Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in…
Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in…
March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in…
March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in…
March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by 38 percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY.…
March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day.…
March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern…
March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign…
March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged…
March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses.…
March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project…
March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year.…
March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this…
March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector…
March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu…
March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on…
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The deadline will expire in the next fiscal year, 2023/24. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project funded by the World Bank aims to irrigate the total 38,300 hectares of land. The Rani side has seen only 18 percent progress while 20 percent work is completed on the Gulariya part, said the project engineer Prem Lasiwa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 65 percent work has been completed in Jamara. Lasiwa blamed the contractors for a delay. “Construction work started simultaneously in all three parts. But, the contractors have failed to work in uniformity. We are asking them to speed up the construction,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three construction companies were awarded the contract for the construction of the irrigation project. Of them, Gaurishankar Nirman Sewa and an Indian GVV company are jointly working on the Rani Kulo side. Similarly, Ramechhap Nirman Sewa and Kanchharam Nirman Sewa are awarded the contract to jointly work in the Jamara part, and High Himalaya Hydro Construct Pvt. Ltd. is looking over the Kulariya side. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction companies blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis for the delay. As a result, the project cannot be completed within the deadline, said Tshering Sherpa, site in-charge for the Ramechhap Nirman Sewa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We are working. The deadline is nearing. Still, over 30 percent construction remains,” he said. The company won the contract at Rs 540 million. Kumar Raj Shahi, chairperson of the Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation system consumers’ main committee, accused negligence on the part of the contractors for the delay. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Contractors are irresponsible. The construction work is not going ahead as per the direction of the project office. Farmers, however, have blamed the consumers’ committee instead. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Farmers are in real problems. They have not been able to grow crops in time due to lack of irrigation facility,” Shahi said. ---RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17080', 'image' => '20230322041214_collage - 2023-03-22T160506.681.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:04:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17344', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Higher Rate of Cancer Detected among Illiterates in Nepal: Study ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal. Forty six percent illiterate people contracted cancer caused by the consumption of tobacco products, says the study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In 2019, the organisation carried out a study on financial burden faced by patients seeking treatment for tobacco-induced cancer. Tobacco-induced cancer cases in people pursuing higher education stood at 1.9 percent. Sixteen percent of them sought treatment by selling off their properties including houses and land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 27.2 percent bore treatment costs through their savings, and 60 percent took loans from their relatives. Tobacco-induced cancer has put life expectancy rate at 53.5 years of age, according to the study. </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"">Three hundred tobacco-induced cancer patients were included in the study. Of them, 42.7 percent were dependent on agriculture as main source of income for treatment costs, 22.3 on trade, 11.7 on daily wages, and 8.7 each on government job and foreign employment.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17079', 'image' => '20230322040720_FTqqUUmWAAIC-CZ - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17343', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'iPhone Market in Nepal Grows Almost Double in a Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been found that the iPhone market increased in Nepal when the government banned the import of expensive phones. Although the import of expensive mobile phones has been stopped in Nepal, the market of Apple, which is considered an expensive brand, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points in one year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's market share, which was only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6.39</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in March last year, has almost doubled to around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last nine months alone, Apple has increased its market share by almost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">When the government banned the import of expensive mobile phones, Apple's mobile phones priced below </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">$600</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> were not available in the Nepali market. However, Apple's smartphone sales have increased after the government lifted the import ban from last January. In the last three months alone, Apple has increased its market share by about three percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The market share of Apple, which sells mobile phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0,000 in the Nepali market, has increased at a time when the economic condition of the country is not so encouraging. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple’s market was rising constantly even when the economy was shrinking and the government had imposed a ban on import of expensive phones, cars and alcohol. Apple's market continues to rise after the government lifted the import ban.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the iPhone dealers, the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> in Nepal has increased rapidly. Businessmen say that after the increase in the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> series phones, priced from a minimum of Rs 1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to a maximum of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">50,000, its share in the Nepali market has doubled within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If there was no import ban, the market share of Apple phones in Nepal would reach around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, one businessman claimed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Users who have used iPhone once have a habit of buying the new series of phones as soon as they are released. Even though Apple's market share has increased in Nepal, businessmen say that it is the old users who are buying new phones rather than the new customers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung also has more than a dozen models of expensive phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">245,000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">in the Nepali market. However, while Samsung's market is going down, Apple is making leaps and bounds day by day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung's market share has now dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. It was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago. Apple seems to have taken over Samsung's declining market share.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's tablet business, which was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.49</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in February last year, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">17</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">46.54</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in one year. Samsung has also lost a large market in Tab. The market share of Samsung tablets, which was more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">64</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago, is now limited to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">43.82</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. In a period of one year, Samsung has also lost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent market share in Tab.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even in global competition, the market share of Apple Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">51.26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The global market share of Samsung Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.21</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Apple's global market share in mobile phones is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27.11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, while Samsung's is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26.74</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, over </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1.1 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million smartphones worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.76</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion were imported into Nepal between last July to January. Since the government opened up imports from December 16 last year, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">201</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">smartphones entered the market in just two</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17078', 'image' => '20230322013726_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:36:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17342', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Investment Commitment Declines by 38 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by 38 percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. In terms of monetary value, foreign investment commitment in the review period this year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">13</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Industry, foreign investment commitment from mid-July to mid-March of last year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33.33</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion, which dropped to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20.56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion this year . This amount is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than the same period of last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-March in the current fiscal year, the most of the foreign investment commitments were made in mid-December to mid-January. In the review month, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4.85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion was pledged. The lowest commitment of foreign investment came in mid-November to mid-December. The data of the department shows that foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0 million were received in that particular period. Foreign investment commitments have been made for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">183</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> industries in the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the last fiscal year, most of the foreign investment commitments came in mid-October to mid-November. In that period, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.96 billion was pledged by the foreign agencies. The lowest foreign investment commitment came in mid-January to mid-February. According to the data of the department, foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53.95</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million were received in that month.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the department, so far foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2782 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion have been received for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">947 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">industries. According to the department, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">670</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">255 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">people have got employment from these industries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17077', 'image' => '20230322011216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17341', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Only Two Employees to Inspect Pesticide Residue on Vegetables entering KTM Valley', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. However, it has been found that the government has been extremely negligent in testing the pesticide residue on the imported fruits and vegetables. The vegetables and fruits that make it to those 13 markets are tested for pesticides by just two employees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajivdas Rajbhandari, senior crop protection officer of the Central Agriculture Laboratory informed New Business Age that pesticide residue testing of fruits and vegetables entering 13 vegetable markets including Kalimati, Balkhu, Kuleshwar, Kalanki Jadibuti, Tinkune, Balaju Machhapokhari, Tukucha, Dhumbarahi, Chabahil, Baneshwar is done by one technician and one assistant. According to him, those employees test pesticide residues only on vegetables and fruits entering the Kalimati market on a daily basis except on public holidays. In Kalimati, 700 to 900 tons of vegetables arrive daily from within Nepal and also from India. Out of them, a maximum of 10 vegetable samples are tested for pesticides. Rajbhandari says that is not enough.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “As there are only two employees, it is a problem to test all the vegetables that reach the market for pesticides. Pesticides are checked in other markets only occasionally. That is not effective. But how much work can two people do?” he questioned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajbhandari remarked that pesticides are being cooked in consumers' kitchens every day because these pesticide tests are not effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The laboratory tests two types of pesticides called organophosphate and cabramite in vegetables and fruits. Apart from that, other types of pesticides are also present in vegetables. This confirms that the government is indifferent to the adverse effects it has on human health. Apart from these, the laboratory does not have the technology to check the amount of pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer rights activists have criticized this action of the government. Bishnu Prasad Timilsina, general secretary of Consumer Protection Forum Nepal says that the government is taking the lead in forcefully feeding poison to the common consumers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Timilsina said, “Does the government not have the capacity to test pesticides in just 13 vegetable markets?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Laboratory data shows that green vegetables coming from the domestic market as well as India have high levels of pesticides. According to the laboratory, out of 1,778 vegetable samples tested in Kalimati till March 10, 1,751 samples contained cabramite and organophosphate less than 35 percent (edible). In 10 samples, the amount of pesticide was found between 35 percent to 45 percent. Such vegetables should be kept in quarantine and after a few days they can be consumed after re-testing. The laboratory informed that 17 sample products with pesticide inhibition more than 45 percent were destroyed. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Highest pesticide content is found in vegetables like cauliflower, flat beans, and broccoli. It has been found that vegetables with more pesticides are imported from the domestic market. Laboratory records reveal that vegetables coming from Sarlahi, Bhaktapur, Makwanpur and Dhading have high levels of pesticides. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is in charge of testing vegetables coming from foreign countries at the pesticide checkpoint, and the Central Agricultural Laboratory is in charge of testing them in the country. Under the laboratory, pesticides are tested at seven locations namely Birtamod, Lalbandi, Kalimati, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalganj and Attaria.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17076', 'image' => '20230322114827_p02-120209-78.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 11:47:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17340', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers get Agriculture Equipment at Subsidized Rate ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Pokhara Agriculture Development Division Manohar Kadariya said that various equipment were distributed on 50 percent subsidy from the budget allocated in the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The metropolis provided 261 hand tractors, 62 combined mill, six thrashers, 108 grass cutters, 30 power sprays, six oil crusher machines and 29 other machineries to the framers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting on the demands of farmers of 25 wards, the Agriculture Division arranged and distributed the equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PMC Mayor Dhanraj Acharya shared that the metropolis distributed the equipment to the farmers at subsidized rate to increase production and reduce costs by using machines in the agriculture sector. He stressed the need for maximizing the use of machines. The mayor added that the agriculture sector needs commercialization and marketing.</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"">“It would help us save our time and costs,” said Jyoti Gurung, a farmer of Pokhara metropolis-33, who received hand tractor on subsidy. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17075', 'image' => '20230322105047_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 10:50:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17338', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Scheme to Cover Nepali Migrant Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands. The Social Security Fund is preparing to unveil the new scheme to cover Nepali migrant workers and those self-employed in foreign lands amid a function on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As part of the expansion of the contribution-based scheme, this is expected to benefit around 2.2 million Nepali migrant workers, said the fund's spokesperson Bibek Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The fund has already endorsed the procedure for covering Nepali workers in the informal sector, foreign employment and self-employment in foreign lands under the scheme in a bid to bring all Nepali workers including migrants under the umbrella of social security, according to Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various trade unions have been demanding the inclusion of workers in the informal sector and self-employed under the scheme. The Non-Resident Nepali Association has also been lobbying for the coverage of Nepali migrant workers by the SSF.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Launched three years ago, the scheme has until now covered only Nepali workers in the formal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, aspiring Nepali migrant workers seeking a new labor permit have to be registered with the fund. Around 2,000 aspiring migrant workers have been taking labor permits on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per the endorsed work procedures, a Nepali migrant worker in foreign employment and self-employed in a foreign land can be eligible for the facilities provided by the fund by contributing 21.33 percent of their basic remuneration or a minimum Rs 2,000 monthly and three fold of it at maximum.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has set Rs 15,000 as the minimum remuneration: Rs 9,385 basic remuneration and a dearness allowance of Rs 5,615 for a worker. Of the 21.33 percent amount contributed under the scheme, 7. 