March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in…
March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in…
March 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts.…
March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March…
March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom…
March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company…
March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led…
March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.…
March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity…
March 22: The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two…
March 21: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan…
March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land.…
March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in…
March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak.…
March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to…
March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations.…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in Nepal. </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"">Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBN Sushil Bhatta and UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé signed the agreement amid a function in the capital. </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 IBN said the MoU is expected to help in institutional capacity building, promotion of private investment and public private partnership. The MoU also includes the issues of social and environmental impact assessment on project development, project development agreement and project investment agreement, among others. Likewise, cooperation on development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to effectively run the services of IBN are also included in the MoU. </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"">Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at the board’s office, CEO Bhatta said that the agreement would help in investment promotion in Nepal. Bhatta added the MoU has given a new ray of hope on investment promotion in Nepal. He stressed the need for exchange of cooperation on capacity building of IBN and risk reduction of the investors. </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"">On the occasion, UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé said that the UNDP has been collaborating with 170 nations for their development.</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"">She expressed hope that the agreement with the IBN would help in capacity building of all three tiers of government at a time when Nepal is graduating to a developing nation from LDC. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14719', 'image' => '20220323011841_1-s2.0-S0048969721036111-ga1_lrg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 13:18:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14976', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bird Flu Spreads in 11 Districts ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. ', '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 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. Despite the outbreak, the Department of Livestock Services says that it does not have the required budget for the prevention and control of the disease. </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"">Information officer of the department as well as senior livestock development officer Dr Chandra Dhakal said that looking at the damage at present, an additional budget of Rs 60 to 70 million is required for infection control and compensation. </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 budget allocated for bird flu control and compensation in the current fiscal year (FY) is not sufficient as the virus has already caused damages more than the budget set aside for the prevention and control of the disease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated Rs 12.1 million for the control and prevention of bird flu as well as to provide compensation for the poultry farmers. However, the department said that the budget 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"">Dhakal said that the details of the damage in 11 districts have been received and now the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is preparing to seek budget from the Ministry of Finance. </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 infection has spread in Morang, Kathmandu, Sunsari, Udayapur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok, Chitwan, Kaski, Parsa, and Dhanusha districts. At present, 64,872 birds, 27,371 eggs, 15,094 kg feed and 22 kg chicken have been destroyed in these districts. </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"">Dinesh Raj Mishra, general secretary of the Nepal Poultry Federation said that it is unfortunate to have problems in controlling the infection due to lack of budget for the sector which contributes 4.5 percent to the GDP. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There’s inadequate budgets for controlling the spread in the infected area. On the other hand, lack of manpower in the department has made it difficult for the authorities to find out the places that have been infected. This has further increased the infection rate. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when the farmers try to get tested for bird flu, it is not possible for timely action due to the lack of human resources.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control the infection immediately, the department said that it is necessary to amend the Monitoring Plan and Standard Operating Procedures of the government in line with the laws prevalent at the federal, provincial and local levels and the Bird Flu Control Regulations, 2078. Apart from this, a budget should be allocated in each province to control the infection, strengthen inter-state coordination, and coordination with the Ministry of Finance for resource management. </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 outbreak of bird flu was first reported in Nepal in Jhapa on January 16, 2009. Since then, it has spread to more than 250 places in Nepal, according to government statistics. One person died in Nepal in 2019 due to the infection, which can also be transmitted to human beings. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14718', 'image' => '20220323123309_20220224114055_istockphoto-153240559-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 12:32:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14975', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Railway Ordinance Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a statement issued by the President’s Office, the ordinance was issued in accordance with the Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, an ordinance needs to be tabled at the Parliament session within 60 days of the first meeting of both the Houses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The expiry of railway ordinances issued earlier has been creating problems in inaugurating the Jayanagar-Janakpur railway service. The government has invested Rs 1 billion for operating the railway services and has also purchased two trains from India. However, it has not been able to operate the service in lack of related laws.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This is the third time that the government has issued railway ordinance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the government had issued the Railway Ordinance 2078 on May 6, 2021, when there was a lack of law to operate the railways and the parliament was not in session. Seven months after the ordinance became inactive, the Railway Ordinance 2078 was issued again on December 1, 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the ordinance could not be passed by the House of Representatives due to the obstruction created by the main opposition party CPN UML. The winter session of parliament, which was overshadowed by the MCC agenda, was prorogued on March 15 before the Railway Ordinance could be tabled for endorsement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14717', 'image' => '20220323112458_20220316071651_Railwayy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14974', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Wins Int’l Awards at 2022 Asian Telecom Awards', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards. Issuing a statement on Sunday (March 20), Ncell said that the telecommunication giant of Nepal bagged the ‘Telecom Company of the Year’ and ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ awards at the Asian awards ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company said that it was recognized with these prestigious honours for its remarkable performance and establishment of the Integrated Data Centre (IDC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Ncell, the Asian Telecom Awards traces its heritage to the period when Asian Mobile News started in 2003 in Singapore. The awards programme recognises outstanding achievements and initiatives of Asia's leading telecom companies. Winners of the awards under various categories were recognised via digital presentations, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The company further said that prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sector and telecom companies were driven to develop and launch new features and plans to keep serving consumers and stay competitive. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To recognise these extraordinary organisations in the Asia Pacific that showed resilience and outstanding performance, the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 honoured these companies who were able to navigate their way despite various challenges in the market whilst providing relevant and award-winning products and services,” states the Asian Telecom Awards.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell was honoured with the ‘Telecom Company of the Year Award’ for providing a reliable network to Nepal’s population, whilst also contributing to the government’s effort in raising COVID-19 awareness through mass media and its own mobile network. The company also received the ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ award for its resilient effort in building a state-of-the-art cutting-edge IDC, contributing to the government’s initiative in establishing a backbone for its digitalisation drive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> “We are truly honoured to receive the prestigious Asian Telecom Awards in two categories. These awards reflect how we have been contributing to the people and the country. This is also a recognition for what we have done in response against the COVID since 2020 and our continuous digitalization journey,” the statement quoted Andy Chong, CEO of Ncell, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Our achievements are shaped by the strength of the foundations we have put in place, and I would like to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment to excellence.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Ncell claimed that it was the first private entity to support the government by contributing Rs 100 million to the COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control, and Treatment Fund set up by the government to support its initiative for COVID-19 response. As part of its CSR, the company also collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Population as an exclusive partner to raise awareness on COVID-19 to endorse key behavioral changes amongst the general public as a prevention against the spread of COVID-19, the company added. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the infrastructure front, Ncell has built the Tier-III standard IDC in a highly sensitive earthquake zone in Kathmandu Valley to provide stable and resilient connectivity considering the nature of the area. This is first of its kind in the South Asia region that such infrastructure has been built, the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This is also one of many significant investments of the company which will play a crucial role in supporting Digital Nepal framework of the government for the journey towards digital future.