of the Kopili River, a south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-28', 'modified' => '2021-12-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14294', 'image' => '20211228115705_194773117_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-28 11:56:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14548', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Airline Companies Adding New Aircraft to their Fleet', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: As the aviation sector, which has been worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, is returning back to normalcy, private airlines are taking the lead in expanding their fleet to fly to new destinations. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, Shree Air, and Guna Airlines are preparing to add new aircraft and operate flights to new destinations.</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"">Domestic flights were shut down for several months due to the impact of Covid-19 causing heavy losses. According to a report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, domestic airlines have lost Rs 25 billion in revenue. However, as the coronavirus infection is declining, the aviation sector is gaining momentum.</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"">Private sector airlines have put forward plans to bring in new aircraft. On December 25, Shree Airlines brought an additional plane.</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 spokesperson of the company Anil Manandhar informed that the airlines will operate the new aircraft to Surkhet, Tumlingtar, and Bharatpur. He informed that the airlines has brought in a turboprop aircraft to Nepal on Saturday night, and another aircraft would arrive in January.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the number of aircraft has increased with the demand in the market. Yeti Airlines is also planning to add four more aircraft within 2022.</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"">Spokesperson of Yeti Airlines Sudarshan Bartaula informed that two aircraft will be brought within the next four to five months, and two more planes will be purchased within two years.</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 airline is preparing to add four aircraft in 2022, mostly ATR. Of these, 2 are ATR-47 and 2 are ATR-72. Bartaula informed that the two planes in the first phase are ATR-47 and ATR-72. Yeti has five ATR with a capacity of 72 seats.</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 addition of new planes, there are plans to expand our destinations," said Bartaula. "We will also expand our destinations to places where there are few flights." He said that after the arrival of the aircraft, there will be continuous flights to the new destinations.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He also said that there are plans to fly to new destinations in Surkhet and Dhangadhi. Yeti’s sister company Tara Air had 10 aircraft. However, Tara sold five aircraft to Guna Airlines.</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 market share has also declined due to the decline in the number of aircraft, which occupy the second market share for domestic flights. Until the sale of the aircraft, the market share was 31 percent, but after the number of planes decreased, its market share dropped to 24 percent.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14293', 'image' => '20211227045751_ATR.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:56:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14547', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FCAN, IPPAN Warn of Protest against New Insurance Premium Rate', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against development.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Construction entrepreneurs and energy producers have said that the new directive on raising insurance premium rates is against </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">development.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN) have warned of starting an agitation from January 2 if the issue is not immediately resolved. </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"">A joint delegation of FCAN and IPPAN on Sunday handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN) in this regard. They have objected to the directive issued by the board for all non-life insurance companies on September 22. </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"">They are of the view that since the basic concept of insurance has been limited to formalities by the directive of this nature, the directive is contrary to the principle of insurance. </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 memorandum states that the new directive discourages the private sector and hinders Nepal's economic prosperity. "The directive, which was issued by increasing the premium without any discussion with the stakeholders, is almost certain to destroy the private sector, including Nepal's energy sector and construction industry," the memorandum further states. </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 memorandum signed by FCAN President Ravi Singh and IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya, states that the directive has increased the business cost. They claim that this will increase the production cost of Nepali goods and services and also reduce competitiveness. </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 directive states that even if the insured pays the premium fee, the insured will not be able to claim the compensation from the insurer. They allege that this could lead to a situation where the insured has to pay only the premium but cannot claim the insurance. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14292', 'image' => '20211227044017_20200503041304_20191023114923_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 16:38:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14546', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Working Aggressively to Control Power Leakage', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. The NEA has been able to reduce the leakage in the system to 14.35 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal Year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA stated that it managed to reduce the leakage in the system from 17.18 percent in the last fiscal year to 14.35 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year by conducting leakage control campaigns. NEA can save around Rs 150 billion by controlling at least three percent of leakage on average.</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"">Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEA was lagging behind to control the leakage. As the effects of pandemic are waning, NEA has resumed nationwide programmes to control the leakages thereby bringing in significant results. </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"">Stating that power leakage control is synonymous to electricity generation, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has directed the NEA to take forward leakage control tasks in collaboration with the local administration. She has directed to take action against people involved in power theft.</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 local administration is also helping in controlling the leakage. Managing Director of NEA, Kulman Ghising, is regularly involved in leakage control campaign to increase electricity consumption. Ghising said that every provincial office and local distribution center has been given clear instructions not to compromise on leakage control.