April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each.…
April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each.…
April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest…
April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on…
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on…
April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of…
April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year…
April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season.…
April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their…
April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs 5.36 billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of…
April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on…
April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental…
The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year…
April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP…
April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be…
April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. …
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each. The new price has come into effect from April 16, the NOC said in a press statement issued on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NOC said it decided to increase the price of petroleum products after the Indian Oil Corporation, the sole supplier of petroleum products to NOC, sent a revised list increasing the fuel prices.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the new price list, petrol will cost Rs 178 per litre while diesel and kerosene will be sold at Rs 161 per litre. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20461', 'image' => '20240416112444_20210824101943_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:23:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Call for Safeguarding Climbers a Decade after Deadly Everest Disaster', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AFP reported that the accident, which killed 16 Nepali guides on April 18, 2014, shone a spotlight on the huge dangers they face to let high-paying foreign clients reach their dreams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Without their critical work to carve out climbing routes, fix ropes, repair ladders and carry heavy gear up the mountain, few foreign visitors could make it to the daunting peak's top, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A decade ago, a wall of snow barrelled through the Nepali guides as they heaved heavy equipment up the treacherous high-altitude Khumbu icefall in the freezing dark.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The force of the avalanche tossed Dawa Tashi about 10 metres down, injuring his rib cage, left shoulder blade and nose, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news report, Dawa Tashi, then aged 22, recalled his friends who died. Three of their bodies were never recovered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"I was lucky to survive," he told AFP. "In the hospital, whenever I tried to sleep, they would appear in front of my eyes."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The disaster led to protests for improved benefits and conditions for the guides, and an unprecedented shutdown on the peak for a season.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Tipping point'</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It sparked a debate about compensation for the families of injured or killed Nepali guides and mountain workers, AFP added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Many are forced to rely on the charity of Western climbers — despite being employed by expedition companies and being fundamental to the multimillion-dollar industry's success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was very difficult back then," AFP quoted Nima Doma Sherpa, who lost her husband Tsering Onchu, 33, in the avalanche, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"What can you do when the main pillar of your house is not there? The children were small, and I was worried how I will educate them and how we will sustain ourselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government reaps hefty revenues from the lucrative climbing industry — in the last season in 2023, it earned more than $5 million from Everest fees alone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Soon after the 2014 accident, it pledged $400 to the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, AFP reported, adding, “The offer was rejected by angry Nepalis, whose families received only $10,000 then in life insurance.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The resulting furious dispute, with Nepalis clamoring for better death and injury benefits from the government, saw days of tension at the base camp.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sherpa guides, grief-stricken over the deaths of their colleagues, threatened to boycott climbing, throwing mountaineers' plans into disarray and canceling the season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was a tipping point for young Sherpas who were frustrated," said Sumit Joshi of expedition operator Himalayan Ascent, who lost three guides from his team in the avalanche that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Since then, his Everest teams have not climbed on the anniversary date.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Ten years on, there is an improvement in their working conditions and the respect that they command," he said.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Safety standards needed</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2014, the protesters at Everest base camp made several demands. They included an improvement in insurance payouts and a relief fund from mountain royalties, the news report of AFP states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We were advocating for the Nepali climbers, ensuring they can get as much benefit as possible," AFP quoted Ang Tshering Sherpa, who headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association at the time, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"But not all demands could be met as there were limitations."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the insurance payout was increased to 1.5 million Nepali rupees ($11,250) if someone is killed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Helicopters are now allowed to fly in supplies to higher camps, decreasing the number of trips Nepalis make across the treacherous Khumbu icefall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepali companies have displaced foreign operators to bring in the majority of climbers, and pay and conditions have improved for guides at larger firms.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But, guide Mingma G Sherpa told AFP that little else has changed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"They protested, but it was limited to the base camp," he said. "The main thing is that the government policies are still not good. ... we really need to set a standard for climbers to make the mountains safer."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Wives don't agree'</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2015, a powerful earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people at Everest's base camp before the climbing season began.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last year's season started with the death of three Nepali climbers carrying expedition supplies, after they were hit by glacial ice fall and swept into a crevasse.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mingma G Sherpa said many local guides have quit the industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The number of Sherpas has gone down significantly. Now companies have to go look for Sherpas. In the past, Sherpas would have to go around looking for work," he told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We want to go to climb because we know the environment there, but the family members don't want to send. The mothers and wives don't agree."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Survivor Dawa Tashi, who began trekking when he was just 11, still guides climbers and returned to Everest in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He is preparing to guide six Americans up the 6,461-meter-tall central Mera peak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There were improvements after the disaster, but it is not enough," he said, pointing to the $11,000 fee each foreigner pays to the government to climb Everest.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The government... should make a fund to safeguard the manpower," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The clients would also happily pay it, knowing that it will be used to take care of their team." -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20460', 'image' => '20240416114633_20230518094613_20230330102040_1680132652.Clipboard32.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:45:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage Achieves Breakthrough ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday. The Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage is considered as a significant project to take Nepal towards an era of tunnel roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday switched on the electric control for the breakthrough of tunnel from both the Dhading and Kathmandu sides. The tunnel connects Sisnekhola of Dhading to Totipakha of Chandragiri municipality-1 in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Raghubir Mahaseth and other government officials were present on the occasion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, federal lawmakers and Province Assembly members were there to witness the breakthrough ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the project, the tunnel will come into regular operation for traffic after a year. The breakthrough in the evacuation tunnel was undertaken in July-August, 2023. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, it will take some time to fix lights, and oxygen pipes and upgrade the road inside the tunnel, said the project officials.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel is being developed by the Japanese company Hazma Ando Corporation with grant assistance from the Japanese government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 22 billion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will invest Rs 16 billion while the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel will be of 2.7 kilometers long and will have two flyovers. The project will also cover 3 kilometers of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Thankot-Naubise road section is currently 9 kilometers long. The distance will be shortened to 5.7 kilometers once the tunnel is constructed. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20459', 'image' => '20240415065935_20230526035258_20220417021920_20201105124818_20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 18:59:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20731', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Registers Loss of 16.82, Closing at 2,006.52 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 15: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During today’s trading session, 314 different stocks were traded on the NEPSE through 50,524 transactions. The total volume of shares traded stood at 7,223,773, resulting in a total turnover of Rs. 2.79 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ngadi Group Power Ltd. (NGPL) emerged as the leader with total turnover of Rs. 17.73 Crore, closing at a market price of Rs. 326.00.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, 8.5% Machhapuchchhre Debenture 2087 (MBLD87) showed the highest gain of 7.09%, followed by Menchhiyam Hydropower Limited (MCHL) with a gain of 7.05%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) and Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) each experienced the highest loss of 10%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, all the sectors closed in red territory. The "Finance Index" saw the highest loss of 1.64%, while the "Mutual Fund Index" saw the least loss of 0.06%.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20458', 'image' => '20240415040359_collage (57).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 16:00:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why was Orange Recognized as National Fruit?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal. The National Fruit Development Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development proposed that six fruits including mango, orange, banana, hog plum, pear and apple can be recognized as national fruits. But the Council of Ministers decided to recognize orange as the national fruit since oranges are cultivated in many districts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Surya Prasad Baral, senior horticultural development officer of the National Fruit Development Center said in a conversation with New Business Age, "Oranges have been recognized as national fruit because they are commercially cultivated in at least 100 hectares per district in a total of 42 districts." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the availability of other proposed fruits is not more than three months in a year, but the availability of domestically produced oranges lasts for 4 to 5 months. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Agriculture, orange farming was done on 27,982 hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year (FY) 2078/79. The total production in the review year stood at 185,346 metric tons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to expand the cultivation of oranges, the government also aims to introduce oranges as the native fruit of Nepal in the world market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sabnam Sivakoti, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that orange has been recognized as the national fruit with the main objective of establishing Nepal's Geographical Indication rights of oranges. Geographical Indication rights are recognized as intellectual property in international trade and are also protected as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The National Intellectual Property Policy 2073 has defined geographical indications as intellectual property. The revised Industrial Enterprises Act in 2076 also recognized geographical indications as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">An item that has received a geographical indication indicates a certain characteristic of a certain geographical area. The price of such items is more expensive than other similar items due to their quality. An example of this is Darjeeling tea, whose price is higher than other black teas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">India and Pakistan are fighting for the geographical indication of basmati rice. According to government officials, it is difficult for a small country like Nepal to produce large quantities, so it can benefit from producing and selling high-value items in small quantities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Agreement on Trade in Intellectual Property of the World Trade Organization has provided a legal basis for recognizing geographical indications as intellectual property. According to government officials, legal provisions to identify certain objects in certain geographical areas are also necessary. According to Sivakoti, in order to claim the geographical indication of orange at the international level, some amendments should be made in the current law.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The process for that has also started. If the law is passed, it will open the way for us to obtain geographical indication rights not only for oranges but also for other fruits," she told New Business Age. Although oranges have been recognized as the national fruit of Nepal, sweet orange is actually the native fruit of the country, says Chavi Poudel, a crop expert at the National Agriculture Research Council.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the National Fruit Development Center, orange farming in Nepal provides direct employment to 700,000 people every year. In addition, Baral said that the annual turnover from commercial farming of oranges is worth Rs 30.614 million. According to the center, Nepal's oranges are currently being exported to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan and other countries. Nepal also wants to export oranges to China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, China said maintained its stance that it will only import disease-free oranges. Sivakoti expressed the belief that since the process for this is ongoing, it is likely to be exported from next year. In addition to local production, Nepal also imports oranges. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 15,506 metric tons of oranges worth Rs 884.1 million last year. The department said that oranges were imported from India, China, Egypt and other countries. According to the data of the Ministry, the contribution of oranges to the total domestic production of Nepal's agricultural sector is 0.96 percent.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20457', 'image' => '20240415022150_20230129104602_YB_BHOJPUR_SUNTALA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:21:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20729', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails to Spend the Budget on Allocated Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Instead of spending the budget for its allocated purposes, the Ministry of Finance has been transferring funds from one budget heading to another, which goes against financial discipline</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Within one month after Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun took charge of the Finance Ministry, the government transferred Rs 1.63 billion from one heading to another.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has amended programmes worth Rs 263 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-April of the current fiscal year, the government has transferred and spent Rs 36.5 billion from the miscellaneous heading to other headings, citing the reason that the allocated budget was not being utilized under the miscellaneous heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Transferring money from one budget heading to another is called a budget transfer. Similarly, spending budget by transferring the money from one agency to another agency or from one programme to another programme under the same budget heading is called programme amendment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In mid-March to mid-April, the highest amount of money was transferred to agencies under the Ministry of Health, amounting to Rs 644 million. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport transferred Rs 488.6 million in the review month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government transferred Rs 3.2 million for the health sector improvement program to pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and health workers working under scholarship contracts. The government has released Rs 148.5 million to cover the cost of medical treatment for kidney transplant patients, dialysis patients, cancer patients and spinal paralysis patients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Rs 7 million have been spent for the construction of the Mahakali Corridor (Brahmdev-Jhulaghat-Darchula-Tinkar). Similarly, Rs 296,000 has been released for the employees the North-South Highway (Karnali, Kaligandaki and Koshi). An amount of Rs 250.9 million has been transferred to the offices under strategic roads, bridges and bridge protection projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has released Rs 22.4 million under the Industrial Infrastructure Development Program to Industrial District Management Limited for loan investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has also transferred budget allocated under the Ministry of Defence for army headquarters, Directorate of Air Force of Nepalese Army, Birendra Military Hospital (including Post Accident Center) and programmes under the National Service Corps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A program of Rs 557.2 million has been revised and sent under the Integrated Health Infrastructure Development Programme under the Ministry of Health to be spent from the local level. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon the request of the Department of Animal Services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a program worth Rs 480 million has been revised. Likewise, the government has revised a programme or Rs 45.45 million under the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs 1.81 million under the province. Likewise, the government has disbursed Rs 1.63 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority as the government's loan investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act has a provision that allows the government to transfer budget, revise programmes and make additional disbursements if the budget cannot be spent on the allocated heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, rather than following the law, it seems that the practice of transferring money arbitrarily has been increasing in recent years. According to former secretary Gopinath Mainali, the government can transfer budget in case of emergency or natural calamities. Otherwise, it has to follow the standard budget procedure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, Mainali says that the government has started taking this matter lightly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the government has not maintained financial discipline.