December 12: The Biratnagar Airport Victims Struggle Committee handed over a memorandum to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale on…
December 12: The Biratnagar Airport Victims Struggle Committee handed over a memorandum to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale on…
December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the…
December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days.…
December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India.…
December 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to…
December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association…
December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent.…
December 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of…
December 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce).…
December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal…
December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial…
December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the…
December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance…
December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday.…
December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same…
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Stating that they have not received any compensation even after 17 months they were barred from transferring their land after the airport initiated the process for acquisition of their land , the victims' team had demanded the Minister to pay them the due compensation or release their houses and land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 government is planning to acquire 126 bighas of land to uprgade Biratnagar Airport to a regional airport. The team of the Struggle Committee met minister Ale and demanded that the airport should acquire the entire land of those whose portion of land falls inside the airport and, compensation should be paid in lump sum. Likewise, they also demanded that they should be paid Rs 4,500 per square foot for a house and Rs 2 million per dhur of land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale assured that they are ready to listen to the victims and will manage the fund for the compensation once they return to Kathmandu. He said he was positive about the demands of the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister Ale also inspected the Biratnagar Airport on Friday. He also said that a budget of Rs 85 million would be allocated for beautification of Biratnagar Airport.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 mentioned that a budget would be allocated for the development and expansion of the airport and construction of the palace of the ancient King Birat at Bhediyari in Biratnagar. Minister Ale said that it would be appropriate to move the Biratnagar Airport to Amduwa, Sunsari. He said that if all the political parties, organizations, private sector and the people of Biratnagar do not have objection, then the airport could be relocated to 600 bighas of land in Amduwa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale pointed to the officials of CNI and said, “The ball is in your court. If you come to an agreement, the airport can be shifted to Amduwa.” The government has also allocated a budget to conduct a study to build a cross-border industrial zone on 600 bighas of land in Amaduwa.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14205', 'image' => '20211212020341_20211201071952_1638316047.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 14:03:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bheri-Babai Project Expected to Complete by 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.The second phase of works was related to civil construction while the third phase includes work related to hydro mechanical (HM) and electro-mechanical (EM) engineering, according to information officer at the project, Lekhnath Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride project with estimated cost of over Rs 36.8 billion has achieved 49 per cent of physical progress and 38.24 per cent of fiscal progress so far, shared Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Agreement for the HM related works has been inked while e-bidding for EM is in the process, he informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project aims to divert water from Bheri River to Babai River through a 12.2-kilometre tunnel and irrigate 51,000 hectares of farmland in Banke and Bardiya districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The multipurpose project, which is expected to be completed by 2023, will also generate 48 megawatts of electricity, according to the project officials. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14204', 'image' => '20211212121946_20171123111955_20171120041016_Veri Babai TBM.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 12:18:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14458', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mercury Level Plummets, Snowfall Predicted later this Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. The minimum temperature of the Valley was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the coldest this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The temperature was 5.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 6.5 degrees on Friday, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Due to a drop in temperature, people are experiencing extreme cold throughout the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Department has urged one and all to keep warm and safe from cold as mercury continues to dip. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Snowfall is predicted in some high areas of Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Gandaki Provinces later this week due to the mixture of westerly wind and westerly low pressure system, the Department said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest updates provided by the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the maximum temperature of the Valley was 19.8 degrees Celsius today (December 12). Similarly, Jumla reported the lowest minus 4.5 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the highest 28.4 degrees Celsius. </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14203', 'image' => '20211212105233_20190228040359_DSC_2752.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 10:51:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collaboration Between Nepal and India Emphasized for Promotion of Religious Tourism ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. ', 'content' => '<p><em>Lumbini. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. They argued that this will benefit both the countries as they share centuries-old bond and similar culture and religion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The stakeholders said so while addressing a three-day international convention of the Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) organized by the ABTO, India in Bodh Gaya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Inaugurating the convention on Friday (December 10), New Delhi government's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam underscored the need for mutual cooperation between India and Nepal to tap the abundant potential of the two countries in tourism sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He emphasized mutual cooperation to promote religious tourism in the countries as both Nepal and India have been connected to issues relating to Lord Buddha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Such initiate would help in economic and social developments of both the countries, according to a statement issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, other participants on the occasion also seconded Minister Gautam while emphasizing cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of religious tourism. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Those who shared their views included NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents, Achyut Guragain; General Secretary of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, Sarita Lama; central member of the Hotel Association of Nepal, CP Shrestha; and Assistant Director of the Kolkata Tourism Office, BB Mukherjee.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Experts will table various working papers during the convention. A business-to-business (B2B) session will also be organized during the event as well, said the ABTO General Secretary Dr Kaulesh Kumar. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/LumbiniRSS%281%29.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14202', 'image' => '20211212104623_LumbiniRSSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 08:13:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Work Procedure on Tourism Leave Limited to Draft', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft.', '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 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft. Although the draft of the procedure was prepared last September it has not been approved yet. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has also delayed collecting feedback related to the draft from other ministries. One month after the draft was prepared, the ministry started seeking suggestions from all the ministries. Currently, only a few ministries have provided feedback on the draft procedure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tek Narayan Poudel, joint spokesperson of the Ministry, said that a revised draft of the work procedure will be submitted to the Council of Ministers as soon as the ministry approves the suggestions received from other ministries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, he said that the suggestions would be collected soon, and the procedure would be passed and implemented within December. The government had announced this program in its budget speech on May 30. It took almost six months to prepare the draft of the work procedure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tourism entrepreneurs have become frustrated with the government for not implementing the plan to provide 10-day tourism leave to civil servants and other government employees as a relief to the tourism sector that has been worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraged by the program brought by the government, the tourism entrepreneurs had come up with attractive packages accordingly. However, they say that the package did not work.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though hoteliers have made packages in collaboration with airline companies, they are disappointed that the programme has not been implemented, says Binayak Shah, senior vice president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). "The work procedure has not been finalized yet. Therefore, this program isn’t meaningful at all,” said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the tourism sector requires domestic tourists at the moment as foreign tourists are not coming in large numbers as before.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government had pledged to implement the programme soon after the announcement, Shah said that there is no possibility to move ahead as the government has not started the programme yet. He added that it is too late to implement the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Talking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Khum Bahadur Subedi, complained that the government had given priority only to the plan but did not show seriousness in its implementation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 packages and plans made by the trekking agencies for this purpose have been wasted, said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 draft of the working procedure has provision to provide expenses even to a non-employee, i.e. a family member of the employee. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the budget announcement, the government had mentioned that civil servants as well as employees of public institutions and establishments will be provided tourism leave with an amount equal to 10 days' salary in order to promote domestic tourism.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14201', 'image' => '20211210063052_20200719042015_Tourism Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:30:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Thapa Elected NADA President ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">An entrepreneur from Pokhara, Thapa, defeated his rival Karan Chaudhary by 66 votes. NADA's chief election officer and advocate Bal Krishna Dhakal shared that Thapa received 1,413 votes against 1,347 votes obtained by Chaudhary. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 45th annual general meeting of NADA has elected a 17-member executive committee that includes Bikram Singhania, Milan Babu Malla, Rajan Babu Shrestha and Surendra Kumar Uptrey. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Sunil Rijal, Abhisekh Jyoti, Prakash Kapuri, Bikram Singhania, Gopal Bhattarai, Yamuna Shreshta and Bardan Basnet among others were also elected in the new executive committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the total 3,200 members of NADA, 2,788 votes were cast in the election for the new executive committee. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14200', 'image' => '20211210065523_NADA-Election-2021-Dhruba-Thapa-Panel-Announced-Featured-Image-1110x577.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Finance Minister Assures of Economic Growth Rate of 7 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The goal of economic growth was difficult to achieve in the past due to various problems, said Sharma, adding that there won’t be such problems now.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Finance Minister Sharma said that 98 percent of the industries and factories have been re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that economic activities have increased everywhere and this will also help in economic growth.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, climate change has been seen as the main challenge in achieving economic growth of late. Stating that billions of rupees have been lost due to unseasonal rainfall, he said that despite these challenges, the target of economic growth would be met.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he also said that liquidity crisis still persists in the market. Stating that there is only Rs 16 billion investment (liquidity) in the banking sector now, he said that the liquidity problem has been removed to some extent. “Even though the NRB has injected Rs 2.3 trillion in the banking system in the current fiscal year alone, the problem has not been resolved. The lack of capital expenditure is also a weakness. However, government’s overall expenditure is 2 percent higher than last year,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the flow of foreign aid is continuing, he said that discussions are being held with various donor agencies. “We have just reached an agreement for $400 million loan with the IMF under the ECF. We are getting $100 million at the moment. We are also in the process of getting assistance from other agencies like ADB and other countries,” said Minister Sharma.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that NRB has made arrangements for non-resident Nepalis to open savings accounts in dollars, he said that it would have a positive impact on the country's economy. According to Sharma, the ministry has deployed a special task force at the airport customs. The task force has been seizing 19/20 kg of gold daily at the airport. Stating that arrangements have been made to release the seized gold only after collecting customs duty, Sharma expressed confidence that it would help in revenue collection</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 the meeting of the committee, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said that there was a lack of liquidity as more loans were disbursed than deposits collected. According to officials, deposits have increased by only Rs 64 billion whereas loans from the banking system have gone up to Rs 411 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a lack of liquidity due to the gap of Rs 300 billion,” he said. According to the governor, 50 percent of the extended loan, or Rs 205 billion, has to be spent on imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that remittances have not increased significantly, Governor Adhikari said that an average of Rs 80 billion is being received. He says remittances have not been able to keep up with high imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14199', 'image' => '20211210015931_CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:58:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14453', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Controlling Inflation is Challenging, says NRB Governor', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.', '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 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is of the view that it will be quite challenging to keep inflation within the limit of 6.5 percent </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">if the current economic indicators are not improved.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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/20201211011108_20200407080848_IMG_4955%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="height:268px; width:300px" /></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the impact of this year's heavy rainfall on rice and other crops will reflect in inflation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 made such remarks during a meeting of the Finance Committee of Parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank is mobilizing all its monetary instruments for the management of financial crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the central bank is planning to tighten imports of luxury items, considering its impact on the economy. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that imports, which were excessively high during the pandemic, may be alarming under normal circumstances, he warned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign exchange reserves have declined to Rs 131 billion from Rs 139 billion. With foreign investment and remittances declining, payments for rising import is another challenge.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 shortage of liquidity still persists. Credit worth Rs 411 billion has been disbursed until now but only Rs 64 billion has been collected as deposits resulting in the liquidity crisis. And a total of Rs 205 billion is being spent for imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Adhikari said the flow of remittance has not increased much and stands at an average of Rs 80 billion. Remittance inflow has not been able to cope with the high volume of import, he said. Considering the impact on liquidity, the central bank has not raised internal debt. In order to increase the flow of remittance, the central bank has floated the idea of increasing the interest on the amount deposited through remittance by one percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, a new scheme has been introduced to attract deposits from non-resident Nepalis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 also suggested investing in the stock market after developing a good understanding about it. Investors need to have information about financial reports of companies before investing, added Adhikari. The stock market witnessed a steep rise due to lack of promising areas during the pandemic. Public awareness needs to be increased regarding this matter, he further stated. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14198', 'image' => '20211210013911_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:37:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Online Payment on the Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). ', '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 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). Although e-commerce has already been popular for quite some time, payments were still made in cash. However, lately, payments have also been increasing through electronic means.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 data obtained from the Department of Payment Systems of Nepal Rastra Bank, electronic payments have been increasing progressively since last May. Not only the amount, but the number of transactions has also increased during the review 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"">From mid-May to mid-June last year, payments of Rs 161 million were made through electronic means. By September, it had increased to Rs 455 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During last May, the number of payments made online while purchasing goods was 38,613. By September, 76,357 such payments were made.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, although most of the customers bought goods online, they used to make payments through cash. NRB spokesperson Dev Kumar Dhakal says that the trend of making payments online has increased recently in contrast to previous years. “Now, the common people are changing their habits. They tend to stop carrying cash. They try to make online payments whenever it’s possible,” he said, adding “This is the reason why online payments are increasing.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 says Covid-19 has made electronic payments take a big leap. “Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are starting to use technology,” said Dhakal adding, “There are various digital wallets in operation currently. Banks are also making mobile banking more effective, aiding in the surge of electronic payments.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14197', 'image' => '20211210125229_20200918073634_digita.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 12:51:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIAA Files Corruption Case against Former Section Officer of Finance Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA filed the case against the retired officer at the Special Court charging him of amassing the amount illegally during his 35-year service to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the anti-graft body, the detailed study of Thapaliya’s income and expenditure since he started the government job on February 18, 1984 till his retirement on April 13, 2019 could only establish the source of income amounting to Rs 10.2 million. However, Thapaliya has been found of spending and investing an Rs 20.67 million during the review period, out of which the source of income of Rs 16.4 million is unknown. The CIAA decided to file the corruption case against Thapaliya after this source of income could not be verified. The anti-graft body has sought a bail amount equal to the money he amassed through unconfirmed sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also sought to freeze his properties including land, house and bank account whose source is not confirmed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also filed a case against his wife Muna Panta Thapaliya for abetting the crime. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14196', 'image' => '20211210115020_20210624124455_20190205023717_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 11:49:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Urea Imported on Subsidy Grossly Misused: Parliamentary Committee ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the National Assembly's Delegated Management and Government Assurance Committee on Wednesday shared the information that around 80 plywood industries currently operating in the country are using the chemical fertilizer for gluing purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The misuse has come to the light in course of committee interaction with stakeholders on how to best utilize and manage around 150,000 sacks of chemical fertilizer that has been stuck in Birgunj-based dry port. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the official data, the government has been annually importing almost 500,000 tons of chemical fertilizer from abroad for agriculture. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has been suspected that out of the total imported urea, roughly 10 percent has been supplied to the plywood industries. It has been found that majority of industries have been using urea although they have stated that a chemical namely raisin will be used as glue in course of obtaining approval for setting up the industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has been providing chemical fertilizer to the farmers at subsidized rate of Rs 74 per kilogram. The fertilizer is not available for the farmers during the time of crop cultivation in Nepal, when it is needed the most. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The alleged use of chemical fertilizers for commercial purpose meant to be given to the farmers shows a gross misuse of subsidy provided to the farmers. The price of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold in the international market of late. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is very tough to import chemical fertilizers with the rise in the price of raw materials used in manufacturing fertilizers, shared the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Salt Trading Corporation and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Committee President Ram Narayan Bidari said serious discussion with concerned ministry and agency has been put forth to draw their attention to resolve the pertinent problem of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14195', 'image' => '20211210081838_20210526042706_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 08:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Blacklists Six Construction Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office on Wednesday took a decision to this effect. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notice issued by the Office on December 9, the construction companies that have been blacklisted include Nilgiri Construction Service, Elite Construction Company, Chyangrasi Construction Service and SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., all based in Kathmandu, and Banke-based Tridev Construction Company and SNC Construction Pvt. Ltd. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The companies were blacklisted in line with Clause 63 (1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nilgiri Construction Service has been blacklisted for three years upon the recommendation of the Road Division Office, Lahan. Similarly, Elite Construction Company and Chyangrasi Construction Service have faced action for two years each upon the recommendation of Chandranagar Rural Municipality in Sarlahi district and Tarakeshwor Municipality in Kathmandu respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., Tridev Construction Service and SNC Construction Service Pvt. Ltd. have been blacklisted for one year each. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The blacklisted companies are not allowed to take part in any construction work of the government during the period for which they have been banned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14194', 'image' => '20211209062329_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 18:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Insurance Board to form Special Task Force to Resolve Reinsurance Dispute', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board had issued a directive on November 25 asking all non-life and life insurance companies to purchase reinsurance policy with the domestic reinsurance company. The board had ordered the companies to reinsure with a foreign company only in case the domestic company refuses to take reinsurance policy. The directive was criticised by all the insurance companies and stakeholders and sought for its immediate withdrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following its widespread protest, the board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the issue. Rajuraman Poudel, CEO of the board, said that a special task force is being formed to resolve the dispute. "The stakeholders will be summoned for discussion where they need to present their recommendations. We will take necessary decisions in this regard on the basis of the investigation by the task force,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After two weeks since the directive was issued, Life Insurance Association and the Nepal Insurers Association have submitted a memorandum to the Insurance Board against it. Poudel confirmed that they have received memorandum from both organizations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The associations have also demanded withdrawal of the directive stating that it was against the principles of insurance. According to them, the directive could create more problems as reinsurance companies do not have the capacity to take cent per cent reinsurance. They may not be able to pay the claims so the board must withdraw the directive and that the insurance companies should be allowed to conduct business independently.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board will also discuss about the memorandum with the task force. "Stakeholders should come to the task force and have their concerns reported. Then it will be easier for us to make decisions," Poudel added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14193', 'image' => '20211209054859_20210627122025_20200417105653_Beema-Samiti.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 17:48:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lessons from Nepal’s Reconstruction Exemplary, says President Bhandari', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><em>President Bidya Devi Bhandari attending an internationa conference organised by the National Reconstruction Authority on Wednesday. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. The conference was inaugurated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Bhandari said that the support offered by the international community has proved to be a milestone in the post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation of Nepal</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The experiences and lessons learned during post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation will be exemplary for the international community and our future generations,” said Bhandari, adding, “I believe that the documents prepared by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) including all parties involved in the reconstruction work will be a source of valuable knowledge for anyone involved in the field of disaster risk reduction and management.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg" style="height:297px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that the reconstruction has helped the country enhance its decision-making capacity, introduce new technology and produce skilled manpower. Stating that a high level of political understanding and support from allies would be important in disaster management and reconstruction, he said that some of the remaining works would be done through the regular mechanism of the government. At the program, Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka said that the support of donors and development partners has given significant support to build the confidence of the people and uplift them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_NARAYANKHADKA.jpg" style="height:382px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, Sushil Gyawali, said that the reconstruction has reached the stage of completion with the support of all stakeholders including development partners. He said that the political leadership should express a strong commitment and understanding, empower autonomous bodies, mobilize the community and adopt an inclusive policy while carrying out reconstruction and disaster management work in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recorded messages from Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, British FCDO Minister Lord Ahmed, and Japanese Minister of State for External Affairs Honda Taro were presented at the inauguration ceremony. Similarly, recorded messages of Neil Buhne, regional director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; ADB Vice President Shixin Chen; European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic; Patricia Danzi, director general of the SDC, and Delhi-based Charge d'Affaires Amanda Strohan of Canada, who also looks after Nepal were presented as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The event was addressed by US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry, World Bank’s Country Director for Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lankan Faris Hadad Zervos and UNICEF South Asian Regional Director Laryea Adjei. Similarly, Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal read out a message from Norway's Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim. Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of China Hou Yanqi and Ambassador of Switzerland Elizabeth Von Kepler were also present at the inauguration ceremony.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following the inauguration program, 10 subjective sessions of the conference have been completed as well. After completing 10 more sessions on Thursday, the conference will conclude in the afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the chief guest.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14192', 'image' => '20211209020105_CKC_KTM_BIDHYADEVIBHANDARI.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:58:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14446', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Carpet Manufacturers Demand Facilities Given to Textile Industries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The carpet industry operating in the country with a total investment of Rs 1.5 billion has been at the receiving end due to the unfair policy of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The import of yarn required for textile and carpet industries is subject to 5 percent customs duty. However, the raw material (polypropylene) required for making the same yarn is subject to 10 percent customs duty. Anupam Rathi, the director of Hitex Carpet, said that the industries have been facing problems due to the fact that the customs duty for raw material is more expensive than the customs duty for manufactured materials. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi also complained that the carpets produced by the industry did not get subsidies like other carpet and textile industries. However, the garment industry is getting this facility, said Rathi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He handed over a letter to Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, who arrived in Biratnagar three days ago, to resolve the problems faced by the industries in production and export of yarn and carpet. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi argues that the carpet industry must be categorized as a textile industry and provided with the facilities that a textile industry is given. He has been putting forth this demand since the last four years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In all the major carpet producing countries including India, such industries are considered as textile industries,” said Rathi, “However, in Nepal, textile means garment industry that makes shirting and suiting products. The jute industry also falls under the textile category.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hitex Carpet is also producing yarn itself. “We are producing carpet yarn. However, the customs duty has made it difficult for us,” he said, adding, “Importing ready-made yarn costs 5 percent customs duty, the customs duty on raw material for yarn is 10 percent.