April 28: As the government could not amend the laws to facilitate foreign direct investment through the regular parliamentary process before the Investment Summit, which commenced on Sunday, it opted to amend the laws through an…
April 28: As the government could not amend the laws to facilitate foreign direct investment through the regular parliamentary process before the Investment Summit, which commenced on Sunday, it opted to amend the laws through an…
April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment…
April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic…
April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on…
The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and…
April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough.…
April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on…
April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were…
April 26: The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and…
April 26: Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star…
April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the…
April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives…
April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the…
April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April…
Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for…
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We hardly have any objection to it. The ordinance is likely to be issued by the President on Sunday," Kunwar told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government had been working since a long time to amend the laws to facilitate foreign investment but failed to amend the laws ahead of the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government’s commitment to make the investment summit fruitful has been questioned due to the delay in sending the ordinance to the President’s Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government has decided to amend about a dozen laws through the ordinance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The laws to be amended include Land Act 2021, Forests Act 2070, Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, Special Economic Zone Act 2073, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075 among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Reforming these laws allows investors to acquire land beyond the limit to set up industries. Likewise, the government can approve the use of forest areas to extract minerals. The amended laws allows transferring technology from Nepal to foreign countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Kamlesh Kumar Agarwal, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said that although the investors have keen interest in legal reform, the ordinance has not been issued on time. “This did not give a positive message to the investors,” he said, adding, “Before investing, investors give a special attention to the laws of the respective countries. They plan their investment accordingly. It is not appropriate to delay amending the laws," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Private sector stakeholders are skeptical about the two-day Investment Summit underway in Kathmandu since Sunday as the ordinance was not issued even by Saturday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in the Parliament, expressed its displeasure saying that the government did not amend some important laws directly related to the country and the people through the parliamentary process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The government's act of issuing an ordinance to amend laws targeting the investment summit which was scheduled months ago is against the spirit of the constitution, parliamentary system and democracy. The government decided to issue the ordinance by misinterpreting the provision of the constitution that allows the government to issue an ordinance in extraordinary situation when the federal parliament is not in session," reads a statement issued by Nepali Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak on Saturday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government, which has repeatedly announced to undertake the country’s sovereign ratings before investment summit, has failed to do so. As the investment summit kicked off on Sunday, the government has failed to take the investors into confidence by conducting the country’s credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sovereign credit rating depicts the picture of the country's financial situation and credit repayment capacity. It is a kind of credit assessment that gives the real information about the country's investment risk situation. Foreign investors have taken it as a prerequisite for investment. Due to lack of crediting rating, Nepal has not been able to take commercial loans for large infrastructure projects from international development partners.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In order to increase foreign investment, the government had announced a sovereign credit rating in the budget of the fiscal year 2075/76. The government issued a public notice in this regard and invited the companies for credit rating of Nepal. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, the world's three major rating companies, submitted proposals for the rating. From among them, the government selected Fitch Ratings for the country’s credit rating. For that, a separate agreement regarding technical assistance was also signed with the then British International Cooperation Agency (DFID) currently known as UK Aid. The government has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as the rating consultant. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government decided not to move ahead with the credit rating due to the Covid-19 pandemic fearing that it would send a negative message to the international community as the indicators of the economy were negative due to the impacts of the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government recently announced to go ahead with the credit rating. Former Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat and incumbent Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun had been repeatedly saying that the government would undertake the credit rating before the investment summit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Fitch Ratings had expressed its commitment to complete the credit rating within three months but it has not yet started the rating.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Admitting that the country rating could not be done before the investment summit, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Narayan Prasad Risal, told New Business Age, "We tried but the work could not be completed. It is not yet possible to say how long it will take for the country rating.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20556', 'image' => '20240428125855_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:52:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20829', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Former NRB Governor Advises Govt to Live up to the Commitments made to the Investors ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to RSS on the eve of the Nepal Investment Summit (April 28-29) on Saturday, Kshetry stressed that the government should assure potential investors with all sorts of facilities to them as per its commitments. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We should not believe that investors will come to invest haphazardly. Investors turn ready to pour their money into new area if they are convinced of a conducive environment," he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Despite having abundant capital for investment, investors will use their conscience and get ready to take a risk upon the assessment of relative comparative benefits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We face a capital crisis. Again, unfortunately, the limited capital allotted by the government through the budget has remained frozen. In this situation, the government should convince foreign investors that it yearns to introduce technologies and management skills in addition to capital through the Investment Summit," the former Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, Nepal has not been yet able to ensure a sovereign credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We are yet to audit the country's situation for receiving loans which is the need of the hour. Potential investors always calculate the objective situation before deciding to invest,” Kshetry reminded. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20555', 'image' => '20240428125910_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:57:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20827', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prime Minister Inaugurates Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the summit amidst a special programme at Soaltee Hotel on Sunday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One hundred and fifty-one projects will be presented in the summit. According to the Investment Board of Nepal, more than 1600 investors from over 55 countries are participating in the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The IBN informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects during the conference. Similarly, the government will seek concept notes for 19 projects. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The first day of the event will witnesses inauguration session and two major sessions. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The investors will have opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The First Investment Summit was organized on March 2-3, 2017 and the Second Investment Summit on March 29 and 30, 2019. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20554', 'image' => '20240428120227_IMG-20240428-WA0002.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:01:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20826', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Seek Letters of Intent for 20 Projects during the Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the two-day mega event, the government will solicit letters of intent from both domestic and foreign investors for the projects whose feasibility studies have been completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Dhulikhel Medicity Project is one the projects for which the government will seek letter of intent. Under this project, the government plans to construct a super-special hospital to develop a medical tourism hub.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As outlined in the project proposal, the super-special hospital will be located at Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk, with an estimated cost of Rs 11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government will also seek letter of intent for the Sudurpaschim Public Transport Project. It aims to improve public transportation in Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Doti districts of Sudurpaschim Province. The project requires 173 buses, including 104 electric vehicles, with an estimated cost of Rs 31.13 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Naumure Multi-Purpose Project, with an estimated cost of Rs 92 billion, is also in the list. As per the proposal, a total of 281.04 MW of electricity would be generated by the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Khimti Those Shivalaya Reservoir-based Hydropower is another such to be built on the border of Dolakha and Ramechhap districts. It is the largest hydropower project with an estimated cost of Rs 289 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Humla Karnali Hydropower Project, a 61.2 MW project, will be located at Namkha rural municipality of Humla district. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 14.70 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Upper Chameliya Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 53.85 MW, is estimated to require an investment of Rs 11.90 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Panchkhal Special Economic Zone in Panchkhal municipality aims to create jobs by promoting economic activities. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.57 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Kabadikhola Hydropower Project, to be located at a mountainous area on the border of Bajura and Humla districts, is proposed to be operated in a BOOT model. It requires an investment of Rs 6.41 billion. The feasibility study for the project was completed in 2020.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another hydropower project to be showcased during the Investment Summit is the reservoir-based Kaligandaki-II hydropower project. The total estimated investment for the project is Rs 174 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another reservoir-based government undertaking -- Bharbung Hydropower Project – with a capacity to generate 377MW of electricity is listed for showcasing for a letter of intent at the two-day event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to the hydropower projects, the government is presenting a range of other projects and inviting proposals for consideration. These projects include the Pokhara International Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre, Daiji Industrial Zone, Babarmahal Administrative Plaza, Mahadev Stream Reservoir, Karnali-Chisapani Wind Energy Project, Chandragiri-Chitwan Expressway, Janaki Heritage Hotel and Cultural Village, and Dhaubadi Iron Mine and Excavation Project.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20553', 'image' => '20240428113827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 11:35:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20825', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Third Investment Summit Kicks off Today', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 28: The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The government is showcasing 151 projects. The event slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will see participation of over 1600 investors from 55 plus countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Nepal Investment Board has informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects in the conference. Similarly, concept notes would be called for 19 projects. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The first day will witness inauguration session and two major sessions. The investors will be provided opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Private sector, partner of economic development, is the co-organizer of the event. Several noted international figures including Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, State Minister for UK Asia Pacific Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan, and Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, Luo Zhaohui will address the summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Similarly, Vice President of ADB, Yingming Yang Acting, Vice Chair of Asian Infrastructures Investment Bank, Rajit Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Shreevastav, Executive Director of ITC India, Supratim Datta, and Senior Vice Chair of US Chamber of Commerce, Atul Keshap are other speakers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In the same vein, former Prime Minister and major opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Finance Minister and summit convention committee director, Barsha Man Pun, and leaders of Nepali business community will also address the summit. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20552', 'image' => '20240428093408_collage (66).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 09:32:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20824', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Breakthrough of Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Project Expected on May 8', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. The breakthrough ceremony of the tunnel of the national pride project is scheduled for May 8.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project aims to provide year-round irrigation facilities to various districts of Terai-Madhesh. According to Mitra Baral, head of the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project, only a small segment of the 13.3 km-long tunnel remains to be completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will attend the breakthrough ceremony, with other key officials including Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Finance Barshman Pun.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite a construction timeline of two years, the tunnel has been almost completed in just 19 months. If not for delays caused by geological complexity, the work could have been completed even earlier.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the construction of the tunnel has been almost complete, other project components like the dam and power plant still require another year to complete.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Project Head Baral said that the tunnel construction involved using an Automatic Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), a technology also used in the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority’s Managing Director Kulman Ghising said that the state-owned power utility is considering using TBM technology in other projects, including the Dudhkoshi and Upper Arun Hydropower Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), has instructed the project officials to stay on project site, and ensure smooth progress of the project, with no further delays. The MoEWRI has instructed the project to submit progress reports every 15 days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Baral, the head of the project, the construction of the project started on October 14, 2022. The goal is to complete the project by October 2027.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction entrepreneurs involved in the construction of the dam and powerhouse have not been able to work as per the schedule. The government has time and again instructed the builders to improve their performance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Necessary preparations are being made for the construction of a powerhouse and transmission line. The Environmental Impact Assessment for the transmission line has been completed. A part of the currently operational BP Highway will be affected by the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project. About 900 meters of diversion should be built on the currently operational highway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this project, the Sunkoshi River flowing through the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts in Kandhungi will be diverted to Marin Khola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">About 67 cusecs of water from Sunkoshi will be pumped into the Marin River at Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2 of Sindhuli through a tunnel. The water will be used to irrigate about 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara. Likewise, the project will also generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel construction of the project was done by the China Overseas Engineering Group Company Limited (COVEC). According to the contractors, the construction of the dam and powerhouse will be completed within the stipulated time even if there is some delay. A joint venture of Indian company Patel Engineering and Nepal's Raman Group has been entrusted with the construction of the dam.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After the completion of the project, irrigation facilities will be available throughout the year in the five districts of Mid-Terai, which are considered as the major grain producing areas. It will bring a qualitative change in food production. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20551', 'image' => '20240427062158_20240331100557_smdmp-home-welcome - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 18:21:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20823', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN Confirms 1,600 Participants for Investment Summit', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the IBN, it extended invitations to over 2,400 persons. Investors from 55 countries will be joining the summit while there will be 385 participants from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 265 will be representing China followed by 143 from India, 33 from the US, 28 from Japan, 14 from the UK, 13 from Bangladesh, 13 from the UAE, and 10 from Germany.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, nine each will be arriving from South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia, eight from Pakistan, six from Singapore, and five each from Qatar and Ghana. Four each will be representing Saudi Arabia, France, and Bahrain in the summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Likewise, three each will be attending the summit from Switzerland, Finland, Russia, Austria, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, and two each from the Philippines, Kuwait, Canada, Mauritius, Belarus, and Belgium.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The participation has been confirmed from Egypt, Italy, Norway, Senegal, the Netherlands, Poland, Indonesia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Romania, Mexico and Cyprus. Investors from Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Bosnia, Morocco, Turkey, Vanuatu, Mauritania, and Hong Kong will also be attending the Summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A total of 150 projects will be showcased at the summit, featuring 23 stalls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The first day of the summit will have the opening session followed by two major sessions. The second and final day will feature 11 parallel sessions. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20550', 'image' => '20240427053500_20240130024837_investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 17:34:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20822', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Vaccines Saved at Least 154 Million Lives in 50 Years: WHO', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That is the equivalent of six lives saved every minute of every year of the half century, AFP quoted the UN health agency as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, WHO gave a comprehensive analysis of the impact of 14 vaccines used under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in a study published in the Lancet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Thanks to these vaccines, "a child born today is 40 percent more likely to see their fifth birthday than a child born 50 years ago", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Infants accounted for 101 million of the lives saved through immunisation over the five decades, said the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Immunisation was the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood," WHO said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> 'Vaccines cause adults' </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over 50 years, vaccines against 14 diseases -- diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever -- had directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40 percent, the study found.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">For Africa, the reduction in infant mortality was more than 50 percent, it said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The vaccine against measles -- a highly contagious disease by a virus that attacks mainly children -- had the most significant impact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That jab accounted for 60 percent of the lives saved due to immunisation, according to the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The polio vaccine means that more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study also showed that when a vaccine saves a child's life, that person goes on to live an average of 66 years of full health on average -- with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines cause adults," Tedros said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">WHO stressed that the gains in childhood survival showed the importance of protecting progress on immunisation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It highlighted accelerating efforts to reach 67 million children who missed at least one vaccination during the Covid pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN health agency, along with the UN children's agency Unicef, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday launched a joint campaign called "Humanly Possible".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is aimed at scaling up vaccination programmes around the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"By working together we can save millions more lives, advance equity and create a much healthier and more prosperous world," Violaine Michell of the Gates Foundation told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> <strong>Anti-vax threat</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But efforts to ensure broader vaccine coverage have increasingly run into anti-vax movements and conspiracy theories circulating on social media.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This was particularly clear during the Covid pandemic, but it has also taken its tolls on efforts to avert measles outbreaks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There has been a very significant backsliding in the use of the measles vaccine and the coverage that has been achieved in countries around the world, and that is resulting in outbreaks," WHO vaccine chief Kate O'Brien told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2022, the last year for which there are clear statistics, more than nine million measles cases were registered around the world, including 136,000 children who died.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lack of access to the vaccines was a major concern, said O'Brien, but part of the backsliding was attributable to "misinformation and anti-vax movements".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The measles vaccine is a safe vaccine, and it's highly effective," she insisted, stressing the need to ramp up efforts against "one of the most infectious viruses that infect humans". -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20549', 'image' => '20240426082628_20240114110800_WHO.jpg.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 20:25:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20821', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN to Present 151 Projects for FDI in Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29. The summit aims to facilitate the implementation of projects aimed at boosting the economy, including the establishment of factories and industries by attracting foreign direct investment in these sectors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">These projects are expected to significantly contribute to the overall development of the country. Stakeholders say it is imperative to combine foreign investment with government and private sector investments to ensure adequate capital, technology, and human resources for the successful execution of these projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 58th meeting of the Investment Board Nepal has resolved to issue calls for letters of intent and engage in extensive discussions with investors regarding the showcased projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of the projects to be presented at the summit, the energy sector dominates with thirty-one projects up for investment, as confirmed by the board's spokesperson, Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay. Additionally, there are nineteen projects related to the transport sector, thirteen each in the mining and minerals, and tourism sectors, fourteen in agriculture, five in production, seven in industrial infrastructure and trade, three in health and education, two in communications and information technology, four in water supply, and six in urban development.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Furthermore, the private sector is also presenting thirty-one projects for foreign direct investment during the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Upadhyay noted that the government places significant importance on private sector investment, including foreign direct investment (FDI). -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20548', 'image' => '20240426034057_investment summit.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 15:38:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20820', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CMT Resort of Bharatpur gets Three-Star Rating', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CMT Resort, operating on an area of 72,900 sq. feet, has received three-star rating from the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Madan Ghimire, the managing director of the resort, informed that this is the first resort in the Bharatpur metropolitan city to receive three-star recognition.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is being operated by a board of directors team of five people with a collective investment of people involved in various professions and businesses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort accommodates a 12,300 square feet town hall that can accommodate more than 2,000 people, a 2,790 square feet meeting hall that can accommodate 500 people, a 1,881 square feet hall that can accommodate 200 people, a 350 square feet conference hall and business halls, and an open kitchen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has 45 rooms with state-of-the-art facilities. Likewise, the resort provides direct employment to 85 individuals and indirect jobs to some. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Food items produced by local farmers are the specialty of the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has good parking space, a swimming pool, and garden facilities. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is connected to Mahendra Highway and can be reached in 5 minutes from Bharatpur Airport. According to managing director Ghimire, a separate charging point has also been installed for EVs (electric vehicles) on the resort premises.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20547', 'image' => '20240426022647_46ae4206.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 14:23:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20819', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Lower Economic Growth Target in 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The final draft of the 16th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission has set an economic growth target of 7.3 percent for the fiscal year (FY) 2085/86, which is lower than the average target of the current 15th Plan but higher than the forecast made by the World Bank for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During the 15th Plan (2076/77-2080/81), the government had set a target of achieving average economic growth of 9.6 percent. The target was to achieve economic growth of 10.3 percent in basic prices in the last year of the plan ie 2080/81.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government suffered a serious setback in achieving this ambitious goal in the first year of the plan. As the coronavirus pandemic started in the year 2076/77 when the scheme was initiated, it had a severe impact on the economy of Nepal, like the economies of the world. In that year, the economic growth rate was negative by 2.4 percent. In the following years too, there was no significant improvement in the economy. According to the National Statistics Office, economic growth was 4.5 percent, 5.3 percent, and 2.2 percent respectively in the following three years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">While reviewing the 15th Plan, the officials of the National Planning Commission said that the government could not achieve economic growth as per the target due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 15th Plan had set a target of 10.3 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year 2080/81. However, the then Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, while presenting the budget in the House, announced that the country will achieve economic growth of around 6 percent this year. However, the country is not even likely to meet that target.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Towards the end of March, the National Statistics Office had initially estimated economic growth of only 4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The World Bank said some time ago that Nepal's economic growth rate will be limited to 3.3 percent this year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Stakeholders do not see the possibility of high economic growth even in the 16th Plan period. They have said that there is no basis for achieving the proposed goals for the new plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that it will not be possible to achieve the proposed economic growth target due to the lack of political stability. Because the government is not stable, it is difficult to achieve economic growth target until stability is achieved. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The government cannot achieve the target of 7.3 percent economic growth as proposed in the draft of the 16th Plan. The maximum growth that it can achieve is likely 5 percent," he said at a meeting of the National Development Council on Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Although the prime minister remains the same, three governments have been formed in the past one year. The private sector insists that there is no conducive environment for investment due to political instability.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">At the recent annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, its President Chandra Dhakal accused the government of adopting a control-oriented policy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He argued that Nepal's economic growth has slowed down compared to many countries in South Asia due to the lack of an environment for the private sector to work.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister and UML leader Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government needs to the political barriers in order to achieve the goals set in the periodic plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He was of the view that the government must revise tax policy and economic strategy to attract foreign direct investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha said that the draft of the 16th Plan has been prepared after reviewing the weaknesses in the 15th Plan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“There are structural problems. Consumption and imports have increased. Domestic employment is pathetic. Education is not linked to production. Expenditure on social security has increased. Therefore, our goals are incomplete,” he said, adding, “Now, a plan has been devised keeping the implementation-oriented goals in mind," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shrestha added that the e 16th Plan is estimated to cost up to Rs 9196 billion, which is expected to further increase by over 118 billion by the time of its implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The draft of the upcoming periodic plan aims to improve the corruption perception index from 35 in the base year 2079/80 to 43 within the 16th periodic plan period and the rule of law index from 0.52 in the base year to 0.80.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the draft of the periodic plan submitted by the National Development Council meeting organized by the National Planning Commission on Thursday, the ratio of expenditure to total allocation should be increased from 80 percent to 90 percent, the birth registration percentage of children under 5 years should be increased to 100 percent from the current 74 percent, the rate of forced labor should be reduced to zero, and the ratio of families with high food insecurity should be reduced to 1 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meeting of the National Development Council, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the 16th Plan will focus on the commercialization of agriculture, the manufacturing industry, employment-oriented education, and increasing the quality of the health sector. He also directed the NPC to bring the plan by incorporating the suggestions of all stakeholders before the announcement of the policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal stressed the need of safeguarding the private sector as it is linked with employment generation. If the state fails in the front, the trend of young people going overseas for employment will continue.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He also pointed out the need to put an end to unnecessary hassles for the industrialists.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20546', 'image' => '20240426010045_20220817123841_economic-growth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:59:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20818', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector. The government has also pledged to assist in the process of addressing the concerns of the depositors of the cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson and Rekha Sharma shared that the cabinet meeting held on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The number of cooperatives declared problematic by the government has reached 18. Such cooperatives have now come under the responsibility of the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee must be chaired by a former judge of the high court or a person working in a special category in the judicial service, and must have one representative nominated by the government, one representative from the national cooperative federation, two experts in the cooperative sector, one person who is a chartered accountant and has worked in a bank and financial institution for three years, and a member secretary appointed by the government. The committee has the right to investigate the assets and liabilities and to auction them and return the money to the depositors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A commission formed by the government to study the problematic cooperatives had suggested to solve the problems of the cooperatives by forming a management committee. According to the suggestion of the commission headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki, the government incorporated the provision for the formation of the committee in the Cooperatives Act itself.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the government formed the problematic cooperative management committee six years ago, it has failed to manage problematic cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee has not been able to distribute the assets and liabilities even in a single case.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20545', 'image' => '20240426120933_cooerativesssss.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:01:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20817', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DDC Pays Dues worth Rs 480 Million to Farmers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The DDC cleared the dues after generating good income post mid-April due to the increase in sale of milk products.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting General Manager of the DDC, Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, told RSS that it was easier to pay the dues to the farmers with an increase in the sale of milk products (milk, curd, cottage cheese, lassi and ice-cream) with the onset of the summer season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The sale of milk products has increased by 50 per cent in summer, which has increased the cash flow and gradually eased farmers' payments and other clearance," Adhikari said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">DDC paid Rs 100 million to farmers in Biratnagar, Rs 10 million in Janakpur, Rs 80 million in Hetauda, Rs 42.5 million in Lumbini, Rs 27.5 million in Nepalgunj, Rs 15 million in Dhangadhi and Rs 130 million in Kathmandu region, the sources informed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20544', 'image' => '20240426110942_20220211081950_20220203111904_20220121121357_20200423093954_1542865405_16685959.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 11:09:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20816', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Trade Fair on April 29 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The trade fair is held in every two years alternately in Nepal and China as per the agreement reached between the government of Nepal and the commerce department of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in 1990. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Trade and Export Promotion Center, the main objective of the fair is to further expand the bilateral economic and trade relations between Nepal and China (Tibet). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Around 125 businesspersons including a five-member high-level delegation will participate in the fair. The official delegation will be led by Vice Chair of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Long Fukuan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There will be 50 exhibition stalls on behalf of China (Tibet) in the fair, including herbs, agricultural products, modern agricultural tools, tea, electrical appliances, household appliances, carpets, beverages, handicrafts, incense, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, electric vehicles and beauty products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, there will be 15 exhibition stalls on behalf of Nepal, including herbs, coffee, tea, handicrafts/carpentry, metalwork, carpet, pashmina and other products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The fair will be open from 10 am to 6 pm and the entry is free. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20543', 'image' => '20240426104936_20240307123344_Nepal-china-trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 10:49:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20815', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sabaiko and Sadhana Laghubitta Sign Final Merger Agreement', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The final agreement for the merger between the two companies took place on Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two companies are merging on an equal basis, with 1:1 swap ratio. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Annual general assemblies of the both companies had endorsed merger proposal on March 2, 2024. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20542', 'image' => '20240426055342_collage (65).