Government to Start Collecting Application Forms for Concessional Loan from November 25

Nov 22, 2020 0 4 minutes 10 seconds to read

November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25.…

Revenue Collection Improves at Birgunj Customs

Nov 22, 2020 0 1 minutes 45 seconds to read

November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus.…

CAAN Preparing to Issue Tenders for Upgrading Major Airports of Nepal

Nov 22, 2020 0 3 minutes 44 seconds to read

November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.…

Government Secures Source of Investment for Construction of Primary Hospitals in all Local Units

Nov 20, 2020 0 1 minutes 34 seconds to read

November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units.…

Security Forces Fail to Regulate Birgunj Border Point

Nov 20, 2020 0 4 minutes 13 seconds to read

November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.…

Railway officials of India and Nepal agree to Extend Cooperation

Nov 20, 2020 0 2 minutes 49 seconds to read

November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4th India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19).…

Tourism Entrepreneurs doubt Implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure

Nov 20, 2020 0 2 minutes 12 seconds to read

November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure.…

Government Endorses Work Procedure to Avail Rs 50 Billion Loan

Nov 20, 2020 0 3 minutes 49 seconds to read

November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by…

Government to Take Action against Hospitals not Providing Free Treatment to Covid-19 Patients

Nov 20, 2020 0 1 minutes 47 seconds to read

November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.…

Government to Develop 12 Industrial Villages Across Nepal

Nov 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 14 seconds to read

November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages.…

PM Oli to ‘Counter’ Chairman Dahal during upcoming Secretariat Meeting

Nov 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 8 seconds to read

November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days.…

Tourism is the Main Source of Foreign Currency in Nepal: Minister Bhattarai

Nov 19, 2020 0 1 minutes 58 seconds to read

November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal's tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country’s economy.…

Government Almost Meets its Revenue Collection Target

Nov 19, 2020 0 3 minutes 19 seconds to read

November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus…

Life Insurance Companies make Double-Digit Profit despite Coronavirus Crisis

Nov 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 23 seconds to read

November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year…

President Bhandari Issues Medical Ordinance to Facilitate Import of Covid-19 Vaccine

Nov 19, 2020 0 1 minutes 8 seconds to read

November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18) issued the third amendment to the Medical…

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No Laughing Matter

The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

. . .
read more »