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14191', 'image' => '20211209011249_20190526022115_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:12:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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Stating that they have not received any compensation even after 17 months they were barred from transferring their land after the airport initiated the process for acquisition of their land , the victims' team had demanded the Minister to pay them the due compensation or release their houses and land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 government is planning to acquire 126 bighas of land to uprgade Biratnagar Airport to a regional airport. The team of the Struggle Committee met minister Ale and demanded that the airport should acquire the entire land of those whose portion of land falls inside the airport and, compensation should be paid in lump sum. Likewise, they also demanded that they should be paid Rs 4,500 per square foot for a house and Rs 2 million per dhur of land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale assured that they are ready to listen to the victims and will manage the fund for the compensation once they return to Kathmandu. He said he was positive about the demands of the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister Ale also inspected the Biratnagar Airport on Friday. He also said that a budget of Rs 85 million would be allocated for beautification of Biratnagar Airport.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 mentioned that a budget would be allocated for the development and expansion of the airport and construction of the palace of the ancient King Birat at Bhediyari in Biratnagar. Minister Ale said that it would be appropriate to move the Biratnagar Airport to Amduwa, Sunsari. He said that if all the political parties, organizations, private sector and the people of Biratnagar do not have objection, then the airport could be relocated to 600 bighas of land in Amduwa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale pointed to the officials of CNI and said, “The ball is in your court. If you come to an agreement, the airport can be shifted to Amduwa.” The government has also allocated a budget to conduct a study to build a cross-border industrial zone on 600 bighas of land in Amaduwa.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14205', 'image' => '20211212020341_20211201071952_1638316047.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 14:03:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bheri-Babai Project Expected to Complete by 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.The second phase of works was related to civil construction while the third phase includes work related to hydro mechanical (HM) and electro-mechanical (EM) engineering, according to information officer at the project, Lekhnath Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride project with estimated cost of over Rs 36.8 billion has achieved 49 per cent of physical progress and 38.24 per cent of fiscal progress so far, shared Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Agreement for the HM related works has been inked while e-bidding for EM is in the process, he informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project aims to divert water from Bheri River to Babai River through a 12.2-kilometre tunnel and irrigate 51,000 hectares of farmland in Banke and Bardiya districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The multipurpose project, which is expected to be completed by 2023, will also generate 48 megawatts of electricity, according to the project officials. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14204', 'image' => '20211212121946_20171123111955_20171120041016_Veri Babai TBM.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 12:18:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14458', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mercury Level Plummets, Snowfall Predicted later this Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. The minimum temperature of the Valley was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the coldest this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The temperature was 5.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 6.5 degrees on Friday, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Due to a drop in temperature, people are experiencing extreme cold throughout the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Department has urged one and all to keep warm and safe from cold as mercury continues to dip. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Snowfall is predicted in some high areas of Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Gandaki Provinces later this week due to the mixture of westerly wind and westerly low pressure system, the Department said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest updates provided by the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the maximum temperature of the Valley was 19.8 degrees Celsius today (December 12). Similarly, Jumla reported the lowest minus 4.5 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the highest 28.4 degrees Celsius. </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14203', 'image' => '20211212105233_20190228040359_DSC_2752.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 10:51:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collaboration Between Nepal and India Emphasized for Promotion of Religious Tourism ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. ', 'content' => '<p><em>Lumbini. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. They argued that this will benefit both the countries as they share centuries-old bond and similar culture and religion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The stakeholders said so while addressing a three-day international convention of the Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) organized by the ABTO, India in Bodh Gaya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Inaugurating the convention on Friday (December 10), New Delhi government's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam underscored the need for mutual cooperation between India and Nepal to tap the abundant potential of the two countries in tourism sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He emphasized mutual cooperation to promote religious tourism in the countries as both Nepal and India have been connected to issues relating to Lord Buddha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Such initiate would help in economic and social developments of both the countries, according to a statement issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, other participants on the occasion also seconded Minister Gautam while emphasizing cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of religious tourism. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Those who shared their views included NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents, Achyut Guragain; General Secretary of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, Sarita Lama; central member of the Hotel Association of Nepal, CP Shrestha; and Assistant Director of the Kolkata Tourism Office, BB Mukherjee.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Experts will table various working papers during the convention. A business-to-business (B2B) session will also be organized during the event as well, said the ABTO General Secretary Dr Kaulesh Kumar. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/LumbiniRSS%281%29.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14202', 'image' => '20211212104623_LumbiniRSSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 08:13:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Work Procedure on Tourism Leave Limited to Draft', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft.', '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 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft. Although the draft of the procedure was prepared last September it has not been approved yet. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has also delayed collecting feedback related to the draft from other ministries. One month after the draft was prepared, the ministry started seeking suggestions from all the ministries. Currently, only a few ministries have provided feedback on the draft procedure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tek Narayan Poudel, joint spokesperson of the Ministry, said that a revised draft of the work procedure will be submitted to the Council of Ministers as soon as the ministry approves the suggestions received from other ministries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, he said that the suggestions would be collected soon, and the procedure would be passed and implemented within December. The government had announced this program in its budget speech on May 30. It took almost six months to prepare the draft of the work procedure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tourism entrepreneurs have become frustrated with the government for not implementing the plan to provide 10-day tourism leave to civil servants and other government employees as a relief to the tourism sector that has been worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraged by the program brought by the government, the tourism entrepreneurs had come up with attractive packages accordingly. However, they say that the package did not work.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though hoteliers have made packages in collaboration with airline companies, they are disappointed that the programme has not been implemented, says Binayak Shah, senior vice president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). "The work procedure has not been finalized yet. Therefore, this program isn’t meaningful at all,” said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the tourism sector requires domestic tourists at the moment as foreign tourists are not coming in large numbers as before.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government had pledged to implement the programme soon after the announcement, Shah said that there is no possibility to move ahead as the government has not started the programme yet. He added that it is too late to implement the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Talking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Khum Bahadur Subedi, complained that the government had given priority only to the plan but did not show seriousness in its implementation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 packages and plans made by the trekking agencies for this purpose have been wasted, said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 draft of the working procedure has provision to provide expenses even to a non-employee, i.e. a family member of the employee. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the budget announcement, the government had mentioned that civil servants as well as employees of public institutions and establishments will be provided tourism leave with an amount equal to 10 days' salary in order to promote domestic tourism.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14201', 'image' => '20211210063052_20200719042015_Tourism Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:30:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Thapa Elected NADA President ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">An entrepreneur from Pokhara, Thapa, defeated his rival Karan Chaudhary by 66 votes. NADA's chief election officer and advocate Bal Krishna Dhakal shared that Thapa received 1,413 votes against 1,347 votes obtained by Chaudhary. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 45th annual general meeting of NADA has elected a 17-member executive committee that includes Bikram Singhania, Milan Babu Malla, Rajan Babu Shrestha and Surendra Kumar Uptrey. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Sunil Rijal, Abhisekh Jyoti, Prakash Kapuri, Bikram Singhania, Gopal Bhattarai, Yamuna Shreshta and Bardan Basnet among others were also elected in the new executive committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the total 3,200 members of NADA, 2,788 votes were cast in the election for the new executive committee. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14200', 'image' => '20211210065523_NADA-Election-2021-Dhruba-Thapa-Panel-Announced-Featured-Image-1110x577.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Finance Minister Assures of Economic Growth Rate of 7 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The goal of economic growth was difficult to achieve in the past due to various problems, said Sharma, adding that there won’t be such problems now.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Finance Minister Sharma said that 98 percent of the industries and factories have been re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that economic activities have increased everywhere and this will also help in economic growth.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, climate change has been seen as the main challenge in achieving economic growth of late. Stating that billions of rupees have been lost due to unseasonal rainfall, he said that despite these challenges, the target of economic growth would be met.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he also said that liquidity crisis still persists in the market. Stating that there is only Rs 16 billion investment (liquidity) in the banking sector now, he said that the liquidity problem has been removed to some extent. “Even though the NRB has injected Rs 2.3 trillion in the banking system in the current fiscal year alone, the problem has not been resolved. The lack of capital expenditure is also a weakness. However, government’s overall expenditure is 2 percent higher than last year,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the flow of foreign aid is continuing, he said that discussions are being held with various donor agencies. “We have just reached an agreement for $400 million loan with the IMF under the ECF. We are getting $100 million at the moment. We are also in the process of getting assistance from other agencies like ADB and other countries,” said Minister Sharma.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that NRB has made arrangements for non-resident Nepalis to open savings accounts in dollars, he said that it would have a positive impact on the country's economy. According to Sharma, the ministry has deployed a special task force at the airport customs. The task force has been seizing 19/20 kg of gold daily at the airport. Stating that arrangements have been made to release the seized gold only after collecting customs duty, Sharma expressed confidence that it would help in revenue collection</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 the meeting of the committee, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said that there was a lack of liquidity as more loans were disbursed than deposits collected. According to officials, deposits have increased by only Rs 64 billion whereas loans from the banking system have gone up to Rs 411 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a lack of liquidity due to the gap of Rs 300 billion,” he said. According to the governor, 50 percent of the extended loan, or Rs 205 billion, has to be spent on imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that remittances have not increased significantly, Governor Adhikari said that an average of Rs 80 billion is being received. He says remittances have not been able to keep up with high imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14199', 'image' => '20211210015931_CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:58:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14453', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Controlling Inflation is Challenging, says NRB Governor', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.', '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 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is of the view that it will be quite challenging to keep inflation within the limit of 6.5 percent </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">if the current economic indicators are not improved.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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/20201211011108_20200407080848_IMG_4955%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="height:268px; width:300px" /></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the impact of this year's heavy rainfall on rice and other crops will reflect in inflation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 made such remarks during a meeting of the Finance Committee of Parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank is mobilizing all its monetary instruments for the management of financial crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the central bank is planning to tighten imports of luxury items, considering its impact on the economy. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that imports, which were excessively high during the pandemic, may be alarming under normal circumstances, he warned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign exchange reserves have declined to Rs 131 billion from Rs 139 billion. With foreign investment and remittances declining, payments for rising import is another challenge.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 shortage of liquidity still persists. Credit worth Rs 411 billion has been disbursed until now but only Rs 64 billion has been collected as deposits resulting in the liquidity crisis. And a total of Rs 205 billion is being spent for imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Adhikari said the flow of remittance has not increased much and stands at an average of Rs 80 billion. Remittance inflow has not been able to cope with the high volume of import, he said. Considering the impact on liquidity, the central bank has not raised internal debt. In order to increase the flow of remittance, the central bank has floated the idea of increasing the interest on the amount deposited through remittance by one percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, a new scheme has been introduced to attract deposits from non-resident Nepalis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 also suggested investing in the stock market after developing a good understanding about it. Investors need to have information about financial reports of companies before investing, added Adhikari. The stock market witnessed a steep rise due to lack of promising areas during the pandemic. Public awareness needs to be increased regarding this matter, he further stated. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14198', 'image' => '20211210013911_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:37:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Online Payment on the Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). ', '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 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). Although e-commerce has already been popular for quite some time, payments were still made in cash. However, lately, payments have also been increasing through electronic means.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 data obtained from the Department of Payment Systems of Nepal Rastra Bank, electronic payments have been increasing progressively since last May. Not only the amount, but the number of transactions has also increased during the review 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"">From mid-May to mid-June last year, payments of Rs 161 million were made through electronic means. By September, it had increased to Rs 455 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During last May, the number of payments made online while purchasing goods was 38,613. By September, 76,357 such payments were made.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, although most of the customers bought goods online, they used to make payments through cash. NRB spokesperson Dev Kumar Dhakal says that the trend of making payments online has increased recently in contrast to previous years. “Now, the common people are changing their habits. They tend to stop carrying cash. They try to make online payments whenever it’s possible,” he said, adding “This is the reason why online payments are increasing.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 says Covid-19 has made electronic payments take a big leap. “Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are starting to use technology,” said Dhakal adding, “There are various digital wallets in operation currently. Banks are also making mobile banking more effective, aiding in the surge of electronic payments.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14197', 'image' => '20211210125229_20200918073634_digita.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 12:51:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIAA Files Corruption Case against Former Section Officer of Finance Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA filed the case against the retired officer at the Special Court charging him of amassing the amount illegally during his 35-year service to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the anti-graft body, the detailed study of Thapaliya’s income and expenditure since he started the government job on February 18, 1984 till his retirement on April 13, 2019 could only establish the source of income amounting to Rs 10.2 million. However, Thapaliya has been found of spending and investing an Rs 20.67 million during the review period, out of which the source of income of Rs 16.4 million is unknown. The CIAA decided to file the corruption case against Thapaliya after this source of income could not be verified. The anti-graft body has sought a bail amount equal to the money he amassed through unconfirmed sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also sought to freeze his properties including land, house and bank account whose source is not confirmed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also filed a case against his wife Muna Panta Thapaliya for abetting the crime. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14196', 'image' => '20211210115020_20210624124455_20190205023717_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 11:49:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Urea Imported on Subsidy Grossly Misused: Parliamentary Committee ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the National Assembly's Delegated Management and Government Assurance Committee on Wednesday shared the information that around 80 plywood industries currently operating in the country are using the chemical fertilizer for gluing purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The misuse has come to the light in course of committee interaction with stakeholders on how to best utilize and manage around 150,000 sacks of chemical fertilizer that has been stuck in Birgunj-based dry port. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the official data, the government has been annually importing almost 500,000 tons of chemical fertilizer from abroad for agriculture. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has been suspected that out of the total imported urea, roughly 10 percent has been supplied to the plywood industries. It has been found that majority of industries have been using urea although they have stated that a chemical namely raisin will be used as glue in course of obtaining approval for setting up the industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has been providing chemical fertilizer to the farmers at subsidized rate of Rs 74 per kilogram. The fertilizer is not available for the farmers during the time of crop cultivation in Nepal, when it is needed the most. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The alleged use of chemical fertilizers for commercial purpose meant to be given to the farmers shows a gross misuse of subsidy provided to the farmers. The price of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold in the international market of late. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is very tough to import chemical fertilizers with the rise in the price of raw materials used in manufacturing fertilizers, shared the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Salt Trading Corporation and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Committee President Ram Narayan Bidari said serious discussion with concerned ministry and agency has been put forth to draw their attention to resolve the pertinent problem of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14195', 'image' => '20211210081838_20210526042706_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 08:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Blacklists Six Construction Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office on Wednesday took a decision to this effect. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notice issued by the Office on December 9, the construction companies that have been blacklisted include Nilgiri Construction Service, Elite Construction Company, Chyangrasi Construction Service and SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., all based in Kathmandu, and Banke-based Tridev Construction Company and SNC Construction Pvt. Ltd. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The companies were blacklisted in line with Clause 63 (1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nilgiri Construction Service has been blacklisted for three years upon the recommendation of the Road Division Office, Lahan. Similarly, Elite Construction Company and Chyangrasi Construction Service have faced action for two years each upon the recommendation of Chandranagar Rural Municipality in Sarlahi district and Tarakeshwor Municipality in Kathmandu respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., Tridev Construction Service and SNC Construction Service Pvt. Ltd. have been blacklisted for one year each. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The blacklisted companies are not allowed to take part in any construction work of the government during the period for which they have been banned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14194', 'image' => '20211209062329_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 18:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Insurance Board to form Special Task Force to Resolve Reinsurance Dispute', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board had issued a directive on November 25 asking all non-life and life insurance companies to purchase reinsurance policy with the domestic reinsurance company. The board had ordered the companies to reinsure with a foreign company only in case the domestic company refuses to take reinsurance policy. The directive was criticised by all the insurance companies and stakeholders and sought for its immediate withdrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following its widespread protest, the board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the issue. Rajuraman Poudel, CEO of the board, said that a special task force is being formed to resolve the dispute. "The stakeholders will be summoned for discussion where they need to present their recommendations. We will take necessary decisions in this regard on the basis of the investigation by the task force,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After two weeks since the directive was issued, Life Insurance Association and the Nepal Insurers Association have submitted a memorandum to the Insurance Board against it. Poudel confirmed that they have received memorandum from both organizations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The associations have also demanded withdrawal of the directive stating that it was against the principles of insurance. According to them, the directive could create more problems as reinsurance companies do not have the capacity to take cent per cent reinsurance. They may not be able to pay the claims so the board must withdraw the directive and that the insurance companies should be allowed to conduct business independently.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board will also discuss about the memorandum with the task force. "Stakeholders should come to the task force and have their concerns reported. Then it will be easier for us to make decisions," Poudel added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14193', 'image' => '20211209054859_20210627122025_20200417105653_Beema-Samiti.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 17:48:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lessons from Nepal’s Reconstruction Exemplary, says President Bhandari', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><em>President Bidya Devi Bhandari attending an internationa conference organised by the National Reconstruction Authority on Wednesday. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. The conference was inaugurated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Bhandari said that the support offered by the international community has proved to be a milestone in the post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation of Nepal</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The experiences and lessons learned during post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation will be exemplary for the international community and our future generations,” said Bhandari, adding, “I believe that the documents prepared by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) including all parties involved in the reconstruction work will be a source of valuable knowledge for anyone involved in the field of disaster risk reduction and management.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg" style="height:297px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that the reconstruction has helped the country enhance its decision-making capacity, introduce new technology and produce skilled manpower. Stating that a high level of political understanding and support from allies would be important in disaster management and reconstruction, he said that some of the remaining works would be done through the regular mechanism of the government. At the program, Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka said that the support of donors and development partners has given significant support to build the confidence of the people and uplift them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_NARAYANKHADKA.jpg" style="height:382px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, Sushil Gyawali, said that the reconstruction has reached the stage of completion with the support of all stakeholders including development partners. He said that the political leadership should express a strong commitment and understanding, empower autonomous bodies, mobilize the community and adopt an inclusive policy while carrying out reconstruction and disaster management work in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recorded messages from Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, British FCDO Minister Lord Ahmed, and Japanese Minister of State for External Affairs Honda Taro were presented at the inauguration ceremony. Similarly, recorded messages of Neil Buhne, regional director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; ADB Vice President Shixin Chen; European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic; Patricia Danzi, director general of the SDC, and Delhi-based Charge d'Affaires Amanda Strohan of Canada, who also looks after Nepal were presented as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The event was addressed by US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry, World Bank’s Country Director for Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lankan Faris Hadad Zervos and UNICEF South Asian Regional Director Laryea Adjei. Similarly, Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal read out a message from Norway's Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim. Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of China Hou Yanqi and Ambassador of Switzerland Elizabeth Von Kepler were also present at the inauguration ceremony.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following the inauguration program, 10 subjective sessions of the conference have been completed as well. After completing 10 more sessions on Thursday, the conference will conclude in the afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the chief guest.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14192', 'image' => '20211209020105_CKC_KTM_BIDHYADEVIBHANDARI.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:58:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14446', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Carpet Manufacturers Demand Facilities Given to Textile Industries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The carpet industry operating in the country with a total investment of Rs 1.5 billion has been at the receiving end due to the unfair policy of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The import of yarn required for textile and carpet industries is subject to 5 percent customs duty. However, the raw material (polypropylene) required for making the same yarn is subject to 10 percent customs duty. Anupam Rathi, the director of Hitex Carpet, said that the industries have been facing problems due to the fact that the customs duty for raw material is more expensive than the customs duty for manufactured materials. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi also complained that the carpets produced by the industry did not get subsidies like other carpet and textile industries. However, the garment industry is getting this facility, said Rathi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He handed over a letter to Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, who arrived in Biratnagar three days ago, to resolve the problems faced by the industries in production and export of yarn and carpet. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi argues that the carpet industry must be categorized as a textile industry and provided with the facilities that a textile industry is given. He has been putting forth this demand since the last four years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In all the major carpet producing countries including India, such industries are considered as textile industries,” said Rathi, “However, in Nepal, textile means garment industry that makes shirting and suiting products. The jute industry also falls under the textile category.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hitex Carpet is also producing yarn itself. “We are producing carpet yarn. However, the customs duty has made it difficult for us,” he said, adding, “Importing ready-made yarn costs 5 percent customs duty, the customs duty on raw material for yarn is 10 percent.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14191', 'image' => '20211209011249_20190526022115_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:12:18', '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' => '14460', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Minister Ale Positive towards the Demands of Biratnagar Airport Victims', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: The Biratnagar Airport Victims Struggle Committee handed over a memorandum to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale on Friday.', '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 12: The Biratnagar Airport Victims Struggle Committee handed over a memorandum to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale on Friday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A team including Bedraj Poudel, coordinator of the struggle committee, handed over a nine-point memorandum to Minister Ale. Stating that they have not received any compensation even after 17 months they were barred from transferring their land after the airport initiated the process for acquisition of their land , the victims' team had demanded the Minister to pay them the due compensation or release their houses and land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 government is planning to acquire 126 bighas of land to uprgade Biratnagar Airport to a regional airport. The team of the Struggle Committee met minister Ale and demanded that the airport should acquire the entire land of those whose portion of land falls inside the airport and, compensation should be paid in lump sum. Likewise, they also demanded that they should be paid Rs 4,500 per square foot for a house and Rs 2 million per dhur of land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale assured that they are ready to listen to the victims and will manage the fund for the compensation once they return to Kathmandu. He said he was positive about the demands of the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister Ale also inspected the Biratnagar Airport on Friday. He also said that a budget of Rs 85 million would be allocated for beautification of Biratnagar Airport.