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 05:52:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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We hardly have any objection to it. The ordinance is likely to be issued by the President on Sunday," Kunwar told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government had been working since a long time to amend the laws to facilitate foreign investment but failed to amend the laws ahead of the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government’s commitment to make the investment summit fruitful has been questioned due to the delay in sending the ordinance to the President’s Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government has decided to amend about a dozen laws through the ordinance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The laws to be amended include Land Act 2021, Forests Act 2070, Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, Special Economic Zone Act 2073, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075 among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Reforming these laws allows investors to acquire land beyond the limit to set up industries. Likewise, the government can approve the use of forest areas to extract minerals. The amended laws allows transferring technology from Nepal to foreign countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Kamlesh Kumar Agarwal, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said that although the investors have keen interest in legal reform, the ordinance has not been issued on time. “This did not give a positive message to the investors,” he said, adding, “Before investing, investors give a special attention to the laws of the respective countries. They plan their investment accordingly. It is not appropriate to delay amending the laws," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Private sector stakeholders are skeptical about the two-day Investment Summit underway in Kathmandu since Sunday as the ordinance was not issued even by Saturday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in the Parliament, expressed its displeasure saying that the government did not amend some important laws directly related to the country and the people through the parliamentary process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The government's act of issuing an ordinance to amend laws targeting the investment summit which was scheduled months ago is against the spirit of the constitution, parliamentary system and democracy. The government decided to issue the ordinance by misinterpreting the provision of the constitution that allows the government to issue an ordinance in extraordinary situation when the federal parliament is not in session," reads a statement issued by Nepali Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak on Saturday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government, which has repeatedly announced to undertake the country’s sovereign ratings before investment summit, has failed to do so. As the investment summit kicked off on Sunday, the government has failed to take the investors into confidence by conducting the country’s credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sovereign credit rating depicts the picture of the country's financial situation and credit repayment capacity. It is a kind of credit assessment that gives the real information about the country's investment risk situation. Foreign investors have taken it as a prerequisite for investment. Due to lack of crediting rating, Nepal has not been able to take commercial loans for large infrastructure projects from international development partners.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In order to increase foreign investment, the government had announced a sovereign credit rating in the budget of the fiscal year 2075/76. The government issued a public notice in this regard and invited the companies for credit rating of Nepal. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, the world's three major rating companies, submitted proposals for the rating. From among them, the government selected Fitch Ratings for the country’s credit rating. For that, a separate agreement regarding technical assistance was also signed with the then British International Cooperation Agency (DFID) currently known as UK Aid. The government has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as the rating consultant. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government decided not to move ahead with the credit rating due to the Covid-19 pandemic fearing that it would send a negative message to the international community as the indicators of the economy were negative due to the impacts of the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government recently announced to go ahead with the credit rating. Former Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat and incumbent Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun had been repeatedly saying that the government would undertake the credit rating before the investment summit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Fitch Ratings had expressed its commitment to complete the credit rating within three months but it has not yet started the rating.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Admitting that the country rating could not be done before the investment summit, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Narayan Prasad Risal, told New Business Age, "We tried but the work could not be completed. It is not yet possible to say how long it will take for the country rating.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20556', 'image' => '20240428125855_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:52:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20829', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Former NRB Governor Advises Govt to Live up to the Commitments made to the Investors ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to RSS on the eve of the Nepal Investment Summit (April 28-29) on Saturday, Kshetry stressed that the government should assure potential investors with all sorts of facilities to them as per its commitments. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We should not believe that investors will come to invest haphazardly. Investors turn ready to pour their money into new area if they are convinced of a conducive environment," he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Despite having abundant capital for investment, investors will use their conscience and get ready to take a risk upon the assessment of relative comparative benefits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We face a capital crisis. Again, unfortunately, the limited capital allotted by the government through the budget has remained frozen. In this situation, the government should convince foreign investors that it yearns to introduce technologies and management skills in addition to capital through the Investment Summit," the former Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, Nepal has not been yet able to ensure a sovereign credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We are yet to audit the country's situation for receiving loans which is the need of the hour. Potential investors always calculate the objective situation before deciding to invest,” Kshetry reminded. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20555', 'image' => '20240428125910_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:57:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20827', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prime Minister Inaugurates Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the summit amidst a special programme at Soaltee Hotel on Sunday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One hundred and fifty-one projects will be presented in the summit. According to the Investment Board of Nepal, more than 1600 investors from over 55 countries are participating in the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The IBN informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects during the conference. Similarly, the government will seek concept notes for 19 projects. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The first day of the event will witnesses inauguration session and two major sessions. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The investors will have opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The First Investment Summit was organized on March 2-3, 2017 and the Second Investment Summit on March 29 and 30, 2019. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20554', 'image' => '20240428120227_IMG-20240428-WA0002.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:01:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20826', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Seek Letters of Intent for 20 Projects during the Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the two-day mega event, the government will solicit letters of intent from both domestic and foreign investors for the projects whose feasibility studies have been completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Dhulikhel Medicity Project is one the projects for which the government will seek letter of intent. Under this project, the government plans to construct a super-special hospital to develop a medical tourism hub.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As outlined in the project proposal, the super-special hospital will be located at Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk, with an estimated cost of Rs 11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government will also seek letter of intent for the Sudurpaschim Public Transport Project. It aims to improve public transportation in Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Doti districts of Sudurpaschim Province. The project requires 173 buses, including 104 electric vehicles, with an estimated cost of Rs 31.13 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Naumure Multi-Purpose Project, with an estimated cost of Rs 92 billion, is also in the list. As per the proposal, a total of 281.04 MW of electricity would be generated by the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Khimti Those Shivalaya Reservoir-based Hydropower is another such to be built on the border of Dolakha and Ramechhap districts. It is the largest hydropower project with an estimated cost of Rs 289 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Humla Karnali Hydropower Project, a 61.2 MW project, will be located at Namkha rural municipality of Humla district. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 14.70 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Upper Chameliya Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 53.85 MW, is estimated to require an investment of Rs 11.90 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Panchkhal Special Economic Zone in Panchkhal municipality aims to create jobs by promoting economic activities. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.57 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Kabadikhola Hydropower Project, to be located at a mountainous area on the border of Bajura and Humla districts, is proposed to be operated in a BOOT model. It requires an investment of Rs 6.41 billion. The feasibility study for the project was completed in 2020.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another hydropower project to be showcased during the Investment Summit is the reservoir-based Kaligandaki-II hydropower project. The total estimated investment for the project is Rs 174 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another reservoir-based government undertaking -- Bharbung Hydropower Project – with a capacity to generate 377MW of electricity is listed for showcasing for a letter of intent at the two-day event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to the hydropower projects, the government is presenting a range of other projects and inviting proposals for consideration. These projects include the Pokhara International Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre, Daiji Industrial Zone, Babarmahal Administrative Plaza, Mahadev Stream Reservoir, Karnali-Chisapani Wind Energy Project, Chandragiri-Chitwan Expressway, Janaki Heritage Hotel and Cultural Village, and Dhaubadi Iron Mine and Excavation Project.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20553', 'image' => '20240428113827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 11:35:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20825', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Third Investment Summit Kicks off Today', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 28: The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The government is showcasing 151 projects. The event slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will see participation of over 1600 investors from 55 plus countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Nepal Investment Board has informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects in the conference. Similarly, concept notes would be called for 19 projects. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The first day will witness inauguration session and two major sessions. The investors will be provided opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Private sector, partner of economic development, is the co-organizer of the event. Several noted international figures including Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, State Minister for UK Asia Pacific Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan, and Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, Luo Zhaohui will address the summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Similarly, Vice President of ADB, Yingming Yang Acting, Vice Chair of Asian Infrastructures Investment Bank, Rajit Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Shreevastav, Executive Director of ITC India, Supratim Datta, and Senior Vice Chair of US Chamber of Commerce, Atul Keshap are other speakers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In the same vein, former Prime Minister and major opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Finance Minister and summit convention committee director, Barsha Man Pun, and leaders of Nepali business community will also address the summit. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20552', 'image' => '20240428093408_collage (66).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 09:32:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20824', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Breakthrough of Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Project Expected on May 8', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. The breakthrough ceremony of the tunnel of the national pride project is scheduled for May 8.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project aims to provide year-round irrigation facilities to various districts of Terai-Madhesh. According to Mitra Baral, head of the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project, only a small segment of the 13.3 km-long tunnel remains to be completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will attend the breakthrough ceremony, with other key officials including Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Finance Barshman Pun.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite a construction timeline of two years, the tunnel has been almost completed in just 19 months. If not for delays caused by geological complexity, the work could have been completed even earlier.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the construction of the tunnel has been almost complete, other project components like the dam and power plant still require another year to complete.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Project Head Baral said that the tunnel construction involved using an Automatic Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), a technology also used in the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority’s Managing Director Kulman Ghising said that the state-owned power utility is considering using TBM technology in other projects, including the Dudhkoshi and Upper Arun Hydropower Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), has instructed the project officials to stay on project site, and ensure smooth progress of the project, with no further delays. The MoEWRI has instructed the project to submit progress reports every 15 days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Baral, the head of the project, the construction of the project started on October 14, 2022. The goal is to complete the project by October 2027.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction entrepreneurs involved in the construction of the dam and powerhouse have not been able to work as per the schedule. The government has time and again instructed the builders to improve their performance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Necessary preparations are being made for the construction of a powerhouse and transmission line. The Environmental Impact Assessment for the transmission line has been completed. A part of the currently operational BP Highway will be affected by the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project. About 900 meters of diversion should be built on the currently operational highway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this project, the Sunkoshi River flowing through the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts in Kandhungi will be diverted to Marin Khola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">About 67 cusecs of water from Sunkoshi will be pumped into the Marin River at Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2 of Sindhuli through a tunnel. The water will be used to irrigate about 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara. Likewise, the project will also generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel construction of the project was done by the China Overseas Engineering Group Company Limited (COVEC). According to the contractors, the construction of the dam and powerhouse will be completed within the stipulated time even if there is some delay. A joint venture of Indian company Patel Engineering and Nepal's Raman Group has been entrusted with the construction of the dam.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After the completion of the project, irrigation facilities will be available throughout the year in the five districts of Mid-Terai, which are considered as the major grain producing areas. It will bring a qualitative change in food production. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20551', 'image' => '20240427062158_20240331100557_smdmp-home-welcome - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 18:21:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20823', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN Confirms 1,600 Participants for Investment Summit', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the IBN, it extended invitations to over 2,400 persons. Investors from 55 countries will be joining the summit while there will be 385 participants from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 265 will be representing China followed by 143 from India, 33 from the US, 28 from Japan, 14 from the UK, 13 from Bangladesh, 13 from the UAE, and 10 from Germany.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, nine each will be arriving from South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia, eight from Pakistan, six from Singapore, and five each from Qatar and Ghana. Four each will be representing Saudi Arabia, France, and Bahrain in the summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Likewise, three each will be attending the summit from Switzerland, Finland, Russia, Austria, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, and two each from the Philippines, Kuwait, Canada, Mauritius, Belarus, and Belgium.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The participation has been confirmed from Egypt, Italy, Norway, Senegal, the Netherlands, Poland, Indonesia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Romania, Mexico and Cyprus. Investors from Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Bosnia, Morocco, Turkey, Vanuatu, Mauritania, and Hong Kong will also be attending the Summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A total of 150 projects will be showcased at the summit, featuring 23 stalls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The first day of the summit will have the opening session followed by two major sessions. The second and final day will feature 11 parallel sessions. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20550', 'image' => '20240427053500_20240130024837_investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 17:34:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20822', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Vaccines Saved at Least 154 Million Lives in 50 Years: WHO', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That is the equivalent of six lives saved every minute of every year of the half century, AFP quoted the UN health agency as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, WHO gave a comprehensive analysis of the impact of 14 vaccines used under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in a study published in the Lancet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Thanks to these vaccines, "a child born today is 40 percent more likely to see their fifth birthday than a child born 50 years ago", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Infants accounted for 101 million of the lives saved through immunisation over the five decades, said the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Immunisation was the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood," WHO said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> 'Vaccines cause adults' </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over 50 years, vaccines against 14 diseases -- diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever -- had directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40 percent, the study found.