48 percent goes for the accident insurance and for the disability and dependent family protection scheme and 13.85 for pension.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Any migrant worker registered with the Social Security Fund shall be entitled for the three kinds of facilities mentioned above. </span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People at foreign jobs shall be eligible to draw Rs 100,000 as accident insurance, 60 percent for pension in case of disability, Rs 25,000 as bereavement expenditures, and there is a provision of 40 percent lifelong pension to dependent spouses. Any aspiring Nepali migrant shall compulsorily obtain a registration number online from the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the regular contributors to the fund are entitled to various facilities under different headings such as accidental and disability protection scheme, medical and safe maternity scheme, dependent protection scheme and pension and old-age protection scheme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 399,566 contributors have been contributing to the fund. The contribution-based amount in the fund has reached Rs 30.87 billion and it has paid Rs 3.81 billion to the contributors. The SSF has been implemented since November 27, 2018. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17073', 'image' => '20230321091011_20200415015116_1586905496.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 21:08:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17335', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trekking Culture Suffers Consequences of Unmanaged Motorways in Annapurna ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals complained that the increase in traffic movement has led to sound and dust pollution, posing the risk of further damage to the natural beauty of the area. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Almost all settlements in the region have now access to motorways. Though the development activities have made it easier for tourists to travel and access the area, it is not cost free in terms of environmental aspect, natural beauty of the area and the public health. It has also brought negative consequences to the trekking business, say tourism entrepreneurs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People who used to feel the inhalation of fresh air while walking are now compelled to wear facemasks to avoid dust pollution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of motor roads rampantly from Lamjung to Manang and from Myagdi to Muktinath has put the trekking route at risk of extinction, said visiting tourists. Human encroachment on the natural beauty of the region is also another matter of concern. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former President of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) western region chapter Deepak Raj Adhikari said motor roads have been constructed by damaging structures of the trekking route. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Short and long trekking trails in Ghodepani, Poon Hill, Nagi and Khopa in Myagdi, Jomsom, Upper Mustang, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, and Ghandruk have been 'largely destroyed' due to the construction of motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trekking is one of the major attractions of Nepal's tourism industry. But entrepreneurs are worried to see trekking route getting damaged and losing its charms with the availability of unplanned and unmanaged transport facilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Subarna KC who runs a hotel at Dana said trekking tourists were shortening their trip citing trekking experiences were no more entertaining as in the past. Rampant construction of roadways causes encroachment on the existing trekking routes. But, no substantive efforts have been made so far to protect the trekking routes, said the locals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trees were cut down during the extension of roadways, causing the degradation of natural beauty of the area. According to tourism entrepreneurs, 80 percent trekking tourists have started shortening their trip comparatively to the past. They expect the Nepal Tourism Board and the TAAN to work together to restore trekking business, and its charm and essence in the Annapurna area. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17070', 'image' => '20230321035704_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17334', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hoteliers Struggling to Manage Operating Expenses: HAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. HAN claimed that the hotel industry is on the verge of collapse due to inflation, lack of liquidity, lack of environment for tourists and customers, and financial institutions putting pressure on them for payment of interest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN, the umbrella organization of big hotels, made such an announcement at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday. During the event, Shreejana Rana, president of HAN, said that most of the hoteliers are worried about how to run their business in this situation. She said that restructuring or rescheduling of loans as well as extension of time period for the payment of loan and interest is absolutely necessary to revive this sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN has also demanded the authorities concerned to reduce the interest rate to a single digit. Binayak Shah, senior vice president of HAN, said that the hotel industry, which was badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic for almost three years, has not been prioritized in the state's policies and regulations. "The fact that only half of the tourists came in 2022 compared to 2019 has given a positive message," he said. "However, every businessperson is not able to take benefits compared to the past."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN said that although the responsibility of paying the principal and interest of the loan is on the borrowers, the government should facilitate them during the current situation. Shah said that the business has dropped to zero due to the government's control-oriented policies such as health protocols and lockdowns during the Covid-19 period. According to Shah, the hotel industry has been deprived of the facilities provided to other industries. According to him, even though the hotels are running now, they are at a loss because they are not able to generate income to meet the operating expenses. He also said that due to the entry of many new hotels in the market, the competition has increased and there has been a pressure to reduce the price. HAN also complained that it is very regrettable that the government has not recognized the hotel sector of Nepal as an industry even though they have already invested more than the annual budget of the country. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17069', 'image' => '20230321034337_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:42:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17332', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Projects worth Rs 7900 Billion Listed in Project Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank. The federal government had formed the project bank to identify and prepare a list of investable projects. So far, 7,219 projects have been registered in the list.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Officials say that the estimated cost of the projects registered in the Project Bank under the National Planning Commission is more than Rs 7900 billion and it will take at least 26 years to complete them based on the current budget system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among such projects registered with the National Planning Commission, there are projects including roads, drinking water, bridges, river embankments and airports. In the past, leaders and parliamentarians used to rush to the Ministry of Finance to include the projects in the red book while preparing the budget. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli started the National Project Bank in the year 2076 after the government found it difficult to sustain such schemes without securing source of funding for the projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Kumar Phuyal, a member of the commission, the concept of project bank was put forward for the development and practice of a system for identifying, selecting, evaluating and prioritizing projects based on facts and standards. According to him, it is believed that this will help to make project management more effective and achieve efficiency in implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It seems challenging for the government to complete these projects from allocating resources to spending the allocated budget. In the past, the government had introduced the concept of national pride projects to prioritize the projects. The government classified 17 projects as projects of national pride for the first time in the fiscal year 2068/69. So far, 24 projects have been listed in the National Pride Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ten years after the government’s announcement of the pride projects, only the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and the Gautam Buddha International Airport have been completed and put into operation while other projects are yet to be completed. Due to delays in construction, the cost of large projects has increased to billions of rupees. The completion of other national pride projects is undertain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Phuyal said that the concept of National Project Bank was introduced to remove such uncertainty in project implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the commission has taken initiative to put all the projects at the provincial and local levels in the project bank. He stated, “The work of entering all the projects in the bank is moving ahead.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the progresses of both big and small projects were not satisfactory, the government repeatedly conducted studies to find the reason. The report of the expenditure review commission led by Dilliraj Khanal recently pointed out that due to mistakes made from project selection to design, the projects are being delayed and the cost has also increased. According to Khanal, until the dilly-dallying in project selection, design, costing system, working style is not improved, the project cost will continue to increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even now, the government has not been able to spend the development budget allocated in the annual budget. In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs 300 billion for development works, but only Rs 87 billion has been spent as of March 19. In the same period last year, Rs 80 billion had been spent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17067', 'image' => '20230321012640_1679359870.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 13:25:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17331', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Production of Electric Buses in Koshi Province within a Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. Nepali and Korean investors have jointly invested Rs 3 billion in the industry with the objective of producing electric school buses within a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The process of finding land for setting up the industry and obtaining approval from the Ministry of Industry is currently under progress. Koshi NK Motors Pvt Ltd had signed an agreement with SDK Motors of Korea in Seoul, Korea, on February 24 to establish an electric vehicle industry in Nepal. The agreement was signed by Tikaram Puri, president of NK Motors, and Daiki Jung, executive chairman of the Korean company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri of Koshi NK Motors Pvt. Ltd., informed us that they are preparing to produce a 22-seater state-of-the-art school bus in the first phase. Based on the demand, the target is to produce about 500 electric school buses initially, he said. Puri said that the company will also produce school buses, public buses, microbuses and electric cars.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the electric vehicle produced by the company will be 30 per cent cheaper than diesel and petrol-powered vehicles. Likewise, it is estimated that the operating expenses of electric vehicles produced by the company will be lower compared to other EVs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NK Motors Managing Director TR Dhakal said that according to the agreement, electric vehicles based on Korean technology will be produced with a joint investment of about Rs 3 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"For that, we are working to find land to set up a plant in one of the districts among Sunsari and Morang," Dhakal said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri said that the aim is to sell the vehicles produced in Nepal in India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that billions are being spent abroad on fuel imports from Nepal while the country is becoming self-sufficient in electricity. In this context, electric vehicles that are cheap and environment-friendly can help in consuming domestic electricity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri informed that the technicians of the Korean company will come to Nepal within March to select the location of the industry, and then other processes will proceed ahead. He said that since it is a plan that Koshi province can be proud of, he expects the support of the state government and the federal government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement has been signed to bring the chassis, battery and motor from Korea and build the body structure here. Puri said, "Made in Nepal" will be written on the vehicle even if goods are brought from Korea.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17066', 'image' => '20230321125557_electric-bus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 12:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17330', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Confirms Extension of Black Sea Grain Deal ', 'sub_title' => 'Russia, Ukraine Extend Grain Deal to Aid World's Poor ', 'summary' => 'March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The United Nations confirmed the extension of the deal allowing exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizers from designated Ukrainian seaports. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022, has been extended," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkey and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, the Xinhua news agency reported. The deal, initially in effect for 120 days, was extended in mid-November 2022 for another 120 days till March 18. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Associated Press, the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow "agreed to extend the deal for 60 days.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on, AP reported. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two ships carrying more than 96,000 metric tons of corn left Ukrainian ports on Saturday bound for China and Tunisia, according to U.N. data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the first two terms of the initiative, some 25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries, helping to bring down global food prices and stabilizing the markets, Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, AP reported that food prices have fallen for 11 straight months. But food was already expensive before the war because of droughts from the Americas to the Middle East — most devastating in the Horn of Africa, with thousands dying in Somalia. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars are spending more as their currencies weaken. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv showed that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons in January from the same month a year ago, before the invasion. Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24% over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17065', 'image' => '20230321115036_wheatttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:49:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17328', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Accept Grant worth 50 Million Euros ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday also decided not to implement the decision to reduce the rate of subsidy provided on chemical fertilizers to the farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the government has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on "Sharing of Real Time Hydro-meteorological Data" between Nepal and Bangladesh. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has decided to promote Basant Bahadur Kunwar, Tek Prasad Rai, Deepak Thapa, Shyamalal Gyawali and Kiran Bajracharya to the vacant posts of additional inspector general of Nepal Police. A decision was also taken to provide relief support to the verified ineligible combatants of the armed conflict period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has decided to appoint Man Bahadur Khadka as the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Forest Corporation Limited. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17063', 'image' => '20230321110111_Logo_of_Nepal_(2020).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:00:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17327', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Passports and Banks to open Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department will remain open and provide its regular services from 10 am to 2:30 pm on Tuesday, said information officer of the Department, Khimananda Bhusal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed banks and financial institutions to continue with their service today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a notice on Monday, the central bank has instructed the BFIs to make arrangements for regular banking services during Ghodejatra. NRFB has also urged BFIs to consider giving continuity to such services outside the valley. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17062', 'image' => '20230321103023_FX4LeBP27B7bDzDMRWV0nd2dzNzhWB-metaZG9wLmpwZw==-.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 10:29:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17325', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Wins Vote of Confidence in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the motion tabled before the HoR, Prime Minister Dahal got support from 172 HoR members. A total of 262 lawmakers were present in the HoR meeting. Altogether 89 votes were cast against the proposal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, taking part in the deliberations on a proposal put forth by the prime minister in the HoR seeking a vote of confidence, all the political parties except the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party had announced their support for the Dahal-led government. In the voting process, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party remained neutral while 89 MPs of UML and RPP cast their votes against the motion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The PM took the vote of confidence from the HoR for the second time after his appointment to the post on December 25, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, the PM should take the vote of confidence within 30 days after political parties supporting the government withdraw their support. In this regard, the incumbent prime minister had to take the vote of confidence within March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the first time, Dahal had secured over 99 percent votes from the parliament on January 10. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-20', 'modified' => '2023-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17060', 'image' => '20230320061247_CK-KTM-PMDAHAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-20 18:12:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17345', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Completion of Rani-Kulariya Irrigation Project Nowhere In Sight Though Deadline Nears Expiration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in Kailali.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in Kailali. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To everyone’s dismay, less than 50 percent of the construction has been completed, though the deadline nears its expiration. The deadline will expire in the next fiscal year, 2023/24. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project funded by the World Bank aims to irrigate the total 38,300 hectares of land. The Rani side has seen only 18 percent progress while 20 percent work is completed on the Gulariya part, said the project engineer Prem Lasiwa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 65 percent work has been completed in Jamara. Lasiwa blamed the contractors for a delay. “Construction work started simultaneously in all three parts. But, the contractors have failed to work in uniformity. We are asking them to speed up the construction,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three construction companies were awarded the contract for the construction of the irrigation project. Of them, Gaurishankar Nirman Sewa and an Indian GVV company are jointly working on the Rani Kulo side. Similarly, Ramechhap Nirman Sewa and Kanchharam Nirman Sewa are awarded the contract to jointly work in the Jamara part, and High Himalaya Hydro Construct Pvt. Ltd. is looking over the Kulariya side. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction companies blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis for the delay. As a result, the project cannot be completed within the deadline, said Tshering Sherpa, site in-charge for the Ramechhap Nirman Sewa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We are working. The deadline is nearing. Still, over 30 percent construction remains,” he said. The company won the contract at Rs 540 million. Kumar Raj Shahi, chairperson of the Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation system consumers’ main committee, accused negligence on the part of the contractors for the delay. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Contractors are irresponsible. The construction work is not going ahead as per the direction of the project office. Farmers, however, have blamed the consumers’ committee instead. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Farmers are in real problems. They have not been able to grow crops in time due to lack of irrigation facility,” Shahi said. ---RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17080', 'image' => '20230322041214_collage - 2023-03-22T160506.681.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:04:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17344', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Higher Rate of Cancer Detected among Illiterates in Nepal: Study ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal. Forty six percent illiterate people contracted cancer caused by the consumption of tobacco products, says the study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In 2019, the organisation carried out a study on financial burden faced by patients seeking treatment for tobacco-induced cancer. Tobacco-induced cancer cases in people pursuing higher education stood at 1.9 percent. Sixteen percent of them sought treatment by selling off their properties including houses and land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 27.2 percent bore treatment costs through their savings, and 60 percent took loans from their relatives. Tobacco-induced cancer has put life expectancy rate at 53.5 years of age, according to the study. </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"">Three hundred tobacco-induced cancer patients were included in the study. Of them, 42.7 percent were dependent on agriculture as main source of income for treatment costs, 22.3 on trade, 11.7 on daily wages, and 8.7 each on government job and foreign employment.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17079', 'image' => '20230322040720_FTqqUUmWAAIC-CZ - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17343', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'iPhone Market in Nepal Grows Almost Double in a Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been found that the iPhone market increased in Nepal when the government banned the import of expensive phones. Although the import of expensive mobile phones has been stopped in Nepal, the market of Apple, which is considered an expensive brand, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points in one year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's market share, which was only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6.39</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in March last year, has almost doubled to around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last nine months alone, Apple has increased its market share by almost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">When the government banned the import of expensive mobile phones, Apple's mobile phones priced below </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">$600</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> were not available in the Nepali market. However, Apple's smartphone sales have increased after the government lifted the import ban from last January. In the last three months alone, Apple has increased its market share by about three percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The market share of Apple, which sells mobile phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0,000 in the Nepali market, has increased at a time when the economic condition of the country is not so encouraging. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple’s market was rising constantly even when the economy was shrinking and the government had imposed a ban on import of expensive phones, cars and alcohol. Apple's market continues to rise after the government lifted the import ban.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the iPhone dealers, the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> in Nepal has increased rapidly. Businessmen say that after the increase in the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> series phones, priced from a minimum of Rs 1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to a maximum of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">50,000, its share in the Nepali market has doubled within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If there was no import ban, the market share of Apple phones in Nepal would reach around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, one businessman claimed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Users who have used iPhone once have a habit of buying the new series of phones as soon as they are released. Even though Apple's market share has increased in Nepal, businessmen say that it is the old users who are buying new phones rather than the new customers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung also has more than a dozen models of expensive phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">245,000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">in the Nepali market. However, while Samsung's market is going down, Apple is making leaps and bounds day by day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung's market share has now dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. It was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago. Apple seems to have taken over Samsung's declining market share.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's tablet business, which was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.49</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in February last year, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">17</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">46.54</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in one year. Samsung has also lost a large market in Tab. The market share of Samsung tablets, which was more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">64</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago, is now limited to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">43.82</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. In a period of one year, Samsung has also lost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent market share in Tab.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even in global competition, the market share of Apple Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">51.26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The global market share of Samsung Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.21</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Apple's global market share in mobile phones is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27.11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, while Samsung's is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26.74</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, over </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1.1 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million smartphones worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.76</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion were imported into Nepal between last July to January. Since the government opened up imports from December 16 last year, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">201</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">smartphones entered the market in just two</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17078', 'image' => '20230322013726_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:36:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17342', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Investment Commitment Declines by 38 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by 38 percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. In terms of monetary value, foreign investment commitment in the review period this year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">13</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Industry, foreign investment commitment from mid-July to mid-March of last year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33.33</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion, which dropped to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20.56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion this year . This amount is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than the same period of last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-March in the current fiscal year, the most of the foreign investment commitments were made in mid-December to mid-January. In the review month, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4.85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion was pledged. The lowest commitment of foreign investment came in mid-November to mid-December. The data of the department shows that foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0 million were received in that particular period. Foreign investment commitments have been made for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">183</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> industries in the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the last fiscal year, most of the foreign investment commitments came in mid-October to mid-November. In that period, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.96 billion was pledged by the foreign agencies. The lowest foreign investment commitment came in mid-January to mid-February. According to the data of the department, foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53.95</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million were received in that month.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the department, so far foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2782 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion have been received for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">947 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">industries. According to the department, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">670</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">255 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">people have got employment from these industries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17077', 'image' => '20230322011216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17341', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Only Two Employees to Inspect Pesticide Residue on Vegetables entering KTM Valley', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. However, it has been found that the government has been extremely negligent in testing the pesticide residue on the imported fruits and vegetables. The vegetables and fruits that make it to those 13 markets are tested for pesticides by just two employees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajivdas Rajbhandari, senior crop protection officer of the Central Agriculture Laboratory informed New Business Age that pesticide residue testing of fruits and vegetables entering 13 vegetable markets including Kalimati, Balkhu, Kuleshwar, Kalanki Jadibuti, Tinkune, Balaju Machhapokhari, Tukucha, Dhumbarahi, Chabahil, Baneshwar is done by one technician and one assistant. According to him, those employees test pesticide residues only on vegetables and fruits entering the Kalimati market on a daily basis except on public holidays. In Kalimati, 700 to 900 tons of vegetables arrive daily from within Nepal and also from India. Out of them, a maximum of 10 vegetable samples are tested for pesticides. Rajbhandari says that is not enough.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “As there are only two employees, it is a problem to test all the vegetables that reach the market for pesticides. Pesticides are checked in other markets only occasionally. That is not effective. But how much work can two people do?” he questioned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajbhandari remarked that pesticides are being cooked in consumers' kitchens every day because these pesticide tests are not effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The laboratory tests two types of pesticides called organophosphate and cabramite in vegetables and fruits. Apart from that, other types of pesticides are also present in vegetables. This confirms that the government is indifferent to the adverse effects it has on human health. Apart from these, the laboratory does not have the technology to check the amount of pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer rights activists have criticized this action of the government. Bishnu Prasad Timilsina, general secretary of Consumer Protection Forum Nepal says that the government is taking the lead in forcefully feeding poison to the common consumers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Timilsina said, “Does the government not have the capacity to test pesticides in just 13 vegetable markets?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Laboratory data shows that green vegetables coming from the domestic market as well as India have high levels of pesticides. According to the laboratory, out of 1,778 vegetable samples tested in Kalimati till March 10, 1,751 samples contained cabramite and organophosphate less than 35 percent (edible). In 10 samples, the amount of pesticide was found between 35 percent to 45 percent. Such vegetables should be kept in quarantine and after a few days they can be consumed after re-testing. The laboratory informed that 17 sample products with pesticide inhibition more than 45 percent were destroyed. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Highest pesticide content is found in vegetables like cauliflower, flat beans, and broccoli. It has been found that vegetables with more pesticides are imported from the domestic market. Laboratory records reveal that vegetables coming from Sarlahi, Bhaktapur, Makwanpur and Dhading have high levels of pesticides. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is in charge of testing vegetables coming from foreign countries at the pesticide checkpoint, and the Central Agricultural Laboratory is in charge of testing them in the country. Under the laboratory, pesticides are tested at seven locations namely Birtamod, Lalbandi, Kalimati, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalganj and Attaria.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17076', 'image' => '20230322114827_p02-120209-78.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 11:47:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17340', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers get Agriculture Equipment at Subsidized Rate ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Pokhara Agriculture Development Division Manohar Kadariya said that various equipment were distributed on 50 percent subsidy from the budget allocated in the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The metropolis provided 261 hand tractors, 62 combined mill, six thrashers, 108 grass cutters, 30 power sprays, six oil crusher machines and 29 other machineries to the framers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting on the demands of farmers of 25 wards, the Agriculture Division arranged and distributed the equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PMC Mayor Dhanraj Acharya shared that the metropolis distributed the equipment to the farmers at subsidized rate to increase production and reduce costs by using machines in the agriculture sector. He stressed the need for maximizing the use of machines. The mayor added that the agriculture sector needs commercialization and marketing.</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"">“It would help us save our time and costs,” said Jyoti Gurung, a farmer of Pokhara metropolis-33, who received hand tractor on subsidy. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17075', 'image' => '20230322105047_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 10:50:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17338', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Scheme to Cover Nepali Migrant Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands. The Social Security Fund is preparing to unveil the new scheme to cover Nepali migrant workers and those self-employed in foreign lands amid a function on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As part of the expansion of the contribution-based scheme, this is expected to benefit around 2.2 million Nepali migrant workers, said the fund's spokesperson Bibek Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The fund has already endorsed the procedure for covering Nepali workers in the informal sector, foreign employment and self-employment in foreign lands under the scheme in a bid to bring all Nepali workers including migrants under the umbrella of social security, according to Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various trade unions have been demanding the inclusion of workers in the informal sector and self-employed under the scheme. The Non-Resident Nepali Association has also been lobbying for the coverage of Nepali migrant workers by the SSF.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Launched three years ago, the scheme has until now covered only Nepali workers in the formal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, aspiring Nepali migrant workers seeking a new labor permit have to be registered with the fund. Around 2,000 aspiring migrant workers have been taking labor permits on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per the endorsed work procedures, a Nepali migrant worker in foreign employment and self-employed in a foreign land can be eligible for the facilities provided by the fund by contributing 21.33 percent of their basic remuneration or a minimum Rs 2,000 monthly and three fold of it at maximum.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has set Rs 15,000 as the minimum remuneration: Rs 9,385 basic remuneration and a dearness allowance of Rs 5,615 for a worker. Of the 21.33 percent amount contributed under the scheme, 7. 48 percent goes for the accident insurance and for the disability and dependent family protection scheme and 13.85 for pension.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Any migrant worker registered with the Social Security Fund shall be entitled for the three kinds of facilities mentioned above. </span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People at foreign jobs shall be eligible to draw Rs 100,000 as accident insurance, 60 percent for pension in case of disability, Rs 25,000 as bereavement expenditures, and there is a provision of 40 percent lifelong pension to dependent spouses. Any aspiring Nepali migrant shall compulsorily obtain a registration number online from the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the regular contributors to the fund are entitled to various facilities under different headings such as accidental and disability protection scheme, medical and safe maternity scheme, dependent protection scheme and pension and old-age protection scheme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 399,566 contributors have been contributing to the fund. The contribution-based amount in the fund has reached Rs 30.87 billion and it has paid Rs 3.81 billion to the contributors. The SSF has been implemented since November 27, 2018. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17073', 'image' => '20230321091011_20200415015116_1586905496.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 21:08:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17335', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trekking Culture Suffers Consequences of Unmanaged Motorways in Annapurna ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals complained that the increase in traffic movement has led to sound and dust pollution, posing the risk of further damage to the natural beauty of the area. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Almost all settlements in the region have now access to motorways. Though the development activities have made it easier for tourists to travel and access the area, it is not cost free in terms of environmental aspect, natural beauty of the area and the public health. It has also brought negative consequences to the trekking business, say tourism entrepreneurs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People who used to feel the inhalation of fresh air while walking are now compelled to wear facemasks to avoid dust pollution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of motor roads rampantly from Lamjung to Manang and from Myagdi to Muktinath has put the trekking route at risk of extinction, said visiting tourists. Human encroachment on the natural beauty of the region is also another matter of concern. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former President of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) western region chapter Deepak Raj Adhikari said motor roads have been constructed by damaging structures of the trekking route. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Short and long trekking trails in Ghodepani, Poon Hill, Nagi and Khopa in Myagdi, Jomsom, Upper Mustang, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, and Ghandruk have been 'largely destroyed' due to the construction of motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trekking is one of the major attractions of Nepal's tourism industry. But entrepreneurs are worried to see trekking route getting damaged and losing its charms with the availability of unplanned and unmanaged transport facilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Subarna KC who runs a hotel at Dana said trekking tourists were shortening their trip citing trekking experiences were no more entertaining as in the past. Rampant construction of roadways causes encroachment on the existing trekking routes. But, no substantive efforts have been made so far to protect the trekking routes, said the locals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trees were cut down during the extension of roadways, causing the degradation of natural beauty of the area. According to tourism entrepreneurs, 80 percent trekking tourists have started shortening their trip comparatively to the past. They expect the Nepal Tourism Board and the TAAN to work together to restore trekking business, and its charm and essence in the Annapurna area. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17070', 'image' => '20230321035704_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17334', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hoteliers Struggling to Manage Operating Expenses: HAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. HAN claimed that the hotel industry is on the verge of collapse due to inflation, lack of liquidity, lack of environment for tourists and customers, and financial institutions putting pressure on them for payment of interest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN, the umbrella organization of big hotels, made such an announcement at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday. During the event, Shreejana Rana, president of HAN, said that most of the hoteliers are worried about how to run their business in this situation. She said that restructuring or rescheduling of loans as well as extension of time period for the payment of loan and interest is absolutely necessary to revive this sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN has also demanded the authorities concerned to reduce the interest rate to a single digit. Binayak Shah, senior vice president of HAN, said that the hotel industry, which was badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic for almost three years, has not been prioritized in the state's policies and regulations. "The fact that only half of the tourists came in 2022 compared to 2019 has given a positive message," he said. "However, every businessperson is not able to take benefits compared to the past."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN said that although the responsibility of paying the principal and interest of the loan is on the borrowers, the government should facilitate them during the current situation. Shah said that the business has dropped to zero due to the government's control-oriented policies such as health protocols and lockdowns during the Covid-19 period. According to Shah, the hotel industry has been deprived of the facilities provided to other industries. According to him, even though the hotels are running now, they are at a loss because they are not able to generate income to meet the operating expenses. He also said that due to the entry of many new hotels in the market, the competition has increased and there has been a pressure to reduce the price. HAN also complained that it is very regrettable that the government has not recognized the hotel sector of Nepal as an industry even though they have already invested more than the annual budget of the country. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17069', 'image' => '20230321034337_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:42:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17332', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Projects worth Rs 7900 Billion Listed in Project Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank. The federal government had formed the project bank to identify and prepare a list of investable projects. So far, 7,219 projects have been registered in the list.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Officials say that the estimated cost of the projects registered in the Project Bank under the National Planning Commission is more than Rs 7900 billion and it will take at least 26 years to complete them based on the current budget system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among such projects registered with the National Planning Commission, there are projects including roads, drinking water, bridges, river embankments and airports. In the past, leaders and parliamentarians used to rush to the Ministry of Finance to include the projects in the red book while preparing the budget. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli started the National Project Bank in the year 2076 after the government found it difficult to sustain such schemes without securing source of funding for the projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Kumar Phuyal, a member of the commission, the concept of project bank was put forward for the development and practice of a system for identifying, selecting, evaluating and prioritizing projects based on facts and standards. According to him, it is believed that this will help to make project management more effective and achieve efficiency in implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It seems challenging for the government to complete these projects from allocating resources to spending the allocated budget. In the past, the government had introduced the concept of national pride projects to prioritize the projects. The government classified 17 projects as projects of national pride for the first time in the fiscal year 2068/69. So far, 24 projects have been listed in the National Pride Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ten years after the government’s announcement of the pride projects, only the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and the Gautam Buddha International Airport have been completed and put into operation while other projects are yet to be completed. Due to delays in construction, the cost of large projects has increased to billions of rupees. The completion of other national pride projects is undertain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Phuyal said that the concept of National Project Bank was introduced to remove such uncertainty in project implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the commission has taken initiative to put all the projects at the provincial and local levels in the project bank. He stated, “The work of entering all the projects in the bank is moving ahead.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the progresses of both big and small projects were not satisfactory, the government repeatedly conducted studies to find the reason. The report of the expenditure review commission led by Dilliraj Khanal recently pointed out that due to mistakes made from project selection to design, the projects are being delayed and the cost has also increased. According to Khanal, until the dilly-dallying in project selection, design, costing system, working style is not improved, the project cost will continue to increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even now, the government has not been able to spend the development budget allocated in the annual budget. In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs 300 billion for development works, but only Rs 87 billion has been spent as of March 19. In the same period last year, Rs 80 billion had been spent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17067', 'image' => '20230321012640_1679359870.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 13:25:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17331', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Production of Electric Buses in Koshi Province within a Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. Nepali and Korean investors have jointly invested Rs 3 billion in the industry with the objective of producing electric school buses within a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The process of finding land for setting up the industry and obtaining approval from the Ministry of Industry is currently under progress. Koshi NK Motors Pvt Ltd had signed an agreement with SDK Motors of Korea in Seoul, Korea, on February 24 to establish an electric vehicle industry in Nepal. The agreement was signed by Tikaram Puri, president of NK Motors, and Daiki Jung, executive chairman of the Korean company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri of Koshi NK Motors Pvt. Ltd., informed us that they are preparing to produce a 22-seater state-of-the-art school bus in the first phase. Based on the demand, the target is to produce about 500 electric school buses initially, he said. Puri said that the company will also produce school buses, public buses, microbuses and electric cars.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the electric vehicle produced by the company will be 30 per cent cheaper than diesel and petrol-powered vehicles. Likewise, it is estimated that the operating expenses of electric vehicles produced by the company will be lower compared to other EVs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NK Motors Managing Director TR Dhakal said that according to the agreement, electric vehicles based on Korean technology will be produced with a joint investment of about Rs 3 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"For that, we are working to find land to set up a plant in one of the districts among Sunsari and Morang," Dhakal said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri said that the aim is to sell the vehicles produced in Nepal in India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that billions are being spent abroad on fuel imports from Nepal while the country is becoming self-sufficient in electricity. In this context, electric vehicles that are cheap and environment-friendly can help in consuming domestic electricity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri informed that the technicians of the Korean company will come to Nepal within March to select the location of the industry, and then other processes will proceed ahead. He said that since it is a plan that Koshi province can be proud of, he expects the support of the state government and the federal government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement has been signed to bring the chassis, battery and motor from Korea and build the body structure here. Puri said, "Made in Nepal" will be written on the vehicle even if goods are brought from Korea.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17066', 'image' => '20230321125557_electric-bus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 12:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17330', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Confirms Extension of Black Sea Grain Deal ', 'sub_title' => 'Russia, Ukraine Extend Grain Deal to Aid World's Poor ', 'summary' => 'March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The United Nations confirmed the extension of the deal allowing exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizers from designated Ukrainian seaports. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022, has been extended," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkey and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, the Xinhua news agency reported. The deal, initially in effect for 120 days, was extended in mid-November 2022 for another 120 days till March 18. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Associated Press, the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow "agreed to extend the deal for 60 days.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on, AP reported. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two ships carrying more than 96,000 metric tons of corn left Ukrainian ports on Saturday bound for China and Tunisia, according to U.N. data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the first two terms of the initiative, some 25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries, helping to bring down global food prices and stabilizing the markets, Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, AP reported that food prices have fallen for 11 straight months. But food was already expensive before the war because of droughts from the Americas to the Middle East — most devastating in the Horn of Africa, with thousands dying in Somalia. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars are spending more as their currencies weaken. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv showed that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons in January from the same month a year ago, before the invasion. Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24% over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17065', 'image' => '20230321115036_wheatttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:49:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17328', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Accept Grant worth 50 Million Euros ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday also decided not to implement the decision to reduce the rate of subsidy provided on chemical fertilizers to the farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the government has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on "Sharing of Real Time Hydro-meteorological Data" between Nepal and Bangladesh. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has decided to promote Basant Bahadur Kunwar, Tek Prasad Rai, Deepak Thapa, Shyamalal Gyawali and Kiran Bajracharya to the vacant posts of additional inspector general of Nepal Police. A decision was also taken to provide relief support to the verified ineligible combatants of the armed conflict period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has decided to appoint Man Bahadur Khadka as the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Forest Corporation Limited. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17063', 'image' => '20230321110111_Logo_of_Nepal_(2020).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:00:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17327', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Passports and Banks to open Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department will remain open and provide its regular services from 10 am to 2:30 pm on Tuesday, said information officer of the Department, Khimananda Bhusal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed banks and financial institutions to continue with their service today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a notice on Monday, the central bank has instructed the BFIs to make arrangements for regular banking services during Ghodejatra. NRFB has also urged BFIs to consider giving continuity to such services outside the valley. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17062', 'image' => '20230321103023_FX4LeBP27B7bDzDMRWV0nd2dzNzhWB-metaZG9wLmpwZw==-.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 10:29:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17325', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Wins Vote of Confidence in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the motion tabled before the HoR, Prime Minister Dahal got support from 172 HoR members. A total of 262 lawmakers were present in the HoR meeting. Altogether 89 votes were cast against the proposal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, taking part in the deliberations on a proposal put forth by the prime minister in the HoR seeking a vote of confidence, all the political parties except the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party had announced their support for the Dahal-led government. In the voting process, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party remained neutral while 89 MPs of UML and RPP cast their votes against the motion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The PM took the vote of confidence from the HoR for the second time after his appointment to the post on December 25, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, the PM should take the vote of confidence within 30 days after political parties supporting the government withdraw their support. In this regard, the incumbent prime minister had to take the vote of confidence within March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the first time, Dahal had secured over 99 percent votes from the parliament on January 10. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-20', 'modified' => '2023-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17060', 'image' => '20230320061247_CK-KTM-PMDAHAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-20 18:12:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17345', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Completion of Rani-Kulariya Irrigation Project Nowhere In Sight Though Deadline Nears Expiration ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in Kailali.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Over a decade into construction, completion of one of the national pride Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation projects is nowhere in sight as it is moving at snail’s pace in Kailali. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To everyone’s dismay, less than 50 percent of the construction has been completed, though the deadline nears its expiration. The deadline will expire in the next fiscal year, 2023/24. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project funded by the World Bank aims to irrigate the total 38,300 hectares of land. The Rani side has seen only 18 percent progress while 20 percent work is completed on the Gulariya part, said the project engineer Prem Lasiwa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 65 percent work has been completed in Jamara. Lasiwa blamed the contractors for a delay. “Construction work started simultaneously in all three parts. But, the contractors have failed to work in uniformity. We are asking them to speed up the construction,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three construction companies were awarded the contract for the construction of the irrigation project. Of them, Gaurishankar Nirman Sewa and an Indian GVV company are jointly working on the Rani Kulo side. Similarly, Ramechhap Nirman Sewa and Kanchharam Nirman Sewa are awarded the contract to jointly work in the Jamara part, and High Himalaya Hydro Construct Pvt. Ltd. is looking over the Kulariya side. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction companies blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis for the delay. As a result, the project cannot be completed within the deadline, said Tshering Sherpa, site in-charge for the Ramechhap Nirman Sewa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We are working. The deadline is nearing. Still, over 30 percent construction remains,” he said. The company won the contract at Rs 540 million. Kumar Raj Shahi, chairperson of the Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation system consumers’ main committee, accused negligence on the part of the contractors for the delay. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Contractors are irresponsible. The construction work is not going ahead as per the direction of the project office. Farmers, however, have blamed the consumers’ committee instead. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Farmers are in real problems. They have not been able to grow crops in time due to lack of irrigation facility,” Shahi said. ---RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17080', 'image' => '20230322041214_collage - 2023-03-22T160506.681.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:04:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17344', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Higher Rate of Cancer Detected among Illiterates in Nepal: Study ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal. Forty six percent illiterate people contracted cancer caused by the consumption of tobacco products, says the study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In 2019, the organisation carried out a study on financial burden faced by patients seeking treatment for tobacco-induced cancer. Tobacco-induced cancer cases in people pursuing higher education stood at 1.9 percent. Sixteen percent of them sought treatment by selling off their properties including houses and land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 27.2 percent bore treatment costs through their savings, and 60 percent took loans from their relatives. Tobacco-induced cancer has put life expectancy rate at 53.5 years of age, according to the study. </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"">Three hundred tobacco-induced cancer patients were included in the study. Of them, 42.7 percent were dependent on agriculture as main source of income for treatment costs, 22.3 on trade, 11.7 on daily wages, and 8.7 each on government job and foreign employment.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17079', 'image' => '20230322040720_FTqqUUmWAAIC-CZ - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17343', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'iPhone Market in Nepal Grows Almost Double in a Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been found that the iPhone market increased in Nepal when the government banned the import of expensive phones. Although the import of expensive mobile phones has been stopped in Nepal, the market of Apple, which is considered an expensive brand, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points in one year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's market share, which was only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6.39</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in March last year, has almost doubled to around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last nine months alone, Apple has increased its market share by almost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">When the government banned the import of expensive mobile phones, Apple's mobile phones priced below </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">$600</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> were not available in the Nepali market. However, Apple's smartphone sales have increased after the government lifted the import ban from last January. In the last three months alone, Apple has increased its market share by about three percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The market share of Apple, which sells mobile phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0,000 in the Nepali market, has increased at a time when the economic condition of the country is not so encouraging. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple’s market was rising constantly even when the economy was shrinking and the government had imposed a ban on import of expensive phones, cars and alcohol. Apple's market continues to rise after the government lifted the import ban.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the iPhone dealers, the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> in Nepal has increased rapidly. Businessmen say that after the increase in the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> series phones, priced from a minimum of Rs 1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to a maximum of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">50,000, its share in the Nepali market has doubled within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If there was no import ban, the market share of Apple phones in Nepal would reach around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, one businessman claimed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Users who have used iPhone once have a habit of buying the new series of phones as soon as they are released. Even though Apple's market share has increased in Nepal, businessmen say that it is the old users who are buying new phones rather than the new customers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung also has more than a dozen models of expensive phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">245,000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">in the Nepali market. However, while Samsung's market is going down, Apple is making leaps and bounds day by day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung's market share has now dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. It was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago. Apple seems to have taken over Samsung's declining market share.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's tablet business, which was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.49</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in February last year, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">17</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">46.54</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in one year. Samsung has also lost a large market in Tab. The market share of Samsung tablets, which was more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">64</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago, is now limited to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">43.82</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. In a period of one year, Samsung has also lost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent market share in Tab.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even in global competition, the market share of Apple Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">51.26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The global market share of Samsung Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.21</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Apple's global market share in mobile phones is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27.11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, while Samsung's is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26.74</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, over </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1.1 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million smartphones worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.76</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion were imported into Nepal between last July to January. Since the government opened up imports from December 16 last year, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">201</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">smartphones entered the market in just two</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17078', 'image' => '20230322013726_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:36:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17342', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Investment Commitment Declines by 38 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by 38 percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. In terms of monetary value, foreign investment commitment in the review period this year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">13</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Industry, foreign investment commitment from mid-July to mid-March of last year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33.33</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion, which dropped to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20.56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion this year . This amount is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than the same period of last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-March in the current fiscal year, the most of the foreign investment commitments were made in mid-December to mid-January. In the review month, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4.85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion was pledged. The lowest commitment of foreign investment came in mid-November to mid-December. The data of the department shows that foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0 million were received in that particular period. Foreign investment commitments have been made for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">183</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> industries in the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the last fiscal year, most of the foreign investment commitments came in mid-October to mid-November. In that period, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.96 billion was pledged by the foreign agencies. The lowest foreign investment commitment came in mid-January to mid-February. According to the data of the department, foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53.95</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million were received in that month.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the department, so far foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2782 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion have been received for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">947 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">industries. According to the department, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">670</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">255 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">people have got employment from these industries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17077', 'image' => '20230322011216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17341', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Only Two Employees to Inspect Pesticide Residue on Vegetables entering KTM Valley', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. However, it has been found that the government has been extremely negligent in testing the pesticide residue on the imported fruits and vegetables. The vegetables and fruits that make it to those 13 markets are tested for pesticides by just two employees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajivdas Rajbhandari, senior crop protection officer of the Central Agriculture Laboratory informed New Business Age that pesticide residue testing of fruits and vegetables entering 13 vegetable markets including Kalimati, Balkhu, Kuleshwar, Kalanki Jadibuti, Tinkune, Balaju Machhapokhari, Tukucha, Dhumbarahi, Chabahil, Baneshwar is done by one technician and one assistant. According to him, those employees test pesticide residues only on vegetables and fruits entering the Kalimati market on a daily basis except on public holidays. In Kalimati, 700 to 900 tons of vegetables arrive daily from within Nepal and also from India. Out of them, a maximum of 10 vegetable samples are tested for pesticides. Rajbhandari says that is not enough.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “As there are only two employees, it is a problem to test all the vegetables that reach the market for pesticides. Pesticides are checked in other markets only occasionally. That is not effective. But how much work can two people do?” he questioned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajbhandari remarked that pesticides are being cooked in consumers' kitchens every day because these pesticide tests are not effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The laboratory tests two types of pesticides called organophosphate and cabramite in vegetables and fruits. Apart from that, other types of pesticides are also present in vegetables. This confirms that the government is indifferent to the adverse effects it has on human health. Apart from these, the laboratory does not have the technology to check the amount of pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer rights activists have criticized this action of the government. Bishnu Prasad Timilsina, general secretary of Consumer Protection Forum Nepal says that the government is taking the lead in forcefully feeding poison to the common consumers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Timilsina said, “Does the government not have the capacity to test pesticides in just 13 vegetable markets?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Laboratory data shows that green vegetables coming from the domestic market as well as India have high levels of pesticides. According to the laboratory, out of 1,778 vegetable samples tested in Kalimati till March 10, 1,751 samples contained cabramite and organophosphate less than 35 percent (edible). In 10 samples, the amount of pesticide was found between 35 percent to 45 percent. Such vegetables should be kept in quarantine and after a few days they can be consumed after re-testing. The laboratory informed that 17 sample products with pesticide inhibition more than 45 percent were destroyed. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Highest pesticide content is found in vegetables like cauliflower, flat beans, and broccoli. It has been found that vegetables with more pesticides are imported from the domestic market. Laboratory records reveal that vegetables coming from Sarlahi, Bhaktapur, Makwanpur and Dhading have high levels of pesticides. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is in charge of testing vegetables coming from foreign countries at the pesticide checkpoint, and the Central Agricultural Laboratory is in charge of testing them in the country. Under the laboratory, pesticides are tested at seven locations namely Birtamod, Lalbandi, Kalimati, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalganj and Attaria.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17076', 'image' => '20230322114827_p02-120209-78.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 11:47:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17340', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers get Agriculture Equipment at Subsidized Rate ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Pokhara Agriculture Development Division Manohar Kadariya said that various equipment were distributed on 50 percent subsidy from the budget allocated in the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The metropolis provided 261 hand tractors, 62 combined mill, six thrashers, 108 grass cutters, 30 power sprays, six oil crusher machines and 29 other machineries to the framers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting on the demands of farmers of 25 wards, the Agriculture Division arranged and distributed the equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PMC Mayor Dhanraj Acharya shared that the metropolis distributed the equipment to the farmers at subsidized rate to increase production and reduce costs by using machines in the agriculture sector. He stressed the need for maximizing the use of machines. The mayor added that the agriculture sector needs commercialization and marketing.</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"">“It would help us save our time and costs,” said Jyoti Gurung, a farmer of Pokhara metropolis-33, who received hand tractor on subsidy. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17075', 'image' => '20230322105047_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 10:50:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17338', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Scheme to Cover Nepali Migrant Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands. The Social Security Fund is preparing to unveil the new scheme to cover Nepali migrant workers and those self-employed in foreign lands amid a function on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As part of the expansion of the contribution-based scheme, this is expected to benefit around 2.2 million Nepali migrant workers, said the fund's spokesperson Bibek Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The fund has already endorsed the procedure for covering Nepali workers in the informal sector, foreign employment and self-employment in foreign lands under the scheme in a bid to bring all Nepali workers including migrants under the umbrella of social security, according to Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various trade unions have been demanding the inclusion of workers in the informal sector and self-employed under the scheme. The Non-Resident Nepali Association has also been lobbying for the coverage of Nepali migrant workers by the SSF.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Launched three years ago, the scheme has until now covered only Nepali workers in the formal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, aspiring Nepali migrant workers seeking a new labor permit have to be registered with the fund. Around 2,000 aspiring migrant workers have been taking labor permits on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per the endorsed work procedures, a Nepali migrant worker in foreign employment and self-employed in a foreign land can be eligible for the facilities provided by the fund by contributing 21.33 percent of their basic remuneration or a minimum Rs 2,000 monthly and three fold of it at maximum.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has set Rs 15,000 as the minimum remuneration: Rs 9,385 basic remuneration and a dearness allowance of Rs 5,615 for a worker. Of the 21.33 percent amount contributed under the scheme, 7. 48 percent goes for the accident insurance and for the disability and dependent family protection scheme and 13.85 for pension.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Any migrant worker registered with the Social Security Fund shall be entitled for the three kinds of facilities mentioned above. </span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People at foreign jobs shall be eligible to draw Rs 100,000 as accident insurance, 60 percent for pension in case of disability, Rs 25,000 as bereavement expenditures, and there is a provision of 40 percent lifelong pension to dependent spouses. Any aspiring Nepali migrant shall compulsorily obtain a registration number online from the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the regular contributors to the fund are entitled to various facilities under different headings such as accidental and disability protection scheme, medical and safe maternity scheme, dependent protection scheme and pension and old-age protection scheme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 399,566 contributors have been contributing to the fund. The contribution-based amount in the fund has reached Rs 30.87 billion and it has paid Rs 3.81 billion to the contributors. The SSF has been implemented since November 27, 2018. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17073', 'image' => '20230321091011_20200415015116_1586905496.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 21:08:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17335', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trekking Culture Suffers Consequences of Unmanaged Motorways in Annapurna ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals complained that the increase in traffic movement has led to sound and dust pollution, posing the risk of further damage to the natural beauty of the area. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Almost all settlements in the region have now access to motorways. Though the development activities have made it easier for tourists to travel and access the area, it is not cost free in terms of environmental aspect, natural beauty of the area and the public health. It has also brought negative consequences to the trekking business, say tourism entrepreneurs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People who used to feel the inhalation of fresh air while walking are now compelled to wear facemasks to avoid dust pollution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of motor roads rampantly from Lamjung to Manang and from Myagdi to Muktinath has put the trekking route at risk of extinction, said visiting tourists. Human encroachment on the natural beauty of the region is also another matter of concern. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former President of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) western region chapter Deepak Raj Adhikari said motor roads have been constructed by damaging structures of the trekking route. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Short and long trekking trails in Ghodepani, Poon Hill, Nagi and Khopa in Myagdi, Jomsom, Upper Mustang, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, and Ghandruk have been 'largely destroyed' due to the construction of motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trekking is one of the major attractions of Nepal's tourism industry. But entrepreneurs are worried to see trekking route getting damaged and losing its charms with the availability of unplanned and unmanaged transport facilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Subarna KC who runs a hotel at Dana said trekking tourists were shortening their trip citing trekking experiences were no more entertaining as in the past. Rampant construction of roadways causes encroachment on the existing trekking routes. But, no substantive efforts have been made so far to protect the trekking routes, said the locals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trees were cut down during the extension of roadways, causing the degradation of natural beauty of the area. According to tourism entrepreneurs, 80 percent trekking tourists have started shortening their trip comparatively to the past. They expect the Nepal Tourism Board and the TAAN to work together to restore trekking business, and its charm and essence in the Annapurna area. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17070', 'image' => '20230321035704_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17334', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hoteliers Struggling to Manage Operating Expenses: HAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. HAN claimed that the hotel industry is on the verge of collapse due to inflation, lack of liquidity, lack of environment for tourists and customers, and financial institutions putting pressure on them for payment of interest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN, the umbrella organization of big hotels, made such an announcement at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday. During the event, Shreejana Rana, president of HAN, said that most of the hoteliers are worried about how to run their business in this situation. She said that restructuring or rescheduling of loans as well as extension of time period for the payment of loan and interest is absolutely necessary to revive this sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN has also demanded the authorities concerned to reduce the interest rate to a single digit. Binayak Shah, senior vice president of HAN, said that the hotel industry, which was badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic for almost three years, has not been prioritized in the state's policies and regulations. "The fact that only half of the tourists came in 2022 compared to 2019 has given a positive message," he said. "However, every businessperson is not able to take benefits compared to the past."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN said that although the responsibility of paying the principal and interest of the loan is on the borrowers, the government should facilitate them during the current situation. Shah said that the business has dropped to zero due to the government's control-oriented policies such as health protocols and lockdowns during the Covid-19 period. According to Shah, the hotel industry has been deprived of the facilities provided to other industries. According to him, even though the hotels are running now, they are at a loss because they are not able to generate income to meet the operating expenses. He also said that due to the entry of many new hotels in the market, the competition has increased and there has been a pressure to reduce the price. HAN also complained that it is very regrettable that the government has not recognized the hotel sector of Nepal as an industry even though they have already invested more than the annual budget of the country. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17069', 'image' => '20230321034337_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:42:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17332', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Projects worth Rs 7900 Billion Listed in Project Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank. The federal government had formed the project bank to identify and prepare a list of investable projects. So far, 7,219 projects have been registered in the list.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Officials say that the estimated cost of the projects registered in the Project Bank under the National Planning Commission is more than Rs 7900 billion and it will take at least 26 years to complete them based on the current budget system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among such projects registered with the National Planning Commission, there are projects including roads, drinking water, bridges, river embankments and airports. In the past, leaders and parliamentarians used to rush to the Ministry of Finance to include the projects in the red book while preparing the budget. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli started the National Project Bank in the year 2076 after the government found it difficult to sustain such schemes without securing source of funding for the projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Kumar Phuyal, a member of the commission, the concept of project bank was put forward for the development and practice of a system for identifying, selecting, evaluating and prioritizing projects based on facts and standards. According to him, it is believed that this will help to make project management more effective and achieve efficiency in implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It seems challenging for the government to complete these projects from allocating resources to spending the allocated budget. In the past, the government had introduced the concept of national pride projects to prioritize the projects. The government classified 17 projects as projects of national pride for the first time in the fiscal year 2068/69. So far, 24 projects have been listed in the National Pride Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ten years after the government’s announcement of the pride projects, only the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and the Gautam Buddha International Airport have been completed and put into operation while other projects are yet to be completed. Due to delays in construction, the cost of large projects has increased to billions of rupees. The completion of other national pride projects is undertain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Phuyal said that the concept of National Project Bank was introduced to remove such uncertainty in project implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the commission has taken initiative to put all the projects at the provincial and local levels in the project bank. He stated, “The work of entering all the projects in the bank is moving ahead.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the progresses of both big and small projects were not satisfactory, the government repeatedly conducted studies to find the reason. The report of the expenditure review commission led by Dilliraj Khanal recently pointed out that due to mistakes made from project selection to design, the projects are being delayed and the cost has also increased. According to Khanal, until the dilly-dallying in project selection, design, costing system, working style is not improved, the project cost will continue to increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even now, the government has not been able to spend the development budget allocated in the annual budget. In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs 300 billion for development works, but only Rs 87 billion has been spent as of March 19. In the same period last year, Rs 80 billion had been spent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17067', 'image' => '20230321012640_1679359870.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 13:25:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17331', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Production of Electric Buses in Koshi Province within a Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. Nepali and Korean investors have jointly invested Rs 3 billion in the industry with the objective of producing electric school buses within a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The process of finding land for setting up the industry and obtaining approval from the Ministry of Industry is currently under progress. Koshi NK Motors Pvt Ltd had signed an agreement with SDK Motors of Korea in Seoul, Korea, on February 24 to establish an electric vehicle industry in Nepal. The agreement was signed by Tikaram Puri, president of NK Motors, and Daiki Jung, executive chairman of the Korean company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri of Koshi NK Motors Pvt. Ltd., informed us that they are preparing to produce a 22-seater state-of-the-art school bus in the first phase. Based on the demand, the target is to produce about 500 electric school buses initially, he said. Puri said that the company will also produce school buses, public buses, microbuses and electric cars.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the electric vehicle produced by the company will be 30 per cent cheaper than diesel and petrol-powered vehicles. Likewise, it is estimated that the operating expenses of electric vehicles produced by the company will be lower compared to other EVs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NK Motors Managing Director TR Dhakal said that according to the agreement, electric vehicles based on Korean technology will be produced with a joint investment of about Rs 3 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"For that, we are working to find land to set up a plant in one of the districts among Sunsari and Morang," Dhakal said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri said that the aim is to sell the vehicles produced in Nepal in India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that billions are being spent abroad on fuel imports from Nepal while the country is becoming self-sufficient in electricity. In this context, electric vehicles that are cheap and environment-friendly can help in consuming domestic electricity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri informed that the technicians of the Korean company will come to Nepal within March to select the location of the industry, and then other processes will proceed ahead. He said that since it is a plan that Koshi province can be proud of, he expects the support of the state government and the federal government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement has been signed to bring the chassis, battery and motor from Korea and build the body structure here. Puri said, "Made in Nepal" will be written on the vehicle even if goods are brought from Korea.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17066', 'image' => '20230321125557_electric-bus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 12:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17330', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Confirms Extension of Black Sea Grain Deal ', 'sub_title' => 'Russia, Ukraine Extend Grain Deal to Aid World's Poor ', 'summary' => 'March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The United Nations confirmed the extension of the deal allowing exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizers from designated Ukrainian seaports. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022, has been extended," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkey and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, the Xinhua news agency reported. The deal, initially in effect for 120 days, was extended in mid-November 2022 for another 120 days till March 18. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Associated Press, the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow "agreed to extend the deal for 60 days.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on, AP reported. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two ships carrying more than 96,000 metric tons of corn left Ukrainian ports on Saturday bound for China and Tunisia, according to U.N. data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the first two terms of the initiative, some 25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries, helping to bring down global food prices and stabilizing the markets, Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, AP reported that food prices have fallen for 11 straight months. But food was already expensive before the war because of droughts from the Americas to the Middle East — most devastating in the Horn of Africa, with thousands dying in Somalia. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars are spending more as their currencies weaken. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv showed that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons in January from the same month a year ago, before the invasion. Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24% over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17065', 'image' => '20230321115036_wheatttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:49:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17328', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Accept Grant worth 50 Million Euros ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday also decided not to implement the decision to reduce the rate of subsidy provided on chemical fertilizers to the farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the government has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on "Sharing of Real Time Hydro-meteorological Data" between Nepal and Bangladesh. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has decided to promote Basant Bahadur Kunwar, Tek Prasad Rai, Deepak Thapa, Shyamalal Gyawali and Kiran Bajracharya to the vacant posts of additional inspector general of Nepal Police. A decision was also taken to provide relief support to the verified ineligible combatants of the armed conflict period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has decided to appoint Man Bahadur Khadka as the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Forest Corporation Limited. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17063', 'image' => '20230321110111_Logo_of_Nepal_(2020).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:00:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17327', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Passports and Banks to open Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department will remain open and provide its regular services from 10 am to 2:30 pm on Tuesday, said information officer of the Department, Khimananda Bhusal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed banks and financial institutions to continue with their service today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a notice on Monday, the central bank has instructed the BFIs to make arrangements for regular banking services during Ghodejatra. NRFB has also urged BFIs to consider giving continuity to such services outside the valley. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17062', 'image' => '20230321103023_FX4LeBP27B7bDzDMRWV0nd2dzNzhWB-metaZG9wLmpwZw==-.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 10:29:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17325', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Wins Vote of Confidence in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the motion tabled before the HoR, Prime Minister Dahal got support from 172 HoR members. A total of 262 lawmakers were present in the HoR meeting. Altogether 89 votes were cast against the proposal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, taking part in the deliberations on a proposal put forth by the prime minister in the HoR seeking a vote of confidence, all the political parties except the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party had announced their support for the Dahal-led government. In the voting process, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party remained neutral while 89 MPs of UML and RPP cast their votes against the motion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The PM took the vote of confidence from the HoR for the second time after his appointment to the post on December 25, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, the PM should take the vote of confidence within 30 days after political parties supporting the government withdraw their support. In this regard, the incumbent prime minister had to take the vote of confidence within March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the first time, Dahal had secured over 99 percent votes from the parliament on January 10. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-20', 'modified' => '2023-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17060', 'image' => '20230320061247_CK-KTM-PMDAHAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-20 18:12:11', '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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The deadline will expire in the next fiscal year, 2023/24. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The project funded by the World Bank aims to irrigate the total 38,300 hectares of land. The Rani side has seen only 18 percent progress while 20 percent work is completed on the Gulariya part, said the project engineer Prem Lasiwa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, 65 percent work has been completed in Jamara. Lasiwa blamed the contractors for a delay. “Construction work started simultaneously in all three parts. But, the contractors have failed to work in uniformity. We are asking them to speed up the construction,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Three construction companies were awarded the contract for the construction of the irrigation project. Of them, Gaurishankar Nirman Sewa and an Indian GVV company are jointly working on the Rani Kulo side. Similarly, Ramechhap Nirman Sewa and Kanchharam Nirman Sewa are awarded the contract to jointly work in the Jamara part, and High Himalaya Hydro Construct Pvt. Ltd. is looking over the Kulariya side. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The construction companies blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis for the delay. As a result, the project cannot be completed within the deadline, said Tshering Sherpa, site in-charge for the Ramechhap Nirman Sewa. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“We are working. The deadline is nearing. Still, over 30 percent construction remains,” he said. The company won the contract at Rs 540 million. Kumar Raj Shahi, chairperson of the Rani-Jamara-Kulariya irrigation system consumers’ main committee, accused negligence on the part of the contractors for the delay. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Contractors are irresponsible. The construction work is not going ahead as per the direction of the project office. Farmers, however, have blamed the consumers’ committee instead. </span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Farmers are in real problems. They have not been able to grow crops in time due to lack of irrigation facility,” Shahi said. ---RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17080', 'image' => '20230322041214_collage - 2023-03-22T160506.681.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:04:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17344', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Higher Rate of Cancer Detected among Illiterates in Nepal: Study ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: There is a higher rate of occurrence of cancer among illiterate people than literate ones in Nepal, according to a study by Action Nepal, a non-governmental organisation working on tobacco control in Nepal. Forty six percent illiterate people contracted cancer caused by the consumption of tobacco products, says the study. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In 2019, the organisation carried out a study on financial burden faced by patients seeking treatment for tobacco-induced cancer. Tobacco-induced cancer cases in people pursuing higher education stood at 1.9 percent. Sixteen percent of them sought treatment by selling off their properties including houses and land. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, 27.2 percent bore treatment costs through their savings, and 60 percent took loans from their relatives. Tobacco-induced cancer has put life expectancy rate at 53.5 years of age, according to the study. </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"">Three hundred tobacco-induced cancer patients were included in the study. Of them, 42.7 percent were dependent on agriculture as main source of income for treatment costs, 22.3 on trade, 11.7 on daily wages, and 8.7 each on government job and foreign employment.-- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17079', 'image' => '20230322040720_FTqqUUmWAAIC-CZ - Copy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 16:06:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17343', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'iPhone Market in Nepal Grows Almost Double in a Year ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: In the last one year, the iPhone market has almost doubled in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">It has been found that the iPhone market increased in Nepal when the government banned the import of expensive phones. Although the import of expensive mobile phones has been stopped in Nepal, the market of Apple, which is considered an expensive brand, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points in one year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's market share, which was only </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">6.39</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in March last year, has almost doubled to around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the last nine months alone, Apple has increased its market share by almost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">5</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percentage points to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">When the government banned the import of expensive mobile phones, Apple's mobile phones priced below </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">$600</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> were not available in the Nepali market. However, Apple's smartphone sales have increased after the government lifted the import ban from last January. In the last three months alone, Apple has increased its market share by about three percentage points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The market share of Apple, which sells mobile phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">35</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0,000 in the Nepali market, has increased at a time when the economic condition of the country is not so encouraging. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple’s market was rising constantly even when the economy was shrinking and the government had imposed a ban on import of expensive phones, cars and alcohol. Apple's market continues to rise after the government lifted the import ban.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the iPhone dealers, the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> in Nepal has increased rapidly. Businessmen say that after the increase in the sale of iPhone-</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> series phones, priced from a minimum of Rs 1</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">55</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,000 to a maximum of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">3</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">50,000, its share in the Nepali market has doubled within a year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">If there was no import ban, the market share of Apple phones in Nepal would reach around </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">15</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, one businessman claimed.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Users who have used iPhone once have a habit of buying the new series of phones as soon as they are released. Even though Apple's market share has increased in Nepal, businessmen say that it is the old users who are buying new phones rather than the new customers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung also has more than a dozen models of expensive phones ranging from Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">58,000</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">245,000</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">in the Nepali market. However, while Samsung's market is going down, Apple is making leaps and bounds day by day.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Samsung's market share has now dropped to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. It was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago. Apple seems to have taken over Samsung's declining market share.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Apple's tablet business, which was </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">29.49</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in February last year, has increased by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">17</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">46.54</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in one year. Samsung has also lost a large market in Tab. The market share of Samsung tablets, which was more than </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">64</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent a year ago, is now limited to </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">43.82</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. In a period of one year, Samsung has also lost </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent market share in Tab.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Even in global competition, the market share of Apple Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">51.26</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. The global market share of Samsung Tab is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">31.21</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent. Apple's global market share in mobile phones is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">27.11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent, while Samsung's is </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">26.74</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Customs, over </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">1.1 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">million smartphones worth Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">14</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.76</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion were imported into Nepal between last July to January. Since the government opened up imports from December 16 last year, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">201</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">000 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">smartphones entered the market in just two</span></span> <span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">months.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17078', 'image' => '20230322013726_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:36:24', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17342', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Foreign Investment Commitment Declines by 38 Percent', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by 38 percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 22: Foreign investment commitment declined by </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">38</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> percent in eight months of current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY. In terms of monetary value, foreign investment commitment in the review period this year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">13</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the Department of Industry, foreign investment commitment from mid-July to mid-March of last year was Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">33.33</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion, which dropped to Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">20.56</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion this year . This amount is Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">12.77</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion less than the same period of last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As of mid-March in the current fiscal year, the most of the foreign investment commitments were made in mid-December to mid-January. In the review month, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">4.85</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> billion was pledged. The lowest commitment of foreign investment came in mid-November to mid-December. The data of the department shows that foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">80</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">0 million were received in that particular period. Foreign investment commitments have been made for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">183</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> industries in the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During the last fiscal year, most of the foreign investment commitments came in mid-October to mid-November. In that period, foreign investment commitment of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">11</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">.96 billion was pledged by the foreign agencies. The lowest foreign investment commitment came in mid-January to mid-February. According to the data of the department, foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">53.95</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> million were received in that month.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the data of the department, so far foreign investment commitments of Rs </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">2782 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">billion have been received for </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">8</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">947 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">industries. According to the department, </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">670</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">,</span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">255 </span></span><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">people have got employment from these industries.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17077', 'image' => '20230322011216_Foreign investment.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 13:11:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17341', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Only Two Employees to Inspect Pesticide Residue on Vegetables entering KTM Valley', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: There are 13 big fruit and vegetable markets in Kathmandu Valley, where hundreds of tons of fruits and vegetables are brought in every day. However, it has been found that the government has been extremely negligent in testing the pesticide residue on the imported fruits and vegetables. The vegetables and fruits that make it to those 13 markets are tested for pesticides by just two employees.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajivdas Rajbhandari, senior crop protection officer of the Central Agriculture Laboratory informed New Business Age that pesticide residue testing of fruits and vegetables entering 13 vegetable markets including Kalimati, Balkhu, Kuleshwar, Kalanki Jadibuti, Tinkune, Balaju Machhapokhari, Tukucha, Dhumbarahi, Chabahil, Baneshwar is done by one technician and one assistant. According to him, those employees test pesticide residues only on vegetables and fruits entering the Kalimati market on a daily basis except on public holidays. In Kalimati, 700 to 900 tons of vegetables arrive daily from within Nepal and also from India. Out of them, a maximum of 10 vegetable samples are tested for pesticides. Rajbhandari says that is not enough.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> “As there are only two employees, it is a problem to test all the vegetables that reach the market for pesticides. Pesticides are checked in other markets only occasionally. That is not effective. But how much work can two people do?” he questioned.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rajbhandari remarked that pesticides are being cooked in consumers' kitchens every day because these pesticide tests are not effective.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The laboratory tests two types of pesticides called organophosphate and cabramite in vegetables and fruits. Apart from that, other types of pesticides are also present in vegetables. This confirms that the government is indifferent to the adverse effects it has on human health. Apart from these, the laboratory does not have the technology to check the amount of pesticides.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Consumer rights activists have criticized this action of the government. Bishnu Prasad Timilsina, general secretary of Consumer Protection Forum Nepal says that the government is taking the lead in forcefully feeding poison to the common consumers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Timilsina said, “Does the government not have the capacity to test pesticides in just 13 vegetable markets?”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Laboratory data shows that green vegetables coming from the domestic market as well as India have high levels of pesticides. According to the laboratory, out of 1,778 vegetable samples tested in Kalimati till March 10, 1,751 samples contained cabramite and organophosphate less than 35 percent (edible). In 10 samples, the amount of pesticide was found between 35 percent to 45 percent. Such vegetables should be kept in quarantine and after a few days they can be consumed after re-testing. The laboratory informed that 17 sample products with pesticide inhibition more than 45 percent were destroyed. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Highest pesticide content is found in vegetables like cauliflower, flat beans, and broccoli. It has been found that vegetables with more pesticides are imported from the domestic market. Laboratory records reveal that vegetables coming from Sarlahi, Bhaktapur, Makwanpur and Dhading have high levels of pesticides. The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control is in charge of testing vegetables coming from foreign countries at the pesticide checkpoint, and the Central Agricultural Laboratory is in charge of testing them in the country. Under the laboratory, pesticides are tested at seven locations namely Birtamod, Lalbandi, Kalimati, Pokhara, Butwal, Nepalganj and Attaria.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17076', 'image' => '20230322114827_p02-120209-78.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 11:47:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17340', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers get Agriculture Equipment at Subsidized Rate ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 22: Pokhara Metropolitan City (PMC) has distributed agriculture equipment to farmers at subsidized rate. The metropolis also informed the farmers about the use of modern equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of Pokhara Agriculture Development Division Manohar Kadariya said that various equipment were distributed on 50 percent subsidy from the budget allocated in the current fiscal year (FY 2022/23). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The metropolis provided 261 hand tractors, 62 combined mill, six thrashers, 108 grass cutters, 30 power sprays, six oil crusher machines and 29 other machineries to the framers. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Acting on the demands of farmers of 25 wards, the Agriculture Division arranged and distributed the equipment. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">PMC Mayor Dhanraj Acharya shared that the metropolis distributed the equipment to the farmers at subsidized rate to increase production and reduce costs by using machines in the agriculture sector. He stressed the need for maximizing the use of machines. The mayor added that the agriculture sector needs commercialization and marketing.</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"">“It would help us save our time and costs,” said Jyoti Gurung, a farmer of Pokhara metropolis-33, who received hand tractor on subsidy. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-22', 'modified' => '2023-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17075', 'image' => '20230322105047_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-22 10:50:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17338', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Scheme to Cover Nepali Migrant Workers', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: The social security scheme of Nepal will cover Nepali migrant workers and self-employed Nepalis in foreign lands. The Social Security Fund is preparing to unveil the new scheme to cover Nepali migrant workers and those self-employed in foreign lands amid a function on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As part of the expansion of the contribution-based scheme, this is expected to benefit around 2.2 million Nepali migrant workers, said the fund's spokesperson Bibek Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The fund has already endorsed the procedure for covering Nepali workers in the informal sector, foreign employment and self-employment in foreign lands under the scheme in a bid to bring all Nepali workers including migrants under the umbrella of social security, according to Panthi.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various trade unions have been demanding the inclusion of workers in the informal sector and self-employed under the scheme. The Non-Resident Nepali Association has also been lobbying for the coverage of Nepali migrant workers by the SSF.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Launched three years ago, the scheme has until now covered only Nepali workers in the formal sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">For this, aspiring Nepali migrant workers seeking a new labor permit have to be registered with the fund. Around 2,000 aspiring migrant workers have been taking labor permits on a daily basis.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As per the endorsed work procedures, a Nepali migrant worker in foreign employment and self-employed in a foreign land can be eligible for the facilities provided by the fund by contributing 21.33 percent of their basic remuneration or a minimum Rs 2,000 monthly and three fold of it at maximum.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has set Rs 15,000 as the minimum remuneration: Rs 9,385 basic remuneration and a dearness allowance of Rs 5,615 for a worker. Of the 21.33 percent amount contributed under the scheme, 7. 48 percent goes for the accident insurance and for the disability and dependent family protection scheme and 13.85 for pension.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Any migrant worker registered with the Social Security Fund shall be entitled for the three kinds of facilities mentioned above. </span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">People at foreign jobs shall be eligible to draw Rs 100,000 as accident insurance, 60 percent for pension in case of disability, Rs 25,000 as bereavement expenditures, and there is a provision of 40 percent lifelong pension to dependent spouses. Any aspiring Nepali migrant shall compulsorily obtain a registration number online from the fund.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the regular contributors to the fund are entitled to various facilities under different headings such as accidental and disability protection scheme, medical and safe maternity scheme, dependent protection scheme and pension and old-age protection scheme.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">So far, 399,566 contributors have been contributing to the fund. The contribution-based amount in the fund has reached Rs 30.87 billion and it has paid Rs 3.81 billion to the contributors. The SSF has been implemented since November 27, 2018. -- RSS</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17073', 'image' => '20230321091011_20200415015116_1586905496.