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 mentioned that a budget would be allocated for the development and expansion of the airport and construction of the palace of the ancient King Birat at Bhediyari in Biratnagar. Minister Ale said that it would be appropriate to move the Biratnagar Airport to Amduwa, Sunsari. He said that if all the political parties, organizations, private sector and the people of Biratnagar do not have objection, then the airport could be relocated to 600 bighas of land in Amduwa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale pointed to the officials of CNI and said, “The ball is in your court. If you come to an agreement, the airport can be shifted to Amduwa.” The government has also allocated a budget to conduct a study to build a cross-border industrial zone on 600 bighas of land in Amaduwa.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14205', 'image' => '20211212020341_20211201071952_1638316047.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 14:03:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bheri-Babai Project Expected to Complete by 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.The second phase of works was related to civil construction while the third phase includes work related to hydro mechanical (HM) and electro-mechanical (EM) engineering, according to information officer at the project, Lekhnath Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride project with estimated cost of over Rs 36.8 billion has achieved 49 per cent of physical progress and 38.24 per cent of fiscal progress so far, shared Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Agreement for the HM related works has been inked while e-bidding for EM is in the process, he informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project aims to divert water from Bheri River to Babai River through a 12.2-kilometre tunnel and irrigate 51,000 hectares of farmland in Banke and Bardiya districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The multipurpose project, which is expected to be completed by 2023, will also generate 48 megawatts of electricity, according to the project officials. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14204', 'image' => '20211212121946_20171123111955_20171120041016_Veri Babai TBM.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 12:18:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14458', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mercury Level Plummets, Snowfall Predicted later this Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. The minimum temperature of the Valley was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the coldest this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The temperature was 5.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 6.5 degrees on Friday, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Due to a drop in temperature, people are experiencing extreme cold throughout the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Department has urged one and all to keep warm and safe from cold as mercury continues to dip. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Snowfall is predicted in some high areas of Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Gandaki Provinces later this week due to the mixture of westerly wind and westerly low pressure system, the Department said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest updates provided by the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the maximum temperature of the Valley was 19.8 degrees Celsius today (December 12). Similarly, Jumla reported the lowest minus 4.5 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the highest 28.4 degrees Celsius. </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14203', 'image' => '20211212105233_20190228040359_DSC_2752.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 10:51:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collaboration Between Nepal and India Emphasized for Promotion of Religious Tourism ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. ', 'content' => '<p><em>Lumbini. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. They argued that this will benefit both the countries as they share centuries-old bond and similar culture and religion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The stakeholders said so while addressing a three-day international convention of the Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) organized by the ABTO, India in Bodh Gaya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Inaugurating the convention on Friday (December 10), New Delhi government's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam underscored the need for mutual cooperation between India and Nepal to tap the abundant potential of the two countries in tourism sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He emphasized mutual cooperation to promote religious tourism in the countries as both Nepal and India have been connected to issues relating to Lord Buddha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Such initiate would help in economic and social developments of both the countries, according to a statement issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, other participants on the occasion also seconded Minister Gautam while emphasizing cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of religious tourism. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Those who shared their views included NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents, Achyut Guragain; General Secretary of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, Sarita Lama; central member of the Hotel Association of Nepal, CP Shrestha; and Assistant Director of the Kolkata Tourism Office, BB Mukherjee.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Experts will table various working papers during the convention. A business-to-business (B2B) session will also be organized during the event as well, said the ABTO General Secretary Dr Kaulesh Kumar. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/LumbiniRSS%281%29.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14202', 'image' => '20211212104623_LumbiniRSSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 08:13:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Work Procedure on Tourism Leave Limited to Draft', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft.', '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 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft. Although the draft of the procedure was prepared last September it has not been approved yet. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has also delayed collecting feedback related to the draft from other ministries. One month after the draft was prepared, the ministry started seeking suggestions from all the ministries. Currently, only a few ministries have provided feedback on the draft procedure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tek Narayan Poudel, joint spokesperson of the Ministry, said that a revised draft of the work procedure will be submitted to the Council of Ministers as soon as the ministry approves the suggestions received from other ministries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, he said that the suggestions would be collected soon, and the procedure would be passed and implemented within December. The government had announced this program in its budget speech on May 30. It took almost six months to prepare the draft of the work procedure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tourism entrepreneurs have become frustrated with the government for not implementing the plan to provide 10-day tourism leave to civil servants and other government employees as a relief to the tourism sector that has been worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraged by the program brought by the government, the tourism entrepreneurs had come up with attractive packages accordingly. However, they say that the package did not work.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though hoteliers have made packages in collaboration with airline companies, they are disappointed that the programme has not been implemented, says Binayak Shah, senior vice president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). "The work procedure has not been finalized yet. Therefore, this program isn’t meaningful at all,” said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the tourism sector requires domestic tourists at the moment as foreign tourists are not coming in large numbers as before.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government had pledged to implement the programme soon after the announcement, Shah said that there is no possibility to move ahead as the government has not started the programme yet. He added that it is too late to implement the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Talking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Khum Bahadur Subedi, complained that the government had given priority only to the plan but did not show seriousness in its implementation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 packages and plans made by the trekking agencies for this purpose have been wasted, said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 draft of the working procedure has provision to provide expenses even to a non-employee, i.e. a family member of the employee. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the budget announcement, the government had mentioned that civil servants as well as employees of public institutions and establishments will be provided tourism leave with an amount equal to 10 days' salary in order to promote domestic tourism.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14201', 'image' => '20211210063052_20200719042015_Tourism Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:30:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Thapa Elected NADA President ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">An entrepreneur from Pokhara, Thapa, defeated his rival Karan Chaudhary by 66 votes. NADA's chief election officer and advocate Bal Krishna Dhakal shared that Thapa received 1,413 votes against 1,347 votes obtained by Chaudhary. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 45th annual general meeting of NADA has elected a 17-member executive committee that includes Bikram Singhania, Milan Babu Malla, Rajan Babu Shrestha and Surendra Kumar Uptrey. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Sunil Rijal, Abhisekh Jyoti, Prakash Kapuri, Bikram Singhania, Gopal Bhattarai, Yamuna Shreshta and Bardan Basnet among others were also elected in the new executive committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the total 3,200 members of NADA, 2,788 votes were cast in the election for the new executive committee. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14200', 'image' => '20211210065523_NADA-Election-2021-Dhruba-Thapa-Panel-Announced-Featured-Image-1110x577.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Finance Minister Assures of Economic Growth Rate of 7 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The goal of economic growth was difficult to achieve in the past due to various problems, said Sharma, adding that there won’t be such problems now.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Finance Minister Sharma said that 98 percent of the industries and factories have been re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that economic activities have increased everywhere and this will also help in economic growth.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, climate change has been seen as the main challenge in achieving economic growth of late. Stating that billions of rupees have been lost due to unseasonal rainfall, he said that despite these challenges, the target of economic growth would be met.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he also said that liquidity crisis still persists in the market. Stating that there is only Rs 16 billion investment (liquidity) in the banking sector now, he said that the liquidity problem has been removed to some extent. “Even though the NRB has injected Rs 2.3 trillion in the banking system in the current fiscal year alone, the problem has not been resolved. The lack of capital expenditure is also a weakness. However, government’s overall expenditure is 2 percent higher than last year,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the flow of foreign aid is continuing, he said that discussions are being held with various donor agencies. “We have just reached an agreement for $400 million loan with the IMF under the ECF. We are getting $100 million at the moment. We are also in the process of getting assistance from other agencies like ADB and other countries,” said Minister Sharma.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that NRB has made arrangements for non-resident Nepalis to open savings accounts in dollars, he said that it would have a positive impact on the country's economy. According to Sharma, the ministry has deployed a special task force at the airport customs. The task force has been seizing 19/20 kg of gold daily at the airport. Stating that arrangements have been made to release the seized gold only after collecting customs duty, Sharma expressed confidence that it would help in revenue collection</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 the meeting of the committee, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said that there was a lack of liquidity as more loans were disbursed than deposits collected. According to officials, deposits have increased by only Rs 64 billion whereas loans from the banking system have gone up to Rs 411 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a lack of liquidity due to the gap of Rs 300 billion,” he said. According to the governor, 50 percent of the extended loan, or Rs 205 billion, has to be spent on imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that remittances have not increased significantly, Governor Adhikari said that an average of Rs 80 billion is being received. He says remittances have not been able to keep up with high imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14199', 'image' => '20211210015931_CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:58:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14453', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Controlling Inflation is Challenging, says NRB Governor', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.', '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 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is of the view that it will be quite challenging to keep inflation within the limit of 6.5 percent </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">if the current economic indicators are not improved.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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/20201211011108_20200407080848_IMG_4955%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="height:268px; width:300px" /></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the impact of this year's heavy rainfall on rice and other crops will reflect in inflation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 made such remarks during a meeting of the Finance Committee of Parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank is mobilizing all its monetary instruments for the management of financial crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the central bank is planning to tighten imports of luxury items, considering its impact on the economy. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that imports, which were excessively high during the pandemic, may be alarming under normal circumstances, he warned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign exchange reserves have declined to Rs 131 billion from Rs 139 billion. With foreign investment and remittances declining, payments for rising import is another challenge.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 shortage of liquidity still persists. Credit worth Rs 411 billion has been disbursed until now but only Rs 64 billion has been collected as deposits resulting in the liquidity crisis. And a total of Rs 205 billion is being spent for imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Adhikari said the flow of remittance has not increased much and stands at an average of Rs 80 billion. Remittance inflow has not been able to cope with the high volume of import, he said. Considering the impact on liquidity, the central bank has not raised internal debt. In order to increase the flow of remittance, the central bank has floated the idea of increasing the interest on the amount deposited through remittance by one percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, a new scheme has been introduced to attract deposits from non-resident Nepalis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 also suggested investing in the stock market after developing a good understanding about it. Investors need to have information about financial reports of companies before investing, added Adhikari. The stock market witnessed a steep rise due to lack of promising areas during the pandemic. Public awareness needs to be increased regarding this matter, he further stated. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14198', 'image' => '20211210013911_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:37:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Online Payment on the Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). ', '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 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). Although e-commerce has already been popular for quite some time, payments were still made in cash. However, lately, payments have also been increasing through electronic means.