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell said it built the IDC taking into account the impact of the devastating earthquakes of 2015, to make sure that a proper framework was established to respond to disasters in a better way. The company said that the IDC is also a physical testament to the company’s commitment to having a robust infrastructure in responding to such crises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It will serve to enhance data-based businesses, ensuring a stable and wide-band network, anticipating the need of clients from various sectors including banking, financial institutions, and insurance companies amongst others.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, Ncell had also bagged multiple prestigious awards in 2021 which include ‘Most Impactful Sustainability Initiative’ and ‘Best Overall COVID-19 Response’ in Axiata Senior Leadership Awards 2021; ‘The Social Contribution Award’ and ‘Crisis Response Award’ in World Communication Awards (WCA) 2021; ‘Innovative Health Solutions Award (Private Sector/NGO)’ in World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards – Merit Award 2021; ‘Telecom CEO of the Year’ and ‘Most Socially Responsible Telecom Company’ in Global Business Outlook (GBO) Awards 2021 and ‘National HR Excellence Awards 2020’ HR Meet 2021, Growth Sellers Private Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, other awards conferred to Ncell in 2021 were ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2021’ by Employer Branding Institute, World Human Resource Development Congress and Stars of the Industry Group, ‘Health Tech Award 2021’ by Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Awards and ‘TM Forum Catalyst Team Award 2021-Sustainability leadership’ by TM Forum’s 2021 Catalyst awards.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14716', 'image' => '20220322084342_Ncell Awards.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 20:42:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14973', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers Facing Shortage of Fertilizers as Government Stores them in Warehouse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. But the farmers have not received the fertilizer even after the onset of maize sowing season. The company is waiting for the distribution order from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the sales of the stored fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Pradip Kafle, a farmer from Jhumka in Sunsari, says, “Fertilizer was not available before sowing maize. The government is forcing the farmers to use inferior fertilizers from India while storing the needed fertilizer in the warehouses.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bhubaneswar Yadav, another farmer from Chhitaha in Sunsari, has sown maize in 6 bighas of land (3.71 acres). He has repeatedly approached the Biratnagar-based Agriculture Inputs Company Limited to get the required DAP fertilizer but has not been able to acquire it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are 682 farmers affiliated to his Chandrodaya Agricultural Cooperative. They need 100 tons of fertilizer for about 100 hectares of land. However, the state-owned company responsible for distributing fertilzers to the farmers at subsidized rates has been dilly-dallying the distribution of fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has forced the farmers to buy of fertilizer smuggled from the across the border. Now, it is already time for sowing the seeds of maize and planting sugarcane. But, the Agciculture Inputs Company has not distributed the stacked fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shyam Sundar Chaudhary, a farmer from Gadhi village is surprised why the fertilizer is not being distributed despite having a stock at the warehouse. The Trishakti Agricultural Cooperative, which he is associated with, has 100 farmers who own about 800 hectares of land. He is disappointed that he did not get fertilizer needed for maize and sugarcane at the peak of planting season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authorities keep saying they have stock of fertilizer and will be distributed it in 1 or 2 weeks. But they do not distribute. Due to this, the farmers are worried that they will have to grow the crops without fertilizers, which will result in a decline in production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Lamichhane, the acting chief of the provincial office of the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited said that they received 2,250 tons of DAP which have been safely stored in the warehouse. He said that the fertilizer could be sold to the farmers at Rs 2200 per sack. But they cannot sell the fertilizers unless the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development grants them permission to do so.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Province 1 has a demand for about 70,000 tons of fertilizers, but only 2,250 tons of fertilizers are available. The fertilizer stored at the warehouse needs to be supplied to the 14 districts of Province 1 and to Province 2 as well. However, the distribution has not been possible since the ministry has not granted such permission.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company said that they could not distribute the fertilizer as the Ministry of Agriculture of Province 1 has not issued any order regarding the amount of fertilizers to be sent to each district. They said that the farmers would be relieved this time if urea arrives as per the G2G agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14715', 'image' => '20220322063339_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 18:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14972', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Preparing to Downsize Budget for PM Employment Programme ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is under pressure to lower the budget for distribution-oriented programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2079/80). Therefore, the government decided to cut the budget for the PMEP due to resource crunch.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, the National Planning Commission has reduced the ceiling for this programme. Director of the PM Employment Programme and joint secretary of the ministry, Danduraj Ghimire confirmed that the ceiling has been reduced. He said that the ministry has given the maximum limit for spending in such projects run with the assistance of the World Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The NPC has fixed a ceiling of Rs 3.70 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2078/79), the government had allocated Rs 12 billion for the PM Employment Programme along with Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) project run with support from the World Bank. For the next fiscal year, the government can spend a maximum of Rs 7.5 billion for these projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The funds provided by the World Bank have been declining, so the ceiling may have come down. There is little chance of a budget increment for these programmes,” Ghimire told New Business Age. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KP Sharma Oli-led government had signed an agreement with the World Bank to avail loan for the ‘YETI’ project to support the PM Employment Programme. Accordingly, the World Bank has already provided concessional loans of $120 million or Rs 14 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank agreed to provide the loan for four years. Under this heading, the World Bank has given a loan of Rs 7 billion for the current fiscal year, while the government has allocated Rs 5 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government has been able to spend only Rs 350 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal year under this programme. The PMEP is a project run at the local level. The budget needs to be transferred to the account of the local units. But the programme is not being run effectively even though eight months have already elapsed in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last year, around 176,000 people received employment under this programme while the officials at the ministry have been saying that more people will get employment this year. However, labour expert Ganesh Gurung says that the government has not been able to implement the programme effectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government could have made a difference by providing employment to the people through the PMEP when the economy was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. But that didn’t happen, says Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14714', 'image' => '20220322052440_6017968757738_pm_employment.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 17:23:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14971', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trade Deficit Remains High due to Inflation in International Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Due to the rising Balance of Payments (BoP) and declining foreign exchange reserves, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had adopted a strategy to discourage imports. Despite such measures, the trade deficit remains high because of the increase in prices of the imported items.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Customs, the country imported goods worth Rs 1387.3 billion as of mid-March in the current fiscal year while the country’s export during this time was worth Rs 147.74 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The country’s BoP is high and the foreign exchange reserves declining due to excessive imports. Taking this into consideration, the central bank had adopted various policies since the last three months to discourage imports. In late December, NRB introduced a provision of 100 percent cash margin for opening LC to import 20 luxurious items. The central bank added another 27 items to the list in late January. A month later, the central bank reduced the import quota of gold by half to 10 kg. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the imports declined in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), it again increased the very next month (mid-February to mid-March).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported goods worth Rs 161 billion in mid-February to mid-March while the imports were worth Rs 148 billion in mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal’s exports also increased in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). During the review month, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 16 billion against Rs 12 billion a month ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the quantity of imports has declined, the prices have increased in the international market and the value of Nepali currency has depreciated compared to the US dollars. As a result, the trade deficit remains high, according to Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14713', 'image' => '20220322021323_Trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 14:12:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14970', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Internet Service Providers Fail to Clear Dues for Using NEA’s Electricity Poles', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles. Last September, the ISPs and cable TV service providers had reached an understanding with the NEA to pay certain amount within November for using electricity pole. The two sides had also agreed for a new charge for using the poles. However, the NEA says that the service providers have not paid the dues even three months after the deadline ended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA added that the service providers have not yet contacted them for new agreement on pole rent. NEA has also warned to cut the wires again after the internet and cable television service providers did not come to pay the charges and sign new agreement. NEA issued a public notice a few days ago asking the ISPs to clear the dues immediately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai warned of cutting the wires again if the service providers fail to pay the charges. “We have already issued a notice seeking clearance of dues for using the electricity poles. If the service providers do not come to pay the charges as specified in the notice, we will cut the wire,” said Bhattarai. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sudhir Parajuli, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal refused to make any comment on this issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last September, a task force was formed to resolve the dispute over the pole rent. The task force formed under the coordination of a joint secretary of the Ministry of Communications consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Nepal Electricity Authority and internet service providers. The task force had submitted a study report to the Ministry of Communications last November, which concluded that the pole rent was expensive and suggested a new rate. However, the government is yet to take any decision as per the recommendation of the taskforce.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers are supposed to pay a certain amount for using the structures including the electricity poles of the NEA. However, NEA has stated that some companies have not paid such rent since 2015. NEA had announced the new rent with effect from 2018. However, some companies have not paid the new rent saying it is too expensive. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14712', 'image' => '20220322012959_connectingtotheinternet_image.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 13:29:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14968', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, Qatar Agree to Renew Bilateral Labour Pact ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to government sources, the two countries agreed to renew the labour pact following a meeting held between Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, and Labour Minister of Qatar, Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri during Minister Shrestha’s ongoing visit to Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha briefed his Qatari counterpart about the draft sent by the Government of Nepal for the renewal of labour agreement between Nepal and Qatar. According to Minister Shrestha's Secretariat, both sides agreed to finalize the draft soon by holding discussions over it. Once the draft is finalized, the two countries agreed to organize a ceremony to sign the agreement in Nepal. The two countries had initially signed the agreement in 2005 in a bid to make labour migration safe and regular. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the ongoing visit of the Nepali delegation, both the ministers held discussions on implementation of decisions made by the fourth meeting of Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee organised in Kathmandu in December, 2021. Nepal and Qatar had agreed to revise the labour agreement back then.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Various issues including social security of Nepali workers, safety at workplace, health facility and arrangement of 24-hour insurance were also discussed, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal (RSS) reported.</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"">According to the RSS, there are more than 300,000 Nepali workers in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Qatari Minister Marri expressed his interest to recruit Nepali workers in the FIFA World Cup to be held later in 2022 in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting was attended by Secretary Ek Narayn Aryal, Joint-Secretary Rajeev Pokharel, Under-Secretary Dr Thaneshwar Bhusal, officials of the Nepali Embassy in Qatar and Secretary of the Labour Ministry of Qatar, Mohammed Hassan Al Obaidli. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14710', 'image' => '20220322111531_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Qatar_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 11:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14967', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Arriving on March 25 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. ', '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: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shared about the three-day visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister beginning from upcoming Friday. Chinese Minister Wang is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the statement said that he will also meet with former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairperson KP Sharma Oli and former Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Dr Khadka, leading their respective delegations on March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Councilor Wang Yi will return home on March 27, informed the MoFA. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Related News</span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Read also: </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14px">What are the Agendas of Nepal during upcoming Visit of Chinese Foreign Minister?</span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">https://www.newbusinessage.com/Articles/view/14935</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14709', 'image' => '20220321055304_1647854768.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 17:52:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14965', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Small and Genuine Farmers Struggle to get Loans', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. As per the plan, he went to the Rastriya Banijya Bank near his village to take loan. But to his disappointment, he could not get any loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It’s already been 10 months since I tried to take a loan of Rs 10 million to modernize vegetable and fruit farming. But there is still no hope of getting any loan,” said Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks and financial institutions are constantly introducing various agricultural loan schemes. But eventually, most of the farmers end up dejected like Bhuwaneshwor Yadav. Although the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show huge investments for agricultural loans, such loans never reach the farmers in reality.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Guriya Kumari Jhanani, another farmer, states that only those who have affiliations with the bank get loans. “Farmers like us have no access to banks. Due to which the hard working farmers always have to face trouble to acquire loans from banks,” she said. She complained that she had been trying to get a loan for 6 months but has not received it yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Talking with New Business Age, Yadav said that most of the farmers have been cultivating improved varieties of vegetables and fruits by taking loans from relatives and rich people of the village at 36 percent interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The monetary policy introduced by the central bank also mentions about providing agricultural loans to the farmers for the promotion of agro-enterprises and businesses, but farmers like us have to face lots of problems in getting loans from banks,” added Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Director of Nepal Bankers Association, Anil Sharma also says that it is still difficult for farmers to get loans. Stating that genuine and small farmers have not been able to get agricultural loans, he said that farmers still continue to be deprived of banking loans. According to him, only about 85,000 farmers have received such loans in the last eight years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Khojraj Katuwal, president of the Nepal Agricultural Machinery Entrepreneurs' Association, says that the banking sector should invest heavily in agriculture to uplift Nepal's agricultural sector and make it more commercial. He said that the attraction of the educated generation in the agricultural sector would also increase if the government implements the rule of not only keeping the physical property, but also intellectual property as collateral in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB officials claim that they have not received any complaint from farmers regarding the issue of not being able to get agricultural loans. NRB spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta said that the NRB has made agriculture loan mandatory now, adding that 15 percent of the total loan has to go to the agricultural sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Out of the total loans disbursed by the commercial banks, 11 percent has gone to the agricultural sector. However, if a bank is reluctant to give loan, it may be because of the current situation where banks do not think it is safe to make investments,” said Bhatta adding that about Rs 600 billion has already been invested in the agricultural sector so far.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14707', 'image' => '20220321033912_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 15:38:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14964', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘1.25 Billion Meters of cloths Smuggled into Nepal Every Year’ ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><strong>Om Prakash Khanal</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic industrialists of Nepal estimate that 100 million meters of cloths are produced annually by 200 big and small textile industries of Nepal. The remaining demand is fulfilled through imports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Textile producers claim that about 200 million pieces of cloths enter the country through formal channels while the remaining quantities are entering Nepal unofficially through the open border it shares with India. This shows that around 1.25 billion meters of cloths are imported in an illegal way. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some of this comes from shopping in the markets across the border. However, most of them are smuggled with the intention of evading revenue. Entrepreneurs have accused the agencies deployed at the border for being indifferent to the smuggling. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although the increasing consumption of textile is an opportunity for domestic industries, the illegal supply of textile has been frustrating them. Industrialist Munka complains that the domestic industries have not been able to increase their capacity due to the cheap cloths smuggled in from the open border. The domestic market is dominated by the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Director of Nobel Textile Binay Shah says that the climate of Terai region of Nepal is suitable for the textile industry. However, the industry has not been able to take advantage of this opportunity as the government has not taken a policy to protect the domestic industries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he says that the domestic industries have not been able to increase investment due to unfavorable government policy even though both production and market are favorable.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Another industrialist Ramesh Gadiya claims that the textile industry can become self-reliant if the government provides them protection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"There are examples of countries like the UK, China, Bangladesh moving ahead in industrial development by promoting the textile industry," said Gadiya. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Nepal used to export textile to India until 25/30 years ago. However, the situation has reversed now. Most of the textiles are imported from India, majority of them in illegal way," says Munka who is also the director of Crown and Kohinoor Textile. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14706', 'image' => '20220321014650_cotton-cloth-500x500.