NEPSE

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			'id' => '12696',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Start Collecting Application Forms for Concessional Loan from November 25',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. The government has announced concessional loans of Rs 50 billion to the sectors affected by the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has started preparations to release the loan nearly five months after the budget announcement upon endorsing the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A recent meeting of the Loan Flow Operation Committee headed by finance secretary decided to start collecting the forms from November 25 for the effective disbursement of loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance secretary, the government is also planning to secure source of investment for the loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As the government has already issued a notice releasing the loan, cottage, small and medium-scale industries as well as tourism entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic can fill the forms to avail the concessional loans at commercial banks.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has classified the loan into three different sections &ndash; most affected, medium affected and least affected.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The commercial banks will evaluate whether the loan applicants meet the criteria fixed by the government or not and will release the amount within 15 days after the application form is filled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The loan has to be utilized by the entrepreneurs to pay the salary of the employees and to operate their day-to-day business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank was scheduled to issue a circular on Sunday (November 22) to the commercial banks to release loan to the applicants who meet the government criteria.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dev Kumar Dhakal, the central bank will release the amount to the commercial banks after proper evaluation once the banks provide the loan to the target groups. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government will deposit a certain amount in an account of Nepal Rastra Bank while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to officials at the Ministry of Finance, international donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to avail the loan to the Government of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government claims that it has already confirmed source of investment for at least Rs 30 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12695',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Revenue Collection Improves at Birgunj Customs',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. With the increase in foreign trade, Birgunj Customs has met the revenue target set for October/November of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Based on the volume of imports and exports, the Birgunj customs at the main checkpoint had set a target of raising revenue of Rs 10 billion for the month of November. The revenue collection during the review period was Rs 13.89 billion. This amount is 32 percent more than the target, informed customs officer at Birgunj Customs Point, Ramesh Sukmani.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Revenue increased in November due to improvement in the import of petroleum products and vehicles, Sukmani informed. &lsquo;Imports of petroleum products and automobiles are negative in comparison to the review period of the previous year, but there has been some improvement since October.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Imports of readymade garments, soybean oil, among &nbsp;other commodities also have increased, Sukmani informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Due to the lockdown and restrictions, only 150 vehicles used to enter the country daily through this customs point. Now, this number has grown gradually to 700. According to the customs official, the import and export from Birgunj have returned to normal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Even at the dry port of BIrgunj, around 300 containers leave the country daily. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12694',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN Preparing to Issue Tenders for Upgrading Major Airports of Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This picture taken from the Facebook page of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai shows a sketch of an airport.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN took such step after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional loan of Rs 18 billion for the purpose.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A board meeting of the bank had recently approved a loan of USD 150 million for upgrading the major airports of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel informed that they have already signed an agreement with the ADB and are now in the implementation phase.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Major portion of the loan will be utilized to build a second terminal building at the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of taxi way, apron and parking lots are the other areas where the loan will be used.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The works will be undertaken as per the master plans of TIA and Gautam Buddha International Airport. As we have already signed an agreement with ADB, we will soon begin the tender process,&rdquo; Pokharel said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN had earlier upgraded the runway of TIA with the support from the ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to CAAN, they are currently working on the design of the second terminal building of Gautam Buddha International Airport. It is estimated to cost around Rs 10 billion to complete all the works of the Bhairahawa-based airport. This is the second phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport. Pokharel informed that the first phase of construction was also undertaken with the funding from ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General Pokharel informed that they planning to complete the construction works by the end of 2020.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport was initiated in 2020. Currently, the construction of the airport&rsquo;s runway, terminal building and other infrastructures have been completed while the installation of equipment is still pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN informed that they need to bring technical experts from abroad for the work but were unable to do so on time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pokharel added that the installation works will begin soon as international flights have resumed and the government has started issuing visas to the technical experts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Two construction companies have been awarded the contracts to build the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of physical infrastructure of the airport is being undertaken by a Chinese company named Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Company while the contract for installing equipment has been given to Aero Thai.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12693',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Secures Source of Investment for Construction of Primary Hospitals in all Local Units',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel has approved the Ministry of Health and Population to undertake the construction of the hospitals with a budget of Rs 57.97 billion. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance Rameshwar Dangal informed that the ministry has approved the process to initiate contract for the construction of primary hospitals with five, 10 and 15 beds in various local units within two years. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The health ministry has been instructed to release the required amount as conditional grant from its annual budget.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The finance ministry has already released Rs 6.12 billion for the construction of primary hospitals this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of Finance Minister Bisnhu Prasad Poudel and Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal about a month ago had decided to lay the foundation stone of one of the hospitals on November 30 with the objective of setting up standard primary health care facility for the public.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has envisoned setting up hospitals of five to 15 beds in each and every local unit.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12692',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Security Forces Fail to Regulate Birgunj Border Point',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, the movement of people across the border through Birgunj transit point clearly shows that the ban is not being implemented effectively.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Hundreds of people travel to and fro across the friendship bridge between in between BIrgunj and Raxaul. Security personnel deployed at the border area have not been able to stop the flow of people. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had decided on September 11 to seal the international borders till November 15 but is yet to announce lifting of the ban.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far the government has opened 11 transit points through which people can enter or leave the country by fulfilling certain conditions. The government is silent about the cross-border movement after November 15.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang insists that the decision to allow entry of people by fulfilling government-approved conditions is still in force.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We have sought suggestions from the home ministry regarding effective management of cross-border movement,&rdquo; said CDO Tamang, adding, &ldquo;There will be a new provision to regulate corss-border movement immediately after the Chhath festival.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a criteria to allow the entry of its citizens from India in case of emergency or medical treatment and for workers involved in the industries and construction projects. Only those who fulfill the criteria are allowed to enter the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There has been an increase in flow of people across the border after India unilaterally opened its border on October 22.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Security personnel have not been able to regulate the movement of people across the border. They say that their attempt to stop the people from traveling across the border often results in confrontations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Birgunj border is closed only on papers, causing trouble to both the law enforcement agencies and the public.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the movement of people across the border has increased, Mayor of Birgunj Bijay Kumar Sarawagi says they have not allowed private and passenger vehicles to enter or leave the country through the border point.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;People often travel to the border point on vehicles and the get off to cross the border. This has resulted in more crowd in the border area,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The uncontrolled movement of people has in fact affected those who travel due to emergency, said Sarawagi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The mayor is of the view that the border should be opened after setting a certain practical criteria for cross-border movement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CDO Tamang says that a lot of people have been visiting Raxaul of India for purchase during the festive season. He reiterated that the uncontrolled movement of people will soon be regulated after the Chhath festival.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12691',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Railway officials of India and Nepal agree to Extend Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4th India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4<sup>th</sup> India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Indian Embassy in Nepal said in a statement that the joint working group reviewed the cross-border rail link projects that are between Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar under advance implementation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">&ldquo;Both sides discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services, including the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that need to be put in place for resumption of passenger train services by Nepal Railway Company (NRC),&rdquo; reads the statement. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The section, originally a narrow gauge built by British India, was upgraded by the Government of India to broad gauge at a cost of over IRs 380 crores (NRs 6080 million). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Government of Nepal has recently procured two DEMU train sets from India for running on this railway link. Both sides also discussed the mutual facilitation and coordination required for completion of the work on remaining sections from Kurtha to Bilajpura, currently under construction by the Government of India at a cost of NRs 3200 million, the statement added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">Both sides further agreed to expedite the work for completion of the other ongoing cross-border railway project between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal under a grant assistance of NRs 5884 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The statement says that the JWG co-chairs agreed to extend cooperation in the railway sector, including in the capacity building and training of Nepali railway personnel in India and in Nepal as per the requirements of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">According&nbsp; to the Indian Embassy in Nepal, the Indian side was led by Dr Manoj Singh, executive director (Traffic Transportation-F) at the Ministry of Railways of India, and the Nepali side was led by engineer Gopal Prasad Sigdel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Other stakeholders who participated from both sides included senior officials from Indian Railway, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Konkan Railways and IRCON on the Indian side and director general of the Department of Railway (DoRw), general manager of Nepal Railway Company (NRC), officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs representing the Nepali side. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12690',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs doubt Implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. The implementation of the scheme has been delayed for a long period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the government has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure-2077, the tourism entrepreneurs have expressed doubt regarding getting relief as per the law. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism sector has been included in the most-affected areas as the loan has been classified into three types, namely, the most affected areas, the medium affected areas and the least affected areas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism entrepreneurs have responded that the government has brought the procedure late and there are still concerns over its implementation and relief to the entrepreneurs due to lack of resources. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Binayak Shah, the first vice-president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that although hoteliers have welcomed the procedures, it has not benefited the business community. &quot;The implementation has been delayed,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The procedure has finally been passed after a long delay. However, the amount in the fund is not yet certain. In such a situation, the duration and procedure to get the soft loan from the fund introduced by the government is likely to take time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Given such situation when will we get the soft loan and when shall we resume our business?&rdquo; Shah questioned. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He is of the opinion that there is ample room to doubt that the entrepreneurs will get relief from the the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Similarly, Shiva Adhikari, the current president of the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies informed that small and medium entrepreneurs will not be able to get relief from the fund as many entrepreneurs aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;associated with banking and finance.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12688',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Endorses Work Procedure to Avail Rs 50 Billion Loan',