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 data obtained from the Department of Payment Systems of Nepal Rastra Bank, electronic payments have been increasing progressively since last May. Not only the amount, but the number of transactions has also increased during the review 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"">From mid-May to mid-June last year, payments of Rs 161 million were made through electronic means. By September, it had increased to Rs 455 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During last May, the number of payments made online while purchasing goods was 38,613. By September, 76,357 such payments were made.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, although most of the customers bought goods online, they used to make payments through cash. NRB spokesperson Dev Kumar Dhakal says that the trend of making payments online has increased recently in contrast to previous years. “Now, the common people are changing their habits. They tend to stop carrying cash. They try to make online payments whenever it’s possible,” he said, adding “This is the reason why online payments are increasing.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 says Covid-19 has made electronic payments take a big leap. “Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are starting to use technology,” said Dhakal adding, “There are various digital wallets in operation currently. Banks are also making mobile banking more effective, aiding in the surge of electronic payments.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14197', 'image' => '20211210125229_20200918073634_digita.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 12:51:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIAA Files Corruption Case against Former Section Officer of Finance Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA filed the case against the retired officer at the Special Court charging him of amassing the amount illegally during his 35-year service to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the anti-graft body, the detailed study of Thapaliya’s income and expenditure since he started the government job on February 18, 1984 till his retirement on April 13, 2019 could only establish the source of income amounting to Rs 10.2 million. However, Thapaliya has been found of spending and investing an Rs 20.67 million during the review period, out of which the source of income of Rs 16.4 million is unknown. The CIAA decided to file the corruption case against Thapaliya after this source of income could not be verified. The anti-graft body has sought a bail amount equal to the money he amassed through unconfirmed sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also sought to freeze his properties including land, house and bank account whose source is not confirmed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also filed a case against his wife Muna Panta Thapaliya for abetting the crime. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14196', 'image' => '20211210115020_20210624124455_20190205023717_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 11:49:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Urea Imported on Subsidy Grossly Misused: Parliamentary Committee ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the National Assembly's Delegated Management and Government Assurance Committee on Wednesday shared the information that around 80 plywood industries currently operating in the country are using the chemical fertilizer for gluing purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The misuse has come to the light in course of committee interaction with stakeholders on how to best utilize and manage around 150,000 sacks of chemical fertilizer that has been stuck in Birgunj-based dry port. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the official data, the government has been annually importing almost 500,000 tons of chemical fertilizer from abroad for agriculture. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has been suspected that out of the total imported urea, roughly 10 percent has been supplied to the plywood industries. It has been found that majority of industries have been using urea although they have stated that a chemical namely raisin will be used as glue in course of obtaining approval for setting up the industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has been providing chemical fertilizer to the farmers at subsidized rate of Rs 74 per kilogram. The fertilizer is not available for the farmers during the time of crop cultivation in Nepal, when it is needed the most. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The alleged use of chemical fertilizers for commercial purpose meant to be given to the farmers shows a gross misuse of subsidy provided to the farmers. The price of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold in the international market of late. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is very tough to import chemical fertilizers with the rise in the price of raw materials used in manufacturing fertilizers, shared the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Salt Trading Corporation and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Committee President Ram Narayan Bidari said serious discussion with concerned ministry and agency has been put forth to draw their attention to resolve the pertinent problem of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14195', 'image' => '20211210081838_20210526042706_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 08:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Blacklists Six Construction Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office on Wednesday took a decision to this effect. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notice issued by the Office on December 9, the construction companies that have been blacklisted include Nilgiri Construction Service, Elite Construction Company, Chyangrasi Construction Service and SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., all based in Kathmandu, and Banke-based Tridev Construction Company and SNC Construction Pvt. Ltd. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The companies were blacklisted in line with Clause 63 (1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nilgiri Construction Service has been blacklisted for three years upon the recommendation of the Road Division Office, Lahan. Similarly, Elite Construction Company and Chyangrasi Construction Service have faced action for two years each upon the recommendation of Chandranagar Rural Municipality in Sarlahi district and Tarakeshwor Municipality in Kathmandu respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., Tridev Construction Service and SNC Construction Service Pvt. Ltd. have been blacklisted for one year each. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The blacklisted companies are not allowed to take part in any construction work of the government during the period for which they have been banned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14194', 'image' => '20211209062329_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 18:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Insurance Board to form Special Task Force to Resolve Reinsurance Dispute', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board had issued a directive on November 25 asking all non-life and life insurance companies to purchase reinsurance policy with the domestic reinsurance company. The board had ordered the companies to reinsure with a foreign company only in case the domestic company refuses to take reinsurance policy. The directive was criticised by all the insurance companies and stakeholders and sought for its immediate withdrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following its widespread protest, the board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the issue. Rajuraman Poudel, CEO of the board, said that a special task force is being formed to resolve the dispute. "The stakeholders will be summoned for discussion where they need to present their recommendations. We will take necessary decisions in this regard on the basis of the investigation by the task force,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After two weeks since the directive was issued, Life Insurance Association and the Nepal Insurers Association have submitted a memorandum to the Insurance Board against it. Poudel confirmed that they have received memorandum from both organizations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The associations have also demanded withdrawal of the directive stating that it was against the principles of insurance. According to them, the directive could create more problems as reinsurance companies do not have the capacity to take cent per cent reinsurance. They may not be able to pay the claims so the board must withdraw the directive and that the insurance companies should be allowed to conduct business independently.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board will also discuss about the memorandum with the task force. "Stakeholders should come to the task force and have their concerns reported. Then it will be easier for us to make decisions," Poudel added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14193', 'image' => '20211209054859_20210627122025_20200417105653_Beema-Samiti.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 17:48:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lessons from Nepal’s Reconstruction Exemplary, says President Bhandari', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><em>President Bidya Devi Bhandari attending an internationa conference organised by the National Reconstruction Authority on Wednesday. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. The conference was inaugurated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Bhandari said that the support offered by the international community has proved to be a milestone in the post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation of Nepal</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The experiences and lessons learned during post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation will be exemplary for the international community and our future generations,” said Bhandari, adding, “I believe that the documents prepared by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) including all parties involved in the reconstruction work will be a source of valuable knowledge for anyone involved in the field of disaster risk reduction and management.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg" style="height:297px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that the reconstruction has helped the country enhance its decision-making capacity, introduce new technology and produce skilled manpower. Stating that a high level of political understanding and support from allies would be important in disaster management and reconstruction, he said that some of the remaining works would be done through the regular mechanism of the government. At the program, Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka said that the support of donors and development partners has given significant support to build the confidence of the people and uplift them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_NARAYANKHADKA.jpg" style="height:382px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, Sushil Gyawali, said that the reconstruction has reached the stage of completion with the support of all stakeholders including development partners. He said that the political leadership should express a strong commitment and understanding, empower autonomous bodies, mobilize the community and adopt an inclusive policy while carrying out reconstruction and disaster management work in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recorded messages from Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, British FCDO Minister Lord Ahmed, and Japanese Minister of State for External Affairs Honda Taro were presented at the inauguration ceremony. Similarly, recorded messages of Neil Buhne, regional director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; ADB Vice President Shixin Chen; European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic; Patricia Danzi, director general of the SDC, and Delhi-based Charge d'Affaires Amanda Strohan of Canada, who also looks after Nepal were presented as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The event was addressed by US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry, World Bank’s Country Director for Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lankan Faris Hadad Zervos and UNICEF South Asian Regional Director Laryea Adjei. Similarly, Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal read out a message from Norway's Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim. Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of China Hou Yanqi and Ambassador of Switzerland Elizabeth Von Kepler were also present at the inauguration ceremony.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following the inauguration program, 10 subjective sessions of the conference have been completed as well. After completing 10 more sessions on Thursday, the conference will conclude in the afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the chief guest.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14192', 'image' => '20211209020105_CKC_KTM_BIDHYADEVIBHANDARI.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:58:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14446', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Carpet Manufacturers Demand Facilities Given to Textile Industries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The carpet industry operating in the country with a total investment of Rs 1.5 billion has been at the receiving end due to the unfair policy of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The import of yarn required for textile and carpet industries is subject to 5 percent customs duty. However, the raw material (polypropylene) required for making the same yarn is subject to 10 percent customs duty. Anupam Rathi, the director of Hitex Carpet, said that the industries have been facing problems due to the fact that the customs duty for raw material is more expensive than the customs duty for manufactured materials. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi also complained that the carpets produced by the industry did not get subsidies like other carpet and textile industries. However, the garment industry is getting this facility, said Rathi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He handed over a letter to Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, who arrived in Biratnagar three days ago, to resolve the problems faced by the industries in production and export of yarn and carpet. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi argues that the carpet industry must be categorized as a textile industry and provided with the facilities that a textile industry is given. He has been putting forth this demand since the last four years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In all the major carpet producing countries including India, such industries are considered as textile industries,” said Rathi, “However, in Nepal, textile means garment industry that makes shirting and suiting products. The jute industry also falls under the textile category.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hitex Carpet is also producing yarn itself. “We are producing carpet yarn. However, the customs duty has made it difficult for us,” he said, adding, “Importing ready-made yarn costs 5 percent customs duty, the customs duty on raw material for yarn is 10 percent.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14191', 'image' => '20211209011249_20190526022115_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:12:18', '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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Stating that they have not received any compensation even after 17 months they were barred from transferring their land after the airport initiated the process for acquisition of their land , the victims' team had demanded the Minister to pay them the due compensation or release their houses and land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 government is planning to acquire 126 bighas of land to uprgade Biratnagar Airport to a regional airport. The team of the Struggle Committee met minister Ale and demanded that the airport should acquire the entire land of those whose portion of land falls inside the airport and, compensation should be paid in lump sum. Likewise, they also demanded that they should be paid Rs 4,500 per square foot for a house and Rs 2 million per dhur of land.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale assured that they are ready to listen to the victims and will manage the fund for the compensation once they return to Kathmandu. He said he was positive about the demands of the victims.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister Ale also inspected the Biratnagar Airport on Friday. He also said that a budget of Rs 85 million would be allocated for beautification of Biratnagar Airport.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 mentioned that a budget would be allocated for the development and expansion of the airport and construction of the palace of the ancient King Birat at Bhediyari in Biratnagar. Minister Ale said that it would be appropriate to move the Biratnagar Airport to Amduwa, Sunsari. He said that if all the political parties, organizations, private sector and the people of Biratnagar do not have objection, then the airport could be relocated to 600 bighas of land in Amduwa.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ale pointed to the officials of CNI and said, “The ball is in your court. If you come to an agreement, the airport can be shifted to Amduwa.” The government has also allocated a budget to conduct a study to build a cross-border industrial zone on 600 bighas of land in Amaduwa.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14205', 'image' => '20211212020341_20211201071952_1638316047.