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 13:45:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', '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: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', '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 Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS 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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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 his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further 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"">According to the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in Nepal. </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"">Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBN Sushil Bhatta and UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé signed the agreement amid a function in the capital. </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 IBN said the MoU is expected to help in institutional capacity building, promotion of private investment and public private partnership. The MoU also includes the issues of social and environmental impact assessment on project development, project development agreement and project investment agreement, among others. Likewise, cooperation on development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to effectively run the services of IBN are also included in the MoU. </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"">Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at the board’s office, CEO Bhatta said that the agreement would help in investment promotion in Nepal. Bhatta added the MoU has given a new ray of hope on investment promotion in Nepal. He stressed the need for exchange of cooperation on capacity building of IBN and risk reduction of the investors. </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"">On the occasion, UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé said that the UNDP has been collaborating with 170 nations for their development.</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"">She expressed hope that the agreement with the IBN would help in capacity building of all three tiers of government at a time when Nepal is graduating to a developing nation from LDC. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14719', 'image' => '20220323011841_1-s2.0-S0048969721036111-ga1_lrg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 13:18:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14976', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bird Flu Spreads in 11 Districts ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. ', '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 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. Despite the outbreak, the Department of Livestock Services says that it does not have the required budget for the prevention and control of the disease. </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"">Information officer of the department as well as senior livestock development officer Dr Chandra Dhakal said that looking at the damage at present, an additional budget of Rs 60 to 70 million is required for infection control and compensation. </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 budget allocated for bird flu control and compensation in the current fiscal year (FY) is not sufficient as the virus has already caused damages more than the budget set aside for the prevention and control of the disease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated Rs 12.1 million for the control and prevention of bird flu as well as to provide compensation for the poultry farmers. However, the department said that the budget 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"">Dhakal said that the details of the damage in 11 districts have been received and now the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is preparing to seek budget from the Ministry of Finance. </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 infection has spread in Morang, Kathmandu, Sunsari, Udayapur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok, Chitwan, Kaski, Parsa, and Dhanusha districts. At present, 64,872 birds, 27,371 eggs, 15,094 kg feed and 22 kg chicken have been destroyed in these districts. </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"">Dinesh Raj Mishra, general secretary of the Nepal Poultry Federation said that it is unfortunate to have problems in controlling the infection due to lack of budget for the sector which contributes 4.5 percent to the GDP. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There’s inadequate budgets for controlling the spread in the infected area. On the other hand, lack of manpower in the department has made it difficult for the authorities to find out the places that have been infected. This has further increased the infection rate. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when the farmers try to get tested for bird flu, it is not possible for timely action due to the lack of human resources.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control the infection immediately, the department said that it is necessary to amend the Monitoring Plan and Standard Operating Procedures of the government in line with the laws prevalent at the federal, provincial and local levels and the Bird Flu Control Regulations, 2078. Apart from this, a budget should be allocated in each province to control the infection, strengthen inter-state coordination, and coordination with the Ministry of Finance for resource management. </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 outbreak of bird flu was first reported in Nepal in Jhapa on January 16, 2009. Since then, it has spread to more than 250 places in Nepal, according to government statistics. One person died in Nepal in 2019 due to the infection, which can also be transmitted to human beings. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14718', 'image' => '20220323123309_20220224114055_istockphoto-153240559-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 12:32:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14975', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Railway Ordinance Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a statement issued by the President’s Office, the ordinance was issued in accordance with the Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, an ordinance needs to be tabled at the Parliament session within 60 days of the first meeting of both the Houses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The expiry of railway ordinances issued earlier has been creating problems in inaugurating the Jayanagar-Janakpur railway service. The government has invested Rs 1 billion for operating the railway services and has also purchased two trains from India. However, it has not been able to operate the service in lack of related laws.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This is the third time that the government has issued railway ordinance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the government had issued the Railway Ordinance 2078 on May 6, 2021, when there was a lack of law to operate the railways and the parliament was not in session. Seven months after the ordinance became inactive, the Railway Ordinance 2078 was issued again on December 1, 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the ordinance could not be passed by the House of Representatives due to the obstruction created by the main opposition party CPN UML. The winter session of parliament, which was overshadowed by the MCC agenda, was prorogued on March 15 before the Railway Ordinance could be tabled for endorsement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14717', 'image' => '20220323112458_20220316071651_Railwayy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14974', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Wins Int’l Awards at 2022 Asian Telecom Awards', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards. Issuing a statement on Sunday (March 20), Ncell said that the telecommunication giant of Nepal bagged the ‘Telecom Company of the Year’ and ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ awards at the Asian awards ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company said that it was recognized with these prestigious honours for its remarkable performance and establishment of the Integrated Data Centre (IDC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Ncell, the Asian Telecom Awards traces its heritage to the period when Asian Mobile News started in 2003 in Singapore. The awards programme recognises outstanding achievements and initiatives of Asia's leading telecom companies. Winners of the awards under various categories were recognised via digital presentations, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The company further said that prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sector and telecom companies were driven to develop and launch new features and plans to keep serving consumers and stay competitive. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To recognise these extraordinary organisations in the Asia Pacific that showed resilience and outstanding performance, the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 honoured these companies who were able to navigate their way despite various challenges in the market whilst providing relevant and award-winning products and services,” states the Asian Telecom Awards.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell was honoured with the ‘Telecom Company of the Year Award’ for providing a reliable network to Nepal’s population, whilst also contributing to the government’s effort in raising COVID-19 awareness through mass media and its own mobile network. The company also received the ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ award for its resilient effort in building a state-of-the-art cutting-edge IDC, contributing to the government’s initiative in establishing a backbone for its digitalisation drive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> “We are truly honoured to receive the prestigious Asian Telecom Awards in two categories. These awards reflect how we have been contributing to the people and the country. This is also a recognition for what we have done in response against the COVID since 2020 and our continuous digitalization journey,” the statement quoted Andy Chong, CEO of Ncell, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Our achievements are shaped by the strength of the foundations we have put in place, and I would like to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment to excellence.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Ncell claimed that it was the first private entity to support the government by contributing Rs 100 million to the COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control, and Treatment Fund set up by the government to support its initiative for COVID-19 response. As part of its CSR, the company also collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Population as an exclusive partner to raise awareness on COVID-19 to endorse key behavioral changes amongst the general public as a prevention against the spread of COVID-19, the company added. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the infrastructure front, Ncell has built the Tier-III standard IDC in a highly sensitive earthquake zone in Kathmandu Valley to provide stable and resilient connectivity considering the nature of the area. This is first of its kind in the South Asia region that such infrastructure has been built, the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This is also one of many significant investments of the company which will play a crucial role in supporting Digital Nepal framework of the government for the journey towards digital future.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell said it built the IDC taking into account the impact of the devastating earthquakes of 2015, to make sure that a proper framework was established to respond to disasters in a better way. The company said that the IDC is also a physical testament to the company’s commitment to having a robust infrastructure in responding to such crises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It will serve to enhance data-based businesses, ensuring a stable and wide-band network, anticipating the need of clients from various sectors including banking, financial institutions, and insurance companies amongst others.