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing laws do not allow transfer of more than 10 percent of the budget every year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance ministry officials state that efforts are underway to increase budget expenditure while adhering to legal provisions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The ministry has revised the money transfer program from unspent projects and increased expenditure under various headings," said a senior official of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20456', 'image' => '20240415020150_budgetttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:00:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20728', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Collects Rs 344 Million in Royalties by Issuing Climbing Permits to 512 Climbers this Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. According to the Department of Tourism, the government has collected royalties of Rs 344.39 million by issuing climbing permits so far this season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The spring season is considered ideal for climbing mountains in Nepal as the weather is more favourable than other seasons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the deprtment has issued permits to 40 individuals to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Annapurna in Myagdi district for the ongoing spring expedition season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Tourism, 15 people have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaualagiri (8,167 m), the world's seventh highest peak located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, while 25 people have taken permission to climb the tenth highest peak, Mt Annapurna I (8,091 m) located in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dilip Kumar Marhajan, a senior officer of the department, 10 men and five women from one group have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and 14 men and 11 women from three groups have taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the department, the government has collected Rs 35,70,800 as royalties by issuing climbing permits for Mt Dhaulagiri and Rs 59,61,780 from permits issued for Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign and local climbers, Sherpas, guides, porters and helpers have started arriving at the base camp, Hari Prasad Tilija, a ward member of Dhaulagiri rural municipality-4, told RSS. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality, said that the activity of climbers and tourists has increased at the base camp of Annapurna I. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last fall, 12 male and 11 female mountaineers from four groups took permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri. No one had taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna in autumn. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, 47-year-old mountaineer Ellie Pepper from Australia climbed Annapurna I without oxygen at 12:07 PM on Sunday afternoon. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20455', 'image' => '20240415010254_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 13:01:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20726', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Beneficiaries of Govt’s Health Insurance Scheme to Bear 20 Percent of Treatment Cost ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director of the board, Dr Damodar Basaula, informed that those insured under the scheme would bear 20 percent of total expense incurred in the treatment effective from Sunday, April 14. This new provision would discourage the insured to undergo non-essential health tests. This provision is expected to benefit the ones who are sick and insured, said Basaula.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the insured people were liable to bear 10 percent of cost for treatment at community hospitals and 20 percent at private hospitals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director Dr Basaula however informed that the scheme would not be enforced in primary hospitals with 15 beds. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The co-sharing of the treatment cost will be effective in the federal and provincial hospitals, private and community hospitals, and medical colleges where specialist service is available. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 77,41,483 people have joined the government’s insurance scheme. Among them, 3.6 million are getting benefit, while number of those yet to renew the policy is 4.8 million. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20454', 'image' => '20240415115833_health insurance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:56:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20725', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Pays Debt of Rs 5.36 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs 5.36 billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">36</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft. The state-owned airline company paid the amount to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">NAC spokesperson Ramesh Paudel informed New Business Age that the amount was paid between mid-June </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and mid-April </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2024. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The flag carrier of Nepal took a loan of Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">34</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from that the two companies to buy four aircraft (two narrow body and two wide body aircraft) for international flights. The NAC borrowed Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the CIT and Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">22</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the EPF. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">They had given loans to the NAC under the guarantee of the government. The NAC obtained a loan from the Employees Provident Fund in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2015 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and from the Citizen Investment Trust in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2017</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC has to repay the loan in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC said that it has more than Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">48 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in debt obligations including interest on the loans taken from these two companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20453', 'image' => '20240415111950_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:19:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Session Prorogued after Passing Three Bills', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the HoR meeting on Sunday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter related to this received from the president. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker announced that the HoR session “automatically ends at 12 midnight of April 14”. The session had started on January 16. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker said that the HoR conducted its parliamentary business, convening 23 times in 23 days and for a total 81 hours and 55 minutes. Three bills, namely, the Monitoring and Evaluation Bill, the Food Purity and Quality Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, were passed in this session. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20452', 'image' => '20240415123619_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 12:35:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Australian Mountaineer Scales Mt Annapurna-I without Supplemental Oxygen ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen. However, the officials are yet to verify the information. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper, 47, conquered the world's 10th highest peak at 12:07 PM on Sunday, according to the Chairman of Seven Summit Treks Company, Mingma Sherpa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company said tour guides Michael Sherpa and Nima Sherpa accompanied the Australian climber. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, 17 years old Nepali mountaineer Rinzi Sherpa also scaled the same peak on April 12 without the use of supplemental oxygen. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Tourism, Rakesh Gurung, said they received information on the successful ascent of Annapurna-I by two persons without the use of supplementary oxygen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Climbing Mt Annapurna-I is happening in a large number after the success in rope fixing. We have received information about two persons climbing (Mt Annapurna-I) without the use of supplementary oxygen. We are yet to verify this officially," Gurung added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper plans to climb the world's 14 peaks above 8000 metres within two years and has successfully climbed three mountains so far including Mt Annapurna-I. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After her ascent of Mt Annapurna-I, Pepper is all set to scale Mt Kanchanjungha and Mt Makalu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She started climbing mountains in 2007 after scaling Mt Choyu then without oxygen from China's Tibet side. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the department, as many as 25 climbers including 11 women and 14 men of three expedition teams have taken permits to climb Mt Annapurna-I in this spring season. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20451', 'image' => '20240414080955_annapurna-I-visto-en-el-fondo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 20:06:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20723', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Records Minimal Loss on the First Trading Day of 2081', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 14: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session,320 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 59,041 transactions. A total of 7,795,023 shares changed their hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 3.6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sanima Mai Hydropower Limited(SHPC) led the turnover amount with total transaction of Rs 21 crores. Shrijanshil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(SHLB) saw the highest gain of 10%, closing at Rs 1262.80 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(GLBSL) incurred the heaviest loss of 10%, closing at Rs 2106 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in red territory except Trading Index, Microfinance Index, Finance Index and Hydropower Index. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Microfinance Index experienced the most gain at 1.91%, while Non-Life Insurance incurred the highest loss of 1.03%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20450', 'image' => '20240414042134_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 16:19:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'What's Behind the Spate of Recent Incidents on Boeing Planes?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The episodes point to production and maintenance issues, AFP said citing experts who don't see an obvious pattern behind the myriad incidents.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US plane maker has been under scrutiny since January 5, when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out, successfully resolving an incident that safety officials say could have been catastrophic, according to the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">United Airlines in particular has experienced recent issues, including cases where a plane lost a wheel shortly after takeoff, another that rolled onto the grass during taxiing and a third that returned to its departing airport following an engine fire, added the news report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over the last week Southwest Airlines had two separate incidents involving Boeing planes, including an engine fire.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Such a confluence of incidents is "pretty rare" within air travel, aviation expert Bertrand Vilmer told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation experts usually look to three possible explanations for problems.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There can be a design defect, as with the two fatal crashes on 737 MAX jets in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia that involved a flaw in a flight stabilizing system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation watchers have pointed to a production defect as the likely source of the Alaska Airlines incident, which entailed a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had only been delivered in October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board published in February found that four bolts meant to help secure the panel that blew off were missing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A third possible cause would be insufficient maintenance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While design and production are the responsibility of the plane maker, the airline is in charge of keeping up the plane once it receives it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Once the aircraft is delivered, Boeing has nothing to do with it anymore" in relation to maintenance, said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, adding that "there is a maintenance issue all over the world."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vilmer notes that airplane maintenance is under the purview of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Safest form of transport?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Notwithstanding the recent spate of incidents, aviation experts point to a strong safety record overall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We haven't had a single casualty in the entire US airline industry, in way over a decade, despite millions of people flown," said Aboulafia. "That's incredible."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aboulafia calls modern flying "the safest form of transport ever created by people," noting that "everyday, hundreds of people get killed on the roads."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Boeing's rival, Airbus, has not been completely spared of difficulty. Hundreds of planes produced by the European company are being taken out of service to check for microscopic "contamination" of metals in engines made by Pratt & Whitney, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Airbus also had a public dispute with Qatar Airways involving the degradation of exterior plane surfaces. But there have been fewer such issues at Airbus and not one incident that drew a comparable level of attention as Alaska Airlines, experts told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Every incident that has occurred on Boeing airplanes this year has made headlines, suggesting that Boeing airplanes are unsafe," said a note last month from equity research firm Bernstein.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20449', 'image' => '20240414030828_1710177882294.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 15:07:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Request WB to the Deadline of extend Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.</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"">To improve the results of Nepal's employment services and labour market, the 'Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project' (YETI) was implemented in July 2020 with a concessional loan supported by the World Bank. The project’s term is ending in June this year.</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"">According to the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat, an agreement was reached in 2019 where the World Bank agreed to provide about USD 120 million (about Rs 16 billion) to implement this project. </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"">"Out of the money coming from the World Bank, Rs 4 billion have yet to be spent," Shobha Kumari Pokharel, under secretary at the Prime Minister's Employment Program, informed New Business Age, "That's why we are now lobbying to extend the deadline by a year."</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"">According to her, the implementation of the program could not be done properly in the initial year due to coronavirus pandemic. Because the skill training could not be conducted as expected, the budget could not be spent within the stipulated period. </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"">“Now we have sent a proposal to get the approval of the Ministry of Finance to extend the program. No response has been received from there," said Pokharel. </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"">"We are confident that the duration of this project will be extended by 1 year as discussions are ongoing with the related donor agencies. In that case, the unspent money will be utilized".</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"">This project is associated with the Prime Minister's Employment Program and aims to create employment opportunities and increase the access of the target group to available job opportunities, increase the income of the workers and improve the living conditions of the target group.</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"">Under this program, the aim is to create jobs for 100,000 unemployed youth for the maintenance of public infrastructures and in the public service sector. There is a condition that 60 per cent of them should be women. The project is being implemented at the local level.</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"">As mentioned on the website of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, more than 885,000 unemployed individuals are registered for the program in the hope of getting employment. At the end of 9 months of the current fiscal year, only 28,300 people have been employed.</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"">This program was launched to employ citizens in the age group of 18 to 59 years who have not been employed for at least 100 days in a year. The government has been saying that it will provide a subsistence allowance equal to 50 days' wages if it is not able to provide employment.</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"">However, there has been criticism that the budget under this is used for petty works and that there is no significant achievement in the economy and employment. Stakeholders have raised questions about the feasibility of the project, saying that the loan money was spent on works such as cutting roadside bushes, planting apples, cleaning drains, uprooting weeds, throwing soil from drains on the road, and sweeping temples and schools.</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"">In this context, the finance ministry officials say that they will decide whether to request an extension or not only after studying the effectiveness of the project.</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"">At a time when serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the program, the finance ministry has not shown much interest to renew the deadline. </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"">Recently, Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal met with the World Bank's Nepal Coordinator and senior officials and requested to extend the duration of the project, which will end on June 30th. </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"">Dilaram Giri, Information Officer of the Public Debt Management Office, said that if the project time is not extended, the World Bank will not send the remaining money to the account of the Nepal government.</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"">For the current year 2080/81, the government has allocated Rs 5.94 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</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"">While presenting the policy and program of the previous year to the Parliament, then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced that the program would be restructured so that it would be owned by all levels.</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"">According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, although a committee has been formed for restructuring the program, the committee has not yet submitted a report to the Labor Minister. Section Officer of the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat Pankajalav Karna said that the report has been roughly prepared and is ready to be submitted to the minister in a few days. </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 committee has almost prepared the draft of the report, now it will be filed and submitted soon," he said.</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"">Under the Prime Minister's Employment Program launched by the government led by KP Sharma Oli in the year 2075/76, billions of rupees have been used up in petty jobs. In the first year, the program was accused of exploiting billions of state funds in unproductive areas.</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"">At the beginning of the year 2075/76, the government allocated a budget of Rs 3.1 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program. In the same way, Rs 5.1 billion were allocated in 2076/77, Rs 11.6 billion in 2077/78, Rs 12 billion in 2078/79 and Rs 7.5 billion in 2079/80. This budget has financial resources from both the government and the World Bank.</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 Auditor General's report has repeatedly raised questions about the expenses incurred through the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20448', 'image' => '20240414015427_PMEP.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Iran Attack on Israel 'Foiled': Israeli Army ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Iranian attack was foiled," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and "only a few" ballistic missiles reached Israel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One of them "lightly hit the Nevatim base", he added, noting that the military compound was "still functioning". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: "Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The campaign is not over yet -- we must remain alert", Gallant added. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20447', 'image' => '20240414012643_IranMissileTests5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:26:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each. The new price has come into effect from April 16, the NOC said in a press statement issued on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NOC said it decided to increase the price of petroleum products after the Indian Oil Corporation, the sole supplier of petroleum products to NOC, sent a revised list increasing the fuel prices.