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 14:03:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14459', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bheri-Babai Project Expected to Complete by 2023', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: The third phase of works of the Bheri-Babai Multi-purpose Diversion Project has started with the completion of second phase of works related to the project.The second phase of works was related to civil construction while the third phase includes work related to hydro mechanical (HM) and electro-mechanical (EM) engineering, according to information officer at the project, Lekhnath Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The national pride project with estimated cost of over Rs 36.8 billion has achieved 49 per cent of physical progress and 38.24 per cent of fiscal progress so far, shared Subedi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Agreement for the HM related works has been inked while e-bidding for EM is in the process, he informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The project aims to divert water from Bheri River to Babai River through a 12.2-kilometre tunnel and irrigate 51,000 hectares of farmland in Banke and Bardiya districts. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The multipurpose project, which is expected to be completed by 2023, will also generate 48 megawatts of electricity, according to the project officials. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14204', 'image' => '20211212121946_20171123111955_20171120041016_Veri Babai TBM.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 12:18:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14458', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Mercury Level Plummets, Snowfall Predicted later this Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Temperature has dropped in the Kathmandu Valley in recent days. The minimum temperature of the Valley was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the coldest this year. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The temperature was 5.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 6.5 degrees on Friday, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Due to a drop in temperature, people are experiencing extreme cold throughout the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Department has urged one and all to keep warm and safe from cold as mercury continues to dip. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Snowfall is predicted in some high areas of Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Gandaki Provinces later this week due to the mixture of westerly wind and westerly low pressure system, the Department said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest updates provided by the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the maximum temperature of the Valley was 19.8 degrees Celsius today (December 12). Similarly, Jumla reported the lowest minus 4.5 degrees Celsius while Bhairahawa recorded the highest 28.4 degrees Celsius. </span><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14203', 'image' => '20211212105233_20190228040359_DSC_2752.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 10:51:48', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14457', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collaboration Between Nepal and India Emphasized for Promotion of Religious Tourism ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. ', 'content' => '<p><em>Lumbini. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 12: Stakeholders have emphasized the need of a common action plan to promote religious tourism between Nepal and India. They argued that this will benefit both the countries as they share centuries-old bond and similar culture and religion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The stakeholders said so while addressing a three-day international convention of the Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO) organized by the ABTO, India in Bodh Gaya. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Inaugurating the convention on Friday (December 10), New Delhi government's Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam underscored the need for mutual cooperation between India and Nepal to tap the abundant potential of the two countries in tourism sector. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He emphasized mutual cooperation to promote religious tourism in the countries as both Nepal and India have been connected to issues relating to Lord Buddha. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Such initiate would help in economic and social developments of both the countries, according to a statement issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, other participants on the occasion also seconded Minister Gautam while emphasizing cooperation between the two countries for the promotion of religious tourism. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Those who shared their views included NTB Director Maniraj Lamichhane, President of the Nepal Association of Tour and Travels Agents, Achyut Guragain; General Secretary of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, Sarita Lama; central member of the Hotel Association of Nepal, CP Shrestha; and Assistant Director of the Kolkata Tourism Office, BB Mukherjee.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Experts will table various working papers during the convention. A business-to-business (B2B) session will also be organized during the event as well, said the ABTO General Secretary Dr Kaulesh Kumar. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> <img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/LumbiniRSS%281%29.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-12', 'modified' => '2021-12-12', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14202', 'image' => '20211212104623_LumbiniRSSS.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-12 08:13:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14455', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Work Procedure on Tourism Leave Limited to Draft', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft.', '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 10: The work procedure for providing a 10-day tourism leave, announced by the government to promote domestic tourism to support the business affected by Covid-19, has been limited to draft. Although the draft of the procedure was prepared last September it has not been approved yet. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has also delayed collecting feedback related to the draft from other ministries. One month after the draft was prepared, the ministry started seeking suggestions from all the ministries. Currently, only a few ministries have provided feedback on the draft procedure. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tek Narayan Poudel, joint spokesperson of the Ministry, said that a revised draft of the work procedure will be submitted to the Council of Ministers as soon as the ministry approves the suggestions received from other ministries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, he said that the suggestions would be collected soon, and the procedure would be passed and implemented within December. The government had announced this program in its budget speech on May 30. It took almost six months to prepare the draft of the work procedure.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tourism entrepreneurs have become frustrated with the government for not implementing the plan to provide 10-day tourism leave to civil servants and other government employees as a relief to the tourism sector that has been worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Encouraged by the program brought by the government, the tourism entrepreneurs had come up with attractive packages accordingly. However, they say that the package did not work.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even though hoteliers have made packages in collaboration with airline companies, they are disappointed that the programme has not been implemented, says Binayak Shah, senior vice president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). "The work procedure has not been finalized yet. Therefore, this program isn’t meaningful at all,” said Shah.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the tourism sector requires domestic tourists at the moment as foreign tourists are not coming in large numbers as before.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government had pledged to implement the programme soon after the announcement, Shah said that there is no possibility to move ahead as the government has not started the programme yet. He added that it is too late to implement the programme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Talking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Khum Bahadur Subedi, complained that the government had given priority only to the plan but did not show seriousness in its implementation.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 packages and plans made by the trekking agencies for this purpose have been wasted, said Subedi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 draft of the working procedure has provision to provide expenses even to a non-employee, i.e. a family member of the employee. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the budget announcement, the government had mentioned that civil servants as well as employees of public institutions and establishments will be provided tourism leave with an amount equal to 10 days' salary in order to promote domestic tourism.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14201', 'image' => '20211210063052_20200719042015_Tourism Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:30:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14456', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Thapa Elected NADA President ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: Dhruba Thapa has been elected as the President of Nepal Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">An entrepreneur from Pokhara, Thapa, defeated his rival Karan Chaudhary by 66 votes. NADA's chief election officer and advocate Bal Krishna Dhakal shared that Thapa received 1,413 votes against 1,347 votes obtained by Chaudhary. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 45th annual general meeting of NADA has elected a 17-member executive committee that includes Bikram Singhania, Milan Babu Malla, Rajan Babu Shrestha and Surendra Kumar Uptrey. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Sunil Rijal, Abhisekh Jyoti, Prakash Kapuri, Bikram Singhania, Gopal Bhattarai, Yamuna Shreshta and Bardan Basnet among others were also elected in the new executive committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the total 3,200 members of NADA, 2,788 votes were cast in the election for the new executive committee. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14200', 'image' => '20211210065523_NADA-Election-2021-Dhruba-Thapa-Panel-Announced-Featured-Image-1110x577.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 18:54:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14454', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Finance Minister Assures of Economic Growth Rate of 7 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 10: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the economic growth rate of the current fiscal year will be 7 percent.</span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> The goal of economic growth was difficult to achieve in the past due to various problems, said Sharma, adding that there won’t be such problems now.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Finance Minister Sharma said that 98 percent of the industries and factories have been re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that economic activities have increased everywhere and this will also help in economic growth.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, climate change has been seen as the main challenge in achieving economic growth of late. Stating that billions of rupees have been lost due to unseasonal rainfall, he said that despite these challenges, the target of economic growth would be met.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he also said that liquidity crisis still persists in the market. Stating that there is only Rs 16 billion investment (liquidity) in the banking sector now, he said that the liquidity problem has been removed to some extent. “Even though the NRB has injected Rs 2.3 trillion in the banking system in the current fiscal year alone, the problem has not been resolved. The lack of capital expenditure is also a weakness. However, government’s overall expenditure is 2 percent higher than last year,” he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the flow of foreign aid is continuing, he said that discussions are being held with various donor agencies. “We have just reached an agreement for $400 million loan with the IMF under the ECF. We are getting $100 million at the moment. We are also in the process of getting assistance from other agencies like ADB and other countries,” said Minister Sharma.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that NRB has made arrangements for non-resident Nepalis to open savings accounts in dollars, he said that it would have a positive impact on the country's economy. According to Sharma, the ministry has deployed a special task force at the airport customs. The task force has been seizing 19/20 kg of gold daily at the airport. Stating that arrangements have been made to release the seized gold only after collecting customs duty, Sharma expressed confidence that it would help in revenue collection</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 the meeting of the committee, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Maha Prasad Adhikari, said that there was a lack of liquidity as more loans were disbursed than deposits collected. According to officials, deposits have increased by only Rs 64 billion whereas loans from the banking system have gone up to Rs 411 billion.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There is a lack of liquidity due to the gap of Rs 300 billion,” he said. According to the governor, 50 percent of the extended loan, or Rs 205 billion, has to be spent on imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that remittances have not increased significantly, Governor Adhikari said that an average of Rs 80 billion is being received. He says remittances have not been able to keep up with high imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14199', 'image' => '20211210015931_CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:58:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14453', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Controlling Inflation is Challenging, says NRB Governor', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.', '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 10: The major challenges faced by the country at the moment include inflation, liquidity crisis and the increasing volume of imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari is of the view that it will be quite challenging to keep inflation within the limit of 6.5 percent </span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">if the current economic indicators are not improved.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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/20201211011108_20200407080848_IMG_4955%20-%20Copy.jpg" style="height:268px; width:300px" /></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the impact of this year's heavy rainfall on rice and other crops will reflect in inflation. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 made such remarks during a meeting of the Finance Committee of Parliament.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal Rastra Bank is mobilizing all its monetary instruments for the management of financial crisis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 Adhikari, the central bank is planning to tighten imports of luxury items, considering its impact on the economy. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that imports, which were excessively high during the pandemic, may be alarming under normal circumstances, he warned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Foreign exchange reserves have declined to Rs 131 billion from Rs 139 billion. With foreign investment and remittances declining, payments for rising import is another challenge.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 shortage of liquidity still persists. Credit worth Rs 411 billion has been disbursed until now but only Rs 64 billion has been collected as deposits resulting in the liquidity crisis. And a total of Rs 205 billion is being spent for imports.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Adhikari said the flow of remittance has not increased much and stands at an average of Rs 80 billion. Remittance inflow has not been able to cope with the high volume of import, he said. Considering the impact on liquidity, the central bank has not raised internal debt. In order to increase the flow of remittance, the central bank has floated the idea of increasing the interest on the amount deposited through remittance by one percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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, a new scheme has been introduced to attract deposits from non-resident Nepalis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 also suggested investing in the stock market after developing a good understanding about it. Investors need to have information about financial reports of companies before investing, added Adhikari. The stock market witnessed a steep rise due to lack of promising areas during the pandemic. Public awareness needs to be increased regarding this matter, he further stated. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14198', 'image' => '20211210013911_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 13:37:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14452', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Online Payment on the Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). ', '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 10: There has been a considerable rise in the number of electronic payment in online business (e-commerce). Although e-commerce has already been popular for quite some time, payments were still made in cash. However, lately, payments have also been increasing through electronic means.