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 21:08:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17335', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trekking Culture Suffers Consequences of Unmanaged Motorways in Annapurna ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which earns an international recognition for adventure trekking, is seeing a lesser number of trekkers these days, thanks to the consequences brought about by unmanaged motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The locals complained that the increase in traffic movement has led to sound and dust pollution, posing the risk of further damage to the natural beauty of the area. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Almost all settlements in the region have now access to motorways. Though the development activities have made it easier for tourists to travel and access the area, it is not cost free in terms of environmental aspect, natural beauty of the area and the public health. It has also brought negative consequences to the trekking business, say tourism entrepreneurs. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">People who used to feel the inhalation of fresh air while walking are now compelled to wear facemasks to avoid dust pollution. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The construction of motor roads rampantly from Lamjung to Manang and from Myagdi to Muktinath has put the trekking route at risk of extinction, said visiting tourists. Human encroachment on the natural beauty of the region is also another matter of concern. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Former President of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) western region chapter Deepak Raj Adhikari said motor roads have been constructed by damaging structures of the trekking route. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Short and long trekking trails in Ghodepani, Poon Hill, Nagi and Khopa in Myagdi, Jomsom, Upper Mustang, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Peak, and Ghandruk have been 'largely destroyed' due to the construction of motorways. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trekking is one of the major attractions of Nepal's tourism industry. But entrepreneurs are worried to see trekking route getting damaged and losing its charms with the availability of unplanned and unmanaged transport facilities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Subarna KC who runs a hotel at Dana said trekking tourists were shortening their trip citing trekking experiences were no more entertaining as in the past. Rampant construction of roadways causes encroachment on the existing trekking routes. But, no substantive efforts have been made so far to protect the trekking routes, said the locals. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Trees were cut down during the extension of roadways, causing the degradation of natural beauty of the area. According to tourism entrepreneurs, 80 percent trekking tourists have started shortening their trip comparatively to the past. They expect the Nepal Tourism Board and the TAAN to work together to restore trekking business, and its charm and essence in the Annapurna area. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17070', 'image' => '20230321035704_10-UTL-Landing-Pg-2400x1600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:56:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17334', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hoteliers Struggling to Manage Operating Expenses: HAN', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">March 21: Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) has said that the hotel industry has reached a situation where it cannot afford the operating expenses. HAN claimed that the hotel industry is on the verge of collapse due to inflation, lack of liquidity, lack of environment for tourists and customers, and financial institutions putting pressure on them for payment of interest.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN, the umbrella organization of big hotels, made such an announcement at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday. During the event, Shreejana Rana, president of HAN, said that most of the hoteliers are worried about how to run their business in this situation. She said that restructuring or rescheduling of loans as well as extension of time period for the payment of loan and interest is absolutely necessary to revive this sector.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN has also demanded the authorities concerned to reduce the interest rate to a single digit. Binayak Shah, senior vice president of HAN, said that the hotel industry, which was badly affected by Covid-19 pandemic for almost three years, has not been prioritized in the state's policies and regulations. "The fact that only half of the tourists came in 2022 compared to 2019 has given a positive message," he said. "However, every businessperson is not able to take benefits compared to the past."</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">HAN said that although the responsibility of paying the principal and interest of the loan is on the borrowers, the government should facilitate them during the current situation. Shah said that the business has dropped to zero due to the government's control-oriented policies such as health protocols and lockdowns during the Covid-19 period. According to Shah, the hotel industry has been deprived of the facilities provided to other industries. According to him, even though the hotels are running now, they are at a loss because they are not able to generate income to meet the operating expenses. He also said that due to the entry of many new hotels in the market, the competition has increased and there has been a pressure to reduce the price. HAN also complained that it is very regrettable that the government has not recognized the hotel sector of Nepal as an industry even though they have already invested more than the annual budget of the country. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17069', 'image' => '20230321034337_Hotel.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 15:42:15', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17332', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Projects worth Rs 7900 Billion Listed in Project Bank', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Projects worth Rs 7900 billion have been listed in the National Project Bank. The federal government had formed the project bank to identify and prepare a list of investable projects. So far, 7,219 projects have been registered in the list.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Officials say that the estimated cost of the projects registered in the Project Bank under the National Planning Commission is more than Rs 7900 billion and it will take at least 26 years to complete them based on the current budget system.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Among such projects registered with the National Planning Commission, there are projects including roads, drinking water, bridges, river embankments and airports. In the past, leaders and parliamentarians used to rush to the Ministry of Finance to include the projects in the red book while preparing the budget. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli started the National Project Bank in the year 2076 after the government found it difficult to sustain such schemes without securing source of funding for the projects.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to Ram Kumar Phuyal, a member of the commission, the concept of project bank was put forward for the development and practice of a system for identifying, selecting, evaluating and prioritizing projects based on facts and standards. According to him, it is believed that this will help to make project management more effective and achieve efficiency in implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It seems challenging for the government to complete these projects from allocating resources to spending the allocated budget. In the past, the government had introduced the concept of national pride projects to prioritize the projects. The government classified 17 projects as projects of national pride for the first time in the fiscal year 2068/69. So far, 24 projects have been listed in the National Pride Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ten years after the government’s announcement of the pride projects, only the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and the Gautam Buddha International Airport have been completed and put into operation while other projects are yet to be completed. Due to delays in construction, the cost of large projects has increased to billions of rupees. The completion of other national pride projects is undertain.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Phuyal said that the concept of National Project Bank was introduced to remove such uncertainty in project implementation.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the commission has taken initiative to put all the projects at the provincial and local levels in the project bank. He stated, “The work of entering all the projects in the bank is moving ahead.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the progresses of both big and small projects were not satisfactory, the government repeatedly conducted studies to find the reason. The report of the expenditure review commission led by Dilliraj Khanal recently pointed out that due to mistakes made from project selection to design, the projects are being delayed and the cost has also increased. According to Khanal, until the dilly-dallying in project selection, design, costing system, working style is not improved, the project cost will continue to increase.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even now, the government has not been able to spend the development budget allocated in the annual budget. In the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs 300 billion for development works, but only Rs 87 billion has been spent as of March 19. In the same period last year, Rs 80 billion had been spent.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17067', 'image' => '20230321012640_1679359870.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 13:25:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17331', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Production of Electric Buses in Koshi Province within a Year', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Production of electric vehicles is likely to start in Koshi Province within a year. Nepali and Korean investors have jointly invested Rs 3 billion in the industry with the objective of producing electric school buses within a year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The process of finding land for setting up the industry and obtaining approval from the Ministry of Industry is currently under progress. Koshi NK Motors Pvt Ltd had signed an agreement with SDK Motors of Korea in Seoul, Korea, on February 24 to establish an electric vehicle industry in Nepal. The agreement was signed by Tikaram Puri, president of NK Motors, and Daiki Jung, executive chairman of the Korean company.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri of Koshi NK Motors Pvt. Ltd., informed us that they are preparing to produce a 22-seater state-of-the-art school bus in the first phase. Based on the demand, the target is to produce about 500 electric school buses initially, he said. Puri said that the company will also produce school buses, public buses, microbuses and electric cars.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to him, the electric vehicle produced by the company will be 30 per cent cheaper than diesel and petrol-powered vehicles. Likewise, it is estimated that the operating expenses of electric vehicles produced by the company will be lower compared to other EVs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NK Motors Managing Director TR Dhakal said that according to the agreement, electric vehicles based on Korean technology will be produced with a joint investment of about Rs 3 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"For that, we are working to find land to set up a plant in one of the districts among Sunsari and Morang," Dhakal said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri said that the aim is to sell the vehicles produced in Nepal in India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that billions are being spent abroad on fuel imports from Nepal while the country is becoming self-sufficient in electricity. In this context, electric vehicles that are cheap and environment-friendly can help in consuming domestic electricity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Puri informed that the technicians of the Korean company will come to Nepal within March to select the location of the industry, and then other processes will proceed ahead. He said that since it is a plan that Koshi province can be proud of, he expects the support of the state government and the federal government.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An agreement has been signed to bring the chassis, battery and motor from Korea and build the body structure here. Puri said, "Made in Nepal" will be written on the vehicle even if goods are brought from Korea.”</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17066', 'image' => '20230321125557_electric-bus.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 12:55:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17330', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'UN Confirms Extension of Black Sea Grain Deal ', 'sub_title' => 'Russia, Ukraine Extend Grain Deal to Aid World's Poor ', 'summary' => 'March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries facing food security risk was extended just before its expiration date this weekend.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The United Nations confirmed the extension of the deal allowing exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizers from designated Ukrainian seaports. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022, has been extended," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkey and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, the Xinhua news agency reported. The deal, initially in effect for 120 days, was extended in mid-November 2022 for another 120 days till March 18. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the Associated Press, the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan both announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow "agreed to extend the deal for 60 days.” </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Ukraine and Russia are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on, AP reported. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Two ships carrying more than 96,000 metric tons of corn left Ukrainian ports on Saturday bound for China and Tunisia, according to U.N. data. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the first two terms of the initiative, some 25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries, helping to bring down global food prices and stabilizing the markets, Xinhua quoted Dujarric as saying. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, AP reported that food prices have fallen for 11 straight months. But food was already expensive before the war because of droughts from the Americas to the Middle East — most devastating in the Horn of Africa, with thousands dying in Somalia. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars are spending more as their currencies weaken. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv showed that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons in January from the same month a year ago, before the invasion. Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24% over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17065', 'image' => '20230321115036_wheatttttt.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:49:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17328', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Accept Grant worth 50 Million Euros ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The government has decided to accept a grant aid of 50 million euros from the European Union for the school education sector program. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday also decided not to implement the decision to reduce the rate of subsidy provided on chemical fertilizers to the farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the government has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on "Sharing of Real Time Hydro-meteorological Data" between Nepal and Bangladesh. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, the government has decided to promote Basant Bahadur Kunwar, Tek Prasad Rai, Deepak Thapa, Shyamalal Gyawali and Kiran Bajracharya to the vacant posts of additional inspector general of Nepal Police. A decision was also taken to provide relief support to the verified ineligible combatants of the armed conflict period. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government has decided to appoint Man Bahadur Khadka as the Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Forest Corporation Limited. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17063', 'image' => '20230321110111_Logo_of_Nepal_(2020).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 11:00:36', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17327', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Department of Passports and Banks to open Today ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 21: The Department of Passports will remain open for service seekers today, despite a public holiday on the occasion of Ghodejatra festival in the Kathmandu valley. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department will remain open and provide its regular services from 10 am to 2:30 pm on Tuesday, said information officer of the Department, Khimananda Bhusal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, the Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed banks and financial institutions to continue with their service today. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a notice on Monday, the central bank has instructed the BFIs to make arrangements for regular banking services during Ghodejatra. NRFB has also urged BFIs to consider giving continuity to such services outside the valley. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-21', 'modified' => '2023-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17062', 'image' => '20230321103023_FX4LeBP27B7bDzDMRWV0nd2dzNzhWB-metaZG9wLmpwZw==-.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-21 10:29:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '17325', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Dahal Wins Vote of Confidence in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 20: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has received the vote of confidence from the House of Representatives (HoR), Speaker Devraj Ghimire announced at the HoR meeting on Monday. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the motion tabled before the HoR, Prime Minister Dahal got support from 172 HoR members. A total of 262 lawmakers were present in the HoR meeting. Altogether 89 votes were cast against the proposal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Earlier, taking part in the deliberations on a proposal put forth by the prime minister in the HoR seeking a vote of confidence, all the political parties except the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party had announced their support for the Dahal-led government. In the voting process, Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party remained neutral while 89 MPs of UML and RPP cast their votes against the motion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The PM took the vote of confidence from the HoR for the second time after his appointment to the post on December 25, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, the PM should take the vote of confidence within 30 days after political parties supporting the government withdraw their support. In this regard, the incumbent prime minister had to take the vote of confidence within March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">In the first time, Dahal had secured over 99 percent votes from the parliament on January 10. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-03-20', 'modified' => '2023-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '17060', 'image' => '20230320061247_CK-KTM-PMDAHAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-03-20 18:12:11', '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