			'sub_title' => 'The Concessional Loan aims to Give Continuity to Business Affected by Covid-19',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet recently approved the work procedure upon the recommendation of the Finance Ministry to support cottage, small-scale and medium enterprises as well as tourism entrepreneurs to pay the salary of workers at a time when they are struggling to provide salary due to the pandemic. With the flow of loan, the government expects the sectors hard hit by coronavirus to give continuity to their business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government is now preparing to manage the required fund for Nepal Rastra Bank in order to release concessional loan to the aforementioned sectors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In this regard, the government will be opening an account with Nepal Rastra Bank to collect the amount. The government will deposit a certain amount in the account while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">An official at the finance ministry informed New Business Age that the government is preparing to release concessional funds targeting the small and medium scale enterprises as well as cottage industries and small tourism businesses that are struggling to pay the workers and are o n the verge of closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Joint Secretary at the ministry Jhakka Prasad Acharya informed that the government endorsed this work procedure in accordance to the announcement made in the budget speech for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has categorized the loan into three different types &ndash; most affected, medium affected and less affected &ndash; and has fixed the timeframe for loan repayment accordingly.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The most affected sectors will be receiving loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 100 million. The medium affected sectors will also get loan amount equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 70 million. Likewise, the less affected sectors will get loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 50 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A total of 50 percent from the fund of Rs 50 billion will be allocated to the most affected sector while 30 percent will be provided to the mildly affected sector and 20 percent to the less affected sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12689',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Take Action against Hospitals not Providing Free Treatment to Covid-19 Patients',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.<strong> &nbsp;</strong></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy spokesperson of the ministry Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari informed that action will be taken against all hospitals that have ignored the government&#39;s order to treat Covid-19 patients free of cost. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Dr Adhakari, the ministry has already issued circulars to all hospitals instructing them to provide free treatment to COVID-19 patients.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">However, Dr Adhikari informed that the ministry has been receiving complaints from the public that some hospitals still have been charging patients for the treatment.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Such hospitals will be provided with funds as per the government decision, Dr Adhikari added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Revising its previous order to provide aid to hospitals that provide treatment to COVID-19 patients, the government had decided for free testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The hospitals in turn will be provided with funds for the free treatment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Patients with coronavirus insurance coverage however need to pay from their own expenses and then settle the claims while the government has urged financially sound persons to contribute themselves for their treatment cost. - RSS</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12687',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Develop 12 Industrial Villages Across Nepal ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This file photo shows a Special Economic Zone in Bhairahawa.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. In order to develop entrepreneurship at the local level and to facilitate landless local youths, the industrial villages have been announced in Province 1, Bagmati Province, Karnali Province, and Gandaki Province. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on November 9 decided to convert various places of Udayapur and Tehrathum of Province 1 as industrial villages. The industrial villages are being setup on 63 ropani of land in Rautamai Rural Municipality &ndash; 5 and 8 bigha of land in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur. Likewise, a 64 ropani land at Myanglung Rural Municipality 1 and 10, Tehrathum has been declared as industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, the Council of Ministers has also decided to develop 187 ropani of government land in Subhaghat area of Bidur Municipality &ndash; 10, Nuwakot as an industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Two industrial villages have been declared in Surkhet, Karnali out of which 20 bigha of government land of Bheriganga &ndash; 11 and 10 bighas of community forest in Chowkune rural municipality &ndash; 5 will be utilized. It has also been decided to build an industrial village on 20 bigha of government land in Shivalaya Rural Municipality &ndash; 4 of Jajarkot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has planned to make highest number of industrial villages in Gandaki Province, which includes Syanja, Tanahu, Nawalparasi (east of Bardaghar Susta), Manang and Parbat. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has already declared 93 ropanis of land in Kaligandaki rural municipality &ndash; 5 of Syangja, 47 ropanis of land in Bhanu municipality &ndash; 3 of Tanahu and 100 ropanis of land in Baudikali village municipality &ndash; 2 of Nawalparasi as industrial gram. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12686',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'PM Oli to ‘Counter’ Chairman Dahal during upcoming Secretariat Meeting',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. A meeting of the party called on Wednesday afternoon (November 18) to resolve the internal rift has decided to sit for talks on November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party is on the verge of splitting into two factions due to the clash of egos of the chairmen duo. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chairman of NCP, will be presenting a report during the next Secretariat Meeting, informed party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha. In his report, PM Oli will address the demands made by another chairman of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal while the secretariat members will review the reports of both the chairmen.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The upcoming meeting has become a hot topic in contemporary politics of Nepal considering the chances that it might either resolve the internal dispute or cause further rift.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party leaders had held a Secretariat Meeting at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Official Residence in Baluwatar on&nbsp; Wednesday to resolve the long-standing issue of power struggle between the two chairmen. As soon as the meeting started, Oli said he would present a political report during the next meeting and demanded 10 days to prepare the report. The leaders agreed to defer the meeting by 10 days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">During the last meeting, Oli had presented a 19-page report stressing on majority rule while Dahal had criticized the prime minister for taking decisions unilaterally. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Wednesday&rsquo;s meeting also decided to call the party&rsquo;s standing committee meeting on December 3 and central committee meeting on December 10. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12685',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism is the Main Source of Foreign Currency in Nepal: Minister Bhattarai',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal's tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country’s economy. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal&#39;s tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country&rsquo;s economy. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Tourism is the prime source of foreign currency for Nepal,&rdquo; he informed.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Inaugurating the Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management Foundation (NATHAM) branch at Birtamod in Jhapa on Wednesday, November 18, Minister Bhattarai informed that the government has kept development of tourism as a topmost priority as it is the main source of foreign currency.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Tourism is the backbone of economic development,&quot; he further said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai added that NATHAM&#39;s third branch has been set up in Jhapa to produce required manpower to support the tourism sector of Province one.&nbsp; Currently three five-star hotels and other big hotels are being set up in Mechinagar and Birtamod municipalities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He informed that branches have already been expanded in Nepalgunj and Mahottari. Minister Bhattarai expressed confidence that the people of Province 1 would now contribute to the tourism sector by studying hotel management.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the government is preparing to make it mandatory for foreign tourists to have a guide when visiting Nepal, adding that large manpower is needed in the tourism sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Deepak Kumar Thapa, executive director of NATHAM, informed that graduates will be sent to the branch established at Anarmuni Public Campus in Birtamod. He further informed that through teaching and training, NATHAM has produced 54,000 manpower in Nepal and 90 percent of them are employed. -RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12684',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Almost Meets its Revenue Collection Target',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government&rsquo;s income had been declining gradually since March, revenue collection has gained pace in recent days. Government officials say that they are almost certain to meet their annual target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, the government had set a target of collecting 25 percent of its estimated revenue within the first four months of the current fiscal year. The ministry informed that they have been able to collect 24 percent of the estimated revenue during the review period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Data maintained by the finance ministry shows that the government was able to collect Rs 240.15 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Out of the collected amount, Rs 226.3 billion was collected as taxes while the remaining Rs 14.11 billion was collected as non-tax revenue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A high-ranking official at the finance ministry informed that the revenue collection of the government has been satisfactory and in accordance to the target while other indicators are also positive.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The official informed that they are collecting detailed information about the revenue indices. He added that the data collected so far show improvement in most of the indices.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry further informed that the number of people registering their permanent account number (PAN) has declined in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to last year due to the adverse situation created by coronavirus pandemic. Such number has fallen by almost 73 percent, informed government officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, registration of institutions for value added tax has declined by 51.4 percent and that of excise duty has gone down by 56 percent.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the ministry, the number of people registering PAN has reached 3.5 million during the review period. Among them, 1.4 million permanent account numbers have been registered for commercial purpose while that of personal permanent account number stands at 2.1 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200318114059_20170421033602_inland%20revenue.jpg" style="height:231px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the Inland Revenue Department Binod Bahadur Kunwar says that they have been moving ahead with their plant to meet the target of revenue collection. He says that they have prepared a special work plan to meet the target amid coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12682',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Life Insurance Companies make Double-Digit Profit despite Coronavirus  Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The figure is based on financial statements of the first quarter made public by 19 life insurance companies operating in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The profit of commercial banks and other sectors has declined during the review period due to coronavirus. However, life insurance companies have recorded double-digit profit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies say that they have felt very little impact of coronavirus compared to other sectors. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies had made net profit of Rs 1.01 billion during the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The profit during the corresponding period of the current fiscal year has soared by Rs 246.7 million to Rs 1.26 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Chairman of Life Insurance Providers&rsquo; Association of Nepal Nirmal Kaji Shrestha, who is also the CEO of Metlife Insurance, says that the insurance sector has not been affected much by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">&ldquo;Our customers have given continuity to their insurance policy even during the current crisis,&rdquo; said Shrestha, adding. &ldquo;New businesses have been opening despite the risk of coronavirus. As a result, the insurance business has flourished.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Nepal Life Insurance Company, Prime Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company and Surya Life Insurance Company are the frontrunners is recording profits during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">According to the available data, the combined profits of these four companies exceed Rs 100 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12683',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Medical Ordinance to Facilitate Import of Covid-19 Vaccine',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18)  issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18) &nbsp;issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The ordinance was issued by the president upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 114, Clause 1 of the Constitution of Nepal, informed Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President&#39;s Office. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The state-run national news agency of Nepal &ndash; RSS &ndash; reported that the ordinance would facilitate the import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal had reportedly said a few days ago that an ordinance was being brought to prevent legal problems during the potential import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Generally, new laws are brought through ordinances when the parliamentary sessions prorogued.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12696',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Start Collecting Application Forms for Concessional Loan from November 25',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. The government has announced concessional loans of Rs 50 billion to the sectors affected by the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has started preparations to release the loan nearly five months after the budget announcement upon endorsing the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A recent meeting of the Loan Flow Operation Committee headed by finance secretary decided to start collecting the forms from November 25 for the effective disbursement of loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance secretary, the government is also planning to secure source of investment for the loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As the government has already issued a notice releasing the loan, cottage, small and medium-scale industries as well as tourism entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic can fill the forms to avail the concessional loans at commercial banks.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has classified the loan into three different sections &ndash; most affected, medium affected and least affected.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The commercial banks will evaluate whether the loan applicants meet the criteria fixed by the government or not and will release the amount within 15 days after the application form is filled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The loan has to be utilized by the entrepreneurs to pay the salary of the employees and to operate their day-to-day business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank was scheduled to issue a circular on Sunday (November 22) to the commercial banks to release loan to the applicants who meet the government criteria.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dev Kumar Dhakal, the central bank will release the amount to the commercial banks after proper evaluation once the banks provide the loan to the target groups. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government will deposit a certain amount in an account of Nepal Rastra Bank while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to officials at the Ministry of Finance, international donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to avail the loan to the Government of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government claims that it has already confirmed source of investment for at least Rs 30 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12695',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Revenue Collection Improves at Birgunj Customs',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. With the increase in foreign trade, Birgunj Customs has met the revenue target set for October/November of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Based on the volume of imports and exports, the Birgunj customs at the main checkpoint had set a target of raising revenue of Rs 10 billion for the month of November. The revenue collection during the review period was Rs 13.89 billion. This amount is 32 percent more than the target, informed customs officer at Birgunj Customs Point, Ramesh Sukmani.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Revenue increased in November due to improvement in the import of petroleum products and vehicles, Sukmani informed. &lsquo;Imports of petroleum products and automobiles are negative in comparison to the review period of the previous year, but there has been some improvement since October.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Imports of readymade garments, soybean oil, among &nbsp;other commodities also have increased, Sukmani informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Due to the lockdown and restrictions, only 150 vehicles used to enter the country daily through this customs point. Now, this number has grown gradually to 700. According to the customs official, the import and export from Birgunj have returned to normal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Even at the dry port of BIrgunj, around 300 containers leave the country daily. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'description' => '',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12694',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN Preparing to Issue Tenders for Upgrading Major Airports of Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This picture taken from the Facebook page of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai shows a sketch of an airport.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN took such step after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional loan of Rs 18 billion for the purpose.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A board meeting of the bank had recently approved a loan of USD 150 million for upgrading the major airports of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel informed that they have already signed an agreement with the ADB and are now in the implementation phase.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Major portion of the loan will be utilized to build a second terminal building at the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of taxi way, apron and parking lots are the other areas where the loan will be used.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The works will be undertaken as per the master plans of TIA and Gautam Buddha International Airport. As we have already signed an agreement with ADB, we will soon begin the tender process,&rdquo; Pokharel said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN had earlier upgraded the runway of TIA with the support from the ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to CAAN, they are currently working on the design of the second terminal building of Gautam Buddha International Airport. It is estimated to cost around Rs 10 billion to complete all the works of the Bhairahawa-based airport. This is the second phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport. Pokharel informed that the first phase of construction was also undertaken with the funding from ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General Pokharel informed that they planning to complete the construction works by the end of 2020.