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, Ncell had also bagged multiple prestigious awards in 2021 which include ‘Most Impactful Sustainability Initiative’ and ‘Best Overall COVID-19 Response’ in Axiata Senior Leadership Awards 2021; ‘The Social Contribution Award’ and ‘Crisis Response Award’ in World Communication Awards (WCA) 2021; ‘Innovative Health Solutions Award (Private Sector/NGO)’ in World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards – Merit Award 2021; ‘Telecom CEO of the Year’ and ‘Most Socially Responsible Telecom Company’ in Global Business Outlook (GBO) Awards 2021 and ‘National HR Excellence Awards 2020’ HR Meet 2021, Growth Sellers Private Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, other awards conferred to Ncell in 2021 were ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2021’ by Employer Branding Institute, World Human Resource Development Congress and Stars of the Industry Group, ‘Health Tech Award 2021’ by Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Awards and ‘TM Forum Catalyst Team Award 2021-Sustainability leadership’ by TM Forum’s 2021 Catalyst awards.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14716', 'image' => '20220322084342_Ncell Awards.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 20:42:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14973', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers Facing Shortage of Fertilizers as Government Stores them in Warehouse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. But the farmers have not received the fertilizer even after the onset of maize sowing season. The company is waiting for the distribution order from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the sales of the stored fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Pradip Kafle, a farmer from Jhumka in Sunsari, says, “Fertilizer was not available before sowing maize. The government is forcing the farmers to use inferior fertilizers from India while storing the needed fertilizer in the warehouses.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bhubaneswar Yadav, another farmer from Chhitaha in Sunsari, has sown maize in 6 bighas of land (3.71 acres). He has repeatedly approached the Biratnagar-based Agriculture Inputs Company Limited to get the required DAP fertilizer but has not been able to acquire it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are 682 farmers affiliated to his Chandrodaya Agricultural Cooperative. They need 100 tons of fertilizer for about 100 hectares of land. However, the state-owned company responsible for distributing fertilzers to the farmers at subsidized rates has been dilly-dallying the distribution of fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has forced the farmers to buy of fertilizer smuggled from the across the border. Now, it is already time for sowing the seeds of maize and planting sugarcane. But, the Agciculture Inputs Company has not distributed the stacked fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shyam Sundar Chaudhary, a farmer from Gadhi village is surprised why the fertilizer is not being distributed despite having a stock at the warehouse. The Trishakti Agricultural Cooperative, which he is associated with, has 100 farmers who own about 800 hectares of land. He is disappointed that he did not get fertilizer needed for maize and sugarcane at the peak of planting season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authorities keep saying they have stock of fertilizer and will be distributed it in 1 or 2 weeks. But they do not distribute. Due to this, the farmers are worried that they will have to grow the crops without fertilizers, which will result in a decline in production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Lamichhane, the acting chief of the provincial office of the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited said that they received 2,250 tons of DAP which have been safely stored in the warehouse. He said that the fertilizer could be sold to the farmers at Rs 2200 per sack. But they cannot sell the fertilizers unless the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development grants them permission to do so.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Province 1 has a demand for about 70,000 tons of fertilizers, but only 2,250 tons of fertilizers are available. The fertilizer stored at the warehouse needs to be supplied to the 14 districts of Province 1 and to Province 2 as well. However, the distribution has not been possible since the ministry has not granted such permission.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company said that they could not distribute the fertilizer as the Ministry of Agriculture of Province 1 has not issued any order regarding the amount of fertilizers to be sent to each district. They said that the farmers would be relieved this time if urea arrives as per the G2G agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14715', 'image' => '20220322063339_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 18:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14972', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Preparing to Downsize Budget for PM Employment Programme ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is under pressure to lower the budget for distribution-oriented programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2079/80). Therefore, the government decided to cut the budget for the PMEP due to resource crunch.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, the National Planning Commission has reduced the ceiling for this programme. Director of the PM Employment Programme and joint secretary of the ministry, Danduraj Ghimire confirmed that the ceiling has been reduced. He said that the ministry has given the maximum limit for spending in such projects run with the assistance of the World Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The NPC has fixed a ceiling of Rs 3.70 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2078/79), the government had allocated Rs 12 billion for the PM Employment Programme along with Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) project run with support from the World Bank. For the next fiscal year, the government can spend a maximum of Rs 7.5 billion for these projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The funds provided by the World Bank have been declining, so the ceiling may have come down. There is little chance of a budget increment for these programmes,” Ghimire told New Business Age. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KP Sharma Oli-led government had signed an agreement with the World Bank to avail loan for the ‘YETI’ project to support the PM Employment Programme. Accordingly, the World Bank has already provided concessional loans of $120 million or Rs 14 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank agreed to provide the loan for four years. Under this heading, the World Bank has given a loan of Rs 7 billion for the current fiscal year, while the government has allocated Rs 5 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government has been able to spend only Rs 350 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal year under this programme. The PMEP is a project run at the local level. The budget needs to be transferred to the account of the local units. But the programme is not being run effectively even though eight months have already elapsed in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last year, around 176,000 people received employment under this programme while the officials at the ministry have been saying that more people will get employment this year. However, labour expert Ganesh Gurung says that the government has not been able to implement the programme effectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government could have made a difference by providing employment to the people through the PMEP when the economy was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. But that didn’t happen, says Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14714', 'image' => '20220322052440_6017968757738_pm_employment.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 17:23:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14971', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trade Deficit Remains High due to Inflation in International Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Due to the rising Balance of Payments (BoP) and declining foreign exchange reserves, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had adopted a strategy to discourage imports. Despite such measures, the trade deficit remains high because of the increase in prices of the imported items.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Customs, the country imported goods worth Rs 1387.3 billion as of mid-March in the current fiscal year while the country’s export during this time was worth Rs 147.74 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The country’s BoP is high and the foreign exchange reserves declining due to excessive imports. Taking this into consideration, the central bank had adopted various policies since the last three months to discourage imports. In late December, NRB introduced a provision of 100 percent cash margin for opening LC to import 20 luxurious items. The central bank added another 27 items to the list in late January. A month later, the central bank reduced the import quota of gold by half to 10 kg. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the imports declined in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), it again increased the very next month (mid-February to mid-March).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported goods worth Rs 161 billion in mid-February to mid-March while the imports were worth Rs 148 billion in mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal’s exports also increased in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). During the review month, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 16 billion against Rs 12 billion a month ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the quantity of imports has declined, the prices have increased in the international market and the value of Nepali currency has depreciated compared to the US dollars. As a result, the trade deficit remains high, according to Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14713', 'image' => '20220322021323_Trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 14:12:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14970', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Internet Service Providers Fail to Clear Dues for Using NEA’s Electricity Poles', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles. Last September, the ISPs and cable TV service providers had reached an understanding with the NEA to pay certain amount within November for using electricity pole. The two sides had also agreed for a new charge for using the poles. However, the NEA says that the service providers have not paid the dues even three months after the deadline ended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA added that the service providers have not yet contacted them for new agreement on pole rent. NEA has also warned to cut the wires again after the internet and cable television service providers did not come to pay the charges and sign new agreement. NEA issued a public notice a few days ago asking the ISPs to clear the dues immediately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai warned of cutting the wires again if the service providers fail to pay the charges. “We have already issued a notice seeking clearance of dues for using the electricity poles. If the service providers do not come to pay the charges as specified in the notice, we will cut the wire,” said Bhattarai. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sudhir Parajuli, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal refused to make any comment on this issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last September, a task force was formed to resolve the dispute over the pole rent. The task force formed under the coordination of a joint secretary of the Ministry of Communications consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Nepal Electricity Authority and internet service providers. The task force had submitted a study report to the Ministry of Communications last November, which concluded that the pole rent was expensive and suggested a new rate. However, the government is yet to take any decision as per the recommendation of the taskforce.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers are supposed to pay a certain amount for using the structures including the electricity poles of the NEA. However, NEA has stated that some companies have not paid such rent since 2015. NEA had announced the new rent with effect from 2018. However, some companies have not paid the new rent saying it is too expensive. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14712', 'image' => '20220322012959_connectingtotheinternet_image.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 13:29:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14968', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, Qatar Agree to Renew Bilateral Labour Pact ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to government sources, the two countries agreed to renew the labour pact following a meeting held between Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, and Labour Minister of Qatar, Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri during Minister Shrestha’s ongoing visit to Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha briefed his Qatari counterpart about the draft sent by the Government of Nepal for the renewal of labour agreement between Nepal and Qatar. According to Minister Shrestha's Secretariat, both sides agreed to finalize the draft soon by holding discussions over it. Once the draft is finalized, the two countries agreed to organize a ceremony to sign the agreement in Nepal. The two countries had initially signed the agreement in 2005 in a bid to make labour migration safe and regular. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the ongoing visit of the Nepali delegation, both the ministers held discussions on implementation of decisions made by the fourth meeting of Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee organised in Kathmandu in December, 2021. Nepal and Qatar had agreed to revise the labour agreement back then.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Various issues including social security of Nepali workers, safety at workplace, health facility and arrangement of 24-hour insurance were also discussed, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal (RSS) reported.</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"">According to the RSS, there are more than 300,000 Nepali workers in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Qatari Minister Marri expressed his interest to recruit Nepali workers in the FIFA World Cup to be held later in 2022 in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting was attended by Secretary Ek Narayn Aryal, Joint-Secretary Rajeev Pokharel, Under-Secretary Dr Thaneshwar Bhusal, officials of the Nepali Embassy in Qatar and Secretary of the Labour Ministry of Qatar, Mohammed Hassan Al Obaidli. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14710', 'image' => '20220322111531_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Qatar_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 11:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14967', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Arriving on March 25 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. ', '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: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shared about the three-day visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister beginning from upcoming Friday. Chinese Minister Wang is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the statement said that he will also meet with former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairperson KP Sharma Oli and former Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Dr Khadka, leading their respective delegations on March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Councilor Wang Yi will return home on March 27, informed the MoFA. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Related News</span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Read also: </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14px">What are the Agendas of Nepal during upcoming Visit of Chinese Foreign Minister?</span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">https://www.newbusinessage.com/Articles/view/14935</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14709', 'image' => '20220321055304_1647854768.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 17:52:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14965', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Small and Genuine Farmers Struggle to get Loans', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. As per the plan, he went to the Rastriya Banijya Bank near his village to take loan. But to his disappointment, he could not get any loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It’s already been 10 months since I tried to take a loan of Rs 10 million to modernize vegetable and fruit farming. But there is still no hope of getting any loan,” said Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks and financial institutions are constantly introducing various agricultural loan schemes. But eventually, most of the farmers end up dejected like Bhuwaneshwor Yadav. Although the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show huge investments for agricultural loans, such loans never reach the farmers in reality.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Guriya Kumari Jhanani, another farmer, states that only those who have affiliations with the bank get loans. “Farmers like us have no access to banks. Due to which the hard working farmers always have to face trouble to acquire loans from banks,” she said. She complained that she had been trying to get a loan for 6 months but has not received it yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Talking with New Business Age, Yadav said that most of the farmers have been cultivating improved varieties of vegetables and fruits by taking loans from relatives and rich people of the village at 36 percent interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The monetary policy introduced by the central bank also mentions about providing agricultural loans to the farmers for the promotion of agro-enterprises and businesses, but farmers like us have to face lots of problems in getting loans from banks,” added Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Director of Nepal Bankers Association, Anil Sharma also says that it is still difficult for farmers to get loans. Stating that genuine and small farmers have not been able to get agricultural loans, he said that farmers still continue to be deprived of banking loans. According to him, only about 85,000 farmers have received such loans in the last eight years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Khojraj Katuwal, president of the Nepal Agricultural Machinery Entrepreneurs' Association, says that the banking sector should invest heavily in agriculture to uplift Nepal's agricultural sector and make it more commercial. He said that the attraction of the educated generation in the agricultural sector would also increase if the government implements the rule of not only keeping the physical property, but also intellectual property as collateral in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB officials claim that they have not received any complaint from farmers regarding the issue of not being able to get agricultural loans. NRB spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta said that the NRB has made agriculture loan mandatory now, adding that 15 percent of the total loan has to go to the agricultural sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Out of the total loans disbursed by the commercial banks, 11 percent has gone to the agricultural sector. However, if a bank is reluctant to give loan, it may be because of the current situation where banks do not think it is safe to make investments,” said Bhatta adding that about Rs 600 billion has already been invested in the agricultural sector so far.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14707', 'image' => '20220321033912_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 15:38:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14964', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘1.25 Billion Meters of cloths Smuggled into Nepal Every Year’ ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><strong>Om Prakash Khanal</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic industrialists of Nepal estimate that 100 million meters of cloths are produced annually by 200 big and small textile industries of Nepal. The remaining demand is fulfilled through imports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Textile producers claim that about 200 million pieces of cloths enter the country through formal channels while the remaining quantities are entering Nepal unofficially through the open border it shares with India. This shows that around 1.25 billion meters of cloths are imported in an illegal way. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some of this comes from shopping in the markets across the border. However, most of them are smuggled with the intention of evading revenue. Entrepreneurs have accused the agencies deployed at the border for being indifferent to the smuggling. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although the increasing consumption of textile is an opportunity for domestic industries, the illegal supply of textile has been frustrating them. Industrialist Munka complains that the domestic industries have not been able to increase their capacity due to the cheap cloths smuggled in from the open border. The domestic market is dominated by the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Director of Nobel Textile Binay Shah says that the climate of Terai region of Nepal is suitable for the textile industry. However, the industry has not been able to take advantage of this opportunity as the government has not taken a policy to protect the domestic industries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he says that the domestic industries have not been able to increase investment due to unfavorable government policy even though both production and market are favorable.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Another industrialist Ramesh Gadiya claims that the textile industry can become self-reliant if the government provides them protection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"There are examples of countries like the UK, China, Bangladesh moving ahead in industrial development by promoting the textile industry," said Gadiya. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Nepal used to export textile to India until 25/30 years ago. However, the situation has reversed now. Most of the textiles are imported from India, majority of them in illegal way," says Munka who is also the director of Crown and Kohinoor Textile. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14706', 'image' => '20220321014650_cotton-cloth-500x500.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 13:45:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', '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: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', '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 Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS 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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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 his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further 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"">According to the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in Nepal. </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"">Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBN Sushil Bhatta and UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé signed the agreement amid a function in the capital. </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 IBN said the MoU is expected to help in institutional capacity building, promotion of private investment and public private partnership. The MoU also includes the issues of social and environmental impact assessment on project development, project development agreement and project investment agreement, among others. Likewise, cooperation on development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to effectively run the services of IBN are also included in the MoU. </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"">Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at the board’s office, CEO Bhatta said that the agreement would help in investment promotion in Nepal. Bhatta added the MoU has given a new ray of hope on investment promotion in Nepal. He stressed the need for exchange of cooperation on capacity building of IBN and risk reduction of the investors. </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"">On the occasion, UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé said that the UNDP has been collaborating with 170 nations for their development.