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 data obtained from the Department of Payment Systems of Nepal Rastra Bank, electronic payments have been increasing progressively since last May. Not only the amount, but the number of transactions has also increased during the review 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"">From mid-May to mid-June last year, payments of Rs 161 million were made through electronic means. By September, it had increased to Rs 455 million.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During last May, the number of payments made online while purchasing goods was 38,613. By September, 76,357 such payments were made.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the past, although most of the customers bought goods online, they used to make payments through cash. NRB spokesperson Dev Kumar Dhakal says that the trend of making payments online has increased recently in contrast to previous years. “Now, the common people are changing their habits. They tend to stop carrying cash. They try to make online payments whenever it’s possible,” he said, adding “This is the reason why online payments are increasing.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="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 says Covid-19 has made electronic payments take a big leap. “Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are starting to use technology,” said Dhakal adding, “There are various digital wallets in operation currently. Banks are also making mobile banking more effective, aiding in the surge of electronic payments.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14197', 'image' => '20211210125229_20200918073634_digita.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 12:51:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14451', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CIAA Files Corruption Case against Former Section Officer of Finance Ministry', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">December 10: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former section officer of finance ministry, Uddav Thapaliya, accusing him of amassing over Rs 15 million through illegal means. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA filed the case against the retired officer at the Special Court charging him of amassing the amount illegally during his 35-year service to the government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the anti-graft body, the detailed study of Thapaliya’s income and expenditure since he started the government job on February 18, 1984 till his retirement on April 13, 2019 could only establish the source of income amounting to Rs 10.2 million. However, Thapaliya has been found of spending and investing an Rs 20.67 million during the review period, out of which the source of income of Rs 16.4 million is unknown. The CIAA decided to file the corruption case against Thapaliya after this source of income could not be verified. The anti-graft body has sought a bail amount equal to the money he amassed through unconfirmed sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also sought to freeze his properties including land, house and bank account whose source is not confirmed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The CIAA has also filed a case against his wife Muna Panta Thapaliya for abetting the crime. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14196', 'image' => '20211210115020_20210624124455_20190205023717_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 11:49:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14450', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Urea Imported on Subsidy Grossly Misused: Parliamentary Committee ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 10: A big chunk of chemical fertilizers imported on subsidy for boosting agriculture yields has been allegedly misused for commercial purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the National Assembly's Delegated Management and Government Assurance Committee on Wednesday shared the information that around 80 plywood industries currently operating in the country are using the chemical fertilizer for gluing purpose. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The misuse has come to the light in course of committee interaction with stakeholders on how to best utilize and manage around 150,000 sacks of chemical fertilizer that has been stuck in Birgunj-based dry port. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the official data, the government has been annually importing almost 500,000 tons of chemical fertilizer from abroad for agriculture. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It has been suspected that out of the total imported urea, roughly 10 percent has been supplied to the plywood industries. It has been found that majority of industries have been using urea although they have stated that a chemical namely raisin will be used as glue in course of obtaining approval for setting up the industry. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has been providing chemical fertilizer to the farmers at subsidized rate of Rs 74 per kilogram. The fertilizer is not available for the farmers during the time of crop cultivation in Nepal, when it is needed the most. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The alleged use of chemical fertilizers for commercial purpose meant to be given to the farmers shows a gross misuse of subsidy provided to the farmers. The price of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold in the international market of late. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It is very tough to import chemical fertilizers with the rise in the price of raw materials used in manufacturing fertilizers, shared the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Salt Trading Corporation and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Committee President Ram Narayan Bidari said serious discussion with concerned ministry and agency has been put forth to draw their attention to resolve the pertinent problem of the country. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-10', 'modified' => '2021-12-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14195', 'image' => '20211210081838_20210526042706_20200817122726_1597613093.Clipboard02 (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-10 08:17:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14449', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Blacklists Six Construction Companies', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">December 9: The government has blacklisted six construction companies from one to three years for not meeting the deadlines to construct projects as per the agreements. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office on Wednesday took a decision to this effect. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to a notice issued by the Office on December 9, the construction companies that have been blacklisted include Nilgiri Construction Service, Elite Construction Company, Chyangrasi Construction Service and SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., all based in Kathmandu, and Banke-based Tridev Construction Company and SNC Construction Pvt. Ltd. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The companies were blacklisted in line with Clause 63 (1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2063. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nilgiri Construction Service has been blacklisted for three years upon the recommendation of the Road Division Office, Lahan. Similarly, Elite Construction Company and Chyangrasi Construction Service have faced action for two years each upon the recommendation of Chandranagar Rural Municipality in Sarlahi district and Tarakeshwor Municipality in Kathmandu respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">SSM Construction Pvt. Ltd., Tridev Construction Service and SNC Construction Service Pvt. Ltd. have been blacklisted for one year each. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The blacklisted companies are not allowed to take part in any construction work of the government during the period for which they have been banned. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14194', 'image' => '20211209062329_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 18:22:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14448', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Insurance Board to form Special Task Force to Resolve Reinsurance Dispute', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The Insurance Board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the dispute over a directive that requires mandatory reinsurance from domestic reinsurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board had issued a directive on November 25 asking all non-life and life insurance companies to purchase reinsurance policy with the domestic reinsurance company. The board had ordered the companies to reinsure with a foreign company only in case the domestic company refuses to take reinsurance policy. The directive was criticised by all the insurance companies and stakeholders and sought for its immediate withdrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following its widespread protest, the board is preparing to form a special task force to resolve the issue. Rajuraman Poudel, CEO of the board, said that a special task force is being formed to resolve the dispute. "The stakeholders will be summoned for discussion where they need to present their recommendations. We will take necessary decisions in this regard on the basis of the investigation by the task force,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After two weeks since the directive was issued, Life Insurance Association and the Nepal Insurers Association have submitted a memorandum to the Insurance Board against it. Poudel confirmed that they have received memorandum from both organizations. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The associations have also demanded withdrawal of the directive stating that it was against the principles of insurance. According to them, the directive could create more problems as reinsurance companies do not have the capacity to take cent per cent reinsurance. They may not be able to pay the claims so the board must withdraw the directive and that the insurance companies should be allowed to conduct business independently.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board will also discuss about the memorandum with the task force. "Stakeholders should come to the task force and have their concerns reported. Then it will be easier for us to make decisions," Poudel added.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14193', 'image' => '20211209054859_20210627122025_20200417105653_Beema-Samiti.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 17:48:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14447', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Lessons from Nepal’s Reconstruction Exemplary, says President Bhandari', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. ', 'content' => '<p><em>President Bidya Devi Bhandari attending an internationa conference organised by the National Reconstruction Authority on Wednesday. Photos: RSS</em></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: The International Conference on Reconstruction-2078 organized to exchange learning, experiences and achievements of post-earthquake reconstruction of 2072 BS has started from Wednesday. The conference was inaugurated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Bhandari said that the support offered by the international community has proved to be a milestone in the post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation of Nepal</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The experiences and lessons learned during post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation will be exemplary for the international community and our future generations,” said Bhandari, adding, “I believe that the documents prepared by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) including all parties involved in the reconstruction work will be a source of valuable knowledge for anyone involved in the field of disaster risk reduction and management.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_JANARDANSHARMA.jpg" style="height:297px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the program, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that the reconstruction has helped the country enhance its decision-making capacity, introduce new technology and produce skilled manpower. Stating that a high level of political understanding and support from allies would be important in disaster management and reconstruction, he said that some of the remaining works would be done through the regular mechanism of the government. At the program, Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka said that the support of donors and development partners has given significant support to build the confidence of the people and uplift them.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/CKC_KTM_NARAYANKHADKA.jpg" style="height:382px; width:400px" /></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, Sushil Gyawali, said that the reconstruction has reached the stage of completion with the support of all stakeholders including development partners. He said that the political leadership should express a strong commitment and understanding, empower autonomous bodies, mobilize the community and adopt an inclusive policy while carrying out reconstruction and disaster management work in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Recorded messages from Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, British FCDO Minister Lord Ahmed, and Japanese Minister of State for External Affairs Honda Taro were presented at the inauguration ceremony. Similarly, recorded messages of Neil Buhne, regional director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; ADB Vice President Shixin Chen; European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic; Patricia Danzi, director general of the SDC, and Delhi-based Charge d'Affaires Amanda Strohan of Canada, who also looks after Nepal were presented as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The event was addressed by US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry, World Bank’s Country Director for Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lankan Faris Hadad Zervos and UNICEF South Asian Regional Director Laryea Adjei. Similarly, Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal read out a message from Norway's Minister for International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim. Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of China Hou Yanqi and Ambassador of Switzerland Elizabeth Von Kepler were also present at the inauguration ceremony.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Following the inauguration program, 10 subjective sessions of the conference have been completed as well. After completing 10 more sessions on Thursday, the conference will conclude in the afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the chief guest.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14192', 'image' => '20211209020105_CKC_KTM_BIDHYADEVIBHANDARI.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:58:33', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14446', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Carpet Manufacturers Demand Facilities Given to Textile Industries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">December 9: Although the government has facilitated the import of raw material for the textile industry, the carpet industry is deprived of the same facility. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The carpet industry operating in the country with a total investment of Rs 1.5 billion has been at the receiving end due to the unfair policy of the government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The import of yarn required for textile and carpet industries is subject to 5 percent customs duty. However, the raw material (polypropylene) required for making the same yarn is subject to 10 percent customs duty. Anupam Rathi, the director of Hitex Carpet, said that the industries have been facing problems due to the fact that the customs duty for raw material is more expensive than the customs duty for manufactured materials. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi also complained that the carpets produced by the industry did not get subsidies like other carpet and textile industries. However, the garment industry is getting this facility, said Rathi. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He handed over a letter to Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, who arrived in Biratnagar three days ago, to resolve the problems faced by the industries in production and export of yarn and carpet. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rathi argues that the carpet industry must be categorized as a textile industry and provided with the facilities that a textile industry is given. He has been putting forth this demand since the last four years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“In all the major carpet producing countries including India, such industries are considered as textile industries,” said Rathi, “However, in Nepal, textile means garment industry that makes shirting and suiting products. The jute industry also falls under the textile category.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Hitex Carpet is also producing yarn itself. “We are producing carpet yarn. However, the customs duty has made it difficult for us,” he said, adding, “Importing ready-made yarn costs 5 percent customs duty, the customs duty on raw material for yarn is 10 percent.” </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-12-09', 'modified' => '2021-12-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14191', 'image' => '20211209011249_20190526022115_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-12-09 13:12:18', '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