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport was initiated in 2020. Currently, the construction of the airport&rsquo;s runway, terminal building and other infrastructures have been completed while the installation of equipment is still pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN informed that they need to bring technical experts from abroad for the work but were unable to do so on time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pokharel added that the installation works will begin soon as international flights have resumed and the government has started issuing visas to the technical experts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Two construction companies have been awarded the contracts to build the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of physical infrastructure of the airport is being undertaken by a Chinese company named Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Company while the contract for installing equipment has been given to Aero Thai.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12693',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Secures Source of Investment for Construction of Primary Hospitals in all Local Units',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel has approved the Ministry of Health and Population to undertake the construction of the hospitals with a budget of Rs 57.97 billion. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance Rameshwar Dangal informed that the ministry has approved the process to initiate contract for the construction of primary hospitals with five, 10 and 15 beds in various local units within two years. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The health ministry has been instructed to release the required amount as conditional grant from its annual budget.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The finance ministry has already released Rs 6.12 billion for the construction of primary hospitals this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of Finance Minister Bisnhu Prasad Poudel and Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal about a month ago had decided to lay the foundation stone of one of the hospitals on November 30 with the objective of setting up standard primary health care facility for the public.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has envisoned setting up hospitals of five to 15 beds in each and every local unit.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12692',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Security Forces Fail to Regulate Birgunj Border Point',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, the movement of people across the border through Birgunj transit point clearly shows that the ban is not being implemented effectively.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Hundreds of people travel to and fro across the friendship bridge between in between BIrgunj and Raxaul. Security personnel deployed at the border area have not been able to stop the flow of people. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had decided on September 11 to seal the international borders till November 15 but is yet to announce lifting of the ban.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far the government has opened 11 transit points through which people can enter or leave the country by fulfilling certain conditions. The government is silent about the cross-border movement after November 15.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang insists that the decision to allow entry of people by fulfilling government-approved conditions is still in force.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We have sought suggestions from the home ministry regarding effective management of cross-border movement,&rdquo; said CDO Tamang, adding, &ldquo;There will be a new provision to regulate corss-border movement immediately after the Chhath festival.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a criteria to allow the entry of its citizens from India in case of emergency or medical treatment and for workers involved in the industries and construction projects. Only those who fulfill the criteria are allowed to enter the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There has been an increase in flow of people across the border after India unilaterally opened its border on October 22.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Security personnel have not been able to regulate the movement of people across the border. They say that their attempt to stop the people from traveling across the border often results in confrontations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Birgunj border is closed only on papers, causing trouble to both the law enforcement agencies and the public.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the movement of people across the border has increased, Mayor of Birgunj Bijay Kumar Sarawagi says they have not allowed private and passenger vehicles to enter or leave the country through the border point.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;People often travel to the border point on vehicles and the get off to cross the border. This has resulted in more crowd in the border area,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The uncontrolled movement of people has in fact affected those who travel due to emergency, said Sarawagi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The mayor is of the view that the border should be opened after setting a certain practical criteria for cross-border movement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CDO Tamang says that a lot of people have been visiting Raxaul of India for purchase during the festive season. He reiterated that the uncontrolled movement of people will soon be regulated after the Chhath festival.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12691',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Railway officials of India and Nepal agree to Extend Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4th India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4<sup>th</sup> India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Indian Embassy in Nepal said in a statement that the joint working group reviewed the cross-border rail link projects that are between Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar under advance implementation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">&ldquo;Both sides discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services, including the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that need to be put in place for resumption of passenger train services by Nepal Railway Company (NRC),&rdquo; reads the statement. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The section, originally a narrow gauge built by British India, was upgraded by the Government of India to broad gauge at a cost of over IRs 380 crores (NRs 6080 million). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Government of Nepal has recently procured two DEMU train sets from India for running on this railway link. Both sides also discussed the mutual facilitation and coordination required for completion of the work on remaining sections from Kurtha to Bilajpura, currently under construction by the Government of India at a cost of NRs 3200 million, the statement added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">Both sides further agreed to expedite the work for completion of the other ongoing cross-border railway project between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal under a grant assistance of NRs 5884 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The statement says that the JWG co-chairs agreed to extend cooperation in the railway sector, including in the capacity building and training of Nepali railway personnel in India and in Nepal as per the requirements of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">According&nbsp; to the Indian Embassy in Nepal, the Indian side was led by Dr Manoj Singh, executive director (Traffic Transportation-F) at the Ministry of Railways of India, and the Nepali side was led by engineer Gopal Prasad Sigdel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Other stakeholders who participated from both sides included senior officials from Indian Railway, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Konkan Railways and IRCON on the Indian side and director general of the Department of Railway (DoRw), general manager of Nepal Railway Company (NRC), officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs representing the Nepali side. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12690',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs doubt Implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. The implementation of the scheme has been delayed for a long period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the government has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure-2077, the tourism entrepreneurs have expressed doubt regarding getting relief as per the law. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism sector has been included in the most-affected areas as the loan has been classified into three types, namely, the most affected areas, the medium affected areas and the least affected areas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism entrepreneurs have responded that the government has brought the procedure late and there are still concerns over its implementation and relief to the entrepreneurs due to lack of resources. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Binayak Shah, the first vice-president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that although hoteliers have welcomed the procedures, it has not benefited the business community. &quot;The implementation has been delayed,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The procedure has finally been passed after a long delay. However, the amount in the fund is not yet certain. In such a situation, the duration and procedure to get the soft loan from the fund introduced by the government is likely to take time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Given such situation when will we get the soft loan and when shall we resume our business?&rdquo; Shah questioned. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He is of the opinion that there is ample room to doubt that the entrepreneurs will get relief from the the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Similarly, Shiva Adhikari, the current president of the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies informed that small and medium entrepreneurs will not be able to get relief from the fund as many entrepreneurs aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;associated with banking and finance.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12688',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Endorses Work Procedure to Avail Rs 50 Billion Loan',
			'sub_title' => 'The Concessional Loan aims to Give Continuity to Business Affected by Covid-19',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet recently approved the work procedure upon the recommendation of the Finance Ministry to support cottage, small-scale and medium enterprises as well as tourism entrepreneurs to pay the salary of workers at a time when they are struggling to provide salary due to the pandemic. With the flow of loan, the government expects the sectors hard hit by coronavirus to give continuity to their business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government is now preparing to manage the required fund for Nepal Rastra Bank in order to release concessional loan to the aforementioned sectors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In this regard, the government will be opening an account with Nepal Rastra Bank to collect the amount. The government will deposit a certain amount in the account while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">An official at the finance ministry informed New Business Age that the government is preparing to release concessional funds targeting the small and medium scale enterprises as well as cottage industries and small tourism businesses that are struggling to pay the workers and are o n the verge of closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Joint Secretary at the ministry Jhakka Prasad Acharya informed that the government endorsed this work procedure in accordance to the announcement made in the budget speech for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has categorized the loan into three different types &ndash; most affected, medium affected and less affected &ndash; and has fixed the timeframe for loan repayment accordingly.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The most affected sectors will be receiving loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 100 million. The medium affected sectors will also get loan amount equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 70 million. Likewise, the less affected sectors will get loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 50 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A total of 50 percent from the fund of Rs 50 billion will be allocated to the most affected sector while 30 percent will be provided to the mildly affected sector and 20 percent to the less affected sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12689',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Take Action against Hospitals not Providing Free Treatment to Covid-19 Patients',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.<strong> &nbsp;</strong></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy spokesperson of the ministry Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari informed that action will be taken against all hospitals that have ignored the government&#39;s order to treat Covid-19 patients free of cost. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Dr Adhakari, the ministry has already issued circulars to all hospitals instructing them to provide free treatment to COVID-19 patients.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">However, Dr Adhikari informed that the ministry has been receiving complaints from the public that some hospitals still have been charging patients for the treatment.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Such hospitals will be provided with funds as per the government decision, Dr Adhikari added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Revising its previous order to provide aid to hospitals that provide treatment to COVID-19 patients, the government had decided for free testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The hospitals in turn will be provided with funds for the free treatment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Patients with coronavirus insurance coverage however need to pay from their own expenses and then settle the claims while the government has urged financially sound persons to contribute themselves for their treatment cost. - RSS</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12687',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Develop 12 Industrial Villages Across Nepal ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This file photo shows a Special Economic Zone in Bhairahawa.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. In order to develop entrepreneurship at the local level and to facilitate landless local youths, the industrial villages have been announced in Province 1, Bagmati Province, Karnali Province, and Gandaki Province. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on November 9 decided to convert various places of Udayapur and Tehrathum of Province 1 as industrial villages. The industrial villages are being setup on 63 ropani of land in Rautamai Rural Municipality &ndash; 5 and 8 bigha of land in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur. Likewise, a 64 ropani land at Myanglung Rural Municipality 1 and 10, Tehrathum has been declared as industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, the Council of Ministers has also decided to develop 187 ropani of government land in Subhaghat area of Bidur Municipality &ndash; 10, Nuwakot as an industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Two industrial villages have been declared in Surkhet, Karnali out of which 20 bigha of government land of Bheriganga &ndash; 11 and 10 bighas of community forest in Chowkune rural municipality &ndash; 5 will be utilized. It has also been decided to build an industrial village on 20 bigha of government land in Shivalaya Rural Municipality &ndash; 4 of Jajarkot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has planned to make highest number of industrial villages in Gandaki Province, which includes Syanja, Tanahu, Nawalparasi (east of Bardaghar Susta), Manang and Parbat. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has already declared 93 ropanis of land in Kaligandaki rural municipality &ndash; 5 of Syangja, 47 ropanis of land in Bhanu municipality &ndash; 3 of Tanahu and 100 ropanis of land in Baudikali village municipality &ndash; 2 of Nawalparasi as industrial gram. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12686',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'PM Oli to ‘Counter’ Chairman Dahal during upcoming Secretariat Meeting',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. A meeting of the party called on Wednesday afternoon (November 18) to resolve the internal rift has decided to sit for talks on November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party is on the verge of splitting into two factions due to the clash of egos of the chairmen duo. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chairman of NCP, will be presenting a report during the next Secretariat Meeting, informed party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha. In his report, PM Oli will address the demands made by another chairman of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal while the secretariat members will review the reports of both the chairmen.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The upcoming meeting has become a hot topic in contemporary politics of Nepal considering the chances that it might either resolve the internal dispute or cause further rift.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party leaders had held a Secretariat Meeting at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Official Residence in Baluwatar on&nbsp; Wednesday to resolve the long-standing issue of power struggle between the two chairmen. As soon as the meeting started, Oli said he would present a political report during the next meeting and demanded 10 days to prepare the report. The leaders agreed to defer the meeting by 10 days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">During the last meeting, Oli had presented a 19-page report stressing on majority rule while Dahal had criticized the prime minister for taking decisions unilaterally. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Wednesday&rsquo;s meeting also decided to call the party&rsquo;s standing committee meeting on December 3 and central committee meeting on December 10. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12685',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism is the Main Source of Foreign Currency in Nepal: Minister Bhattarai',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal's tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country’s economy. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal&#39;s tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country&rsquo;s economy. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Tourism is the prime source of foreign currency for Nepal,&rdquo; he informed.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Inaugurating the Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management Foundation (NATHAM) branch at Birtamod in Jhapa on Wednesday, November 18, Minister Bhattarai informed that the government has kept development of tourism as a topmost priority as it is the main source of foreign currency.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Tourism is the backbone of economic development,&quot; he further said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai added that NATHAM&#39;s third branch has been set up in Jhapa to produce required manpower to support the tourism sector of Province one.&nbsp; Currently three five-star hotels and other big hotels are being set up in Mechinagar and Birtamod municipalities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He informed that branches have already been expanded in Nepalgunj and Mahottari. Minister Bhattarai expressed confidence that the people of Province 1 would now contribute to the tourism sector by studying hotel management.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the government is preparing to make it mandatory for foreign tourists to have a guide when visiting Nepal, adding that large manpower is needed in the tourism sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Deepak Kumar Thapa, executive director of NATHAM, informed that graduates will be sent to the branch established at Anarmuni Public Campus in Birtamod. He further informed that through teaching and training, NATHAM has produced 54,000 manpower in Nepal and 90 percent of them are employed. -RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12684',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Almost Meets its Revenue Collection Target',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government&rsquo;s income had been declining gradually since March, revenue collection has gained pace in recent days. Government officials say that they are almost certain to meet their annual target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, the government had set a target of collecting 25 percent of its estimated revenue within the first four months of the current fiscal year. The ministry informed that they have been able to collect 24 percent of the estimated revenue during the review period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Data maintained by the finance ministry shows that the government was able to collect Rs 240.15 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Out of the collected amount, Rs 226.3 billion was collected as taxes while the remaining Rs 14.11 billion was collected as non-tax revenue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A high-ranking official at the finance ministry informed that the revenue collection of the government has been satisfactory and in accordance to the target while other indicators are also positive.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The official informed that they are collecting detailed information about the revenue indices. He added that the data collected so far show improvement in most of the indices.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry further informed that the number of people registering their permanent account number (PAN) has declined in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to last year due to the adverse situation created by coronavirus pandemic. Such number has fallen by almost 73 percent, informed government officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, registration of institutions for value added tax has declined by 51.4 percent and that of excise duty has gone down by 56 percent.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the ministry, the number of people registering PAN has reached 3.5 million during the review period. Among them, 1.4 million permanent account numbers have been registered for commercial purpose while that of personal permanent account number stands at 2.1 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200318114059_20170421033602_inland%20revenue.jpg" style="height:231px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the Inland Revenue Department Binod Bahadur Kunwar says that they have been moving ahead with their plant to meet the target of revenue collection. He says that they have prepared a special work plan to meet the target amid coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12682',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Life Insurance Companies make Double-Digit Profit despite Coronavirus  Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The figure is based on financial statements of the first quarter made public by 19 life insurance companies operating in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The profit of commercial banks and other sectors has declined during the review period due to coronavirus. However, life insurance companies have recorded double-digit profit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies say that they have felt very little impact of coronavirus compared to other sectors. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies had made net profit of Rs 1.01 billion during the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The profit during the corresponding period of the current fiscal year has soared by Rs 246.7 million to Rs 1.26 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Chairman of Life Insurance Providers&rsquo; Association of Nepal Nirmal Kaji Shrestha, who is also the CEO of Metlife Insurance, says that the insurance sector has not been affected much by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">&ldquo;Our customers have given continuity to their insurance policy even during the current crisis,&rdquo; said Shrestha, adding. &ldquo;New businesses have been opening despite the risk of coronavirus. As a result, the insurance business has flourished.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Nepal Life Insurance Company, Prime Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company and Surya Life Insurance Company are the frontrunners is recording profits during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">According to the available data, the combined profits of these four companies exceed Rs 100 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'article_date' => '2020-11-19 11:54:04',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12683',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Medical Ordinance to Facilitate Import of Covid-19 Vaccine',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18)  issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18) &nbsp;issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The ordinance was issued by the president upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 114, Clause 1 of the Constitution of Nepal, informed Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President&#39;s Office. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The state-run national news agency of Nepal &ndash; RSS &ndash; reported that the ordinance would facilitate the import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal had reportedly said a few days ago that an ordinance was being brought to prevent legal problems during the potential import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Generally, new laws are brought through ordinances when the parliamentary sessions prorogued.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12696',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Start Collecting Application Forms for Concessional Loan from November 25',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. The government has announced concessional loans of Rs 50 billion to the sectors affected by the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has started preparations to release the loan nearly five months after the budget announcement upon endorsing the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A recent meeting of the Loan Flow Operation Committee headed by finance secretary decided to start collecting the forms from November 25 for the effective disbursement of loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance secretary, the government is also planning to secure source of investment for the loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As the government has already issued a notice releasing the loan, cottage, small and medium-scale industries as well as tourism entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic can fill the forms to avail the concessional loans at commercial banks.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has classified the loan into three different sections &ndash; most affected, medium affected and least affected.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The commercial banks will evaluate whether the loan applicants meet the criteria fixed by the government or not and will release the amount within 15 days after the application form is filled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The loan has to be utilized by the entrepreneurs to pay the salary of the employees and to operate their day-to-day business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank was scheduled to issue a circular on Sunday (November 22) to the commercial banks to release loan to the applicants who meet the government criteria.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dev Kumar Dhakal, the central bank will release the amount to the commercial banks after proper evaluation once the banks provide the loan to the target groups. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government will deposit a certain amount in an account of Nepal Rastra Bank while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to officials at the Ministry of Finance, international donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to avail the loan to the Government of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government claims that it has already confirmed source of investment for at least Rs 30 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12695',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Revenue Collection Improves at Birgunj Customs',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. With the increase in foreign trade, Birgunj Customs has met the revenue target set for October/November of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Based on the volume of imports and exports, the Birgunj customs at the main checkpoint had set a target of raising revenue of Rs 10 billion for the month of November. The revenue collection during the review period was Rs 13.89 billion. This amount is 32 percent more than the target, informed customs officer at Birgunj Customs Point, Ramesh Sukmani.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Revenue increased in November due to improvement in the import of petroleum products and vehicles, Sukmani informed. &lsquo;Imports of petroleum products and automobiles are negative in comparison to the review period of the previous year, but there has been some improvement since October.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Imports of readymade garments, soybean oil, among &nbsp;other commodities also have increased, Sukmani informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Due to the lockdown and restrictions, only 150 vehicles used to enter the country daily through this customs point. Now, this number has grown gradually to 700. According to the customs official, the import and export from Birgunj have returned to normal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Even at the dry port of BIrgunj, around 300 containers leave the country daily. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12694',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN Preparing to Issue Tenders for Upgrading Major Airports of Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This picture taken from the Facebook page of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai shows a sketch of an airport.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN took such step after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional loan of Rs 18 billion for the purpose.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A board meeting of the bank had recently approved a loan of USD 150 million for upgrading the major airports of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel informed that they have already signed an agreement with the ADB and are now in the implementation phase.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Major portion of the loan will be utilized to build a second terminal building at the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of taxi way, apron and parking lots are the other areas where the loan will be used.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The works will be undertaken as per the master plans of TIA and Gautam Buddha International Airport. As we have already signed an agreement with ADB, we will soon begin the tender process,&rdquo; Pokharel said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN had earlier upgraded the runway of TIA with the support from the ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to CAAN, they are currently working on the design of the second terminal building of Gautam Buddha International Airport. It is estimated to cost around Rs 10 billion to complete all the works of the Bhairahawa-based airport. This is the second phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport. Pokharel informed that the first phase of construction was also undertaken with the funding from ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General Pokharel informed that they planning to complete the construction works by the end of 2020.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport was initiated in 2020. Currently, the construction of the airport&rsquo;s runway, terminal building and other infrastructures have been completed while the installation of equipment is still pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN informed that they need to bring technical experts from abroad for the work but were unable to do so on time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pokharel added that the installation works will begin soon as international flights have resumed and the government has started issuing visas to the technical experts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Two construction companies have been awarded the contracts to build the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of physical infrastructure of the airport is being undertaken by a Chinese company named Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Company while the contract for installing equipment has been given to Aero Thai.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12693',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Secures Source of Investment for Construction of Primary Hospitals in all Local Units',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel has approved the Ministry of Health and Population to undertake the construction of the hospitals with a budget of Rs 57.97 billion. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance Rameshwar Dangal informed that the ministry has approved the process to initiate contract for the construction of primary hospitals with five, 10 and 15 beds in various local units within two years. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The health ministry has been instructed to release the required amount as conditional grant from its annual budget.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The finance ministry has already released Rs 6.12 billion for the construction of primary hospitals this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of Finance Minister Bisnhu Prasad Poudel and Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal about a month ago had decided to lay the foundation stone of one of the hospitals on November 30 with the objective of setting up standard primary health care facility for the public.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has envisoned setting up hospitals of five to 15 beds in each and every local unit.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12692',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Security Forces Fail to Regulate Birgunj Border Point',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, the movement of people across the border through Birgunj transit point clearly shows that the ban is not being implemented effectively.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Hundreds of people travel to and fro across the friendship bridge between in between BIrgunj and Raxaul. Security personnel deployed at the border area have not been able to stop the flow of people. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had decided on September 11 to seal the international borders till November 15 but is yet to announce lifting of the ban.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far the government has opened 11 transit points through which people can enter or leave the country by fulfilling certain conditions. The government is silent about the cross-border movement after November 15.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang insists that the decision to allow entry of people by fulfilling government-approved conditions is still in force.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We have sought suggestions from the home ministry regarding effective management of cross-border movement,&rdquo; said CDO Tamang, adding, &ldquo;There will be a new provision to regulate corss-border movement immediately after the Chhath festival.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a criteria to allow the entry of its citizens from India in case of emergency or medical treatment and for workers involved in the industries and construction projects. Only those who fulfill the criteria are allowed to enter the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There has been an increase in flow of people across the border after India unilaterally opened its border on October 22.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Security personnel have not been able to regulate the movement of people across the border. They say that their attempt to stop the people from traveling across the border often results in confrontations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Birgunj border is closed only on papers, causing trouble to both the law enforcement agencies and the public.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the movement of people across the border has increased, Mayor of Birgunj Bijay Kumar Sarawagi says they have not allowed private and passenger vehicles to enter or leave the country through the border point.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;People often travel to the border point on vehicles and the get off to cross the border. This has resulted in more crowd in the border area,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The uncontrolled movement of people has in fact affected those who travel due to emergency, said Sarawagi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The mayor is of the view that the border should be opened after setting a certain practical criteria for cross-border movement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CDO Tamang says that a lot of people have been visiting Raxaul of India for purchase during the festive season. He reiterated that the uncontrolled movement of people will soon be regulated after the Chhath festival.