</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"">She expressed hope that the agreement with the IBN would help in capacity building of all three tiers of government at a time when Nepal is graduating to a developing nation from LDC. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14719', 'image' => '20220323011841_1-s2.0-S0048969721036111-ga1_lrg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 13:18:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14976', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bird Flu Spreads in 11 Districts ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. ', '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 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. Despite the outbreak, the Department of Livestock Services says that it does not have the required budget for the prevention and control of the disease. </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"">Information officer of the department as well as senior livestock development officer Dr Chandra Dhakal said that looking at the damage at present, an additional budget of Rs 60 to 70 million is required for infection control and compensation. </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 budget allocated for bird flu control and compensation in the current fiscal year (FY) is not sufficient as the virus has already caused damages more than the budget set aside for the prevention and control of the disease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated Rs 12.1 million for the control and prevention of bird flu as well as to provide compensation for the poultry farmers. However, the department said that the budget 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"">Dhakal said that the details of the damage in 11 districts have been received and now the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is preparing to seek budget from the Ministry of Finance. </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 infection has spread in Morang, Kathmandu, Sunsari, Udayapur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok, Chitwan, Kaski, Parsa, and Dhanusha districts. At present, 64,872 birds, 27,371 eggs, 15,094 kg feed and 22 kg chicken have been destroyed in these districts. </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"">Dinesh Raj Mishra, general secretary of the Nepal Poultry Federation said that it is unfortunate to have problems in controlling the infection due to lack of budget for the sector which contributes 4.5 percent to the GDP. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There’s inadequate budgets for controlling the spread in the infected area. On the other hand, lack of manpower in the department has made it difficult for the authorities to find out the places that have been infected. This has further increased the infection rate. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when the farmers try to get tested for bird flu, it is not possible for timely action due to the lack of human resources.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control the infection immediately, the department said that it is necessary to amend the Monitoring Plan and Standard Operating Procedures of the government in line with the laws prevalent at the federal, provincial and local levels and the Bird Flu Control Regulations, 2078. Apart from this, a budget should be allocated in each province to control the infection, strengthen inter-state coordination, and coordination with the Ministry of Finance for resource management. </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 outbreak of bird flu was first reported in Nepal in Jhapa on January 16, 2009. Since then, it has spread to more than 250 places in Nepal, according to government statistics. One person died in Nepal in 2019 due to the infection, which can also be transmitted to human beings. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14718', 'image' => '20220323123309_20220224114055_istockphoto-153240559-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 12:32:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14975', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Railway Ordinance Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a statement issued by the President’s Office, the ordinance was issued in accordance with the Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, an ordinance needs to be tabled at the Parliament session within 60 days of the first meeting of both the Houses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The expiry of railway ordinances issued earlier has been creating problems in inaugurating the Jayanagar-Janakpur railway service. The government has invested Rs 1 billion for operating the railway services and has also purchased two trains from India. However, it has not been able to operate the service in lack of related laws.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This is the third time that the government has issued railway ordinance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the government had issued the Railway Ordinance 2078 on May 6, 2021, when there was a lack of law to operate the railways and the parliament was not in session. Seven months after the ordinance became inactive, the Railway Ordinance 2078 was issued again on December 1, 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the ordinance could not be passed by the House of Representatives due to the obstruction created by the main opposition party CPN UML. The winter session of parliament, which was overshadowed by the MCC agenda, was prorogued on March 15 before the Railway Ordinance could be tabled for endorsement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14717', 'image' => '20220323112458_20220316071651_Railwayy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14974', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Wins Int’l Awards at 2022 Asian Telecom Awards', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards. Issuing a statement on Sunday (March 20), Ncell said that the telecommunication giant of Nepal bagged the ‘Telecom Company of the Year’ and ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ awards at the Asian awards ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company said that it was recognized with these prestigious honours for its remarkable performance and establishment of the Integrated Data Centre (IDC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Ncell, the Asian Telecom Awards traces its heritage to the period when Asian Mobile News started in 2003 in Singapore. The awards programme recognises outstanding achievements and initiatives of Asia's leading telecom companies. Winners of the awards under various categories were recognised via digital presentations, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The company further said that prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sector and telecom companies were driven to develop and launch new features and plans to keep serving consumers and stay competitive. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To recognise these extraordinary organisations in the Asia Pacific that showed resilience and outstanding performance, the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 honoured these companies who were able to navigate their way despite various challenges in the market whilst providing relevant and award-winning products and services,” states the Asian Telecom Awards.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell was honoured with the ‘Telecom Company of the Year Award’ for providing a reliable network to Nepal’s population, whilst also contributing to the government’s effort in raising COVID-19 awareness through mass media and its own mobile network. The company also received the ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ award for its resilient effort in building a state-of-the-art cutting-edge IDC, contributing to the government’s initiative in establishing a backbone for its digitalisation drive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> “We are truly honoured to receive the prestigious Asian Telecom Awards in two categories. These awards reflect how we have been contributing to the people and the country. This is also a recognition for what we have done in response against the COVID since 2020 and our continuous digitalization journey,” the statement quoted Andy Chong, CEO of Ncell, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Our achievements are shaped by the strength of the foundations we have put in place, and I would like to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment to excellence.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Ncell claimed that it was the first private entity to support the government by contributing Rs 100 million to the COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control, and Treatment Fund set up by the government to support its initiative for COVID-19 response. As part of its CSR, the company also collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Population as an exclusive partner to raise awareness on COVID-19 to endorse key behavioral changes amongst the general public as a prevention against the spread of COVID-19, the company added. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the infrastructure front, Ncell has built the Tier-III standard IDC in a highly sensitive earthquake zone in Kathmandu Valley to provide stable and resilient connectivity considering the nature of the area. This is first of its kind in the South Asia region that such infrastructure has been built, the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This is also one of many significant investments of the company which will play a crucial role in supporting Digital Nepal framework of the government for the journey towards digital future.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell said it built the IDC taking into account the impact of the devastating earthquakes of 2015, to make sure that a proper framework was established to respond to disasters in a better way. The company said that the IDC is also a physical testament to the company’s commitment to having a robust infrastructure in responding to such crises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It will serve to enhance data-based businesses, ensuring a stable and wide-band network, anticipating the need of clients from various sectors including banking, financial institutions, and insurance companies amongst others.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, Ncell had also bagged multiple prestigious awards in 2021 which include ‘Most Impactful Sustainability Initiative’ and ‘Best Overall COVID-19 Response’ in Axiata Senior Leadership Awards 2021; ‘The Social Contribution Award’ and ‘Crisis Response Award’ in World Communication Awards (WCA) 2021; ‘Innovative Health Solutions Award (Private Sector/NGO)’ in World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards – Merit Award 2021; ‘Telecom CEO of the Year’ and ‘Most Socially Responsible Telecom Company’ in Global Business Outlook (GBO) Awards 2021 and ‘National HR Excellence Awards 2020’ HR Meet 2021, Growth Sellers Private Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, other awards conferred to Ncell in 2021 were ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2021’ by Employer Branding Institute, World Human Resource Development Congress and Stars of the Industry Group, ‘Health Tech Award 2021’ by Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Awards and ‘TM Forum Catalyst Team Award 2021-Sustainability leadership’ by TM Forum’s 2021 Catalyst awards.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14716', 'image' => '20220322084342_Ncell Awards.