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">For Africa, the reduction in infant mortality was more than 50 percent, it said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The vaccine against measles -- a highly contagious disease by a virus that attacks mainly children -- had the most significant impact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That jab accounted for 60 percent of the lives saved due to immunisation, according to the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The polio vaccine means that more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study also showed that when a vaccine saves a child's life, that person goes on to live an average of 66 years of full health on average -- with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines cause adults," Tedros said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">WHO stressed that the gains in childhood survival showed the importance of protecting progress on immunisation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It highlighted accelerating efforts to reach 67 million children who missed at least one vaccination during the Covid pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN health agency, along with the UN children's agency Unicef, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday launched a joint campaign called "Humanly Possible".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is aimed at scaling up vaccination programmes around the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"By working together we can save millions more lives, advance equity and create a much healthier and more prosperous world," Violaine Michell of the Gates Foundation told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> <strong>Anti-vax threat</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But efforts to ensure broader vaccine coverage have increasingly run into anti-vax movements and conspiracy theories circulating on social media.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This was particularly clear during the Covid pandemic, but it has also taken its tolls on efforts to avert measles outbreaks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There has been a very significant backsliding in the use of the measles vaccine and the coverage that has been achieved in countries around the world, and that is resulting in outbreaks," WHO vaccine chief Kate O'Brien told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2022, the last year for which there are clear statistics, more than nine million measles cases were registered around the world, including 136,000 children who died.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lack of access to the vaccines was a major concern, said O'Brien, but part of the backsliding was attributable to "misinformation and anti-vax movements".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The measles vaccine is a safe vaccine, and it's highly effective," she insisted, stressing the need to ramp up efforts against "one of the most infectious viruses that infect humans". -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20549', 'image' => '20240426082628_20240114110800_WHO.jpg.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 20:25:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20821', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN to Present 151 Projects for FDI in Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29. The summit aims to facilitate the implementation of projects aimed at boosting the economy, including the establishment of factories and industries by attracting foreign direct investment in these sectors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">These projects are expected to significantly contribute to the overall development of the country. Stakeholders say it is imperative to combine foreign investment with government and private sector investments to ensure adequate capital, technology, and human resources for the successful execution of these projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 58th meeting of the Investment Board Nepal has resolved to issue calls for letters of intent and engage in extensive discussions with investors regarding the showcased projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of the projects to be presented at the summit, the energy sector dominates with thirty-one projects up for investment, as confirmed by the board's spokesperson, Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay. Additionally, there are nineteen projects related to the transport sector, thirteen each in the mining and minerals, and tourism sectors, fourteen in agriculture, five in production, seven in industrial infrastructure and trade, three in health and education, two in communications and information technology, four in water supply, and six in urban development.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Furthermore, the private sector is also presenting thirty-one projects for foreign direct investment during the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Upadhyay noted that the government places significant importance on private sector investment, including foreign direct investment (FDI). -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20548', 'image' => '20240426034057_investment summit.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 15:38:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20820', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CMT Resort of Bharatpur gets Three-Star Rating', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CMT Resort, operating on an area of 72,900 sq. feet, has received three-star rating from the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Madan Ghimire, the managing director of the resort, informed that this is the first resort in the Bharatpur metropolitan city to receive three-star recognition.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is being operated by a board of directors team of five people with a collective investment of people involved in various professions and businesses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort accommodates a 12,300 square feet town hall that can accommodate more than 2,000 people, a 2,790 square feet meeting hall that can accommodate 500 people, a 1,881 square feet hall that can accommodate 200 people, a 350 square feet conference hall and business halls, and an open kitchen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has 45 rooms with state-of-the-art facilities. Likewise, the resort provides direct employment to 85 individuals and indirect jobs to some. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Food items produced by local farmers are the specialty of the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has good parking space, a swimming pool, and garden facilities. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is connected to Mahendra Highway and can be reached in 5 minutes from Bharatpur Airport. According to managing director Ghimire, a separate charging point has also been installed for EVs (electric vehicles) on the resort premises.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20547', 'image' => '20240426022647_46ae4206.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 14:23:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20819', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Lower Economic Growth Target in 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The final draft of the 16th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission has set an economic growth target of 7.3 percent for the fiscal year (FY) 2085/86, which is lower than the average target of the current 15th Plan but higher than the forecast made by the World Bank for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During the 15th Plan (2076/77-2080/81), the government had set a target of achieving average economic growth of 9.6 percent. The target was to achieve economic growth of 10.3 percent in basic prices in the last year of the plan ie 2080/81.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government suffered a serious setback in achieving this ambitious goal in the first year of the plan. As the coronavirus pandemic started in the year 2076/77 when the scheme was initiated, it had a severe impact on the economy of Nepal, like the economies of the world. In that year, the economic growth rate was negative by 2.4 percent. In the following years too, there was no significant improvement in the economy. According to the National Statistics Office, economic growth was 4.5 percent, 5.3 percent, and 2.2 percent respectively in the following three years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">While reviewing the 15th Plan, the officials of the National Planning Commission said that the government could not achieve economic growth as per the target due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 15th Plan had set a target of 10.3 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year 2080/81. However, the then Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, while presenting the budget in the House, announced that the country will achieve economic growth of around 6 percent this year. However, the country is not even likely to meet that target.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Towards the end of March, the National Statistics Office had initially estimated economic growth of only 4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The World Bank said some time ago that Nepal's economic growth rate will be limited to 3.3 percent this year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Stakeholders do not see the possibility of high economic growth even in the 16th Plan period. They have said that there is no basis for achieving the proposed goals for the new plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that it will not be possible to achieve the proposed economic growth target due to the lack of political stability. Because the government is not stable, it is difficult to achieve economic growth target until stability is achieved. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The government cannot achieve the target of 7.3 percent economic growth as proposed in the draft of the 16th Plan. The maximum growth that it can achieve is likely 5 percent," he said at a meeting of the National Development Council on Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Although the prime minister remains the same, three governments have been formed in the past one year. The private sector insists that there is no conducive environment for investment due to political instability.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">At the recent annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, its President Chandra Dhakal accused the government of adopting a control-oriented policy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He argued that Nepal's economic growth has slowed down compared to many countries in South Asia due to the lack of an environment for the private sector to work.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister and UML leader Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government needs to the political barriers in order to achieve the goals set in the periodic plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He was of the view that the government must revise tax policy and economic strategy to attract foreign direct investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha said that the draft of the 16th Plan has been prepared after reviewing the weaknesses in the 15th Plan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“There are structural problems. Consumption and imports have increased. Domestic employment is pathetic. Education is not linked to production. Expenditure on social security has increased. Therefore, our goals are incomplete,” he said, adding, “Now, a plan has been devised keeping the implementation-oriented goals in mind," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shrestha added that the e 16th Plan is estimated to cost up to Rs 9196 billion, which is expected to further increase by over 118 billion by the time of its implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The draft of the upcoming periodic plan aims to improve the corruption perception index from 35 in the base year 2079/80 to 43 within the 16th periodic plan period and the rule of law index from 0.52 in the base year to 0.80.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the draft of the periodic plan submitted by the National Development Council meeting organized by the National Planning Commission on Thursday, the ratio of expenditure to total allocation should be increased from 80 percent to 90 percent, the birth registration percentage of children under 5 years should be increased to 100 percent from the current 74 percent, the rate of forced labor should be reduced to zero, and the ratio of families with high food insecurity should be reduced to 1 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meeting of the National Development Council, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the 16th Plan will focus on the commercialization of agriculture, the manufacturing industry, employment-oriented education, and increasing the quality of the health sector. He also directed the NPC to bring the plan by incorporating the suggestions of all stakeholders before the announcement of the policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal stressed the need of safeguarding the private sector as it is linked with employment generation. If the state fails in the front, the trend of young people going overseas for employment will continue.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He also pointed out the need to put an end to unnecessary hassles for the industrialists.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20546', 'image' => '20240426010045_20220817123841_economic-growth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:59:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20818', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector. The government has also pledged to assist in the process of addressing the concerns of the depositors of the cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson and Rekha Sharma shared that the cabinet meeting held on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The number of cooperatives declared problematic by the government has reached 18. Such cooperatives have now come under the responsibility of the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee must be chaired by a former judge of the high court or a person working in a special category in the judicial service, and must have one representative nominated by the government, one representative from the national cooperative federation, two experts in the cooperative sector, one person who is a chartered accountant and has worked in a bank and financial institution for three years, and a member secretary appointed by the government. The committee has the right to investigate the assets and liabilities and to auction them and return the money to the depositors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A commission formed by the government to study the problematic cooperatives had suggested to solve the problems of the cooperatives by forming a management committee. According to the suggestion of the commission headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki, the government incorporated the provision for the formation of the committee in the Cooperatives Act itself.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the government formed the problematic cooperative management committee six years ago, it has failed to manage problematic cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee has not been able to distribute the assets and liabilities even in a single case.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20545', 'image' => '20240426120933_cooerativesssss.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:01:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20817', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DDC Pays Dues worth Rs 480 Million to Farmers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The DDC cleared the dues after generating good income post mid-April due to the increase in sale of milk products.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting General Manager of the DDC, Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, told RSS that it was easier to pay the dues to the farmers with an increase in the sale of milk products (milk, curd, cottage cheese, lassi and ice-cream) with the onset of the summer season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The sale of milk products has increased by 50 per cent in summer, which has increased the cash flow and gradually eased farmers' payments and other clearance," Adhikari said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">DDC paid Rs 100 million to farmers in Biratnagar, Rs 10 million in Janakpur, Rs 80 million in Hetauda, Rs 42.5 million in Lumbini, Rs 27.5 million in Nepalgunj, Rs 15 million in Dhangadhi and Rs 130 million in Kathmandu region, the sources informed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20544', 'image' => '20240426110942_20220211081950_20220203111904_20220121121357_20200423093954_1542865405_16685959.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 11:09:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20816', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Trade Fair on April 29 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The trade fair is held in every two years alternately in Nepal and China as per the agreement reached between the government of Nepal and the commerce department of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in 1990. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Trade and Export Promotion Center, the main objective of the fair is to further expand the bilateral economic and trade relations between Nepal and China (Tibet). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Around 125 businesspersons including a five-member high-level delegation will participate in the fair. The official delegation will be led by Vice Chair of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Long Fukuan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There will be 50 exhibition stalls on behalf of China (Tibet) in the fair, including herbs, agricultural products, modern agricultural tools, tea, electrical appliances, household appliances, carpets, beverages, handicrafts, incense, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, electric vehicles and beauty products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, there will be 15 exhibition stalls on behalf of Nepal, including herbs, coffee, tea, handicrafts/carpentry, metalwork, carpet, pashmina and other products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The fair will be open from 10 am to 6 pm and the entry is free. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20543', 'image' => '20240426104936_20240307123344_Nepal-china-trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 10:49:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20815', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sabaiko and Sadhana Laghubitta Sign Final Merger Agreement', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The final agreement for the merger between the two companies took place on Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two companies are merging on an equal basis, with 1:1 swap ratio. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Annual general assemblies of the both companies had endorsed merger proposal on March 2, 2024. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20542', 'image' => '20240426055342_collage (65).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 05:52:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20828', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ordinance for Amending Investment-Friendly Laws Likely Today', 'sub_title' => 'Government Fails to Conduct Credit Rating ahead of Investment Summit', 'summary' => 'April 28: As the government could not amend the laws to facilitate foreign direct investment through the regular parliamentary process before the Investment Summit, which commenced on Sunday, it opted to amend the laws through an ordinance.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 28: As the government could not amend the laws to facilitate foreign direct investment through the regular parliamentary process before the Investment Summit, which commenced on Sunday, it opted to amend the laws through an ordinance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">However, even the ordinance could not be issued by the eve of the summit on Saturday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to an official at the President's Office, the investment ordinance passed by the Council of Ministers on April 22 has finally reached the President's Office.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">President Ram Chandra Paudel's legal adviser Baburam Kunwar said that the ordinance sent by the government reached the President's Office only on Friday night. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We have almost completed studying the ordinance. We hardly have any objection to it. The ordinance is likely to be issued by the President on Sunday," Kunwar told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government had been working since a long time to amend the laws to facilitate foreign investment but failed to amend the laws ahead of the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government’s commitment to make the investment summit fruitful has been questioned due to the delay in sending the ordinance to the President’s Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government has decided to amend about a dozen laws through the ordinance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The laws to be amended include Land Act 2021, Forests Act 2070, Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, Special Economic Zone Act 2073, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075 among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Reforming these laws allows investors to acquire land beyond the limit to set up industries. Likewise, the government can approve the use of forest areas to extract minerals. The amended laws allows transferring technology from Nepal to foreign countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Kamlesh Kumar Agarwal, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said that although the investors have keen interest in legal reform, the ordinance has not been issued on time. “This did not give a positive message to the investors,” he said, adding, “Before investing, investors give a special attention to the laws of the respective countries. They plan their investment accordingly. It is not appropriate to delay amending the laws," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Private sector stakeholders are skeptical about the two-day Investment Summit underway in Kathmandu since Sunday as the ordinance was not issued even by Saturday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in the Parliament, expressed its displeasure saying that the government did not amend some important laws directly related to the country and the people through the parliamentary process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The government's act of issuing an ordinance to amend laws targeting the investment summit which was scheduled months ago is against the spirit of the constitution, parliamentary system and democracy. The government decided to issue the ordinance by misinterpreting the provision of the constitution that allows the government to issue an ordinance in extraordinary situation when the federal parliament is not in session," reads a statement issued by Nepali Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak on Saturday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government, which has repeatedly announced to undertake the country’s sovereign ratings before investment summit, has failed to do so. As the investment summit kicked off on Sunday, the government has failed to take the investors into confidence by conducting the country’s credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sovereign credit rating depicts the picture of the country's financial situation and credit repayment capacity. It is a kind of credit assessment that gives the real information about the country's investment risk situation. Foreign investors have taken it as a prerequisite for investment. Due to lack of crediting rating, Nepal has not been able to take commercial loans for large infrastructure projects from international development partners.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In order to increase foreign investment, the government had announced a sovereign credit rating in the budget of the fiscal year 2075/76. The government issued a public notice in this regard and invited the companies for credit rating of Nepal. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, the world's three major rating companies, submitted proposals for the rating. From among them, the government selected Fitch Ratings for the country’s credit rating. For that, a separate agreement regarding technical assistance was also signed with the then British International Cooperation Agency (DFID) currently known as UK Aid. The government has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as the rating consultant. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government decided not to move ahead with the credit rating due to the Covid-19 pandemic fearing that it would send a negative message to the international community as the indicators of the economy were negative due to the impacts of the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government recently announced to go ahead with the credit rating. Former Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat and incumbent Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun had been repeatedly saying that the government would undertake the credit rating before the investment summit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Fitch Ratings had expressed its commitment to complete the credit rating within three months but it has not yet started the rating.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Admitting that the country rating could not be done before the investment summit, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Narayan Prasad Risal, told New Business Age, "We tried but the work could not be completed. It is not yet possible to say how long it will take for the country rating.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20556', 'image' => '20240428125855_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:52:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20829', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Former NRB Governor Advises Govt to Live up to the Commitments made to the Investors ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to RSS on the eve of the Nepal Investment Summit (April 28-29) on Saturday, Kshetry stressed that the government should assure potential investors with all sorts of facilities to them as per its commitments. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We should not believe that investors will come to invest haphazardly. Investors turn ready to pour their money into new area if they are convinced of a conducive environment," he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Despite having abundant capital for investment, investors will use their conscience and get ready to take a risk upon the assessment of relative comparative benefits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We face a capital crisis. Again, unfortunately, the limited capital allotted by the government through the budget has remained frozen. In this situation, the government should convince foreign investors that it yearns to introduce technologies and management skills in addition to capital through the Investment Summit," the former Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, Nepal has not been yet able to ensure a sovereign credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We are yet to audit the country's situation for receiving loans which is the need of the hour. Potential investors always calculate the objective situation before deciding to invest,” Kshetry reminded. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20555', 'image' => '20240428125910_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:57:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20827', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prime Minister Inaugurates Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the summit amidst a special programme at Soaltee Hotel on Sunday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One hundred and fifty-one projects will be presented in the summit. According to the Investment Board of Nepal, more than 1600 investors from over 55 countries are participating in the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The IBN informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects during the conference. Similarly, the government will seek concept notes for 19 projects. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The first day of the event will witnesses inauguration session and two major sessions. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The investors will have opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The First Investment Summit was organized on March 2-3, 2017 and the Second Investment Summit on March 29 and 30, 2019. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20554', 'image' => '20240428120227_IMG-20240428-WA0002.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:01:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20826', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Seek Letters of Intent for 20 Projects during the Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the two-day mega event, the government will solicit letters of intent from both domestic and foreign investors for the projects whose feasibility studies have been completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Dhulikhel Medicity Project is one the projects for which the government will seek letter of intent. Under this project, the government plans to construct a super-special hospital to develop a medical tourism hub.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As outlined in the project proposal, the super-special hospital will be located at Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk, with an estimated cost of Rs 11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government will also seek letter of intent for the Sudurpaschim Public Transport Project. It aims to improve public transportation in Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Doti districts of Sudurpaschim Province. The project requires 173 buses, including 104 electric vehicles, with an estimated cost of Rs 31.13 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Naumure Multi-Purpose Project, with an estimated cost of Rs 92 billion, is also in the list. As per the proposal, a total of 281.04 MW of electricity would be generated by the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Khimti Those Shivalaya Reservoir-based Hydropower is another such to be built on the border of Dolakha and Ramechhap districts. It is the largest hydropower project with an estimated cost of Rs 289 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Humla Karnali Hydropower Project, a 61.2 MW project, will be located at Namkha rural municipality of Humla district. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 14.70 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Upper Chameliya Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 53.85 MW, is estimated to require an investment of Rs 11.90 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Panchkhal Special Economic Zone in Panchkhal municipality aims to create jobs by promoting economic activities. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.57 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Kabadikhola Hydropower Project, to be located at a mountainous area on the border of Bajura and Humla districts, is proposed to be operated in a BOOT model. It requires an investment of Rs 6.41 billion. The feasibility study for the project was completed in 2020.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another hydropower project to be showcased during the Investment Summit is the reservoir-based Kaligandaki-II hydropower project. The total estimated investment for the project is Rs 174 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another reservoir-based government undertaking -- Bharbung Hydropower Project – with a capacity to generate 377MW of electricity is listed for showcasing for a letter of intent at the two-day event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to the hydropower projects, the government is presenting a range of other projects and inviting proposals for consideration. These projects include the Pokhara International Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre, Daiji Industrial Zone, Babarmahal Administrative Plaza, Mahadev Stream Reservoir, Karnali-Chisapani Wind Energy Project, Chandragiri-Chitwan Expressway, Janaki Heritage Hotel and Cultural Village, and Dhaubadi Iron Mine and Excavation Project.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20553', 'image' => '20240428113827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 11:35:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20825', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Third Investment Summit Kicks off Today', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 28: The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The government is showcasing 151 projects. The event slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will see participation of over 1600 investors from 55 plus countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Nepal Investment Board has informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects in the conference. Similarly, concept notes would be called for 19 projects. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The first day will witness inauguration session and two major sessions. The investors will be provided opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Private sector, partner of economic development, is the co-organizer of the event. Several noted international figures including Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, State Minister for UK Asia Pacific Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan, and Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, Luo Zhaohui will address the summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Similarly, Vice President of ADB, Yingming Yang Acting, Vice Chair of Asian Infrastructures Investment Bank, Rajit Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Shreevastav, Executive Director of ITC India, Supratim Datta, and Senior Vice Chair of US Chamber of Commerce, Atul Keshap are other speakers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In the same vein, former Prime Minister and major opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Finance Minister and summit convention committee director, Barsha Man Pun, and leaders of Nepali business community will also address the summit. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20552', 'image' => '20240428093408_collage (66).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 09:32:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20824', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Breakthrough of Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Project Expected on May 8', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. The breakthrough ceremony of the tunnel of the national pride project is scheduled for May 8.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project aims to provide year-round irrigation facilities to various districts of Terai-Madhesh. According to Mitra Baral, head of the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project, only a small segment of the 13.3 km-long tunnel remains to be completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will attend the breakthrough ceremony, with other key officials including Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Finance Barshman Pun.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite a construction timeline of two years, the tunnel has been almost completed in just 19 months. If not for delays caused by geological complexity, the work could have been completed even earlier.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the construction of the tunnel has been almost complete, other project components like the dam and power plant still require another year to complete.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Project Head Baral said that the tunnel construction involved using an Automatic Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), a technology also used in the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority’s Managing Director Kulman Ghising said that the state-owned power utility is considering using TBM technology in other projects, including the Dudhkoshi and Upper Arun Hydropower Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), has instructed the project officials to stay on project site, and ensure smooth progress of the project, with no further delays. The MoEWRI has instructed the project to submit progress reports every 15 days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Baral, the head of the project, the construction of the project started on October 14, 2022. The goal is to complete the project by October 2027.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction entrepreneurs involved in the construction of the dam and powerhouse have not been able to work as per the schedule. The government has time and again instructed the builders to improve their performance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Necessary preparations are being made for the construction of a powerhouse and transmission line. The Environmental Impact Assessment for the transmission line has been completed. A part of the currently operational BP Highway will be affected by the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project. About 900 meters of diversion should be built on the currently operational highway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this project, the Sunkoshi River flowing through the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts in Kandhungi will be diverted to Marin Khola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">About 67 cusecs of water from Sunkoshi will be pumped into the Marin River at Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2 of Sindhuli through a tunnel. The water will be used to irrigate about 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara. Likewise, the project will also generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel construction of the project was done by the China Overseas Engineering Group Company Limited (COVEC). According to the contractors, the construction of the dam and powerhouse will be completed within the stipulated time even if there is some delay. A joint venture of Indian company Patel Engineering and Nepal's Raman Group has been entrusted with the construction of the dam.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After the completion of the project, irrigation facilities will be available throughout the year in the five districts of Mid-Terai, which are considered as the major grain producing areas. It will bring a qualitative change in food production. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20551', 'image' => '20240427062158_20240331100557_smdmp-home-welcome - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 18:21:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20823', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN Confirms 1,600 Participants for Investment Summit', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the IBN, it extended invitations to over 2,400 persons. Investors from 55 countries will be joining the summit while there will be 385 participants from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 265 will be representing China followed by 143 from India, 33 from the US, 28 from Japan, 14 from the UK, 13 from Bangladesh, 13 from the UAE, and 10 from Germany.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, nine each will be arriving from South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia, eight from Pakistan, six from Singapore, and five each from Qatar and Ghana. Four each will be representing Saudi Arabia, France, and Bahrain in the summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Likewise, three each will be attending the summit from Switzerland, Finland, Russia, Austria, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, and two each from the Philippines, Kuwait, Canada, Mauritius, Belarus, and Belgium.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The participation has been confirmed from Egypt, Italy, Norway, Senegal, the Netherlands, Poland, Indonesia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Romania, Mexico and Cyprus. Investors from Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Bosnia, Morocco, Turkey, Vanuatu, Mauritania, and Hong Kong will also be attending the Summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A total of 150 projects will be showcased at the summit, featuring 23 stalls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The first day of the summit will have the opening session followed by two major sessions. The second and final day will feature 11 parallel sessions. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20550', 'image' => '20240427053500_20240130024837_investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 17:34:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20822', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Vaccines Saved at Least 154 Million Lives in 50 Years: WHO', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That is the equivalent of six lives saved every minute of every year of the half century, AFP quoted the UN health agency as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, WHO gave a comprehensive analysis of the impact of 14 vaccines used under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in a study published in the Lancet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Thanks to these vaccines, "a child born today is 40 percent more likely to see their fifth birthday than a child born 50 years ago", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Infants accounted for 101 million of the lives saved through immunisation over the five decades, said the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Immunisation was the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood," WHO said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> 'Vaccines cause adults' </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over 50 years, vaccines against 14 diseases -- diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever -- had directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40 percent, the study found.