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12691',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Railway officials of India and Nepal agree to Extend Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4th India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4<sup>th</sup> India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Indian Embassy in Nepal said in a statement that the joint working group reviewed the cross-border rail link projects that are between Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar under advance implementation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">&ldquo;Both sides discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services, including the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that need to be put in place for resumption of passenger train services by Nepal Railway Company (NRC),&rdquo; reads the statement. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The section, originally a narrow gauge built by British India, was upgraded by the Government of India to broad gauge at a cost of over IRs 380 crores (NRs 6080 million). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Government of Nepal has recently procured two DEMU train sets from India for running on this railway link. Both sides also discussed the mutual facilitation and coordination required for completion of the work on remaining sections from Kurtha to Bilajpura, currently under construction by the Government of India at a cost of NRs 3200 million, the statement added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">Both sides further agreed to expedite the work for completion of the other ongoing cross-border railway project between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal under a grant assistance of NRs 5884 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The statement says that the JWG co-chairs agreed to extend cooperation in the railway sector, including in the capacity building and training of Nepali railway personnel in India and in Nepal as per the requirements of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">According&nbsp; to the Indian Embassy in Nepal, the Indian side was led by Dr Manoj Singh, executive director (Traffic Transportation-F) at the Ministry of Railways of India, and the Nepali side was led by engineer Gopal Prasad Sigdel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Other stakeholders who participated from both sides included senior officials from Indian Railway, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Konkan Railways and IRCON on the Indian side and director general of the Department of Railway (DoRw), general manager of Nepal Railway Company (NRC), officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs representing the Nepali side. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12690',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs doubt Implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. The implementation of the scheme has been delayed for a long period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the government has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure-2077, the tourism entrepreneurs have expressed doubt regarding getting relief as per the law. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism sector has been included in the most-affected areas as the loan has been classified into three types, namely, the most affected areas, the medium affected areas and the least affected areas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism entrepreneurs have responded that the government has brought the procedure late and there are still concerns over its implementation and relief to the entrepreneurs due to lack of resources. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Binayak Shah, the first vice-president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that although hoteliers have welcomed the procedures, it has not benefited the business community. &quot;The implementation has been delayed,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The procedure has finally been passed after a long delay. However, the amount in the fund is not yet certain. In such a situation, the duration and procedure to get the soft loan from the fund introduced by the government is likely to take time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Given such situation when will we get the soft loan and when shall we resume our business?&rdquo; Shah questioned. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He is of the opinion that there is ample room to doubt that the entrepreneurs will get relief from the the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Similarly, Shiva Adhikari, the current president of the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies informed that small and medium entrepreneurs will not be able to get relief from the fund as many entrepreneurs aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;associated with banking and finance.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'description' => '',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12688',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Endorses Work Procedure to Avail Rs 50 Billion Loan',
			'sub_title' => 'The Concessional Loan aims to Give Continuity to Business Affected by Covid-19',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet recently approved the work procedure upon the recommendation of the Finance Ministry to support cottage, small-scale and medium enterprises as well as tourism entrepreneurs to pay the salary of workers at a time when they are struggling to provide salary due to the pandemic. With the flow of loan, the government expects the sectors hard hit by coronavirus to give continuity to their business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government is now preparing to manage the required fund for Nepal Rastra Bank in order to release concessional loan to the aforementioned sectors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In this regard, the government will be opening an account with Nepal Rastra Bank to collect the amount. The government will deposit a certain amount in the account while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">An official at the finance ministry informed New Business Age that the government is preparing to release concessional funds targeting the small and medium scale enterprises as well as cottage industries and small tourism businesses that are struggling to pay the workers and are o n the verge of closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Joint Secretary at the ministry Jhakka Prasad Acharya informed that the government endorsed this work procedure in accordance to the announcement made in the budget speech for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has categorized the loan into three different types &ndash; most affected, medium affected and less affected &ndash; and has fixed the timeframe for loan repayment accordingly.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The most affected sectors will be receiving loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 100 million. The medium affected sectors will also get loan amount equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 70 million. Likewise, the less affected sectors will get loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 50 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A total of 50 percent from the fund of Rs 50 billion will be allocated to the most affected sector while 30 percent will be provided to the mildly affected sector and 20 percent to the less affected sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12689',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Take Action against Hospitals not Providing Free Treatment to Covid-19 Patients',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.<strong> &nbsp;</strong></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy spokesperson of the ministry Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari informed that action will be taken against all hospitals that have ignored the government&#39;s order to treat Covid-19 patients free of cost. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Dr Adhakari, the ministry has already issued circulars to all hospitals instructing them to provide free treatment to COVID-19 patients.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">However, Dr Adhikari informed that the ministry has been receiving complaints from the public that some hospitals still have been charging patients for the treatment.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Such hospitals will be provided with funds as per the government decision, Dr Adhikari added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Revising its previous order to provide aid to hospitals that provide treatment to COVID-19 patients, the government had decided for free testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The hospitals in turn will be provided with funds for the free treatment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Patients with coronavirus insurance coverage however need to pay from their own expenses and then settle the claims while the government has urged financially sound persons to contribute themselves for their treatment cost. - RSS</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12687',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Develop 12 Industrial Villages Across Nepal ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This file photo shows a Special Economic Zone in Bhairahawa.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. In order to develop entrepreneurship at the local level and to facilitate landless local youths, the industrial villages have been announced in Province 1, Bagmati Province, Karnali Province, and Gandaki Province. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on November 9 decided to convert various places of Udayapur and Tehrathum of Province 1 as industrial villages. The industrial villages are being setup on 63 ropani of land in Rautamai Rural Municipality &ndash; 5 and 8 bigha of land in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur. Likewise, a 64 ropani land at Myanglung Rural Municipality 1 and 10, Tehrathum has been declared as industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, the Council of Ministers has also decided to develop 187 ropani of government land in Subhaghat area of Bidur Municipality &ndash; 10, Nuwakot as an industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Two industrial villages have been declared in Surkhet, Karnali out of which 20 bigha of government land of Bheriganga &ndash; 11 and 10 bighas of community forest in Chowkune rural municipality &ndash; 5 will be utilized. It has also been decided to build an industrial village on 20 bigha of government land in Shivalaya Rural Municipality &ndash; 4 of Jajarkot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has planned to make highest number of industrial villages in Gandaki Province, which includes Syanja, Tanahu, Nawalparasi (east of Bardaghar Susta), Manang and Parbat. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has already declared 93 ropanis of land in Kaligandaki rural municipality &ndash; 5 of Syangja, 47 ropanis of land in Bhanu municipality &ndash; 3 of Tanahu and 100 ropanis of land in Baudikali village municipality &ndash; 2 of Nawalparasi as industrial gram. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12686',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'PM Oli to ‘Counter’ Chairman Dahal during upcoming Secretariat Meeting',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. A meeting of the party called on Wednesday afternoon (November 18) to resolve the internal rift has decided to sit for talks on November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party is on the verge of splitting into two factions due to the clash of egos of the chairmen duo. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chairman of NCP, will be presenting a report during the next Secretariat Meeting, informed party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha. In his report, PM Oli will address the demands made by another chairman of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal while the secretariat members will review the reports of both the chairmen.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The upcoming meeting has become a hot topic in contemporary politics of Nepal considering the chances that it might either resolve the internal dispute or cause further rift.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party leaders had held a Secretariat Meeting at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Official Residence in Baluwatar on&nbsp; Wednesday to resolve the long-standing issue of power struggle between the two chairmen. As soon as the meeting started, Oli said he would present a political report during the next meeting and demanded 10 days to prepare the report. The leaders agreed to defer the meeting by 10 days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">During the last meeting, Oli had presented a 19-page report stressing on majority rule while Dahal had criticized the prime minister for taking decisions unilaterally. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Wednesday&rsquo;s meeting also decided to call the party&rsquo;s standing committee meeting on December 3 and central committee meeting on December 10. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12685',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism is the Main Source of Foreign Currency in Nepal: Minister Bhattarai',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal's tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country’s economy. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal&#39;s tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country&rsquo;s economy. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Tourism is the prime source of foreign currency for Nepal,&rdquo; he informed.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Inaugurating the Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management Foundation (NATHAM) branch at Birtamod in Jhapa on Wednesday, November 18, Minister Bhattarai informed that the government has kept development of tourism as a topmost priority as it is the main source of foreign currency.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Tourism is the backbone of economic development,&quot; he further said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai added that NATHAM&#39;s third branch has been set up in Jhapa to produce required manpower to support the tourism sector of Province one.&nbsp; Currently three five-star hotels and other big hotels are being set up in Mechinagar and Birtamod municipalities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He informed that branches have already been expanded in Nepalgunj and Mahottari. Minister Bhattarai expressed confidence that the people of Province 1 would now contribute to the tourism sector by studying hotel management.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the government is preparing to make it mandatory for foreign tourists to have a guide when visiting Nepal, adding that large manpower is needed in the tourism sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Deepak Kumar Thapa, executive director of NATHAM, informed that graduates will be sent to the branch established at Anarmuni Public Campus in Birtamod. He further informed that through teaching and training, NATHAM has produced 54,000 manpower in Nepal and 90 percent of them are employed. -RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12684',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Almost Meets its Revenue Collection Target',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government&rsquo;s income had been declining gradually since March, revenue collection has gained pace in recent days. Government officials say that they are almost certain to meet their annual target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, the government had set a target of collecting 25 percent of its estimated revenue within the first four months of the current fiscal year. The ministry informed that they have been able to collect 24 percent of the estimated revenue during the review period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Data maintained by the finance ministry shows that the government was able to collect Rs 240.15 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Out of the collected amount, Rs 226.3 billion was collected as taxes while the remaining Rs 14.11 billion was collected as non-tax revenue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A high-ranking official at the finance ministry informed that the revenue collection of the government has been satisfactory and in accordance to the target while other indicators are also positive.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The official informed that they are collecting detailed information about the revenue indices. He added that the data collected so far show improvement in most of the indices.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry further informed that the number of people registering their permanent account number (PAN) has declined in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to last year due to the adverse situation created by coronavirus pandemic. Such number has fallen by almost 73 percent, informed government officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, registration of institutions for value added tax has declined by 51.4 percent and that of excise duty has gone down by 56 percent.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the ministry, the number of people registering PAN has reached 3.5 million during the review period. Among them, 1.4 million permanent account numbers have been registered for commercial purpose while that of personal permanent account number stands at 2.1 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200318114059_20170421033602_inland%20revenue.jpg" style="height:231px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the Inland Revenue Department Binod Bahadur Kunwar says that they have been moving ahead with their plant to meet the target of revenue collection. He says that they have prepared a special work plan to meet the target amid coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12682',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Life Insurance Companies make Double-Digit Profit despite Coronavirus  Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The figure is based on financial statements of the first quarter made public by 19 life insurance companies operating in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The profit of commercial banks and other sectors has declined during the review period due to coronavirus. However, life insurance companies have recorded double-digit profit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies say that they have felt very little impact of coronavirus compared to other sectors. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies had made net profit of Rs 1.01 billion during the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The profit during the corresponding period of the current fiscal year has soared by Rs 246.7 million to Rs 1.26 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Chairman of Life Insurance Providers&rsquo; Association of Nepal Nirmal Kaji Shrestha, who is also the CEO of Metlife Insurance, says that the insurance sector has not been affected much by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">&ldquo;Our customers have given continuity to their insurance policy even during the current crisis,&rdquo; said Shrestha, adding. &ldquo;New businesses have been opening despite the risk of coronavirus. As a result, the insurance business has flourished.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Nepal Life Insurance Company, Prime Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company and Surya Life Insurance Company are the frontrunners is recording profits during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">According to the available data, the combined profits of these four companies exceed Rs 100 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12683',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Medical Ordinance to Facilitate Import of Covid-19 Vaccine',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18)  issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18) &nbsp;issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The ordinance was issued by the president upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 114, Clause 1 of the Constitution of Nepal, informed Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President&#39;s Office. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The state-run national news agency of Nepal &ndash; RSS &ndash; reported that the ordinance would facilitate the import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal had reportedly said a few days ago that an ordinance was being brought to prevent legal problems during the potential import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Generally, new laws are brought through ordinances when the parliamentary sessions prorogued.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12696',