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the new price list, petrol will cost Rs 178 per litre while diesel and kerosene will be sold at Rs 161 per litre. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20461', 'image' => '20240416112444_20210824101943_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:23:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Call for Safeguarding Climbers a Decade after Deadly Everest Disaster', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AFP reported that the accident, which killed 16 Nepali guides on April 18, 2014, shone a spotlight on the huge dangers they face to let high-paying foreign clients reach their dreams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Without their critical work to carve out climbing routes, fix ropes, repair ladders and carry heavy gear up the mountain, few foreign visitors could make it to the daunting peak's top, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A decade ago, a wall of snow barrelled through the Nepali guides as they heaved heavy equipment up the treacherous high-altitude Khumbu icefall in the freezing dark.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The force of the avalanche tossed Dawa Tashi about 10 metres down, injuring his rib cage, left shoulder blade and nose, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news report, Dawa Tashi, then aged 22, recalled his friends who died. Three of their bodies were never recovered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"I was lucky to survive," he told AFP. "In the hospital, whenever I tried to sleep, they would appear in front of my eyes."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The disaster led to protests for improved benefits and conditions for the guides, and an unprecedented shutdown on the peak for a season.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Tipping point'</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It sparked a debate about compensation for the families of injured or killed Nepali guides and mountain workers, AFP added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Many are forced to rely on the charity of Western climbers — despite being employed by expedition companies and being fundamental to the multimillion-dollar industry's success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was very difficult back then," AFP quoted Nima Doma Sherpa, who lost her husband Tsering Onchu, 33, in the avalanche, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"What can you do when the main pillar of your house is not there? The children were small, and I was worried how I will educate them and how we will sustain ourselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government reaps hefty revenues from the lucrative climbing industry — in the last season in 2023, it earned more than $5 million from Everest fees alone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Soon after the 2014 accident, it pledged $400 to the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, AFP reported, adding, “The offer was rejected by angry Nepalis, whose families received only $10,000 then in life insurance.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The resulting furious dispute, with Nepalis clamoring for better death and injury benefits from the government, saw days of tension at the base camp.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sherpa guides, grief-stricken over the deaths of their colleagues, threatened to boycott climbing, throwing mountaineers' plans into disarray and canceling the season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was a tipping point for young Sherpas who were frustrated," said Sumit Joshi of expedition operator Himalayan Ascent, who lost three guides from his team in the avalanche that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Since then, his Everest teams have not climbed on the anniversary date.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Ten years on, there is an improvement in their working conditions and the respect that they command," he said.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Safety standards needed</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2014, the protesters at Everest base camp made several demands. They included an improvement in insurance payouts and a relief fund from mountain royalties, the news report of AFP states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We were advocating for the Nepali climbers, ensuring they can get as much benefit as possible," AFP quoted Ang Tshering Sherpa, who headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association at the time, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"But not all demands could be met as there were limitations."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the insurance payout was increased to 1.5 million Nepali rupees ($11,250) if someone is killed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Helicopters are now allowed to fly in supplies to higher camps, decreasing the number of trips Nepalis make across the treacherous Khumbu icefall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepali companies have displaced foreign operators to bring in the majority of climbers, and pay and conditions have improved for guides at larger firms.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But, guide Mingma G Sherpa told AFP that little else has changed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"They protested, but it was limited to the base camp," he said. "The main thing is that the government policies are still not good. ... we really need to set a standard for climbers to make the mountains safer."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Wives don't agree'</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2015, a powerful earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people at Everest's base camp before the climbing season began.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last year's season started with the death of three Nepali climbers carrying expedition supplies, after they were hit by glacial ice fall and swept into a crevasse.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mingma G Sherpa said many local guides have quit the industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The number of Sherpas has gone down significantly. Now companies have to go look for Sherpas. In the past, Sherpas would have to go around looking for work," he told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We want to go to climb because we know the environment there, but the family members don't want to send. The mothers and wives don't agree."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Survivor Dawa Tashi, who began trekking when he was just 11, still guides climbers and returned to Everest in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He is preparing to guide six Americans up the 6,461-meter-tall central Mera peak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There were improvements after the disaster, but it is not enough," he said, pointing to the $11,000 fee each foreigner pays to the government to climb Everest.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The government... should make a fund to safeguard the manpower," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The clients would also happily pay it, knowing that it will be used to take care of their team." -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20460', 'image' => '20240416114633_20230518094613_20230330102040_1680132652.Clipboard32.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:45:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage Achieves Breakthrough ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday. The Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage is considered as a significant project to take Nepal towards an era of tunnel roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday switched on the electric control for the breakthrough of tunnel from both the Dhading and Kathmandu sides. The tunnel connects Sisnekhola of Dhading to Totipakha of Chandragiri municipality-1 in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Raghubir Mahaseth and other government officials were present on the occasion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, federal lawmakers and Province Assembly members were there to witness the breakthrough ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the project, the tunnel will come into regular operation for traffic after a year. The breakthrough in the evacuation tunnel was undertaken in July-August, 2023. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, it will take some time to fix lights, and oxygen pipes and upgrade the road inside the tunnel, said the project officials.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel is being developed by the Japanese company Hazma Ando Corporation with grant assistance from the Japanese government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 22 billion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will invest Rs 16 billion while the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel will be of 2.7 kilometers long and will have two flyovers. The project will also cover 3 kilometers of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Thankot-Naubise road section is currently 9 kilometers long. The distance will be shortened to 5.7 kilometers once the tunnel is constructed. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20459', 'image' => '20240415065935_20230526035258_20220417021920_20201105124818_20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 18:59:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20731', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Registers Loss of 16.82, Closing at 2,006.52 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 15: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During today’s trading session, 314 different stocks were traded on the NEPSE through 50,524 transactions. The total volume of shares traded stood at 7,223,773, resulting in a total turnover of Rs. 2.79 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ngadi Group Power Ltd. (NGPL) emerged as the leader with total turnover of Rs. 17.73 Crore, closing at a market price of Rs. 326.00.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, 8.5% Machhapuchchhre Debenture 2087 (MBLD87) showed the highest gain of 7.09%, followed by Menchhiyam Hydropower Limited (MCHL) with a gain of 7.05%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) and Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) each experienced the highest loss of 10%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, all the sectors closed in red territory. The "Finance Index" saw the highest loss of 1.64%, while the "Mutual Fund Index" saw the least loss of 0.06%.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20458', 'image' => '20240415040359_collage (57).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 16:00:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why was Orange Recognized as National Fruit?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal. The National Fruit Development Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development proposed that six fruits including mango, orange, banana, hog plum, pear and apple can be recognized as national fruits. But the Council of Ministers decided to recognize orange as the national fruit since oranges are cultivated in many districts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Surya Prasad Baral, senior horticultural development officer of the National Fruit Development Center said in a conversation with New Business Age, "Oranges have been recognized as national fruit because they are commercially cultivated in at least 100 hectares per district in a total of 42 districts." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the availability of other proposed fruits is not more than three months in a year, but the availability of domestically produced oranges lasts for 4 to 5 months. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Agriculture, orange farming was done on 27,982 hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year (FY) 2078/79. The total production in the review year stood at 185,346 metric tons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to expand the cultivation of oranges, the government also aims to introduce oranges as the native fruit of Nepal in the world market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sabnam Sivakoti, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that orange has been recognized as the national fruit with the main objective of establishing Nepal's Geographical Indication rights of oranges. Geographical Indication rights are recognized as intellectual property in international trade and are also protected as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The National Intellectual Property Policy 2073 has defined geographical indications as intellectual property. The revised Industrial Enterprises Act in 2076 also recognized geographical indications as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">An item that has received a geographical indication indicates a certain characteristic of a certain geographical area. The price of such items is more expensive than other similar items due to their quality. An example of this is Darjeeling tea, whose price is higher than other black teas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">India and Pakistan are fighting for the geographical indication of basmati rice. According to government officials, it is difficult for a small country like Nepal to produce large quantities, so it can benefit from producing and selling high-value items in small quantities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Agreement on Trade in Intellectual Property of the World Trade Organization has provided a legal basis for recognizing geographical indications as intellectual property. According to government officials, legal provisions to identify certain objects in certain geographical areas are also necessary. According to Sivakoti, in order to claim the geographical indication of orange at the international level, some amendments should be made in the current law.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The process for that has also started. If the law is passed, it will open the way for us to obtain geographical indication rights not only for oranges but also for other fruits," she told New Business Age. Although oranges have been recognized as the national fruit of Nepal, sweet orange is actually the native fruit of the country, says Chavi Poudel, a crop expert at the National Agriculture Research Council.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the National Fruit Development Center, orange farming in Nepal provides direct employment to 700,000 people every year. In addition, Baral said that the annual turnover from commercial farming of oranges is worth Rs 30.614 million. According to the center, Nepal's oranges are currently being exported to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan and other countries. Nepal also wants to export oranges to China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, China said maintained its stance that it will only import disease-free oranges. Sivakoti expressed the belief that since the process for this is ongoing, it is likely to be exported from next year. In addition to local production, Nepal also imports oranges. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 15,506 metric tons of oranges worth Rs 884.1 million last year. The department said that oranges were imported from India, China, Egypt and other countries. According to the data of the Ministry, the contribution of oranges to the total domestic production of Nepal's agricultural sector is 0.96 percent.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20457', 'image' => '20240415022150_20230129104602_YB_BHOJPUR_SUNTALA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:21:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20729', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails to Spend the Budget on Allocated Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Instead of spending the budget for its allocated purposes, the Ministry of Finance has been transferring funds from one budget heading to another, which goes against financial discipline</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Within one month after Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun took charge of the Finance Ministry, the government transferred Rs 1.63 billion from one heading to another.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has amended programmes worth Rs 263 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-April of the current fiscal year, the government has transferred and spent Rs 36.5 billion from the miscellaneous heading to other headings, citing the reason that the allocated budget was not being utilized under the miscellaneous heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Transferring money from one budget heading to another is called a budget transfer. Similarly, spending budget by transferring the money from one agency to another agency or from one programme to another programme under the same budget heading is called programme amendment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In mid-March to mid-April, the highest amount of money was transferred to agencies under the Ministry of Health, amounting to Rs 644 million. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport transferred Rs 488.6 million in the review month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government transferred Rs 3.2 million for the health sector improvement program to pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and health workers working under scholarship contracts. The government has released Rs 148.5 million to cover the cost of medical treatment for kidney transplant patients, dialysis patients, cancer patients and spinal paralysis patients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Rs 7 million have been spent for the construction of the Mahakali Corridor (Brahmdev-Jhulaghat-Darchula-Tinkar). Similarly, Rs 296,000 has been released for the employees the North-South Highway (Karnali, Kaligandaki and Koshi). An amount of Rs 250.9 million has been transferred to the offices under strategic roads, bridges and bridge protection projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has released Rs 22.4 million under the Industrial Infrastructure Development Program to Industrial District Management Limited for loan investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has also transferred budget allocated under the Ministry of Defence for army headquarters, Directorate of Air Force of Nepalese Army, Birendra Military Hospital (including Post Accident Center) and programmes under the National Service Corps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A program of Rs 557.2 million has been revised and sent under the Integrated Health Infrastructure Development Programme under the Ministry of Health to be spent from the local level. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon the request of the Department of Animal Services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a program worth Rs 480 million has been revised. Likewise, the government has revised a programme or Rs 45.45 million under the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs 1.81 million under the province. Likewise, the government has disbursed Rs 1.63 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority as the government's loan investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act has a provision that allows the government to transfer budget, revise programmes and make additional disbursements if the budget cannot be spent on the allocated heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, rather than following the law, it seems that the practice of transferring money arbitrarily has been increasing in recent years. According to former secretary Gopinath Mainali, the government can transfer budget in case of emergency or natural calamities. Otherwise, it has to follow the standard budget procedure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, Mainali says that the government has started taking this matter lightly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the government has not maintained financial discipline.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing laws do not allow transfer of more than 10 percent of the budget every year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance ministry officials state that efforts are underway to increase budget expenditure while adhering to legal provisions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The ministry has revised the money transfer program from unspent projects and increased expenditure under various headings," said a senior official of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20456', 'image' => '20240415020150_budgetttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:00:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20728', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Collects Rs 344 Million in Royalties by Issuing Climbing Permits to 512 Climbers this Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. According to the Department of Tourism, the government has collected royalties of Rs 344.39 million by issuing climbing permits so far this season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The spring season is considered ideal for climbing mountains in Nepal as the weather is more favourable than other seasons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the deprtment has issued permits to 40 individuals to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Annapurna in Myagdi district for the ongoing spring expedition season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Tourism, 15 people have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaualagiri (8,167 m), the world's seventh highest peak located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, while 25 people have taken permission to climb the tenth highest peak, Mt Annapurna I (8,091 m) located in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dilip Kumar Marhajan, a senior officer of the department, 10 men and five women from one group have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and 14 men and 11 women from three groups have taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the department, the government has collected Rs 35,70,800 as royalties by issuing climbing permits for Mt Dhaulagiri and Rs 59,61,780 from permits issued for Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign and local climbers, Sherpas, guides, porters and helpers have started arriving at the base camp, Hari Prasad Tilija, a ward member of Dhaulagiri rural municipality-4, told RSS. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality, said that the activity of climbers and tourists has increased at the base camp of Annapurna I. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last fall, 12 male and 11 female mountaineers from four groups took permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri. No one had taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna in autumn. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, 47-year-old mountaineer Ellie Pepper from Australia climbed Annapurna I without oxygen at 12:07 PM on Sunday afternoon. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20455', 'image' => '20240415010254_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 13:01:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20726', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Beneficiaries of Govt’s Health Insurance Scheme to Bear 20 Percent of Treatment Cost ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director of the board, Dr Damodar Basaula, informed that those insured under the scheme would bear 20 percent of total expense incurred in the treatment effective from Sunday, April 14. This new provision would discourage the insured to undergo non-essential health tests. This provision is expected to benefit the ones who are sick and insured, said Basaula.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the insured people were liable to bear 10 percent of cost for treatment at community hospitals and 20 percent at private hospitals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director Dr Basaula however informed that the scheme would not be enforced in primary hospitals with 15 beds. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The co-sharing of the treatment cost will be effective in the federal and provincial hospitals, private and community hospitals, and medical colleges where specialist service is available. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 77,41,483 people have joined the government’s insurance scheme. Among them, 3.6 million are getting benefit, while number of those yet to renew the policy is 4.8 million. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20454', 'image' => '20240415115833_health insurance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:56:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20725', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Pays Debt of Rs 5.36 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs 5.36 billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">36</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft. The state-owned airline company paid the amount to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">NAC spokesperson Ramesh Paudel informed New Business Age that the amount was paid between mid-June </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and mid-April </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2024. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The flag carrier of Nepal took a loan of Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">34</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from that the two companies to buy four aircraft (two narrow body and two wide body aircraft) for international flights. The NAC borrowed Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the CIT and Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">22</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the EPF. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">They had given loans to the NAC under the guarantee of the government. The NAC obtained a loan from the Employees Provident Fund in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2015 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and from the Citizen Investment Trust in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2017</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC has to repay the loan in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC said that it has more than Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">48 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in debt obligations including interest on the loans taken from these two companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20453', 'image' => '20240415111950_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:19:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Session Prorogued after Passing Three Bills', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the HoR meeting on Sunday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter related to this received from the president. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker announced that the HoR session “automatically ends at 12 midnight of April 14”. The session had started on January 16. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker said that the HoR conducted its parliamentary business, convening 23 times in 23 days and for a total 81 hours and 55 minutes. Three bills, namely, the Monitoring and Evaluation Bill, the Food Purity and Quality Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, were passed in this session. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20452', 'image' => '20240415123619_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 12:35:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Australian Mountaineer Scales Mt Annapurna-I without Supplemental Oxygen ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen. However, the officials are yet to verify the information. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper, 47, conquered the world's 10th highest peak at 12:07 PM on Sunday, according to the Chairman of Seven Summit Treks Company, Mingma Sherpa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company said tour guides Michael Sherpa and Nima Sherpa accompanied the Australian climber. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, 17 years old Nepali mountaineer Rinzi Sherpa also scaled the same peak on April 12 without the use of supplemental oxygen. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Tourism, Rakesh Gurung, said they received information on the successful ascent of Annapurna-I by two persons without the use of supplementary oxygen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Climbing Mt Annapurna-I is happening in a large number after the success in rope fixing. We have received information about two persons climbing (Mt Annapurna-I) without the use of supplementary oxygen. We are yet to verify this officially," Gurung added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper plans to climb the world's 14 peaks above 8000 metres within two years and has successfully climbed three mountains so far including Mt Annapurna-I. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After her ascent of Mt Annapurna-I, Pepper is all set to scale Mt Kanchanjungha and Mt Makalu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She started climbing mountains in 2007 after scaling Mt Choyu then without oxygen from China's Tibet side. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the department, as many as 25 climbers including 11 women and 14 men of three expedition teams have taken permits to climb Mt Annapurna-I in this spring season. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20451', 'image' => '20240414080955_annapurna-I-visto-en-el-fondo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 20:06:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20723', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Records Minimal Loss on the First Trading Day of 2081', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 14: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session,320 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 59,041 transactions. A total of 7,795,023 shares changed their hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 3.6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sanima Mai Hydropower Limited(SHPC) led the turnover amount with total transaction of Rs 21 crores. Shrijanshil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(SHLB) saw the highest gain of 10%, closing at Rs 1262.80 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(GLBSL) incurred the heaviest loss of 10%, closing at Rs 2106 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in red territory except Trading Index, Microfinance Index, Finance Index and Hydropower Index. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Microfinance Index experienced the most gain at 1.91%, while Non-Life Insurance incurred the highest loss of 1.03%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20450', 'image' => '20240414042134_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 16:19:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'What's Behind the Spate of Recent Incidents on Boeing Planes?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The episodes point to production and maintenance issues, AFP said citing experts who don't see an obvious pattern behind the myriad incidents.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US plane maker has been under scrutiny since January 5, when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out, successfully resolving an incident that safety officials say could have been catastrophic, according to the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">United Airlines in particular has experienced recent issues, including cases where a plane lost a wheel shortly after takeoff, another that rolled onto the grass during taxiing and a third that returned to its departing airport following an engine fire, added the news report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over the last week Southwest Airlines had two separate incidents involving Boeing planes, including an engine fire.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Such a confluence of incidents is "pretty rare" within air travel, aviation expert Bertrand Vilmer told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation experts usually look to three possible explanations for problems.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There can be a design defect, as with the two fatal crashes on 737 MAX jets in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia that involved a flaw in a flight stabilizing system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation watchers have pointed to a production defect as the likely source of the Alaska Airlines incident, which entailed a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had only been delivered in October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board published in February found that four bolts meant to help secure the panel that blew off were missing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A third possible cause would be insufficient maintenance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While design and production are the responsibility of the plane maker, the airline is in charge of keeping up the plane once it receives it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Once the aircraft is delivered, Boeing has nothing to do with it anymore" in relation to maintenance, said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, adding that "there is a maintenance issue all over the world."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vilmer notes that airplane maintenance is under the purview of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Safest form of transport?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Notwithstanding the recent spate of incidents, aviation experts point to a strong safety record overall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We haven't had a single casualty in the entire US airline industry, in way over a decade, despite millions of people flown," said Aboulafia. "That's incredible."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aboulafia calls modern flying "the safest form of transport ever created by people," noting that "everyday, hundreds of people get killed on the roads."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Boeing's rival, Airbus, has not been completely spared of difficulty. Hundreds of planes produced by the European company are being taken out of service to check for microscopic "contamination" of metals in engines made by Pratt & Whitney, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Airbus also had a public dispute with Qatar Airways involving the degradation of exterior plane surfaces. But there have been fewer such issues at Airbus and not one incident that drew a comparable level of attention as Alaska Airlines, experts told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Every incident that has occurred on Boeing airplanes this year has made headlines, suggesting that Boeing airplanes are unsafe," said a note last month from equity research firm Bernstein.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20449', 'image' => '20240414030828_1710177882294.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 15:07:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Request WB to the Deadline of extend Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.</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"">To improve the results of Nepal's employment services and labour market, the 'Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project' (YETI) was implemented in July 2020 with a concessional loan supported by the World Bank. The project’s term is ending in June this year.</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"">According to the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat, an agreement was reached in 2019 where the World Bank agreed to provide about USD 120 million (about Rs 16 billion) to implement this project. </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"">"Out of the money coming from the World Bank, Rs 4 billion have yet to be spent," Shobha Kumari Pokharel, under secretary at the Prime Minister's Employment Program, informed New Business Age, "That's why we are now lobbying to extend the deadline by a year."</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"">According to her, the implementation of the program could not be done properly in the initial year due to coronavirus pandemic. Because the skill training could not be conducted as expected, the budget could not be spent within the stipulated period. </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"">“Now we have sent a proposal to get the approval of the Ministry of Finance to extend the program. No response has been received from there," said Pokharel. </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"">"We are confident that the duration of this project will be extended by 1 year as discussions are ongoing with the related donor agencies. In that case, the unspent money will be utilized".</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"">This project is associated with the Prime Minister's Employment Program and aims to create employment opportunities and increase the access of the target group to available job opportunities, increase the income of the workers and improve the living conditions of the target group.</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"">Under this program, the aim is to create jobs for 100,000 unemployed youth for the maintenance of public infrastructures and in the public service sector. There is a condition that 60 per cent of them should be women. The project is being implemented at the local level.</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"">As mentioned on the website of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, more than 885,000 unemployed individuals are registered for the program in the hope of getting employment. At the end of 9 months of the current fiscal year, only 28,300 people have been employed.</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"">This program was launched to employ citizens in the age group of 18 to 59 years who have not been employed for at least 100 days in a year. The government has been saying that it will provide a subsistence allowance equal to 50 days' wages if it is not able to provide employment.</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"">However, there has been criticism that the budget under this is used for petty works and that there is no significant achievement in the economy and employment. Stakeholders have raised questions about the feasibility of the project, saying that the loan money was spent on works such as cutting roadside bushes, planting apples, cleaning drains, uprooting weeds, throwing soil from drains on the road, and sweeping temples and schools.</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"">In this context, the finance ministry officials say that they will decide whether to request an extension or not only after studying the effectiveness of the project.</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"">At a time when serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the program, the finance ministry has not shown much interest to renew the deadline. </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"">Recently, Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal met with the World Bank's Nepal Coordinator and senior officials and requested to extend the duration of the project, which will end on June 30th. </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"">Dilaram Giri, Information Officer of the Public Debt Management Office, said that if the project time is not extended, the World Bank will not send the remaining money to the account of the Nepal government.</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"">For the current year 2080/81, the government has allocated Rs 5.94 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</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"">While presenting the policy and program of the previous year to the Parliament, then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced that the program would be restructured so that it would be owned by all levels.</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"">According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, although a committee has been formed for restructuring the program, the committee has not yet submitted a report to the Labor Minister. Section Officer of the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat Pankajalav Karna said that the report has been roughly prepared and is ready to be submitted to the minister in a few days. </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 committee has almost prepared the draft of the report, now it will be filed and submitted soon," he said.</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"">Under the Prime Minister's Employment Program launched by the government led by KP Sharma Oli in the year 2075/76, billions of rupees have been used up in petty jobs. In the first year, the program was accused of exploiting billions of state funds in unproductive areas.</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"">At the beginning of the year 2075/76, the government allocated a budget of Rs 3.1 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program. In the same way, Rs 5.1 billion were allocated in 2076/77, Rs 11.6 billion in 2077/78, Rs 12 billion in 2078/79 and Rs 7.5 billion in 2079/80. This budget has financial resources from both the government and the World Bank.</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 Auditor General's report has repeatedly raised questions about the expenses incurred through the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20448', 'image' => '20240414015427_PMEP.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Iran Attack on Israel 'Foiled': Israeli Army ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Iranian attack was foiled," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and "only a few" ballistic missiles reached Israel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One of them "lightly hit the Nevatim base", he added, noting that the military compound was "still functioning". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: "Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The campaign is not over yet -- we must remain alert", Gallant added. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20447', 'image' => '20240414012643_IranMissileTests5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:26:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each. The new price has come into effect from April 16, the NOC said in a press statement issued on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NOC said it decided to increase the price of petroleum products after the Indian Oil Corporation, the sole supplier of petroleum products to NOC, sent a revised list increasing the fuel prices.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the new price list, petrol will cost Rs 178 per litre while diesel and kerosene will be sold at Rs 161 per litre. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20461', 'image' => '20240416112444_20210824101943_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:23:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Call for Safeguarding Climbers a Decade after Deadly Everest Disaster', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AFP reported that the accident, which killed 16 Nepali guides on April 18, 2014, shone a spotlight on the huge dangers they face to let high-paying foreign clients reach their dreams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Without their critical work to carve out climbing routes, fix ropes, repair ladders and carry heavy gear up the mountain, few foreign visitors could make it to the daunting peak's top, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A decade ago, a wall of snow barrelled through the Nepali guides as they heaved heavy equipment up the treacherous high-altitude Khumbu icefall in the freezing dark.