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">For Africa, the reduction in infant mortality was more than 50 percent, it said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The vaccine against measles -- a highly contagious disease by a virus that attacks mainly children -- had the most significant impact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That jab accounted for 60 percent of the lives saved due to immunisation, according to the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The polio vaccine means that more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study also showed that when a vaccine saves a child's life, that person goes on to live an average of 66 years of full health on average -- with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines cause adults," Tedros said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">WHO stressed that the gains in childhood survival showed the importance of protecting progress on immunisation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It highlighted accelerating efforts to reach 67 million children who missed at least one vaccination during the Covid pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN health agency, along with the UN children's agency Unicef, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday launched a joint campaign called "Humanly Possible".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is aimed at scaling up vaccination programmes around the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"By working together we can save millions more lives, advance equity and create a much healthier and more prosperous world," Violaine Michell of the Gates Foundation told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> <strong>Anti-vax threat</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But efforts to ensure broader vaccine coverage have increasingly run into anti-vax movements and conspiracy theories circulating on social media.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This was particularly clear during the Covid pandemic, but it has also taken its tolls on efforts to avert measles outbreaks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There has been a very significant backsliding in the use of the measles vaccine and the coverage that has been achieved in countries around the world, and that is resulting in outbreaks," WHO vaccine chief Kate O'Brien told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2022, the last year for which there are clear statistics, more than nine million measles cases were registered around the world, including 136,000 children who died.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lack of access to the vaccines was a major concern, said O'Brien, but part of the backsliding was attributable to "misinformation and anti-vax movements".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The measles vaccine is a safe vaccine, and it's highly effective," she insisted, stressing the need to ramp up efforts against "one of the most infectious viruses that infect humans". -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20549', 'image' => '20240426082628_20240114110800_WHO.jpg.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 20:25:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20821', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN to Present 151 Projects for FDI in Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29. The summit aims to facilitate the implementation of projects aimed at boosting the economy, including the establishment of factories and industries by attracting foreign direct investment in these sectors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">These projects are expected to significantly contribute to the overall development of the country. Stakeholders say it is imperative to combine foreign investment with government and private sector investments to ensure adequate capital, technology, and human resources for the successful execution of these projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 58th meeting of the Investment Board Nepal has resolved to issue calls for letters of intent and engage in extensive discussions with investors regarding the showcased projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of the projects to be presented at the summit, the energy sector dominates with thirty-one projects up for investment, as confirmed by the board's spokesperson, Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay. Additionally, there are nineteen projects related to the transport sector, thirteen each in the mining and minerals, and tourism sectors, fourteen in agriculture, five in production, seven in industrial infrastructure and trade, three in health and education, two in communications and information technology, four in water supply, and six in urban development.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Furthermore, the private sector is also presenting thirty-one projects for foreign direct investment during the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Upadhyay noted that the government places significant importance on private sector investment, including foreign direct investment (FDI). -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20548', 'image' => '20240426034057_investment summit.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 15:38:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20820', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CMT Resort of Bharatpur gets Three-Star Rating', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CMT Resort, operating on an area of 72,900 sq. feet, has received three-star rating from the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Madan Ghimire, the managing director of the resort, informed that this is the first resort in the Bharatpur metropolitan city to receive three-star recognition.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is being operated by a board of directors team of five people with a collective investment of people involved in various professions and businesses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort accommodates a 12,300 square feet town hall that can accommodate more than 2,000 people, a 2,790 square feet meeting hall that can accommodate 500 people, a 1,881 square feet hall that can accommodate 200 people, a 350 square feet conference hall and business halls, and an open kitchen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has 45 rooms with state-of-the-art facilities. Likewise, the resort provides direct employment to 85 individuals and indirect jobs to some. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Food items produced by local farmers are the specialty of the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has good parking space, a swimming pool, and garden facilities. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is connected to Mahendra Highway and can be reached in 5 minutes from Bharatpur Airport. According to managing director Ghimire, a separate charging point has also been installed for EVs (electric vehicles) on the resort premises.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20547', 'image' => '20240426022647_46ae4206.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 14:23:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20819', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Lower Economic Growth Target in 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The final draft of the 16th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission has set an economic growth target of 7.3 percent for the fiscal year (FY) 2085/86, which is lower than the average target of the current 15th Plan but higher than the forecast made by the World Bank for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During the 15th Plan (2076/77-2080/81), the government had set a target of achieving average economic growth of 9.6 percent. The target was to achieve economic growth of 10.3 percent in basic prices in the last year of the plan ie 2080/81.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government suffered a serious setback in achieving this ambitious goal in the first year of the plan. As the coronavirus pandemic started in the year 2076/77 when the scheme was initiated, it had a severe impact on the economy of Nepal, like the economies of the world. In that year, the economic growth rate was negative by 2.4 percent. In the following years too, there was no significant improvement in the economy. According to the National Statistics Office, economic growth was 4.5 percent, 5.3 percent, and 2.2 percent respectively in the following three years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">While reviewing the 15th Plan, the officials of the National Planning Commission said that the government could not achieve economic growth as per the target due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 15th Plan had set a target of 10.3 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year 2080/81. However, the then Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, while presenting the budget in the House, announced that the country will achieve economic growth of around 6 percent this year. However, the country is not even likely to meet that target.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Towards the end of March, the National Statistics Office had initially estimated economic growth of only 4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The World Bank said some time ago that Nepal's economic growth rate will be limited to 3.3 percent this year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Stakeholders do not see the possibility of high economic growth even in the 16th Plan period. They have said that there is no basis for achieving the proposed goals for the new plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that it will not be possible to achieve the proposed economic growth target due to the lack of political stability. Because the government is not stable, it is difficult to achieve economic growth target until stability is achieved. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The government cannot achieve the target of 7.3 percent economic growth as proposed in the draft of the 16th Plan. The maximum growth that it can achieve is likely 5 percent," he said at a meeting of the National Development Council on Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Although the prime minister remains the same, three governments have been formed in the past one year. The private sector insists that there is no conducive environment for investment due to political instability.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">At the recent annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, its President Chandra Dhakal accused the government of adopting a control-oriented policy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He argued that Nepal's economic growth has slowed down compared to many countries in South Asia due to the lack of an environment for the private sector to work.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister and UML leader Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government needs to the political barriers in order to achieve the goals set in the periodic plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He was of the view that the government must revise tax policy and economic strategy to attract foreign direct investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha said that the draft of the 16th Plan has been prepared after reviewing the weaknesses in the 15th Plan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“There are structural problems. Consumption and imports have increased. Domestic employment is pathetic. Education is not linked to production. Expenditure on social security has increased. Therefore, our goals are incomplete,” he said, adding, “Now, a plan has been devised keeping the implementation-oriented goals in mind," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shrestha added that the e 16th Plan is estimated to cost up to Rs 9196 billion, which is expected to further increase by over 118 billion by the time of its implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The draft of the upcoming periodic plan aims to improve the corruption perception index from 35 in the base year 2079/80 to 43 within the 16th periodic plan period and the rule of law index from 0.52 in the base year to 0.80.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the draft of the periodic plan submitted by the National Development Council meeting organized by the National Planning Commission on Thursday, the ratio of expenditure to total allocation should be increased from 80 percent to 90 percent, the birth registration percentage of children under 5 years should be increased to 100 percent from the current 74 percent, the rate of forced labor should be reduced to zero, and the ratio of families with high food insecurity should be reduced to 1 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meeting of the National Development Council, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the 16th Plan will focus on the commercialization of agriculture, the manufacturing industry, employment-oriented education, and increasing the quality of the health sector. He also directed the NPC to bring the plan by incorporating the suggestions of all stakeholders before the announcement of the policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal stressed the need of safeguarding the private sector as it is linked with employment generation. If the state fails in the front, the trend of young people going overseas for employment will continue.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He also pointed out the need to put an end to unnecessary hassles for the industrialists.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20546', 'image' => '20240426010045_20220817123841_economic-growth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:59:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20818', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector. The government has also pledged to assist in the process of addressing the concerns of the depositors of the cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson and Rekha Sharma shared that the cabinet meeting held on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The number of cooperatives declared problematic by the government has reached 18. Such cooperatives have now come under the responsibility of the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee must be chaired by a former judge of the high court or a person working in a special category in the judicial service, and must have one representative nominated by the government, one representative from the national cooperative federation, two experts in the cooperative sector, one person who is a chartered accountant and has worked in a bank and financial institution for three years, and a member secretary appointed by the government. The committee has the right to investigate the assets and liabilities and to auction them and return the money to the depositors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A commission formed by the government to study the problematic cooperatives had suggested to solve the problems of the cooperatives by forming a management committee. According to the suggestion of the commission headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki, the government incorporated the provision for the formation of the committee in the Cooperatives Act itself.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the government formed the problematic cooperative management committee six years ago, it has failed to manage problematic cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee has not been able to distribute the assets and liabilities even in a single case.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20545', 'image' => '20240426120933_cooerativesssss.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:01:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20817', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DDC Pays Dues worth Rs 480 Million to Farmers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The DDC cleared the dues after generating good income post mid-April due to the increase in sale of milk products.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting General Manager of the DDC, Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, told RSS that it was easier to pay the dues to the farmers with an increase in the sale of milk products (milk, curd, cottage cheese, lassi and ice-cream) with the onset of the summer season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The sale of milk products has increased by 50 per cent in summer, which has increased the cash flow and gradually eased farmers' payments and other clearance," Adhikari said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">DDC paid Rs 100 million to farmers in Biratnagar, Rs 10 million in Janakpur, Rs 80 million in Hetauda, Rs 42.5 million in Lumbini, Rs 27.5 million in Nepalgunj, Rs 15 million in Dhangadhi and Rs 130 million in Kathmandu region, the sources informed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20544', 'image' => '20240426110942_20220211081950_20220203111904_20220121121357_20200423093954_1542865405_16685959.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 11:09:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20816', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Trade Fair on April 29 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The trade fair is held in every two years alternately in Nepal and China as per the agreement reached between the government of Nepal and the commerce department of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in 1990. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Trade and Export Promotion Center, the main objective of the fair is to further expand the bilateral economic and trade relations between Nepal and China (Tibet). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Around 125 businesspersons including a five-member high-level delegation will participate in the fair. The official delegation will be led by Vice Chair of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Long Fukuan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There will be 50 exhibition stalls on behalf of China (Tibet) in the fair, including herbs, agricultural products, modern agricultural tools, tea, electrical appliances, household appliances, carpets, beverages, handicrafts, incense, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, electric vehicles and beauty products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, there will be 15 exhibition stalls on behalf of Nepal, including herbs, coffee, tea, handicrafts/carpentry, metalwork, carpet, pashmina and other products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The fair will be open from 10 am to 6 pm and the entry is free. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20543', 'image' => '20240426104936_20240307123344_Nepal-china-trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 10:49:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20815', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sabaiko and Sadhana Laghubitta Sign Final Merger Agreement', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The final agreement for the merger between the two companies took place on Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two companies are merging on an equal basis, with 1:1 swap ratio. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Annual general assemblies of the both companies had endorsed merger proposal on March 2, 2024. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20542', 'image' => '20240426055342_collage (65).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 05:52:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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We hardly have any objection to it. The ordinance is likely to be issued by the President on Sunday," Kunwar told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government had been working since a long time to amend the laws to facilitate foreign investment but failed to amend the laws ahead of the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government’s commitment to make the investment summit fruitful has been questioned due to the delay in sending the ordinance to the President’s Office. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government has decided to amend about a dozen laws through the ordinance. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The laws to be amended include Land Act 2021, Forests Act 2070, Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, Special Economic Zone Act 2073, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2075 among others.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Reforming these laws allows investors to acquire land beyond the limit to set up industries. Likewise, the government can approve the use of forest areas to extract minerals. The amended laws allows transferring technology from Nepal to foreign countries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Kamlesh Kumar Agarwal, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said that although the investors have keen interest in legal reform, the ordinance has not been issued on time. “This did not give a positive message to the investors,” he said, adding, “Before investing, investors give a special attention to the laws of the respective countries. They plan their investment accordingly. It is not appropriate to delay amending the laws," he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Private sector stakeholders are skeptical about the two-day Investment Summit underway in Kathmandu since Sunday as the ordinance was not issued even by Saturday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in the Parliament, expressed its displeasure saying that the government did not amend some important laws directly related to the country and the people through the parliamentary process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The government's act of issuing an ordinance to amend laws targeting the investment summit which was scheduled months ago is against the spirit of the constitution, parliamentary system and democracy. The government decided to issue the ordinance by misinterpreting the provision of the constitution that allows the government to issue an ordinance in extraordinary situation when the federal parliament is not in session," reads a statement issued by Nepali Congress chief whip Ramesh Lekhak on Saturday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government, which has repeatedly announced to undertake the country’s sovereign ratings before investment summit, has failed to do so. As the investment summit kicked off on Sunday, the government has failed to take the investors into confidence by conducting the country’s credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The sovereign credit rating depicts the picture of the country's financial situation and credit repayment capacity. It is a kind of credit assessment that gives the real information about the country's investment risk situation. Foreign investors have taken it as a prerequisite for investment. Due to lack of crediting rating, Nepal has not been able to take commercial loans for large infrastructure projects from international development partners.