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			'title' => 'Government to Start Collecting Application Forms for Concessional Loan from November 25',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The government has decided to collect forms for providing concessional loans to the sectors affected by coronavirus after November 25. The government has announced concessional loans of Rs 50 billion to the sectors affected by the pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has started preparations to release the loan nearly five months after the budget announcement upon endorsing the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A recent meeting of the Loan Flow Operation Committee headed by finance secretary decided to start collecting the forms from November 25 for the effective disbursement of loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance secretary, the government is also planning to secure source of investment for the loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">As the government has already issued a notice releasing the loan, cottage, small and medium-scale industries as well as tourism entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic can fill the forms to avail the concessional loans at commercial banks.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has classified the loan into three different sections &ndash; most affected, medium affected and least affected.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The commercial banks will evaluate whether the loan applicants meet the criteria fixed by the government or not and will release the amount within 15 days after the application form is filled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The loan has to be utilized by the entrepreneurs to pay the salary of the employees and to operate their day-to-day business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank was scheduled to issue a circular on Sunday (November 22) to the commercial banks to release loan to the applicants who meet the government criteria.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dev Kumar Dhakal, the central bank will release the amount to the commercial banks after proper evaluation once the banks provide the loan to the target groups. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government will deposit a certain amount in an account of Nepal Rastra Bank while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to officials at the Ministry of Finance, international donor agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have committed to avail the loan to the Government of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government claims that it has already confirmed source of investment for at least Rs 30 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'article_date' => '2020-11-22 15:12:12',
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	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12695',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Revenue Collection Improves at Birgunj Customs',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 22: Imports and exports of commodities have grown gradually in Nepal post lockdown and restrictions that were imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus. With the increase in foreign trade, Birgunj Customs has met the revenue target set for October/November of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Based on the volume of imports and exports, the Birgunj customs at the main checkpoint had set a target of raising revenue of Rs 10 billion for the month of November. The revenue collection during the review period was Rs 13.89 billion. This amount is 32 percent more than the target, informed customs officer at Birgunj Customs Point, Ramesh Sukmani.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Revenue increased in November due to improvement in the import of petroleum products and vehicles, Sukmani informed. &lsquo;Imports of petroleum products and automobiles are negative in comparison to the review period of the previous year, but there has been some improvement since October.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Imports of readymade garments, soybean oil, among &nbsp;other commodities also have increased, Sukmani informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Due to the lockdown and restrictions, only 150 vehicles used to enter the country daily through this customs point. Now, this number has grown gradually to 700. According to the customs official, the import and export from Birgunj have returned to normal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Even at the dry port of BIrgunj, around 300 containers leave the country daily. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2020-11-22',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12442',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12694',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'CAAN Preparing to Issue Tenders for Upgrading Major Airports of Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This picture taken from the Facebook page of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai shows a sketch of an airport.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 22: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is preparing to initiate the process to call tenders for upgrading the capacity of the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport and the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN took such step after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional loan of Rs 18 billion for the purpose.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A board meeting of the bank had recently approved a loan of USD 150 million for upgrading the major airports of Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of CAAN Rajan Pokharel informed that they have already signed an agreement with the ADB and are now in the implementation phase.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Major portion of the loan will be utilized to build a second terminal building at the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of taxi way, apron and parking lots are the other areas where the loan will be used.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;The works will be undertaken as per the master plans of TIA and Gautam Buddha International Airport. As we have already signed an agreement with ADB, we will soon begin the tender process,&rdquo; Pokharel said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN had earlier upgraded the runway of TIA with the support from the ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to CAAN, they are currently working on the design of the second terminal building of Gautam Buddha International Airport. It is estimated to cost around Rs 10 billion to complete all the works of the Bhairahawa-based airport. This is the second phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport. Pokharel informed that the first phase of construction was also undertaken with the funding from ADB.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General Pokharel informed that they planning to complete the construction works by the end of 2020.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport was initiated in 2020. Currently, the construction of the airport&rsquo;s runway, terminal building and other infrastructures have been completed while the installation of equipment is still pending.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CAAN informed that they need to bring technical experts from abroad for the work but were unable to do so on time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pokharel added that the installation works will begin soon as international flights have resumed and the government has started issuing visas to the technical experts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Two construction companies have been awarded the contracts to build the Gautam Buddha International Airport. Construction of physical infrastructure of the airport is being undertaken by a Chinese company named Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Company while the contract for installing equipment has been given to Aero Thai.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12693',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Secures Source of Investment for Construction of Primary Hospitals in all Local Units',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Ministry of Finance has secured source of investment for setting up 396 primary hospitals in the local units. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel has approved the Ministry of Health and Population to undertake the construction of the hospitals with a budget of Rs 57.97 billion. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance Rameshwar Dangal informed that the ministry has approved the process to initiate contract for the construction of primary hospitals with five, 10 and 15 beds in various local units within two years. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The health ministry has been instructed to release the required amount as conditional grant from its annual budget.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The finance ministry has already released Rs 6.12 billion for the construction of primary hospitals this year.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A meeting of Finance Minister Bisnhu Prasad Poudel and Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal about a month ago had decided to lay the foundation stone of one of the hospitals on November 30 with the objective of setting up standard primary health care facility for the public.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to a statement issued by the finance ministry, the monetary policy for the current fiscal year has envisoned setting up hospitals of five to 15 beds in each and every local unit.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12692',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Security Forces Fail to Regulate Birgunj Border Point',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The government has not officially lifted a ban on cross-border movement which was imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, the movement of people across the border through Birgunj transit point clearly shows that the ban is not being implemented effectively.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Hundreds of people travel to and fro across the friendship bridge between in between BIrgunj and Raxaul. Security personnel deployed at the border area have not been able to stop the flow of people. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had decided on September 11 to seal the international borders till November 15 but is yet to announce lifting of the ban.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">So far the government has opened 11 transit points through which people can enter or leave the country by fulfilling certain conditions. The government is silent about the cross-border movement after November 15.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang insists that the decision to allow entry of people by fulfilling government-approved conditions is still in force.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We have sought suggestions from the home ministry regarding effective management of cross-border movement,&rdquo; said CDO Tamang, adding, &ldquo;There will be a new provision to regulate corss-border movement immediately after the Chhath festival.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a criteria to allow the entry of its citizens from India in case of emergency or medical treatment and for workers involved in the industries and construction projects. Only those who fulfill the criteria are allowed to enter the country.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There has been an increase in flow of people across the border after India unilaterally opened its border on October 22.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Security personnel have not been able to regulate the movement of people across the border. They say that their attempt to stop the people from traveling across the border often results in confrontations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Birgunj border is closed only on papers, causing trouble to both the law enforcement agencies and the public.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the movement of people across the border has increased, Mayor of Birgunj Bijay Kumar Sarawagi says they have not allowed private and passenger vehicles to enter or leave the country through the border point.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;People often travel to the border point on vehicles and the get off to cross the border. This has resulted in more crowd in the border area,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The uncontrolled movement of people has in fact affected those who travel due to emergency, said Sarawagi.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The mayor is of the view that the border should be opened after setting a certain practical criteria for cross-border movement.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">CDO Tamang says that a lot of people have been visiting Raxaul of India for purchase during the festive season. He reiterated that the uncontrolled movement of people will soon be regulated after the Chhath festival.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12691',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Railway officials of India and Nepal agree to Extend Cooperation',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4th India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">November 20: Authorities of India and Nepal held the 4<sup>th</sup> India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation via video-conferencing on Thursday (November 19). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Indian Embassy in Nepal said in a statement that the joint working group reviewed the cross-border rail link projects that are between Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar under advance implementation. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">&ldquo;Both sides discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services, including the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that need to be put in place for resumption of passenger train services by Nepal Railway Company (NRC),&rdquo; reads the statement. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The section, originally a narrow gauge built by British India, was upgraded by the Government of India to broad gauge at a cost of over IRs 380 crores (NRs 6080 million). </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The Government of Nepal has recently procured two DEMU train sets from India for running on this railway link. Both sides also discussed the mutual facilitation and coordination required for completion of the work on remaining sections from Kurtha to Bilajpura, currently under construction by the Government of India at a cost of NRs 3200 million, the statement added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">Both sides further agreed to expedite the work for completion of the other ongoing cross-border railway project between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal under a grant assistance of NRs 5884 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">The statement says that the JWG co-chairs agreed to extend cooperation in the railway sector, including in the capacity building and training of Nepali railway personnel in India and in Nepal as per the requirements of Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:Verdana">According&nbsp; to the Indian Embassy in Nepal, the Indian side was led by Dr Manoj Singh, executive director (Traffic Transportation-F) at the Ministry of Railways of India, and the Nepali side was led by engineer Gopal Prasad Sigdel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Other stakeholders who participated from both sides included senior officials from Indian Railway, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Konkan Railways and IRCON on the Indian side and director general of the Department of Railway (DoRw), general manager of Nepal Railway Company (NRC), officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs representing the Nepali side. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12690',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Entrepreneurs doubt Implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 20: Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed their concern over the implementation of Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure. The implementation of the scheme has been delayed for a long period. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the government has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure-2077, the tourism entrepreneurs have expressed doubt regarding getting relief as per the law. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism sector has been included in the most-affected areas as the loan has been classified into three types, namely, the most affected areas, the medium affected areas and the least affected areas.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The tourism entrepreneurs have responded that the government has brought the procedure late and there are still concerns over its implementation and relief to the entrepreneurs due to lack of resources. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Binayak Shah, the first vice-president of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), informed that although hoteliers have welcomed the procedures, it has not benefited the business community. &quot;The implementation has been delayed,&rdquo; he said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The procedure has finally been passed after a long delay. However, the amount in the fund is not yet certain. In such a situation, the duration and procedure to get the soft loan from the fund introduced by the government is likely to take time.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Given such situation when will we get the soft loan and when shall we resume our business?&rdquo; Shah questioned. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He is of the opinion that there is ample room to doubt that the entrepreneurs will get relief from the the government.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Similarly, Shiva Adhikari, the current president of the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies informed that small and medium entrepreneurs will not be able to get relief from the fund as many entrepreneurs aren&rsquo;t&nbsp;associated with banking and finance.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12688',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Endorses Work Procedure to Avail Rs 50 Billion Loan',