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The force of the avalanche tossed Dawa Tashi about 10 metres down, injuring his rib cage, left shoulder blade and nose, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news report, Dawa Tashi, then aged 22, recalled his friends who died. Three of their bodies were never recovered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"I was lucky to survive," he told AFP. "In the hospital, whenever I tried to sleep, they would appear in front of my eyes."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The disaster led to protests for improved benefits and conditions for the guides, and an unprecedented shutdown on the peak for a season.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Tipping point'</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It sparked a debate about compensation for the families of injured or killed Nepali guides and mountain workers, AFP added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Many are forced to rely on the charity of Western climbers — despite being employed by expedition companies and being fundamental to the multimillion-dollar industry's success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was very difficult back then," AFP quoted Nima Doma Sherpa, who lost her husband Tsering Onchu, 33, in the avalanche, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"What can you do when the main pillar of your house is not there? The children were small, and I was worried how I will educate them and how we will sustain ourselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government reaps hefty revenues from the lucrative climbing industry — in the last season in 2023, it earned more than $5 million from Everest fees alone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Soon after the 2014 accident, it pledged $400 to the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, AFP reported, adding, “The offer was rejected by angry Nepalis, whose families received only $10,000 then in life insurance.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The resulting furious dispute, with Nepalis clamoring for better death and injury benefits from the government, saw days of tension at the base camp.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sherpa guides, grief-stricken over the deaths of their colleagues, threatened to boycott climbing, throwing mountaineers' plans into disarray and canceling the season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was a tipping point for young Sherpas who were frustrated," said Sumit Joshi of expedition operator Himalayan Ascent, who lost three guides from his team in the avalanche that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Since then, his Everest teams have not climbed on the anniversary date.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Ten years on, there is an improvement in their working conditions and the respect that they command," he said.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Safety standards needed</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2014, the protesters at Everest base camp made several demands. They included an improvement in insurance payouts and a relief fund from mountain royalties, the news report of AFP states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We were advocating for the Nepali climbers, ensuring they can get as much benefit as possible," AFP quoted Ang Tshering Sherpa, who headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association at the time, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"But not all demands could be met as there were limitations."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the insurance payout was increased to 1.5 million Nepali rupees ($11,250) if someone is killed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Helicopters are now allowed to fly in supplies to higher camps, decreasing the number of trips Nepalis make across the treacherous Khumbu icefall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepali companies have displaced foreign operators to bring in the majority of climbers, and pay and conditions have improved for guides at larger firms.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But, guide Mingma G Sherpa told AFP that little else has changed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"They protested, but it was limited to the base camp," he said. "The main thing is that the government policies are still not good. ... we really need to set a standard for climbers to make the mountains safer."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Wives don't agree'</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2015, a powerful earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people at Everest's base camp before the climbing season began.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last year's season started with the death of three Nepali climbers carrying expedition supplies, after they were hit by glacial ice fall and swept into a crevasse.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mingma G Sherpa said many local guides have quit the industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The number of Sherpas has gone down significantly. Now companies have to go look for Sherpas. In the past, Sherpas would have to go around looking for work," he told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We want to go to climb because we know the environment there, but the family members don't want to send. The mothers and wives don't agree."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Survivor Dawa Tashi, who began trekking when he was just 11, still guides climbers and returned to Everest in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He is preparing to guide six Americans up the 6,461-meter-tall central Mera peak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There were improvements after the disaster, but it is not enough," he said, pointing to the $11,000 fee each foreigner pays to the government to climb Everest.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The government... should make a fund to safeguard the manpower," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The clients would also happily pay it, knowing that it will be used to take care of their team." -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20460', 'image' => '20240416114633_20230518094613_20230330102040_1680132652.Clipboard32.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:45:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage Achieves Breakthrough ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday. The Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage is considered as a significant project to take Nepal towards an era of tunnel roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday switched on the electric control for the breakthrough of tunnel from both the Dhading and Kathmandu sides. The tunnel connects Sisnekhola of Dhading to Totipakha of Chandragiri municipality-1 in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Raghubir Mahaseth and other government officials were present on the occasion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, federal lawmakers and Province Assembly members were there to witness the breakthrough ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the project, the tunnel will come into regular operation for traffic after a year. The breakthrough in the evacuation tunnel was undertaken in July-August, 2023. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, it will take some time to fix lights, and oxygen pipes and upgrade the road inside the tunnel, said the project officials.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel is being developed by the Japanese company Hazma Ando Corporation with grant assistance from the Japanese government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 22 billion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will invest Rs 16 billion while the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel will be of 2.7 kilometers long and will have two flyovers. The project will also cover 3 kilometers of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Thankot-Naubise road section is currently 9 kilometers long. The distance will be shortened to 5.7 kilometers once the tunnel is constructed. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20459', 'image' => '20240415065935_20230526035258_20220417021920_20201105124818_20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 18:59:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20731', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Registers Loss of 16.82, Closing at 2,006.52 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 15: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During today’s trading session, 314 different stocks were traded on the NEPSE through 50,524 transactions. The total volume of shares traded stood at 7,223,773, resulting in a total turnover of Rs. 2.79 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ngadi Group Power Ltd. (NGPL) emerged as the leader with total turnover of Rs. 17.73 Crore, closing at a market price of Rs. 326.00.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, 8.5% Machhapuchchhre Debenture 2087 (MBLD87) showed the highest gain of 7.09%, followed by Menchhiyam Hydropower Limited (MCHL) with a gain of 7.05%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) and Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) each experienced the highest loss of 10%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, all the sectors closed in red territory. The "Finance Index" saw the highest loss of 1.64%, while the "Mutual Fund Index" saw the least loss of 0.06%.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20458', 'image' => '20240415040359_collage (57).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 16:00:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why was Orange Recognized as National Fruit?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal. The National Fruit Development Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development proposed that six fruits including mango, orange, banana, hog plum, pear and apple can be recognized as national fruits. But the Council of Ministers decided to recognize orange as the national fruit since oranges are cultivated in many districts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Surya Prasad Baral, senior horticultural development officer of the National Fruit Development Center said in a conversation with New Business Age, "Oranges have been recognized as national fruit because they are commercially cultivated in at least 100 hectares per district in a total of 42 districts." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the availability of other proposed fruits is not more than three months in a year, but the availability of domestically produced oranges lasts for 4 to 5 months. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Agriculture, orange farming was done on 27,982 hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year (FY) 2078/79. The total production in the review year stood at 185,346 metric tons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to expand the cultivation of oranges, the government also aims to introduce oranges as the native fruit of Nepal in the world market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sabnam Sivakoti, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that orange has been recognized as the national fruit with the main objective of establishing Nepal's Geographical Indication rights of oranges. Geographical Indication rights are recognized as intellectual property in international trade and are also protected as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The National Intellectual Property Policy 2073 has defined geographical indications as intellectual property. The revised Industrial Enterprises Act in 2076 also recognized geographical indications as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">An item that has received a geographical indication indicates a certain characteristic of a certain geographical area. The price of such items is more expensive than other similar items due to their quality. An example of this is Darjeeling tea, whose price is higher than other black teas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">India and Pakistan are fighting for the geographical indication of basmati rice. According to government officials, it is difficult for a small country like Nepal to produce large quantities, so it can benefit from producing and selling high-value items in small quantities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Agreement on Trade in Intellectual Property of the World Trade Organization has provided a legal basis for recognizing geographical indications as intellectual property. According to government officials, legal provisions to identify certain objects in certain geographical areas are also necessary. According to Sivakoti, in order to claim the geographical indication of orange at the international level, some amendments should be made in the current law.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The process for that has also started. If the law is passed, it will open the way for us to obtain geographical indication rights not only for oranges but also for other fruits," she told New Business Age. Although oranges have been recognized as the national fruit of Nepal, sweet orange is actually the native fruit of the country, says Chavi Poudel, a crop expert at the National Agriculture Research Council.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the National Fruit Development Center, orange farming in Nepal provides direct employment to 700,000 people every year. In addition, Baral said that the annual turnover from commercial farming of oranges is worth Rs 30.614 million. According to the center, Nepal's oranges are currently being exported to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan and other countries. Nepal also wants to export oranges to China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, China said maintained its stance that it will only import disease-free oranges. Sivakoti expressed the belief that since the process for this is ongoing, it is likely to be exported from next year. In addition to local production, Nepal also imports oranges. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 15,506 metric tons of oranges worth Rs 884.1 million last year. The department said that oranges were imported from India, China, Egypt and other countries. According to the data of the Ministry, the contribution of oranges to the total domestic production of Nepal's agricultural sector is 0.96 percent.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20457', 'image' => '20240415022150_20230129104602_YB_BHOJPUR_SUNTALA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:21:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20729', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails to Spend the Budget on Allocated Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Instead of spending the budget for its allocated purposes, the Ministry of Finance has been transferring funds from one budget heading to another, which goes against financial discipline</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Within one month after Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun took charge of the Finance Ministry, the government transferred Rs 1.63 billion from one heading to another.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has amended programmes worth Rs 263 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-April of the current fiscal year, the government has transferred and spent Rs 36.5 billion from the miscellaneous heading to other headings, citing the reason that the allocated budget was not being utilized under the miscellaneous heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Transferring money from one budget heading to another is called a budget transfer. Similarly, spending budget by transferring the money from one agency to another agency or from one programme to another programme under the same budget heading is called programme amendment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In mid-March to mid-April, the highest amount of money was transferred to agencies under the Ministry of Health, amounting to Rs 644 million. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport transferred Rs 488.6 million in the review month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government transferred Rs 3.2 million for the health sector improvement program to pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and health workers working under scholarship contracts. The government has released Rs 148.5 million to cover the cost of medical treatment for kidney transplant patients, dialysis patients, cancer patients and spinal paralysis patients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Rs 7 million have been spent for the construction of the Mahakali Corridor (Brahmdev-Jhulaghat-Darchula-Tinkar). Similarly, Rs 296,000 has been released for the employees the North-South Highway (Karnali, Kaligandaki and Koshi). An amount of Rs 250.9 million has been transferred to the offices under strategic roads, bridges and bridge protection projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has released Rs 22.4 million under the Industrial Infrastructure Development Program to Industrial District Management Limited for loan investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has also transferred budget allocated under the Ministry of Defence for army headquarters, Directorate of Air Force of Nepalese Army, Birendra Military Hospital (including Post Accident Center) and programmes under the National Service Corps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A program of Rs 557.2 million has been revised and sent under the Integrated Health Infrastructure Development Programme under the Ministry of Health to be spent from the local level. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon the request of the Department of Animal Services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a program worth Rs 480 million has been revised. Likewise, the government has revised a programme or Rs 45.45 million under the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs 1.81 million under the province. Likewise, the government has disbursed Rs 1.63 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority as the government's loan investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act has a provision that allows the government to transfer budget, revise programmes and make additional disbursements if the budget cannot be spent on the allocated heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, rather than following the law, it seems that the practice of transferring money arbitrarily has been increasing in recent years. According to former secretary Gopinath Mainali, the government can transfer budget in case of emergency or natural calamities. Otherwise, it has to follow the standard budget procedure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, Mainali says that the government has started taking this matter lightly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the government has not maintained financial discipline.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing laws do not allow transfer of more than 10 percent of the budget every year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance ministry officials state that efforts are underway to increase budget expenditure while adhering to legal provisions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The ministry has revised the money transfer program from unspent projects and increased expenditure under various headings," said a senior official of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20456', 'image' => '20240415020150_budgetttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:00:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20728', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Collects Rs 344 Million in Royalties by Issuing Climbing Permits to 512 Climbers this Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. According to the Department of Tourism, the government has collected royalties of Rs 344.39 million by issuing climbing permits so far this season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The spring season is considered ideal for climbing mountains in Nepal as the weather is more favourable than other seasons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the deprtment has issued permits to 40 individuals to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Annapurna in Myagdi district for the ongoing spring expedition season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Tourism, 15 people have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaualagiri (8,167 m), the world's seventh highest peak located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, while 25 people have taken permission to climb the tenth highest peak, Mt Annapurna I (8,091 m) located in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dilip Kumar Marhajan, a senior officer of the department, 10 men and five women from one group have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and 14 men and 11 women from three groups have taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the department, the government has collected Rs 35,70,800 as royalties by issuing climbing permits for Mt Dhaulagiri and Rs 59,61,780 from permits issued for Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign and local climbers, Sherpas, guides, porters and helpers have started arriving at the base camp, Hari Prasad Tilija, a ward member of Dhaulagiri rural municipality-4, told RSS. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality, said that the activity of climbers and tourists has increased at the base camp of Annapurna I. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last fall, 12 male and 11 female mountaineers from four groups took permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri. No one had taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna in autumn. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, 47-year-old mountaineer Ellie Pepper from Australia climbed Annapurna I without oxygen at 12:07 PM on Sunday afternoon. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20455', 'image' => '20240415010254_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 13:01:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20726', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Beneficiaries of Govt’s Health Insurance Scheme to Bear 20 Percent of Treatment Cost ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director of the board, Dr Damodar Basaula, informed that those insured under the scheme would bear 20 percent of total expense incurred in the treatment effective from Sunday, April 14. This new provision would discourage the insured to undergo non-essential health tests. This provision is expected to benefit the ones who are sick and insured, said Basaula.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the insured people were liable to bear 10 percent of cost for treatment at community hospitals and 20 percent at private hospitals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director Dr Basaula however informed that the scheme would not be enforced in primary hospitals with 15 beds. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The co-sharing of the treatment cost will be effective in the federal and provincial hospitals, private and community hospitals, and medical colleges where specialist service is available. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 77,41,483 people have joined the government’s insurance scheme. Among them, 3.6 million are getting benefit, while number of those yet to renew the policy is 4.8 million. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20454', 'image' => '20240415115833_health insurance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:56:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20725', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Pays Debt of Rs 5.36 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs 5.36 billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">36</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft. The state-owned airline company paid the amount to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">NAC spokesperson Ramesh Paudel informed New Business Age that the amount was paid between mid-June </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and mid-April </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2024. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The flag carrier of Nepal took a loan of Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">34</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from that the two companies to buy four aircraft (two narrow body and two wide body aircraft) for international flights. The NAC borrowed Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the CIT and Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">22</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the EPF. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">They had given loans to the NAC under the guarantee of the government. The NAC obtained a loan from the Employees Provident Fund in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2015 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and from the Citizen Investment Trust in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2017</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC has to repay the loan in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC said that it has more than Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">48 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in debt obligations including interest on the loans taken from these two companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20453', 'image' => '20240415111950_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:19:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Session Prorogued after Passing Three Bills', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the HoR meeting on Sunday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter related to this received from the president. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker announced that the HoR session “automatically ends at 12 midnight of April 14”. The session had started on January 16. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker said that the HoR conducted its parliamentary business, convening 23 times in 23 days and for a total 81 hours and 55 minutes. Three bills, namely, the Monitoring and Evaluation Bill, the Food Purity and Quality Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, were passed in this session. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20452', 'image' => '20240415123619_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 12:35:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Australian Mountaineer Scales Mt Annapurna-I without Supplemental Oxygen ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen. However, the officials are yet to verify the information. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper, 47, conquered the world's 10th highest peak at 12:07 PM on Sunday, according to the Chairman of Seven Summit Treks Company, Mingma Sherpa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company said tour guides Michael Sherpa and Nima Sherpa accompanied the Australian climber. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, 17 years old Nepali mountaineer Rinzi Sherpa also scaled the same peak on April 12 without the use of supplemental oxygen. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Tourism, Rakesh Gurung, said they received information on the successful ascent of Annapurna-I by two persons without the use of supplementary oxygen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Climbing Mt Annapurna-I is happening in a large number after the success in rope fixing. We have received information about two persons climbing (Mt Annapurna-I) without the use of supplementary oxygen. We are yet to verify this officially," Gurung added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper plans to climb the world's 14 peaks above 8000 metres within two years and has successfully climbed three mountains so far including Mt Annapurna-I. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After her ascent of Mt Annapurna-I, Pepper is all set to scale Mt Kanchanjungha and Mt Makalu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She started climbing mountains in 2007 after scaling Mt Choyu then without oxygen from China's Tibet side. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the department, as many as 25 climbers including 11 women and 14 men of three expedition teams have taken permits to climb Mt Annapurna-I in this spring season. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20451', 'image' => '20240414080955_annapurna-I-visto-en-el-fondo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 20:06:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20723', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Records Minimal Loss on the First Trading Day of 2081', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 14: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session,320 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 59,041 transactions. A total of 7,795,023 shares changed their hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 3.6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sanima Mai Hydropower Limited(SHPC) led the turnover amount with total transaction of Rs 21 crores. Shrijanshil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(SHLB) saw the highest gain of 10%, closing at Rs 1262.80 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(GLBSL) incurred the heaviest loss of 10%, closing at Rs 2106 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in red territory except Trading Index, Microfinance Index, Finance Index and Hydropower Index. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Microfinance Index experienced the most gain at 1.91%, while Non-Life Insurance incurred the highest loss of 1.03%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20450', 'image' => '20240414042134_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 16:19:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'What's Behind the Spate of Recent Incidents on Boeing Planes?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The episodes point to production and maintenance issues, AFP said citing experts who don't see an obvious pattern behind the myriad incidents.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US plane maker has been under scrutiny since January 5, when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out, successfully resolving an incident that safety officials say could have been catastrophic, according to the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">United Airlines in particular has experienced recent issues, including cases where a plane lost a wheel shortly after takeoff, another that rolled onto the grass during taxiing and a third that returned to its departing airport following an engine fire, added the news report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over the last week Southwest Airlines had two separate incidents involving Boeing planes, including an engine fire.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Such a confluence of incidents is "pretty rare" within air travel, aviation expert Bertrand Vilmer told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation experts usually look to three possible explanations for problems.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There can be a design defect, as with the two fatal crashes on 737 MAX jets in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia that involved a flaw in a flight stabilizing system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation watchers have pointed to a production defect as the likely source of the Alaska Airlines incident, which entailed a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had only been delivered in October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board published in February found that four bolts meant to help secure the panel that blew off were missing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A third possible cause would be insufficient maintenance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While design and production are the responsibility of the plane maker, the airline is in charge of keeping up the plane once it receives it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Once the aircraft is delivered, Boeing has nothing to do with it anymore" in relation to maintenance, said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, adding that "there is a maintenance issue all over the world."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vilmer notes that airplane maintenance is under the purview of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Safest form of transport?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Notwithstanding the recent spate of incidents, aviation experts point to a strong safety record overall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We haven't had a single casualty in the entire US airline industry, in way over a decade, despite millions of people flown," said Aboulafia. "That's incredible."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aboulafia calls modern flying "the safest form of transport ever created by people," noting that "everyday, hundreds of people get killed on the roads."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Boeing's rival, Airbus, has not been completely spared of difficulty. Hundreds of planes produced by the European company are being taken out of service to check for microscopic "contamination" of metals in engines made by Pratt & Whitney, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Airbus also had a public dispute with Qatar Airways involving the degradation of exterior plane surfaces. But there have been fewer such issues at Airbus and not one incident that drew a comparable level of attention as Alaska Airlines, experts told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Every incident that has occurred on Boeing airplanes this year has made headlines, suggesting that Boeing airplanes are unsafe," said a note last month from equity research firm Bernstein.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20449', 'image' => '20240414030828_1710177882294.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 15:07:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Request WB to the Deadline of extend Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.</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"">To improve the results of Nepal's employment services and labour market, the 'Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project' (YETI) was implemented in July 2020 with a concessional loan supported by the World Bank. The project’s term is ending in June this year.</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"">According to the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat, an agreement was reached in 2019 where the World Bank agreed to provide about USD 120 million (about Rs 16 billion) to implement this project. </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"">"Out of the money coming from the World Bank, Rs 4 billion have yet to be spent," Shobha Kumari Pokharel, under secretary at the Prime Minister's Employment Program, informed New Business Age, "That's why we are now lobbying to extend the deadline by a year."</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"">According to her, the implementation of the program could not be done properly in the initial year due to coronavirus pandemic. Because the skill training could not be conducted as expected, the budget could not be spent within the stipulated period. </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"">“Now we have sent a proposal to get the approval of the Ministry of Finance to extend the program. No response has been received from there," said Pokharel. </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"">"We are confident that the duration of this project will be extended by 1 year as discussions are ongoing with the related donor agencies. In that case, the unspent money will be utilized".</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"">This project is associated with the Prime Minister's Employment Program and aims to create employment opportunities and increase the access of the target group to available job opportunities, increase the income of the workers and improve the living conditions of the target group.</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"">Under this program, the aim is to create jobs for 100,000 unemployed youth for the maintenance of public infrastructures and in the public service sector. There is a condition that 60 per cent of them should be women. The project is being implemented at the local level.</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"">As mentioned on the website of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, more than 885,000 unemployed individuals are registered for the program in the hope of getting employment. At the end of 9 months of the current fiscal year, only 28,300 people have been employed.</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"">This program was launched to employ citizens in the age group of 18 to 59 years who have not been employed for at least 100 days in a year. The government has been saying that it will provide a subsistence allowance equal to 50 days' wages if it is not able to provide employment.</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"">However, there has been criticism that the budget under this is used for petty works and that there is no significant achievement in the economy and employment. Stakeholders have raised questions about the feasibility of the project, saying that the loan money was spent on works such as cutting roadside bushes, planting apples, cleaning drains, uprooting weeds, throwing soil from drains on the road, and sweeping temples and schools.</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"">In this context, the finance ministry officials say that they will decide whether to request an extension or not only after studying the effectiveness of the project.</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"">At a time when serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the program, the finance ministry has not shown much interest to renew the deadline. </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"">Recently, Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal met with the World Bank's Nepal Coordinator and senior officials and requested to extend the duration of the project, which will end on June 30th. </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"">Dilaram Giri, Information Officer of the Public Debt Management Office, said that if the project time is not extended, the World Bank will not send the remaining money to the account of the Nepal government.</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"">For the current year 2080/81, the government has allocated Rs 5.94 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</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"">While presenting the policy and program of the previous year to the Parliament, then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced that the program would be restructured so that it would be owned by all levels.</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"">According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, although a committee has been formed for restructuring the program, the committee has not yet submitted a report to the Labor Minister. Section Officer of the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat Pankajalav Karna said that the report has been roughly prepared and is ready to be submitted to the minister in a few days. </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 committee has almost prepared the draft of the report, now it will be filed and submitted soon," he said.</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"">Under the Prime Minister's Employment Program launched by the government led by KP Sharma Oli in the year 2075/76, billions of rupees have been used up in petty jobs. In the first year, the program was accused of exploiting billions of state funds in unproductive areas.</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"">At the beginning of the year 2075/76, the government allocated a budget of Rs 3.1 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program. In the same way, Rs 5.1 billion were allocated in 2076/77, Rs 11.6 billion in 2077/78, Rs 12 billion in 2078/79 and Rs 7.5 billion in 2079/80. This budget has financial resources from both the government and the World Bank.</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 Auditor General's report has repeatedly raised questions about the expenses incurred through the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20448', 'image' => '20240414015427_PMEP.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Iran Attack on Israel 'Foiled': Israeli Army ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Iranian attack was foiled," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and "only a few" ballistic missiles reached Israel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One of them "lightly hit the Nevatim base", he added, noting that the military compound was "still functioning". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: "Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The campaign is not over yet -- we must remain alert", Gallant added. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20447', 'image' => '20240414012643_IranMissileTests5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:26:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 16: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has hiked the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by three rupees per litre each. The new price has come into effect from April 16, the NOC said in a press statement issued on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NOC said it decided to increase the price of petroleum products after the Indian Oil Corporation, the sole supplier of petroleum products to NOC, sent a revised list increasing the fuel prices.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the new price list, petrol will cost Rs 178 per litre while diesel and kerosene will be sold at Rs 161 per litre. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20461', 'image' => '20240416112444_20210824101943_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:23:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20734', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Call for Safeguarding Climbers a Decade after Deadly Everest Disaster', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 16: Ten years ago, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">AFP reported that the accident, which killed 16 Nepali guides on April 18, 2014, shone a spotlight on the huge dangers they face to let high-paying foreign clients reach their dreams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Without their critical work to carve out climbing routes, fix ropes, repair ladders and carry heavy gear up the mountain, few foreign visitors could make it to the daunting peak's top, added the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A decade ago, a wall of snow barrelled through the Nepali guides as they heaved heavy equipment up the treacherous high-altitude Khumbu icefall in the freezing dark.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The force of the avalanche tossed Dawa Tashi about 10 metres down, injuring his rib cage, left shoulder blade and nose, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the news report, Dawa Tashi, then aged 22, recalled his friends who died. Three of their bodies were never recovered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"I was lucky to survive," he told AFP. "In the hospital, whenever I tried to sleep, they would appear in front of my eyes."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The disaster led to protests for improved benefits and conditions for the guides, and an unprecedented shutdown on the peak for a season.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Tipping point'</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It sparked a debate about compensation for the families of injured or killed Nepali guides and mountain workers, AFP added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Many are forced to rely on the charity of Western climbers — despite being employed by expedition companies and being fundamental to the multimillion-dollar industry's success.