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In order to increase foreign investment, the government had announced a sovereign credit rating in the budget of the fiscal year 2075/76. The government issued a public notice in this regard and invited the companies for credit rating of Nepal. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's, the world's three major rating companies, submitted proposals for the rating. From among them, the government selected Fitch Ratings for the country’s credit rating. For that, a separate agreement regarding technical assistance was also signed with the then British International Cooperation Agency (DFID) currently known as UK Aid. The government has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as the rating consultant. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government decided not to move ahead with the credit rating due to the Covid-19 pandemic fearing that it would send a negative message to the international community as the indicators of the economy were negative due to the impacts of the pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government recently announced to go ahead with the credit rating. Former Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat and incumbent Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun had been repeatedly saying that the government would undertake the credit rating before the investment summit. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Fitch Ratings had expressed its commitment to complete the credit rating within three months but it has not yet started the rating.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Admitting that the country rating could not be done before the investment summit, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Narayan Prasad Risal, told New Business Age, "We tried but the work could not be completed. It is not yet possible to say how long it will take for the country rating.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20556', 'image' => '20240428125855_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:52:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20829', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Former NRB Governor Advises Govt to Live up to the Commitments made to the Investors ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: Former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry has advised the government to live up to the promises it has made to the investors in order to ensure the success of the Investment Summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Talking to RSS on the eve of the Nepal Investment Summit (April 28-29) on Saturday, Kshetry stressed that the government should assure potential investors with all sorts of facilities to them as per its commitments. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We should not believe that investors will come to invest haphazardly. Investors turn ready to pour their money into new area if they are convinced of a conducive environment," he shared. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Despite having abundant capital for investment, investors will use their conscience and get ready to take a risk upon the assessment of relative comparative benefits. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"We face a capital crisis. Again, unfortunately, the limited capital allotted by the government through the budget has remained frozen. In this situation, the government should convince foreign investors that it yearns to introduce technologies and management skills in addition to capital through the Investment Summit," the former Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to him, Nepal has not been yet able to ensure a sovereign credit rating. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">“We are yet to audit the country's situation for receiving loans which is the need of the hour. Potential investors always calculate the objective situation before deciding to invest,” Kshetry reminded. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20555', 'image' => '20240428125910_20231212114012_20231126113943_20190307120527_Clipboard24.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:57:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20827', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prime Minister Inaugurates Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 28: The Third Investment Summit has kicked off in the capital with the goal of bringing in foreign direct investment and launching development projects for the country's economic progress. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the summit amidst a special programme at Soaltee Hotel on Sunday morning. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One hundred and fifty-one projects will be presented in the summit. According to the Investment Board of Nepal, more than 1600 investors from over 55 countries are participating in the event. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The IBN informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects during the conference. Similarly, the government will seek concept notes for 19 projects. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The first day of the event will witnesses inauguration session and two major sessions. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The investors will have opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The First Investment Summit was organized on March 2-3, 2017 and the Second Investment Summit on March 29 and 30, 2019. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20554', 'image' => '20240428120227_IMG-20240428-WA0002.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 12:01:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20826', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Seek Letters of Intent for 20 Projects during the Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 28: The government is preparing to seek letters of intent for 20 projects—mostly hydropower projects—at the Third Investment Summit which kicked off in the federal capital on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">During the two-day mega event, the government will solicit letters of intent from both domestic and foreign investors for the projects whose feasibility studies have been completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Dhulikhel Medicity Project is one the projects for which the government will seek letter of intent. Under this project, the government plans to construct a super-special hospital to develop a medical tourism hub.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As outlined in the project proposal, the super-special hospital will be located at Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchowk, with an estimated cost of Rs 11 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government will also seek letter of intent for the Sudurpaschim Public Transport Project. It aims to improve public transportation in Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Doti districts of Sudurpaschim Province. The project requires 173 buses, including 104 electric vehicles, with an estimated cost of Rs 31.13 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Naumure Multi-Purpose Project, with an estimated cost of Rs 92 billion, is also in the list. As per the proposal, a total of 281.04 MW of electricity would be generated by the project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Khimti Those Shivalaya Reservoir-based Hydropower is another such to be built on the border of Dolakha and Ramechhap districts. It is the largest hydropower project with an estimated cost of Rs 289 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Humla Karnali Hydropower Project, a 61.2 MW project, will be located at Namkha rural municipality of Humla district. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 14.70 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Upper Chameliya Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 53.85 MW, is estimated to require an investment of Rs 11.90 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Panchkhal Special Economic Zone in Panchkhal municipality aims to create jobs by promoting economic activities. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.57 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Kabadikhola Hydropower Project, to be located at a mountainous area on the border of Bajura and Humla districts, is proposed to be operated in a BOOT model. It requires an investment of Rs 6.41 billion. The feasibility study for the project was completed in 2020.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another hydropower project to be showcased during the Investment Summit is the reservoir-based Kaligandaki-II hydropower project. The total estimated investment for the project is Rs 174 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Another reservoir-based government undertaking -- Bharbung Hydropower Project – with a capacity to generate 377MW of electricity is listed for showcasing for a letter of intent at the two-day event.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to the hydropower projects, the government is presenting a range of other projects and inviting proposals for consideration. These projects include the Pokhara International Convention Centre and Exhibition Centre, Daiji Industrial Zone, Babarmahal Administrative Plaza, Mahadev Stream Reservoir, Karnali-Chisapani Wind Energy Project, Chandragiri-Chitwan Expressway, Janaki Heritage Hotel and Cultural Village, and Dhaubadi Iron Mine and Excavation Project.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20553', 'image' => '20240428113827_hydro.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 11:35:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20825', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Third Investment Summit Kicks off Today', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px">April 28: The Third Investment Summit is beginning today (Sunday) with the primary objective of attracting foreign direct investment in large development projects for the country's economic progress and prosperity. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The government is showcasing 151 projects. The event slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will see participation of over 1600 investors from 55 plus countries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Nepal Investment Board has informed that there will be 23 exhibition stalls along with detailed information on the projects in the conference. Similarly, concept notes would be called for 19 projects. The two-day international event will feature 11 parallel sessions on Monday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">The first day will witness inauguration session and two major sessions. The investors will be provided opportunities to interact with PM Dahal and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun in course of the summit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">Private sector, partner of economic development, is the co-organizer of the event. Several noted international figures including Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, State Minister for UK Asia Pacific Affairs, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, UNCTAD Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan, and Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency, Luo Zhaohui will address the summit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"> Similarly, Vice President of ADB, Yingming Yang Acting, Vice Chair of Asian Infrastructures Investment Bank, Rajit Mishra, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Shreevastav, Executive Director of ITC India, Supratim Datta, and Senior Vice Chair of US Chamber of Commerce, Atul Keshap are other speakers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px">In the same vein, former Prime Minister and major opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, Finance Minister and summit convention committee director, Barsha Man Pun, and leaders of Nepali business community will also address the summit. </span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-28', 'modified' => '2024-04-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20552', 'image' => '20240428093408_collage (66).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-28 09:32:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20824', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Breakthrough of Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Project Expected on May 8', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The construction of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project’s tunnel has been almost completed with only a few meters left for a breakthrough. The breakthrough ceremony of the tunnel of the national pride project is scheduled for May 8.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project aims to provide year-round irrigation facilities to various districts of Terai-Madhesh. According to Mitra Baral, head of the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project, only a small segment of the 13.3 km-long tunnel remains to be completed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will attend the breakthrough ceremony, with other key officials including Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Finance Barshman Pun.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Despite a construction timeline of two years, the tunnel has been almost completed in just 19 months. If not for delays caused by geological complexity, the work could have been completed even earlier.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the construction of the tunnel has been almost complete, other project components like the dam and power plant still require another year to complete.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Project Head Baral said that the tunnel construction involved using an Automatic Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), a technology also used in the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal Electricity Authority’s Managing Director Kulman Ghising said that the state-owned power utility is considering using TBM technology in other projects, including the Dudhkoshi and Upper Arun Hydropower Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), has instructed the project officials to stay on project site, and ensure smooth progress of the project, with no further delays. The MoEWRI has instructed the project to submit progress reports every 15 days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Baral, the head of the project, the construction of the project started on October 14, 2022. The goal is to complete the project by October 2027.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction entrepreneurs involved in the construction of the dam and powerhouse have not been able to work as per the schedule. The government has time and again instructed the builders to improve their performance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Necessary preparations are being made for the construction of a powerhouse and transmission line. The Environmental Impact Assessment for the transmission line has been completed. A part of the currently operational BP Highway will be affected by the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project. About 900 meters of diversion should be built on the currently operational highway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under this project, the Sunkoshi River flowing through the border of Sindhuli and Ramechhap districts in Kandhungi will be diverted to Marin Khola.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">About 67 cusecs of water from Sunkoshi will be pumped into the Marin River at Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2 of Sindhuli through a tunnel. The water will be used to irrigate about 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, and Bara. Likewise, the project will also generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel construction of the project was done by the China Overseas Engineering Group Company Limited (COVEC). According to the contractors, the construction of the dam and powerhouse will be completed within the stipulated time even if there is some delay. A joint venture of Indian company Patel Engineering and Nepal's Raman Group has been entrusted with the construction of the dam.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After the completion of the project, irrigation facilities will be available throughout the year in the five districts of Mid-Terai, which are considered as the major grain producing areas. It will bring a qualitative change in food production. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20551', 'image' => '20240427062158_20240331100557_smdmp-home-welcome - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 18:21:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20823', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN Confirms 1,600 Participants for Investment Summit', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 27: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) has confirmed participation of over 1,600 people for the third Nepal Investment Summit, commencing on Sunday.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the IBN, it extended invitations to over 2,400 persons. Investors from 55 countries will be joining the summit while there will be 385 participants from Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 265 will be representing China followed by 143 from India, 33 from the US, 28 from Japan, 14 from the UK, 13 from Bangladesh, 13 from the UAE, and 10 from Germany.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, nine each will be arriving from South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia, eight from Pakistan, six from Singapore, and five each from Qatar and Ghana. Four each will be representing Saudi Arabia, France, and Bahrain in the summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Likewise, three each will be attending the summit from Switzerland, Finland, Russia, Austria, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, and two each from the Philippines, Kuwait, Canada, Mauritius, Belarus, and Belgium.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The participation has been confirmed from Egypt, Italy, Norway, Senegal, the Netherlands, Poland, Indonesia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Romania, Mexico and Cyprus. Investors from Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Bosnia, Morocco, Turkey, Vanuatu, Mauritania, and Hong Kong will also be attending the Summit.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A total of 150 projects will be showcased at the summit, featuring 23 stalls.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The first day of the summit will have the opening session followed by two major sessions. The second and final day will feature 11 parallel sessions. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-27', 'modified' => '2024-04-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20550', 'image' => '20240427053500_20240130024837_investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-27 17:34:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20822', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Vaccines Saved at Least 154 Million Lives in 50 Years: WHO', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Global immunisation efforts have saved at least 154 million lives in the past 50 years, AFP reported citing the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO reportedly added that most of those to benefit were infants.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That is the equivalent of six lives saved every minute of every year of the half century, AFP quoted the UN health agency as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, WHO gave a comprehensive analysis of the impact of 14 vaccines used under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in a study published in the Lancet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Thanks to these vaccines, "a child born today is 40 percent more likely to see their fifth birthday than a child born 50 years ago", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Infants accounted for 101 million of the lives saved through immunisation over the five decades, said the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Immunisation was the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood," WHO said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong> 'Vaccines cause adults' </strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over 50 years, vaccines against 14 diseases -- diphtheria, Haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever -- had directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40 percent, the study found.