</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 of mid-November 2021, a total of 9.24 percent of the leakage was associated with distribution and the rest was due to transmission and production. NEA has set a target to limit the leakage of electricity to 15.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Ghising informed that the target will be achieved this year as the leakage is less than the target in the first four 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"">NEA reduced the leakage from 25.78 percent to 15.25 percent in 2019/20. The leakage had increased by 1.91 percent and reached 17.18 percent in 2020/21. </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"">“We have achieved good results due to effective leakage control campaign, upgradation of substations’ capacity, additional conductors, replacement of old overloaded transformers and use of three phase meters," Ghising 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"">He informed that the power supply to the industries has increased and the leakage control campaign has been made more effective. </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 Ghising tasks including non-technical leakage control, theft control, collection of due tariff, strict action against those bypassing and hooking the meter, encouraging people to use meter, are being carried out as a part of campaign," he said, adding, "While controlling the theft, NEA staff have been attacked in many places. Even in that case, NEA is determined towards effective service delivery with the support from local administration." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He further added that leakage cases are high in Kathmandu valley in the winter and in summer in Terai region, so NEA will run the campaign aggressively to achieve the set target. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14291', 'image' => '20211227010631_Energy-Theft-Cartoon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 13:03:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14545', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CAAN Approves Budget of Rs 43.6 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. ', '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"">December 27: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has passed its budget for the current fiscal year. A meeting of the Board of Directors of CAAN on Sunday (December 26) approved the budget of Rs 43.60 billion. The meeting was chaired by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale.</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 aviation regulatory body’s budget has been passed after the passage of five and a half months of the current fiscal year. Out of the budget passed by the board meeting, most of the budget has been allocated for the airports which are currently under construction.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14290', 'image' => '20211227124852_CAAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:48:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14544', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘Market Expansion Driving Rise in Imports’', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. ', '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"">December 27: The data of the last five months show exports have been gradually improving. The volume of export exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last fiscal year. Exports have already exceeded Rs 100 billion in the last five months of the current fiscal year.</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"">If the volume of export increases at the same rate, exports will be around Rs 250 billion this fiscal year, says Chandra Ghimire, former secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Ghimire warned that the volume of imports have also grown excessively. </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 increase in our income source can be seen through the market demand, which would be difficult to control through imports,” says Ghimire. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ghimire, there is a high demand for four types of goods in the market which include consumer goods, luxury items, industrial raw materials and goods for capital investment. Ghimire argues that the increase in demand for luxury items is not healthy for our economy. The increase in imports is also linked with rise in international prices of petroleum products, he further said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Materials brought for the capital investment have also contributed to the trade deficit. Since it will help to recoup the investment in the future, it is not something to be worried about.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-27', 'modified' => '2021-12-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14289', 'image' => '20211227120330_global-busines70711.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-27 12:02:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14543', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA's Subsidiary gets Permission for Power Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has granted permission to a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to trade electricity. A recent meeting of the Council of Ministers issued the permission to the Nepal Power Trade Company of NEA to trade electricity.</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"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal unveiled the cabinet decision in this regard at a press conference on Friday, December 24. She also said that the government is making preparations to allow private companies to get involved in electricity trading.</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 the press conference, Minister Bhusal also said that the government will formulate a policy related to electricity consumption in order to reduce the import of petroleum products.</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"">She said that the government has already adopted a policy to replace gas stoves being used in the organized sector with electric stoves.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The government has adopted a policy of encouraging the establishment of big industries that consume electricity and the promotion of electric vehicles. For this, I am having regular discussions with government and private sector organizations,” she 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"">Minister Bhusal also informed that the Electricity Distribution Regulation 2069 has been amended and rephrased to Consumer Friendly Electricity Distribution Regulation. According to Minister Bhusal, customers can get electricity easily when they ask for it. Electricity up to 100 kV will be available to all. Likewise, community dairy farms, cold storages, and drinking water and irrigation sector will be availed up to 200 kV from the transformer of NEA.</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"">"Now, even those living in rented houses can become customers of NEA by subscribing a separate meter from the authority, and even those living in apartments and colonies can become customers by taking a separate meter. Millions of people living in urban areas will benefit from this," she shared. </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"">Minister Bhusal added that initiative has been taken by preparing an action plan to fully electrify the country within the next two years in collaboration with Nepal Electricity Authority and Alternative Energy Promotion Center.