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was very difficult back then," AFP quoted Nima Doma Sherpa, who lost her husband Tsering Onchu, 33, in the avalanche, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"What can you do when the main pillar of your house is not there? The children were small, and I was worried how I will educate them and how we will sustain ourselves."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government reaps hefty revenues from the lucrative climbing industry — in the last season in 2023, it earned more than $5 million from Everest fees alone.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Soon after the 2014 accident, it pledged $400 to the families of those killed to cover funeral expenses, AFP reported, adding, “The offer was rejected by angry Nepalis, whose families received only $10,000 then in life insurance.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The resulting furious dispute, with Nepalis clamoring for better death and injury benefits from the government, saw days of tension at the base camp.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sherpa guides, grief-stricken over the deaths of their colleagues, threatened to boycott climbing, throwing mountaineers' plans into disarray and canceling the season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"It was a tipping point for young Sherpas who were frustrated," said Sumit Joshi of expedition operator Himalayan Ascent, who lost three guides from his team in the avalanche that year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Since then, his Everest teams have not climbed on the anniversary date.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Ten years on, there is an improvement in their working conditions and the respect that they command," he said.</span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Safety standards needed</span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2014, the protesters at Everest base camp made several demands. They included an improvement in insurance payouts and a relief fund from mountain royalties, the news report of AFP states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We were advocating for the Nepali climbers, ensuring they can get as much benefit as possible," AFP quoted Ang Tshering Sherpa, who headed the Nepal Mountaineering Association at the time, as saying.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"But not all demands could be met as there were limitations."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, the insurance payout was increased to 1.5 million Nepali rupees ($11,250) if someone is killed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Helicopters are now allowed to fly in supplies to higher camps, decreasing the number of trips Nepalis make across the treacherous Khumbu icefall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepali companies have displaced foreign operators to bring in the majority of climbers, and pay and conditions have improved for guides at larger firms.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">But, guide Mingma G Sherpa told AFP that little else has changed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"They protested, but it was limited to the base camp," he said. "The main thing is that the government policies are still not good. ... we really need to set a standard for climbers to make the mountains safer."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">'Wives don't agree'</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In 2015, a powerful earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people at Everest's base camp before the climbing season began.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last year's season started with the death of three Nepali climbers carrying expedition supplies, after they were hit by glacial ice fall and swept into a crevasse.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Mingma G Sherpa said many local guides have quit the industry.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The number of Sherpas has gone down significantly. Now companies have to go look for Sherpas. In the past, Sherpas would have to go around looking for work," he told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We want to go to climb because we know the environment there, but the family members don't want to send. The mothers and wives don't agree."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Survivor Dawa Tashi, who began trekking when he was just 11, still guides climbers and returned to Everest in 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He is preparing to guide six Americans up the 6,461-meter-tall central Mera peak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"There were improvements after the disaster, but it is not enough," he said, pointing to the $11,000 fee each foreigner pays to the government to climb Everest.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The government... should make a fund to safeguard the manpower," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The clients would also happily pay it, knowing that it will be used to take care of their team." -- AFP</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-16', 'modified' => '2024-04-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20460', 'image' => '20240416114633_20230518094613_20230330102040_1680132652.Clipboard32.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-16 11:45:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20732', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage Achieves Breakthrough ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The Nagdhunga-Naubise Tunnel Project made a breakthrough in the construction of the main tunnel passage on Monday. The Nagdhunga Tunnel Passage is considered as a significant project to take Nepal towards an era of tunnel roads. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday switched on the electric control for the breakthrough of tunnel from both the Dhading and Kathmandu sides. The tunnel connects Sisnekhola of Dhading to Totipakha of Chandragiri municipality-1 in Kathmandu. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Raghubir Mahaseth and other government officials were present on the occasion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Likewise, federal lawmakers and Province Assembly members were there to witness the breakthrough ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the project, the tunnel will come into regular operation for traffic after a year. The breakthrough in the evacuation tunnel was undertaken in July-August, 2023. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, it will take some time to fix lights, and oxygen pipes and upgrade the road inside the tunnel, said the project officials.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel is being developed by the Japanese company Hazma Ando Corporation with grant assistance from the Japanese government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 22 billion. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will invest Rs 16 billion while the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The tunnel will be of 2.7 kilometers long and will have two flyovers. The project will also cover 3 kilometers of road.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Thankot-Naubise road section is currently 9 kilometers long. The distance will be shortened to 5.7 kilometers once the tunnel is constructed. (With inputs from RSS)</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20459', 'image' => '20240415065935_20230526035258_20220417021920_20201105124818_20200308111704_adahjj.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 18:59:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20731', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Registers Loss of 16.82, Closing at 2,006.52 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 15: The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Index saw a loss of 16.82 points or 0.83%, closing at 2,006.52 points on the second trading day of the week on Monday. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During today’s trading session, 314 different stocks were traded on the NEPSE through 50,524 transactions. The total volume of shares traded stood at 7,223,773, resulting in a total turnover of Rs. 2.79 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ngadi Group Power Ltd. (NGPL) emerged as the leader with total turnover of Rs. 17.73 Crore, closing at a market price of Rs. 326.00.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Similarly, 8.5% Machhapuchchhre Debenture 2087 (MBLD87) showed the highest gain of 7.09%, followed by Menchhiyam Hydropower Limited (MCHL) with a gain of 7.05%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (GLBSL) and Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) each experienced the highest loss of 10%.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In terms of sector indices, all the sectors closed in red territory. The "Finance Index" saw the highest loss of 1.64%, while the "Mutual Fund Index" saw the least loss of 0.06%.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20458', 'image' => '20240415040359_collage (57).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 16:00:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20730', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Why was Orange Recognized as National Fruit?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The cabinet meeting held on April 12 decided to recognize orange as the national fruit of Nepal. The National Fruit Development Center under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development proposed that six fruits including mango, orange, banana, hog plum, pear and apple can be recognized as national fruits. But the Council of Ministers decided to recognize orange as the national fruit since oranges are cultivated in many districts.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Surya Prasad Baral, senior horticultural development officer of the National Fruit Development Center said in a conversation with New Business Age, "Oranges have been recognized as national fruit because they are commercially cultivated in at least 100 hectares per district in a total of 42 districts." </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the availability of other proposed fruits is not more than three months in a year, but the availability of domestically produced oranges lasts for 4 to 5 months. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Ministry of Agriculture, orange farming was done on 27,982 hectares of land in Nepal in the fiscal year (FY) 2078/79. The total production in the review year stood at 185,346 metric tons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In addition to expand the cultivation of oranges, the government also aims to introduce oranges as the native fruit of Nepal in the world market.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Sabnam Sivakoti, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that orange has been recognized as the national fruit with the main objective of establishing Nepal's Geographical Indication rights of oranges. Geographical Indication rights are recognized as intellectual property in international trade and are also protected as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The National Intellectual Property Policy 2073 has defined geographical indications as intellectual property. The revised Industrial Enterprises Act in 2076 also recognized geographical indications as intellectual property.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">An item that has received a geographical indication indicates a certain characteristic of a certain geographical area. The price of such items is more expensive than other similar items due to their quality. An example of this is Darjeeling tea, whose price is higher than other black teas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">India and Pakistan are fighting for the geographical indication of basmati rice. According to government officials, it is difficult for a small country like Nepal to produce large quantities, so it can benefit from producing and selling high-value items in small quantities.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Agreement on Trade in Intellectual Property of the World Trade Organization has provided a legal basis for recognizing geographical indications as intellectual property. According to government officials, legal provisions to identify certain objects in certain geographical areas are also necessary. According to Sivakoti, in order to claim the geographical indication of orange at the international level, some amendments should be made in the current law.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The process for that has also started. If the law is passed, it will open the way for us to obtain geographical indication rights not only for oranges but also for other fruits," she told New Business Age. Although oranges have been recognized as the national fruit of Nepal, sweet orange is actually the native fruit of the country, says Chavi Poudel, a crop expert at the National Agriculture Research Council.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the National Fruit Development Center, orange farming in Nepal provides direct employment to 700,000 people every year. In addition, Baral said that the annual turnover from commercial farming of oranges is worth Rs 30.614 million. According to the center, Nepal's oranges are currently being exported to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan and other countries. Nepal also wants to export oranges to China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, China said maintained its stance that it will only import disease-free oranges. Sivakoti expressed the belief that since the process for this is ongoing, it is likely to be exported from next year. In addition to local production, Nepal also imports oranges. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 15,506 metric tons of oranges worth Rs 884.1 million last year. The department said that oranges were imported from India, China, Egypt and other countries. According to the data of the Ministry, the contribution of oranges to the total domestic production of Nepal's agricultural sector is 0.96 percent.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20457', 'image' => '20240415022150_20230129104602_YB_BHOJPUR_SUNTALA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:21:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20729', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Fails to Spend the Budget on Allocated Headings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Instead of spending the budget for its allocated purposes, the Ministry of Finance has been transferring funds from one budget heading to another, which goes against financial discipline</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Within one month after Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun took charge of the Finance Ministry, the government transferred Rs 1.63 billion from one heading to another.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has amended programmes worth Rs 263 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As of mid-April of the current fiscal year, the government has transferred and spent Rs 36.5 billion from the miscellaneous heading to other headings, citing the reason that the allocated budget was not being utilized under the miscellaneous heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Transferring money from one budget heading to another is called a budget transfer. Similarly, spending budget by transferring the money from one agency to another agency or from one programme to another programme under the same budget heading is called programme amendment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">In mid-March to mid-April, the highest amount of money was transferred to agencies under the Ministry of Health, amounting to Rs 644 million. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport transferred Rs 488.6 million in the review month.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government transferred Rs 3.2 million for the health sector improvement program to pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and health workers working under scholarship contracts. The government has released Rs 148.5 million to cover the cost of medical treatment for kidney transplant patients, dialysis patients, cancer patients and spinal paralysis patients.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Rs 7 million have been spent for the construction of the Mahakali Corridor (Brahmdev-Jhulaghat-Darchula-Tinkar). Similarly, Rs 296,000 has been released for the employees the North-South Highway (Karnali, Kaligandaki and Koshi). An amount of Rs 250.9 million has been transferred to the offices under strategic roads, bridges and bridge protection projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has released Rs 22.4 million under the Industrial Infrastructure Development Program to Industrial District Management Limited for loan investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The government has also transferred budget allocated under the Ministry of Defence for army headquarters, Directorate of Air Force of Nepalese Army, Birendra Military Hospital (including Post Accident Center) and programmes under the National Service Corps.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A program of Rs 557.2 million has been revised and sent under the Integrated Health Infrastructure Development Programme under the Ministry of Health to be spent from the local level. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Upon the request of the Department of Animal Services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a program worth Rs 480 million has been revised. Likewise, the government has revised a programme or Rs 45.45 million under the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs 1.81 million under the province. Likewise, the government has disbursed Rs 1.63 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority as the government's loan investment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act has a provision that allows the government to transfer budget, revise programmes and make additional disbursements if the budget cannot be spent on the allocated heading.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, rather than following the law, it seems that the practice of transferring money arbitrarily has been increasing in recent years. According to former secretary Gopinath Mainali, the government can transfer budget in case of emergency or natural calamities. Otherwise, it has to follow the standard budget procedure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, Mainali says that the government has started taking this matter lightly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, the government has not maintained financial discipline.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The existing laws do not allow transfer of more than 10 percent of the budget every year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Finance ministry officials state that efforts are underway to increase budget expenditure while adhering to legal provisions.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"The ministry has revised the money transfer program from unspent projects and increased expenditure under various headings," said a senior official of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20456', 'image' => '20240415020150_budgetttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 14:00:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20728', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Collects Rs 344 Million in Royalties by Issuing Climbing Permits to 512 Climbers this Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 15: The government has issued permits to 512 people from 40 countries to climb 19 mountains of Nepal for the current season. According to the Department of Tourism, the government has collected royalties of Rs 344.39 million by issuing climbing permits so far this season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The spring season is considered ideal for climbing mountains in Nepal as the weather is more favourable than other seasons.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the deprtment has issued permits to 40 individuals to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Annapurna in Myagdi district for the ongoing spring expedition season. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Tourism, 15 people have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaualagiri (8,167 m), the world's seventh highest peak located in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4, while 25 people have taken permission to climb the tenth highest peak, Mt Annapurna I (8,091 m) located in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Dilip Kumar Marhajan, a senior officer of the department, 10 men and five women from one group have taken permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri and 14 men and 11 women from three groups have taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the department, the government has collected Rs 35,70,800 as royalties by issuing climbing permits for Mt Dhaulagiri and Rs 59,61,780 from permits issued for Mt Annapurna. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Foreign and local climbers, Sherpas, guides, porters and helpers have started arriving at the base camp, Hari Prasad Tilija, a ward member of Dhaulagiri rural municipality-4, told RSS. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Bharat Kumar Pun, chairman of Annapurna Rural Municipality, said that the activity of climbers and tourists has increased at the base camp of Annapurna I. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Last fall, 12 male and 11 female mountaineers from four groups took permission to climb Mt Dhaulagiri. No one had taken permission to climb Mt Annapurna in autumn. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Meanwhile, 47-year-old mountaineer Ellie Pepper from Australia climbed Annapurna I without oxygen at 12:07 PM on Sunday afternoon. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20455', 'image' => '20240415010254_manaslu.