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">For Africa, the reduction in infant mortality was more than 50 percent, it said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The vaccine against measles -- a highly contagious disease by a virus that attacks mainly children -- had the most significant impact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">That jab accounted for 60 percent of the lives saved due to immunisation, according to the study.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The polio vaccine means that more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The study also showed that when a vaccine saves a child's life, that person goes on to live an average of 66 years of full health on average -- with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Vaccines cause adults," Tedros said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">WHO stressed that the gains in childhood survival showed the importance of protecting progress on immunisation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It highlighted accelerating efforts to reach 67 million children who missed at least one vaccination during the Covid pandemic.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The UN health agency, along with the UN children's agency Unicef, the Gavi vaccine alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Wednesday launched a joint campaign called "Humanly Possible".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is aimed at scaling up vaccination programmes around the world.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"By working together we can save millions more lives, advance equity and create a much healthier and more prosperous world," Violaine Michell of the Gates Foundation told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> <strong>Anti-vax threat</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But efforts to ensure broader vaccine coverage have increasingly run into anti-vax movements and conspiracy theories circulating on social media.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This was particularly clear during the Covid pandemic, but it has also taken its tolls on efforts to avert measles outbreaks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There has been a very significant backsliding in the use of the measles vaccine and the coverage that has been achieved in countries around the world, and that is resulting in outbreaks," WHO vaccine chief Kate O'Brien told journalists.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2022, the last year for which there are clear statistics, more than nine million measles cases were registered around the world, including 136,000 children who died.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Lack of access to the vaccines was a major concern, said O'Brien, but part of the backsliding was attributable to "misinformation and anti-vax movements".</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The measles vaccine is a safe vaccine, and it's highly effective," she insisted, stressing the need to ramp up efforts against "one of the most infectious viruses that infect humans". -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20549', 'image' => '20240426082628_20240114110800_WHO.jpg.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 20:25:58', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20821', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'IBN to Present 151 Projects for FDI in Third Investment Summit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government is gearing up to present 151 projects at the Third Investment Summit 2024, scheduled to take place in the federal capital on April 28 and 29. The summit aims to facilitate the implementation of projects aimed at boosting the economy, including the establishment of factories and industries by attracting foreign direct investment in these sectors.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">These projects are expected to significantly contribute to the overall development of the country. Stakeholders say it is imperative to combine foreign investment with government and private sector investments to ensure adequate capital, technology, and human resources for the successful execution of these projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 58th meeting of the Investment Board Nepal has resolved to issue calls for letters of intent and engage in extensive discussions with investors regarding the showcased projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Of the projects to be presented at the summit, the energy sector dominates with thirty-one projects up for investment, as confirmed by the board's spokesperson, Pradyumna Prasad Upadhyay. Additionally, there are nineteen projects related to the transport sector, thirteen each in the mining and minerals, and tourism sectors, fourteen in agriculture, five in production, seven in industrial infrastructure and trade, three in health and education, two in communications and information technology, four in water supply, and six in urban development.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Furthermore, the private sector is also presenting thirty-one projects for foreign direct investment during the summit.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Upadhyay noted that the government places significant importance on private sector investment, including foreign direct investment (FDI). -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20548', 'image' => '20240426034057_investment summit.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 15:38:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20820', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'CMT Resort of Bharatpur gets Three-Star Rating', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 26: </span></strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Chitwan Mid Town (CMT) Resort, located in Ward No. 9 of Bharatpur Metropolitan Municipality, near Hakim Chowk, has received the recognition of three-star hotel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">CMT Resort, operating on an area of 72,900 sq. feet, has received three-star rating from the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Madan Ghimire, the managing director of the resort, informed that this is the first resort in the Bharatpur metropolitan city to receive three-star recognition.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is being operated by a board of directors team of five people with a collective investment of people involved in various professions and businesses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort accommodates a 12,300 square feet town hall that can accommodate more than 2,000 people, a 2,790 square feet meeting hall that can accommodate 500 people, a 1,881 square feet hall that can accommodate 200 people, a 350 square feet conference hall and business halls, and an open kitchen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has 45 rooms with state-of-the-art facilities. Likewise, the resort provides direct employment to 85 individuals and indirect jobs to some. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Food items produced by local farmers are the specialty of the resort.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort has good parking space, a swimming pool, and garden facilities. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The resort is connected to Mahendra Highway and can be reached in 5 minutes from Bharatpur Airport. According to managing director Ghimire, a separate charging point has also been installed for EVs (electric vehicles) on the resort premises.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20547', 'image' => '20240426022647_46ae4206.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 14:23:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20819', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Lower Economic Growth Target in 16th Plan', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">April 26: In each and every periodic plan and annual budget, the government has been setting ambitious economic growth targets but those targets have never been achieved in most of the years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The final draft of the 16th Plan prepared by the National Planning Commission has set an economic growth target of 7.3 percent for the fiscal year (FY) 2085/86, which is lower than the average target of the current 15th Plan but higher than the forecast made by the World Bank for the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">During the 15th Plan (2076/77-2080/81), the government had set a target of achieving average economic growth of 9.6 percent. The target was to achieve economic growth of 10.3 percent in basic prices in the last year of the plan ie 2080/81.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The government suffered a serious setback in achieving this ambitious goal in the first year of the plan. As the coronavirus pandemic started in the year 2076/77 when the scheme was initiated, it had a severe impact on the economy of Nepal, like the economies of the world. In that year, the economic growth rate was negative by 2.4 percent. In the following years too, there was no significant improvement in the economy. According to the National Statistics Office, economic growth was 4.5 percent, 5.3 percent, and 2.2 percent respectively in the following three years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">While reviewing the 15th Plan, the officials of the National Planning Commission said that the government could not achieve economic growth as per the target due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The 15th Plan had set a target of 10.3 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year 2080/81. However, the then Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, while presenting the budget in the House, announced that the country will achieve economic growth of around 6 percent this year. However, the country is not even likely to meet that target.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Towards the end of March, the National Statistics Office had initially estimated economic growth of only 4 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The World Bank said some time ago that Nepal's economic growth rate will be limited to 3.3 percent this year. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Stakeholders do not see the possibility of high economic growth even in the 16th Plan period. They have said that there is no basis for achieving the proposed goals for the new plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that it will not be possible to achieve the proposed economic growth target due to the lack of political stability. Because the government is not stable, it is difficult to achieve economic growth target until stability is achieved. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“The government cannot achieve the target of 7.3 percent economic growth as proposed in the draft of the 16th Plan. The maximum growth that it can achieve is likely 5 percent," he said at a meeting of the National Development Council on Thursday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Although the prime minister remains the same, three governments have been formed in the past one year. The private sector insists that there is no conducive environment for investment due to political instability.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">At the recent annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, its President Chandra Dhakal accused the government of adopting a control-oriented policy.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He argued that Nepal's economic growth has slowed down compared to many countries in South Asia due to the lack of an environment for the private sector to work.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Former Finance Minister and UML leader Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government needs to the political barriers in order to achieve the goals set in the periodic plan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He was of the view that the government must revise tax policy and economic strategy to attract foreign direct investment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha said that the draft of the 16th Plan has been prepared after reviewing the weaknesses in the 15th Plan. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“There are structural problems. Consumption and imports have increased. Domestic employment is pathetic. Education is not linked to production. Expenditure on social security has increased. Therefore, our goals are incomplete,” he said, adding, “Now, a plan has been devised keeping the implementation-oriented goals in mind," he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shrestha added that the e 16th Plan is estimated to cost up to Rs 9196 billion, which is expected to further increase by over 118 billion by the time of its implementation.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The draft of the upcoming periodic plan aims to improve the corruption perception index from 35 in the base year 2079/80 to 43 within the 16th periodic plan period and the rule of law index from 0.52 in the base year to 0.80.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the draft of the periodic plan submitted by the National Development Council meeting organized by the National Planning Commission on Thursday, the ratio of expenditure to total allocation should be increased from 80 percent to 90 percent, the birth registration percentage of children under 5 years should be increased to 100 percent from the current 74 percent, the rate of forced labor should be reduced to zero, and the ratio of families with high food insecurity should be reduced to 1 percent. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In the meeting of the National Development Council, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the 16th Plan will focus on the commercialization of agriculture, the manufacturing industry, employment-oriented education, and increasing the quality of the health sector. He also directed the NPC to bring the plan by incorporating the suggestions of all stakeholders before the announcement of the policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal stressed the need of safeguarding the private sector as it is linked with employment generation. If the state fails in the front, the trend of young people going overseas for employment will continue.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He also pointed out the need to put an end to unnecessary hassles for the industrialists.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20546', 'image' => '20240426010045_20220817123841_economic-growth.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:59:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20818', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Govt to Review Laws to Address the Problems of Cooperatives</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 25: The government is preparing to review the legal system to address the problems seen in the cooperatives sector. The government has also pledged to assist in the process of addressing the concerns of the depositors of the cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Government Spokesperson and Rekha Sharma shared that the cabinet meeting held on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers took a decision to this effect. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The number of cooperatives declared problematic by the government has reached 18. Such cooperatives have now come under the responsibility of the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee must be chaired by a former judge of the high court or a person working in a special category in the judicial service, and must have one representative nominated by the government, one representative from the national cooperative federation, two experts in the cooperative sector, one person who is a chartered accountant and has worked in a bank and financial institution for three years, and a member secretary appointed by the government. The committee has the right to investigate the assets and liabilities and to auction them and return the money to the depositors.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A commission formed by the government to study the problematic cooperatives had suggested to solve the problems of the cooperatives by forming a management committee. According to the suggestion of the commission headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki, the government incorporated the provision for the formation of the committee in the Cooperatives Act itself.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the government formed the problematic cooperative management committee six years ago, it has failed to manage problematic cooperatives. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The committee has not been able to distribute the assets and liabilities even in a single case.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20545', 'image' => '20240426120933_cooerativesssss.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 12:01:41', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20817', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DDC Pays Dues worth Rs 480 Million to Farmers ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: The state-owned Diary Development Corporation (DDC) has made payment of dues worth Rs 480 million to the farmers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The DDC cleared the dues after generating good income post mid-April due to the increase in sale of milk products.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting General Manager of the DDC, Rajendra Prasad Adhikari, told RSS that it was easier to pay the dues to the farmers with an increase in the sale of milk products (milk, curd, cottage cheese, lassi and ice-cream) with the onset of the summer season. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The sale of milk products has increased by 50 per cent in summer, which has increased the cash flow and gradually eased farmers' payments and other clearance," Adhikari said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">DDC paid Rs 100 million to farmers in Biratnagar, Rs 10 million in Janakpur, Rs 80 million in Hetauda, Rs 42.5 million in Lumbini, Rs 27.5 million in Nepalgunj, Rs 15 million in Dhangadhi and Rs 130 million in Kathmandu region, the sources informed. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20544', 'image' => '20240426110942_20220211081950_20220203111904_20220121121357_20200423093954_1542865405_16685959.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 11:09:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20816', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Trade Fair on April 29 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 25: The 17th Nepal-China (Tibet) Economic Trade Fair is going to be held in the federal capital on April 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The trade fair is held in every two years alternately in Nepal and China as per the agreement reached between the government of Nepal and the commerce department of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in 1990. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Trade and Export Promotion Center, the main objective of the fair is to further expand the bilateral economic and trade relations between Nepal and China (Tibet). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Around 125 businesspersons including a five-member high-level delegation will participate in the fair. The official delegation will be led by Vice Chair of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, Long Fukuan. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">There will be 50 exhibition stalls on behalf of China (Tibet) in the fair, including herbs, agricultural products, modern agricultural tools, tea, electrical appliances, household appliances, carpets, beverages, handicrafts, incense, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, electric vehicles and beauty products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, there will be 15 exhibition stalls on behalf of Nepal, including herbs, coffee, tea, handicrafts/carpentry, metalwork, carpet, pashmina and other products. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The fair will be open from 10 am to 6 pm and the entry is free. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20543', 'image' => '20240426104936_20240307123344_Nepal-china-trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 10:49:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20815', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sabaiko and Sadhana Laghubitta Sign Final Merger Agreement', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 26: Sabaiko Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha and Sadhana Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha have singed the final agreement for merger. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The final agreement for the merger between the two companies took place on Wednesday. </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two companies are merging on an equal basis, with 1:1 swap ratio. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Annual general assemblies of the both companies had endorsed merger proposal on March 2, 2024. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-26', 'modified' => '2024-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20542', 'image' => '20240426055342_collage (65).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-26 05:52:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