			'sub_title' => 'The Concessional Loan aims to Give Continuity to Business Affected by Covid-19',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 20: The Council of Ministers has endorsed the Business Continuity Loan Disbursement Work Procedure to avail Rs 50 billion to the commercial sector affected by coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet recently approved the work procedure upon the recommendation of the Finance Ministry to support cottage, small-scale and medium enterprises as well as tourism entrepreneurs to pay the salary of workers at a time when they are struggling to provide salary due to the pandemic. With the flow of loan, the government expects the sectors hard hit by coronavirus to give continuity to their business.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government is now preparing to manage the required fund for Nepal Rastra Bank in order to release concessional loan to the aforementioned sectors.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">In this regard, the government will be opening an account with Nepal Rastra Bank to collect the amount. The government will deposit a certain amount in the account while the remaining amount will be provided by government-owned or semi government organisations as well as foreign organisations with whom the government has signed agreements to avail such loan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">An official at the finance ministry informed New Business Age that the government is preparing to release concessional funds targeting the small and medium scale enterprises as well as cottage industries and small tourism businesses that are struggling to pay the workers and are o n the verge of closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Joint Secretary at the ministry Jhakka Prasad Acharya informed that the government endorsed this work procedure in accordance to the announcement made in the budget speech for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The work procedure has categorized the loan into three different types &ndash; most affected, medium affected and less affected &ndash; and has fixed the timeframe for loan repayment accordingly.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The most affected sectors will be receiving loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 100 million. The medium affected sectors will also get loan amount equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 70 million. Likewise, the less affected sectors will get loan equal to the annual salary of the staffers in addition to 50 percent of the amount or a maximum of Rs 50 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A total of 50 percent from the fund of Rs 50 billion will be allocated to the most affected sector while 30 percent will be provided to the mildly affected sector and 20 percent to the less affected sector.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the work procedure, the interest rate for the concessional loan has been fixed at 5 percent per annum for the first year and 6 percent for the second year. The government will avail loan to the commercial banks and financial institutions for this purpose at an interest rate of 2 percent for the first year and 3 percent for the second year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The time for repayment of loan is a maximum of two years.</span></span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12689',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Take Action against Hospitals not Providing Free Treatment to Covid-19 Patients',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.  ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 20: The Ministry of Health and Population has warned of taking action against hospitals that refuse to treat coronavirus infected patients free of cost.<strong> &nbsp;</strong></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Deputy spokesperson of the ministry Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari informed that action will be taken against all hospitals that have ignored the government&#39;s order to treat Covid-19 patients free of cost. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Dr Adhakari, the ministry has already issued circulars to all hospitals instructing them to provide free treatment to COVID-19 patients.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">However, Dr Adhikari informed that the ministry has been receiving complaints from the public that some hospitals still have been charging patients for the treatment.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Such hospitals will be provided with funds as per the government decision, Dr Adhikari added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Revising its previous order to provide aid to hospitals that provide treatment to COVID-19 patients, the government had decided for free testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The hospitals in turn will be provided with funds for the free treatment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Patients with coronavirus insurance coverage however need to pay from their own expenses and then settle the claims while the government has urged financially sound persons to contribute themselves for their treatment cost. - RSS</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12687',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government to Develop 12 Industrial Villages Across Nepal ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. ',
			'content' => '<p><em>This file photo shows a Special Economic Zone in Bhairahawa.</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">November 19: At a time when the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other industrial estates announced by the government are struggling to operate, the government has decided to announce 12 new areas as industrial villages. In order to develop entrepreneurship at the local level and to facilitate landless local youths, the industrial villages have been announced in Province 1, Bagmati Province, Karnali Province, and Gandaki Province. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on November 9 decided to convert various places of Udayapur and Tehrathum of Province 1 as industrial villages. The industrial villages are being setup on 63 ropani of land in Rautamai Rural Municipality &ndash; 5 and 8 bigha of land in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur. Likewise, a 64 ropani land at Myanglung Rural Municipality 1 and 10, Tehrathum has been declared as industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, the Council of Ministers has also decided to develop 187 ropani of government land in Subhaghat area of Bidur Municipality &ndash; 10, Nuwakot as an industrial village. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Two industrial villages have been declared in Surkhet, Karnali out of which 20 bigha of government land of Bheriganga &ndash; 11 and 10 bighas of community forest in Chowkune rural municipality &ndash; 5 will be utilized. It has also been decided to build an industrial village on 20 bigha of government land in Shivalaya Rural Municipality &ndash; 4 of Jajarkot. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has planned to make highest number of industrial villages in Gandaki Province, which includes Syanja, Tanahu, Nawalparasi (east of Bardaghar Susta), Manang and Parbat. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The government has already declared 93 ropanis of land in Kaligandaki rural municipality &ndash; 5 of Syangja, 47 ropanis of land in Bhanu municipality &ndash; 3 of Tanahu and 100 ropanis of land in Baudikali village municipality &ndash; 2 of Nawalparasi as industrial gram. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12686',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'PM Oli to ‘Counter’ Chairman Dahal during upcoming Secretariat Meeting',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: The Secretariat Meeting of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been postponed for ten days. A meeting of the party called on Wednesday afternoon (November 18) to resolve the internal rift has decided to sit for talks on November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party is on the verge of splitting into two factions due to the clash of egos of the chairmen duo. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the chairman of NCP, will be presenting a report during the next Secretariat Meeting, informed party spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha. In his report, PM Oli will address the demands made by another chairman of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal while the secretariat members will review the reports of both the chairmen.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The upcoming meeting has become a hot topic in contemporary politics of Nepal considering the chances that it might either resolve the internal dispute or cause further rift.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The party leaders had held a Secretariat Meeting at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Official Residence in Baluwatar on&nbsp; Wednesday to resolve the long-standing issue of power struggle between the two chairmen. As soon as the meeting started, Oli said he would present a political report during the next meeting and demanded 10 days to prepare the report. The leaders agreed to defer the meeting by 10 days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">During the last meeting, Oli had presented a 19-page report stressing on majority rule while Dahal had criticized the prime minister for taking decisions unilaterally. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Wednesday&rsquo;s meeting also decided to call the party&rsquo;s standing committee meeting on December 3 and central committee meeting on December 10. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12685',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism is the Main Source of Foreign Currency in Nepal: Minister Bhattarai',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal's tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country’s economy. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">November 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that Nepal&#39;s tourism sector has been contributing more than Rs 80 billion worth of foreign currency to the country&rsquo;s economy. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&ldquo;Tourism is the prime source of foreign currency for Nepal,&rdquo; he informed.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Inaugurating the Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management Foundation (NATHAM) branch at Birtamod in Jhapa on Wednesday, November 18, Minister Bhattarai informed that the government has kept development of tourism as a topmost priority as it is the main source of foreign currency.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Tourism is the backbone of economic development,&quot; he further said.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai added that NATHAM&#39;s third branch has been set up in Jhapa to produce required manpower to support the tourism sector of Province one.&nbsp; Currently three five-star hotels and other big hotels are being set up in Mechinagar and Birtamod municipalities.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He informed that branches have already been expanded in Nepalgunj and Mahottari. Minister Bhattarai expressed confidence that the people of Province 1 would now contribute to the tourism sector by studying hotel management.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the government is preparing to make it mandatory for foreign tourists to have a guide when visiting Nepal, adding that large manpower is needed in the tourism sector.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Deepak Kumar Thapa, executive director of NATHAM, informed that graduates will be sent to the branch established at Anarmuni Public Campus in Birtamod. He further informed that through teaching and training, NATHAM has produced 54,000 manpower in Nepal and 90 percent of them are employed. -RSS</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12684',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Almost Meets its Revenue Collection Target',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">November 19: The government has succeeded in collecting revenue almost equal to its annual target despite coronavirus crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although the government&rsquo;s income had been declining gradually since March, revenue collection has gained pace in recent days. Government officials say that they are almost certain to meet their annual target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, the government had set a target of collecting 25 percent of its estimated revenue within the first four months of the current fiscal year. The ministry informed that they have been able to collect 24 percent of the estimated revenue during the review period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Data maintained by the finance ministry shows that the government was able to collect Rs 240.15 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Out of the collected amount, Rs 226.3 billion was collected as taxes while the remaining Rs 14.11 billion was collected as non-tax revenue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">A high-ranking official at the finance ministry informed that the revenue collection of the government has been satisfactory and in accordance to the target while other indicators are also positive.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The official informed that they are collecting detailed information about the revenue indices. He added that the data collected so far show improvement in most of the indices.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The ministry further informed that the number of people registering their permanent account number (PAN) has declined in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to last year due to the adverse situation created by coronavirus pandemic. Such number has fallen by almost 73 percent, informed government officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Similarly, registration of institutions for value added tax has declined by 51.4 percent and that of excise duty has gone down by 56 percent.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the ministry, the number of people registering PAN has reached 3.5 million during the review period. Among them, 1.4 million permanent account numbers have been registered for commercial purpose while that of personal permanent account number stands at 2.1 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/20200318114059_20170421033602_inland%20revenue.jpg" style="height:231px; width:800px" /></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the Inland Revenue Department Binod Bahadur Kunwar says that they have been moving ahead with their plant to meet the target of revenue collection. He says that they have prepared a special work plan to meet the target amid coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12682',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Life Insurance Companies make Double-Digit Profit despite Coronavirus  Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">November 19: The net profit of life insurance companies in Nepal have increased by an average of 24.28 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020/21.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The figure is based on financial statements of the first quarter made public by 19 life insurance companies operating in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The profit of commercial banks and other sectors has declined during the review period due to coronavirus. However, life insurance companies have recorded double-digit profit.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies say that they have felt very little impact of coronavirus compared to other sectors. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Insurance companies had made net profit of Rs 1.01 billion during the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The profit during the corresponding period of the current fiscal year has soared by Rs 246.7 million to Rs 1.26 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Chairman of Life Insurance Providers&rsquo; Association of Nepal Nirmal Kaji Shrestha, who is also the CEO of Metlife Insurance, says that the insurance sector has not been affected much by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">&ldquo;Our customers have given continuity to their insurance policy even during the current crisis,&rdquo; said Shrestha, adding. &ldquo;New businesses have been opening despite the risk of coronavirus. As a result, the insurance business has flourished.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">Nepal Life Insurance Company, Prime Life Insurance Company, National Life Insurance Company and Surya Life Insurance Company are the frontrunners is recording profits during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">According to the available data, the combined profits of these four companies exceed Rs 100 million.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Medical Ordinance to Facilitate Import of Covid-19 Vaccine',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18)  issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">November 19: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday (November 18) &nbsp;issued the third amendment to the Medical Ordinance.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The ordinance was issued by the president upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 114, Clause 1 of the Constitution of Nepal, informed Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President&#39;s Office. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The state-run national news agency of Nepal &ndash; RSS &ndash; reported that the ordinance would facilitate the import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal had reportedly said a few days ago that an ordinance was being brought to prevent legal problems during the potential import of Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Generally, new laws are brought through ordinances when the parliamentary sessions prorogued.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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FOREX

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)

Bullion

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

Petroleum

Petrol	1 Liter	106.00
Diesel	1 Liter	95.00
Kerosene	1 Liter	95.00
LP Gas	1 Cylinder	1375.00