</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"">Stating that the construction works of national pride projects have been expedited, she said that the irrigation facility has been expanded by constructing shallow and deep tube wells.</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"">Bhusal said that action plans are being prepared to move forward semi-reservoir and reservoir projects in every state through the Electricity Authority.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, stating that special priority has been given to the monitoring and necessary coordination for speedy completion of transmission lines that are currently under construction, Minister Bhusal said that the construction of transmission lines and substations has been expedited through coordination between NEVIPRA and National Grid Broadcasting Company.</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"">Likewise, stating that the tariff of charging stations of electric vehicle has been fixed to encourage the use of electric vehicles, she said, "The construction work of charging stations across the country has been expedited through NEA." Arrangements have been made to set up charging stations individually, privately, and institutionally.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14288', 'image' => '20211226074909_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 19:47:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14542', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Rain and Snow Forecast until Wednesday ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 26: The weather will be partly to generally cloudy throughout the country for a few days due to the influence of the westerly wind. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, there are chances of light snowfall at some places in the high hills and mountainous regions, and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department further said that the influence of this system will remain until coming Wednesday. Sabina Shakya, a meteorologist at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said the mercury level will further drop with the decline in the maximum and minimum temperatures due to the influence of the westerly wind. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department has predicted generally cloudy weather on Monday in Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and the rest of the hill region while it will be partly cloudy in other regions. There is possibility of light rainfall at a few places of the hilly region in Sudurpaschim and Karnali provinces as well as other provinces. Likewise, there are chances of light to moderate snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous region, the department said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Meteorological Forecasting Division has urged one and all to adopt precaution and safety measures to protect from cold as the mercury level is dipping across the country given the chances of light snowfall at some places of the high hills and mountainous regions and of light rainfall at one or two places of the hill region. The division has warned theoccurrence of fog in the Tarai region during the morning time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather update shared by the Division shows that Kathmandu Valley recorded minimum temperature of 4.1 degrees Celsius and maximum of 17.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Similarly, Jumla recorded the lowest minimum temperature of minus 4.9 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the maximum 28.3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14287', 'image' => '20211226061913_20190127032506_rukum (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:18:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14541', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Facing Budget Crunch to Compensate Families Displaced by Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The budget allocated for the construction of 128-meter-long flyover under the Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project is insufficient to compensate the land owners. Since a lump sum has not been allocated for the compensation to the displaced families in the multi-year project, the budget from other headings is being transferred to meet requirement for the compensation amount. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although a budget of Rs 1.14 billion is required for compensation, the project has so far received only Rs 300 million. The project requires an additional Rs 450 million budget within next week. For this, the Department of Roads is preparing to transfer the budget of other projects. Project Chief Naresh Man Shakya informed that Rs 40 million has already been paid to the displaced families. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"We are managing the extra budget by transferring the budget of the Department of Roads," said Shakya, </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The breakthrough of the main tunnel of the project was started in December last year while 2.5 km of tunnel has been dug in a year. Of the total 5.49 km long tunnel project, the length of the main tunnel is 2.86 km. Shakya said that Rs 2.5 billion budget has been spent in the current fiscal year, out of which Rs 1 billion has already been paid and a bill of Rs 1.5 billion has already been received. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated a total of Rs 9.67 billion budget for the project. It has been mentioned that the budget allocated by the government is only for the construction of the project and additional resources have to be sought for the compensation. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14286', 'image' => '20211226060644_202825123459_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 18:05:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14540', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Hints at Terminating Contract of Budhigandaki Project with Chinese company', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 26: The government has signalled it will terminate the agreement with Chinese company Gezhouba Group which was awarded the contract to construct the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project. However, the government does not have any backup plan on how to proceed further after terminating the contract with the company.</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 a press conference, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said Gezhouba has been given a deadline to complete the project. She said the government can't afford to wait any longer for the completion of the project. The government seems to have adopted a strategy of terminating the contract with Gezhouba. </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"">A senior official of the ministry said there was no plan on how to move forward in case the contract is terminated with the Chinese company. He said that the ministry is forming a special committee to study on how to move the project forward. A decision will be taken after a committee submits its report. The decision has to be made without affecting the bilateral relations with the two 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"">The government has already made up a plan to build the project with domestic investment. The Chinese company was handed over the contract when Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Maoist Centre, was leading the government. Later, PM Deuba-led government scrapped the agreement but the project was again handed over to the Chinese company by former PM KP Sharma Oli. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The government had planned to build the project in the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) model. In this regard, several discussions were held between the Ministry and the Chinese company. However, that discussion has not reached any conclusions. </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"">None of the existing laws allow the construction of hydropower projects in the EPCF model. During the discussion, officials had said the agreement can't be signed in this model and sought for further study on how to build the project. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile the government is said to be fully prepared to move ahead with the construction of the project. It has completed all the tasks including DPR, environmental impact assessment report approval and compensation distribution. In that case, the government can't wait for the Chinese company any longer, said officials of the ministry.</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 EPCF model, the technical and financial aspects of the project are the responsibility of the company. The company should build the project with its own investment. After the construction, the government has to pay back to the company for its investment including for a certain period of time. However, the government has not yet reached an agreement with the company on construction modalities and investment. In a meeting held in December 2018, both sides had agreed to bring a proper proposal. Despite repeated discussions, none of the governments of Nepal have been able to reach an agreement with the company.</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 construction of Budhigandaki project is being looked upon with huge significance. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 300 billion. The government has been collecting tax of Rs 5 per liter on petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel for this purpose since 2015/16.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14285', 'image' => '20211226024136_1640493225.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 14:40:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14539', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'FWEAN gets New Leadership', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: The eighth general convention and 18th annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.', '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"">December 26: The eighth general convention and 18</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> annual general meeting of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (FWEAN) has chosen a new leadership of FWEAN.</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"">For the first time, the general assembly appointed members of the working committee representing all the seven provinces in accordance with the provincial structure of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A new 25-member executive committee has been formed under the leadership of Neeru Rayamajhi Khatri.</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"">Shova Gyawali is the first vice president, Darshana Shrestha is the second vice president, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha is the third vice president, Basanti Pradhan is the fourth vice president, Mahalaxmi Shrestha is the general secretary, Sabita Subedi is the secretary and Kunnam Pokhrel is the treasurer of the new executive committee.</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, Sumitra Palanchoke, Deepa Thapaliya, Neeta Pyakurel, Shradha Joshi, Soni Joshi, Shema Bista, Kriti Shrestha from Province No. 1, Dev Kumari Poudel from Province No. 2, Arpana Pradhan Bhandari from Province No. 3 and Parbati Poudel from Province No. 4, Saraswati Sharma from Province No. 5, Kavita Sodari from Province No. 6 and Meena Fulara from Province No. 7 have been appointed as executive members.</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, Aarti Nepal and Mallika Shrestha have been nominated as the invited members. The federation informed that the remaining two members will be nominated later.</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 federation's annual general meeting was held on Friday, 24</span></span><sup><span style="font-size:7.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> December, 2021. </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"">FWEAN also distributed the best district entrepreneur award along with the active member award, and best employee award of the year. The founding members were given letter of appreciation while the lifetime members were honored on the occasion.</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"">General Secretary of the former executive committee, Sunita Vaidya Shrestha, presented the annual report and the action plan for the coming year. Similarly, outgoing treasurer Mahalaxmi Shrestha presented the financial report before the formation of the new committee.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14284', 'image' => '20211226015845_1640412825.Picture of FWEAN.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 13:58:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14538', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM Getting Ready to Print 10,000 Smart License Cards per Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. ', '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"">December 26: Acquiring a smart license is becoming more of a challenge each day. People are struggling to get their driving licenses due to the shortage of license cards with the government. Although the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) recently purchased 1.4 million smart cards from the international market, it is yet to start printing those cards. To address this issue, the DoTM is making preparations to print 10,000 smart license cards per day. The DoTM aims to overcome this problem within the next four to six months.</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"">As there is an immediate demand of just 700,000 cards, the rest of the cards will be kept in stock for future requirement, said Dr Lok Nath Bhusal, the director of DoTM, while conversing with New Business Age. “The Department of Transport Management has a machine capable of printing four cards per minute. We are preparing to print the cards immediately by managing three shifts, in the morning, afternoon and evening,” said Bhusal.</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""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20151201120540_smartl.jpg" style="height:322px; width:500px" /></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 recently purchased cards were tested in an international lab before bringing them to the department. The work of printing those cards will start this week itself, said the departments director Bhusal.</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 dismissed rumors that the department was planning to scrap the cards purchased some time ago as it was difficult to distinguish those cards from fake ones. </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"">“Smart cards have been brought in sufficiently. The DoTM, its subordinate offices and the traffic police also have card testing machines available to check whether the cards are genuine or not. That is why the cards will not be cancelled. Instead, we are thinking of including barcodes on the license,” said the Director Bhusal.