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 13:01:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20726', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Beneficiaries of Govt’s Health Insurance Scheme to Bear 20 Percent of Treatment Cost ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 15: The Health Insurance Board has said that those insured under the state-run health insurance programme will have to bear 20 percent cost of treatment at private and community hospitals on their own. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director of the board, Dr Damodar Basaula, informed that those insured under the scheme would bear 20 percent of total expense incurred in the treatment effective from Sunday, April 14. This new provision would discourage the insured to undergo non-essential health tests. This provision is expected to benefit the ones who are sick and insured, said Basaula.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, the insured people were liable to bear 10 percent of cost for treatment at community hospitals and 20 percent at private hospitals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Executive Director Dr Basaula however informed that the scheme would not be enforced in primary hospitals with 15 beds. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The co-sharing of the treatment cost will be effective in the federal and provincial hospitals, private and community hospitals, and medical colleges where specialist service is available. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A total of 77,41,483 people have joined the government’s insurance scheme. Among them, 3.6 million are getting benefit, while number of those yet to renew the policy is 4.8 million. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20454', 'image' => '20240415115833_health insurance.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:56:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20725', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NAC Pays Debt of Rs 5.36 Billion', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs 5.36 billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">April 15: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has paid Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">.</span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">36</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in principal and interest of the loan taken for the purchase of aircraft. The state-owned airline company paid the amount to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">NAC spokesperson Ramesh Paudel informed New Business Age that the amount was paid between mid-June </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2022</span> <span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and mid-April </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2024. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The flag carrier of Nepal took a loan of Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">34</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from that the two companies to buy four aircraft (two narrow body and two wide body aircraft) for international flights. The NAC borrowed Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the CIT and Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">22</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> billion from the EPF. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">They had given loans to the NAC under the guarantee of the government. The NAC obtained a loan from the Employees Provident Fund in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2015 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">and from the Citizen Investment Trust in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2017</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC has to repay the loan in </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif""> years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">The NAC said that it has more than Rs </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">48 </span><span style="font-family:"ekmukta","serif"">billion in debt obligations including interest on the loans taken from these two companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20453', 'image' => '20240415111950_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 11:19:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20727', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'HoR Session Prorogued after Passing Three Bills', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The current session of the House of Representatives (HoR) was prorogued on Sunday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the HoR meeting on Sunday, Speaker Devraj Ghimire read out a letter related to this received from the president. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker announced that the HoR session “automatically ends at 12 midnight of April 14”. The session had started on January 16. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The speaker said that the HoR conducted its parliamentary business, convening 23 times in 23 days and for a total 81 hours and 55 minutes. Three bills, namely, the Monitoring and Evaluation Bill, the Food Purity and Quality Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, were passed in this session. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-15', 'modified' => '2024-04-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20452', 'image' => '20240415123619_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-15 12:35:31', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20724', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Australian Mountaineer Scales Mt Annapurna-I without Supplemental Oxygen ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: Australian mountaineer, Alliee Pepper, successfully scaled Mt Annapurna-I without the use of supplemental oxygen. However, the officials are yet to verify the information. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper, 47, conquered the world's 10th highest peak at 12:07 PM on Sunday, according to the Chairman of Seven Summit Treks Company, Mingma Sherpa. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The company said tour guides Michael Sherpa and Nima Sherpa accompanied the Australian climber. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, 17 years old Nepali mountaineer Rinzi Sherpa also scaled the same peak on April 12 without the use of supplemental oxygen. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Tourism, Rakesh Gurung, said they received information on the successful ascent of Annapurna-I by two persons without the use of supplementary oxygen. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"Climbing Mt Annapurna-I is happening in a large number after the success in rope fixing. We have received information about two persons climbing (Mt Annapurna-I) without the use of supplementary oxygen. We are yet to verify this officially," Gurung added. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Pepper plans to climb the world's 14 peaks above 8000 metres within two years and has successfully climbed three mountains so far including Mt Annapurna-I. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">After her ascent of Mt Annapurna-I, Pepper is all set to scale Mt Kanchanjungha and Mt Makalu. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">She started climbing mountains in 2007 after scaling Mt Choyu then without oxygen from China's Tibet side. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the department, as many as 25 climbers including 11 women and 14 men of three expedition teams have taken permits to climb Mt Annapurna-I in this spring season. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20451', 'image' => '20240414080955_annapurna-I-visto-en-el-fondo.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 20:06:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20723', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEPSE Records Minimal Loss on the First Trading Day of 2081', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">April 14: The Nepal Stock Exchange(NEPSE) Index witnessed a minimal loss of 2.35 points or 0.11%, closing at a 2023.25 on the first trading of the New Year 2081.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">During today’s trading session,320 scrips were traded on the NEPSE through 59,041 transactions. A total of 7,795,023 shares changed their hands, resulting in a total turnover of Rs 3.6 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sanima Mai Hydropower Limited(SHPC) led the turnover amount with total transaction of Rs 21 crores. Shrijanshil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(SHLB) saw the highest gain of 10%, closing at Rs 1262.80 per share.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Conversely, Gurans Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited(GLBSL) incurred the heaviest loss of 10%, closing at Rs 2106 per share. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In terms of sector indices, all sectors closed in red territory except Trading Index, Microfinance Index, Finance Index and Hydropower Index. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Microfinance Index experienced the most gain at 1.91%, while Non-Life Insurance incurred the highest loss of 1.03%. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20450', 'image' => '20240414042134_collage (6).jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 16:19:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20722', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'What's Behind the Spate of Recent Incidents on Boeing Planes?', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">April 14: Boeing has been in the headlines a lot lately following a series of incidents after the January Alaska Airlines near-miss in which a door panel came off mid-flight, AFP reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The episodes point to production and maintenance issues, AFP said citing experts who don't see an obvious pattern behind the myriad incidents.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The US plane maker has been under scrutiny since January 5, when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out, successfully resolving an incident that safety officials say could have been catastrophic, according to the French news agency.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">United Airlines in particular has experienced recent issues, including cases where a plane lost a wheel shortly after takeoff, another that rolled onto the grass during taxiing and a third that returned to its departing airport following an engine fire, added the news report.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Over the last week Southwest Airlines had two separate incidents involving Boeing planes, including an engine fire.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Such a confluence of incidents is "pretty rare" within air travel, aviation expert Bertrand Vilmer told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation experts usually look to three possible explanations for problems.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">There can be a design defect, as with the two fatal crashes on 737 MAX jets in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia that involved a flaw in a flight stabilizing system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aviation watchers have pointed to a production defect as the likely source of the Alaska Airlines incident, which entailed a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had only been delivered in October.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to AFP, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board published in February found that four bolts meant to help secure the panel that blew off were missing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">A third possible cause would be insufficient maintenance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">While design and production are the responsibility of the plane maker, the airline is in charge of keeping up the plane once it receives it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Once the aircraft is delivered, Boeing has nothing to do with it anymore" in relation to maintenance, said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, adding that "there is a maintenance issue all over the world."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Vilmer notes that airplane maintenance is under the purview of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong>Safest form of transport?</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Notwithstanding the recent spate of incidents, aviation experts point to a strong safety record overall.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"We haven't had a single casualty in the entire US airline industry, in way over a decade, despite millions of people flown," said Aboulafia. "That's incredible."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Aboulafia calls modern flying "the safest form of transport ever created by people," noting that "everyday, hundreds of people get killed on the roads."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Boeing's rival, Airbus, has not been completely spared of difficulty. Hundreds of planes produced by the European company are being taken out of service to check for microscopic "contamination" of metals in engines made by Pratt & Whitney, AFP further reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Airbus also had a public dispute with Qatar Airways involving the degradation of exterior plane surfaces. But there have been fewer such issues at Airbus and not one incident that drew a comparable level of attention as Alaska Airlines, experts told AFP.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">"Every incident that has occurred on Boeing airplanes this year has made headlines, suggesting that Boeing airplanes are unsafe," said a note last month from equity research firm Bernstein.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20449', 'image' => '20240414030828_1710177882294.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 15:07:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20721', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt to Request WB to the Deadline of extend Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">April 14: Even though the term of a project under the Prime Minister's Employment Program is about to expire, the officials of the Ministry of Labor have decided to extend the deadline of the project as a quarter of the budget received as foreign aid has yet to be spent.</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"">To improve the results of Nepal's employment services and labour market, the 'Youth Employment Transformation Initiative Project' (YETI) was implemented in July 2020 with a concessional loan supported by the World Bank. The project’s term is ending in June this year.</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"">According to the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat, an agreement was reached in 2019 where the World Bank agreed to provide about USD 120 million (about Rs 16 billion) to implement this project. </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"">"Out of the money coming from the World Bank, Rs 4 billion have yet to be spent," Shobha Kumari Pokharel, under secretary at the Prime Minister's Employment Program, informed New Business Age, "That's why we are now lobbying to extend the deadline by a year."</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"">According to her, the implementation of the program could not be done properly in the initial year due to coronavirus pandemic. Because the skill training could not be conducted as expected, the budget could not be spent within the stipulated period. </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"">“Now we have sent a proposal to get the approval of the Ministry of Finance to extend the program. No response has been received from there," said Pokharel. </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"">"We are confident that the duration of this project will be extended by 1 year as discussions are ongoing with the related donor agencies. In that case, the unspent money will be utilized".</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"">This project is associated with the Prime Minister's Employment Program and aims to create employment opportunities and increase the access of the target group to available job opportunities, increase the income of the workers and improve the living conditions of the target group.</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"">Under this program, the aim is to create jobs for 100,000 unemployed youth for the maintenance of public infrastructures and in the public service sector. There is a condition that 60 per cent of them should be women. The project is being implemented at the local level.</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"">As mentioned on the website of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, more than 885,000 unemployed individuals are registered for the program in the hope of getting employment. At the end of 9 months of the current fiscal year, only 28,300 people have been employed.</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"">This program was launched to employ citizens in the age group of 18 to 59 years who have not been employed for at least 100 days in a year. The government has been saying that it will provide a subsistence allowance equal to 50 days' wages if it is not able to provide employment.</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"">However, there has been criticism that the budget under this is used for petty works and that there is no significant achievement in the economy and employment. Stakeholders have raised questions about the feasibility of the project, saying that the loan money was spent on works such as cutting roadside bushes, planting apples, cleaning drains, uprooting weeds, throwing soil from drains on the road, and sweeping temples and schools.</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"">In this context, the finance ministry officials say that they will decide whether to request an extension or not only after studying the effectiveness of the project.</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"">At a time when serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the program, the finance ministry has not shown much interest to renew the deadline. </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"">Recently, Labor Minister Dol Prasad Aryal met with the World Bank's Nepal Coordinator and senior officials and requested to extend the duration of the project, which will end on June 30th. </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"">Dilaram Giri, Information Officer of the Public Debt Management Office, said that if the project time is not extended, the World Bank will not send the remaining money to the account of the Nepal government.</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"">For the current year 2080/81, the government has allocated Rs 5.94 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</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"">While presenting the policy and program of the previous year to the Parliament, then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari announced that the program would be restructured so that it would be owned by all levels.</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"">According to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Employment Program, although a committee has been formed for restructuring the program, the committee has not yet submitted a report to the Labor Minister. Section Officer of the Prime Minister's Employment Program Secretariat Pankajalav Karna said that the report has been roughly prepared and is ready to be submitted to the minister in a few days. </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 committee has almost prepared the draft of the report, now it will be filed and submitted soon," he said.</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"">Under the Prime Minister's Employment Program launched by the government led by KP Sharma Oli in the year 2075/76, billions of rupees have been used up in petty jobs. In the first year, the program was accused of exploiting billions of state funds in unproductive areas.</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"">At the beginning of the year 2075/76, the government allocated a budget of Rs 3.1 billion for the Prime Minister's Employment Program. In the same way, Rs 5.1 billion were allocated in 2076/77, Rs 11.6 billion in 2077/78, Rs 12 billion in 2078/79 and Rs 7.5 billion in 2079/80. This budget has financial resources from both the government and the World Bank.</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 Auditor General's report has repeatedly raised questions about the expenses incurred through the Prime Minister's Employment Program.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20448', 'image' => '20240414015427_PMEP.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:53:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '20720', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Iran Attack on Israel 'Foiled': Israeli Army ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 14: The Israeli military said Sunday that Iran's attack using hundreds of drones and missiles had been "foiled", with 99 percent of them intercepted overnight. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Iranian attack was foiled," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and "only a few" ballistic missiles reached Israel. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">One of them "lightly hit the Nevatim base", he added, noting that the military compound was "still functioning". </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement: "Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel." </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The campaign is not over yet -- we must remain alert", Gallant added. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-04-14', 'modified' => '2024-04-14', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20447', 'image' => '20240414012643_IranMissileTests5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-04-14 13:26:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