</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"">However, the traffic police officials say that they lack of sufficient devices needed to test smart licenses. Spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division SP Sanjiv Sharma Das said that there is only one device at the office. He said that if any license is to be checked or monitored, they need to obtain the details by contacting the Department of Transport Management. </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, however, said that this was not a big problem and necessary work was being done in coordination with the department. </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 smart license cards were last printed last in July 2020. Since then, the printing of such cards has not been regular. Distribution has been affected due to a halt in printing for a protracted period.</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"">Millions of vehicle across the country are awaiting for smart licenses. Some of them have passed the test and applied for new license, while others are awaiting to get smart licenses after renewal of their expired paper licenses.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the department, printing was affected due to the lack of cards required for licenses. “Printing software, printers and cards are required to print the license. There was a problem with the card delivery which has now been resolved. That is why we are about to start printing,” said Director Bhusal. </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 software for the smart license was developed by Madras Security Press Printers. After the implementation of the software system in 2017, the department itself took the responsibility of printing driving license. The department had called for tender last year after they ran out of cards purchased earlier. In the month of November of the same year, a French company SELP got the contract to bring the cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the agreement between the department and SELP, the company had to hand over 1.4 million cards to the department within 90 days. However, the company could not deliver the cards on time due to various technical reasons as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, the problem became much worse. According to the DoTM, the cards have been received one year after the agreement was signed. </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, drivers who have passed the trial and test and those who have applied for renewal are given a trial driver's license after paying the revenue. Such license is valid only for one year. Earlier, the trial license was said to be a temporary alternative for the time being while the DoTM was not able to print the smart license cards. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-26', 'modified' => '2021-12-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14283', 'image' => '20211226120058_20210301033304_1614549604.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-26 11:59:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14537', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CONCOR Plays Spoilsport', 'sub_title' => 'The company unwilling to provide rail racks to other competitors', 'summary' => 'December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Om Prakash Khanal</span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 24: Nepal's foreign trade was expected to benefit from the competition among transportation service providers. However, the costs outweigh the benefits to the importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It has been three months since a private train started operating from Kolkata and Visakhapatnam ports in India to transport goods to Nepal. This competition has become another issue for Nepali importers.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The amendment of the Nepal-India Railway Service Agreement ended the monopoly of the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) for the transportation of container goods to Nepal. The importers say that CONCOR, which had been enjoying a monopoly on transportation for a decade and a half, is now quarreling under various pretexts.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the last week of August, India's Hind Terminal, a rival of CONCOR, brought the first train to the dry port of Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">On the same day, CONCOR tried to discourage its competitor by reducing fares by 30 to 35 percent but failed. Now, the problem is related to loading of container from Kolkata, said a representative of the shipping company.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, CONCOR as well as Hind Terminal and Prestin Logistics Infra Projects are providing transportation services from Indian ports.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, shipments have been delayed due to CONCOR's failure to provide rail racks at the Kolkata port. The shipping company has blamed that CONCOR did not provide a rack for the transportation of container to CIF Birgunj.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Representatives of the shipping company said that even the containers were unloaded on December 3 it is still stuck at the Kolkata port after CONCOR did not provide the rack. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Pradip Kumar Kedia said that the risk of business loss due to late delivery of goods has increased even though the burden of delay fee in Kolkata does not fall directly on the importer.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, the importers have not got any benefits from competition among the transportation companies. It is the shipping company that has been taking advantage instead.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers are now unable to get container on time due to the attitude of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The importers are worried that the shipping company will recover the financial loss from the importer. Ultimately, this cost burden goes to the consumers. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">CONCOR, which initially tried to impress the importers by lowering the fares, has now been playing the spoilsport by not providing rail racks to other competitors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As other competing companies are weak in terms of infrastructure, 90 percent of container shipments are still under the command of CONCOR.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"It simply came to our notice then. We have initiated a solution by coordinating with the officials of CONCOR,” said Nepal’s Consul General to Kolkata, Ishwar Raj Poudel. According to Poudel, shipping companies and importers have informed the Consulate in Kolkata that CONCOR has not provided them racks. Consul General Poudel said that he had met the senior manager of CONCOR M Mathur and asked him to allocate the necessary racks. He had expressed his commitment to facilitating the racks, added Poudel.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-24', 'modified' => '2021-12-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14282', 'image' => '20211224050233_1640303739.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-24 17:00:20', '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