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 20:42:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14973', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers Facing Shortage of Fertilizers as Government Stores them in Warehouse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. But the farmers have not received the fertilizer even after the onset of maize sowing season. The company is waiting for the distribution order from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the sales of the stored fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Pradip Kafle, a farmer from Jhumka in Sunsari, says, “Fertilizer was not available before sowing maize. The government is forcing the farmers to use inferior fertilizers from India while storing the needed fertilizer in the warehouses.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bhubaneswar Yadav, another farmer from Chhitaha in Sunsari, has sown maize in 6 bighas of land (3.71 acres). He has repeatedly approached the Biratnagar-based Agriculture Inputs Company Limited to get the required DAP fertilizer but has not been able to acquire it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are 682 farmers affiliated to his Chandrodaya Agricultural Cooperative. They need 100 tons of fertilizer for about 100 hectares of land. However, the state-owned company responsible for distributing fertilzers to the farmers at subsidized rates has been dilly-dallying the distribution of fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has forced the farmers to buy of fertilizer smuggled from the across the border. Now, it is already time for sowing the seeds of maize and planting sugarcane. But, the Agciculture Inputs Company has not distributed the stacked fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shyam Sundar Chaudhary, a farmer from Gadhi village is surprised why the fertilizer is not being distributed despite having a stock at the warehouse. The Trishakti Agricultural Cooperative, which he is associated with, has 100 farmers who own about 800 hectares of land. He is disappointed that he did not get fertilizer needed for maize and sugarcane at the peak of planting season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authorities keep saying they have stock of fertilizer and will be distributed it in 1 or 2 weeks. But they do not distribute. Due to this, the farmers are worried that they will have to grow the crops without fertilizers, which will result in a decline in production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Lamichhane, the acting chief of the provincial office of the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited said that they received 2,250 tons of DAP which have been safely stored in the warehouse. He said that the fertilizer could be sold to the farmers at Rs 2200 per sack. But they cannot sell the fertilizers unless the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development grants them permission to do so.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Province 1 has a demand for about 70,000 tons of fertilizers, but only 2,250 tons of fertilizers are available. The fertilizer stored at the warehouse needs to be supplied to the 14 districts of Province 1 and to Province 2 as well. However, the distribution has not been possible since the ministry has not granted such permission.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company said that they could not distribute the fertilizer as the Ministry of Agriculture of Province 1 has not issued any order regarding the amount of fertilizers to be sent to each district. They said that the farmers would be relieved this time if urea arrives as per the G2G agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14715', 'image' => '20220322063339_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 18:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14972', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Preparing to Downsize Budget for PM Employment Programme ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is under pressure to lower the budget for distribution-oriented programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2079/80). Therefore, the government decided to cut the budget for the PMEP due to resource crunch.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, the National Planning Commission has reduced the ceiling for this programme. Director of the PM Employment Programme and joint secretary of the ministry, Danduraj Ghimire confirmed that the ceiling has been reduced. He said that the ministry has given the maximum limit for spending in such projects run with the assistance of the World Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The NPC has fixed a ceiling of Rs 3.70 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2078/79), the government had allocated Rs 12 billion for the PM Employment Programme along with Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) project run with support from the World Bank. For the next fiscal year, the government can spend a maximum of Rs 7.5 billion for these projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The funds provided by the World Bank have been declining, so the ceiling may have come down. There is little chance of a budget increment for these programmes,” Ghimire told New Business Age. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KP Sharma Oli-led government had signed an agreement with the World Bank to avail loan for the ‘YETI’ project to support the PM Employment Programme. Accordingly, the World Bank has already provided concessional loans of $120 million or Rs 14 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank agreed to provide the loan for four years. Under this heading, the World Bank has given a loan of Rs 7 billion for the current fiscal year, while the government has allocated Rs 5 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government has been able to spend only Rs 350 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal year under this programme. The PMEP is a project run at the local level. The budget needs to be transferred to the account of the local units. But the programme is not being run effectively even though eight months have already elapsed in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last year, around 176,000 people received employment under this programme while the officials at the ministry have been saying that more people will get employment this year. However, labour expert Ganesh Gurung says that the government has not been able to implement the programme effectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government could have made a difference by providing employment to the people through the PMEP when the economy was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. But that didn’t happen, says Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14714', 'image' => '20220322052440_6017968757738_pm_employment.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 17:23:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14971', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trade Deficit Remains High due to Inflation in International Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Due to the rising Balance of Payments (BoP) and declining foreign exchange reserves, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had adopted a strategy to discourage imports. Despite such measures, the trade deficit remains high because of the increase in prices of the imported items.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Customs, the country imported goods worth Rs 1387.3 billion as of mid-March in the current fiscal year while the country’s export during this time was worth Rs 147.74 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The country’s BoP is high and the foreign exchange reserves declining due to excessive imports. Taking this into consideration, the central bank had adopted various policies since the last three months to discourage imports. In late December, NRB introduced a provision of 100 percent cash margin for opening LC to import 20 luxurious items. The central bank added another 27 items to the list in late January. A month later, the central bank reduced the import quota of gold by half to 10 kg. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the imports declined in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), it again increased the very next month (mid-February to mid-March).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported goods worth Rs 161 billion in mid-February to mid-March while the imports were worth Rs 148 billion in mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal’s exports also increased in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). During the review month, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 16 billion against Rs 12 billion a month ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the quantity of imports has declined, the prices have increased in the international market and the value of Nepali currency has depreciated compared to the US dollars. As a result, the trade deficit remains high, according to Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14713', 'image' => '20220322021323_Trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 14:12:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14970', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Internet Service Providers Fail to Clear Dues for Using NEA’s Electricity Poles', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles. Last September, the ISPs and cable TV service providers had reached an understanding with the NEA to pay certain amount within November for using electricity pole. The two sides had also agreed for a new charge for using the poles. However, the NEA says that the service providers have not paid the dues even three months after the deadline ended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA added that the service providers have not yet contacted them for new agreement on pole rent. NEA has also warned to cut the wires again after the internet and cable television service providers did not come to pay the charges and sign new agreement. NEA issued a public notice a few days ago asking the ISPs to clear the dues immediately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai warned of cutting the wires again if the service providers fail to pay the charges. “We have already issued a notice seeking clearance of dues for using the electricity poles. If the service providers do not come to pay the charges as specified in the notice, we will cut the wire,” said Bhattarai. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sudhir Parajuli, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal refused to make any comment on this issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last September, a task force was formed to resolve the dispute over the pole rent. The task force formed under the coordination of a joint secretary of the Ministry of Communications consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Nepal Electricity Authority and internet service providers. The task force had submitted a study report to the Ministry of Communications last November, which concluded that the pole rent was expensive and suggested a new rate. However, the government is yet to take any decision as per the recommendation of the taskforce.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers are supposed to pay a certain amount for using the structures including the electricity poles of the NEA. However, NEA has stated that some companies have not paid such rent since 2015. NEA had announced the new rent with effect from 2018. However, some companies have not paid the new rent saying it is too expensive. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14712', 'image' => '20220322012959_connectingtotheinternet_image.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 13:29:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14968', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, Qatar Agree to Renew Bilateral Labour Pact ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to government sources, the two countries agreed to renew the labour pact following a meeting held between Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, and Labour Minister of Qatar, Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri during Minister Shrestha’s ongoing visit to Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha briefed his Qatari counterpart about the draft sent by the Government of Nepal for the renewal of labour agreement between Nepal and Qatar. According to Minister Shrestha's Secretariat, both sides agreed to finalize the draft soon by holding discussions over it. Once the draft is finalized, the two countries agreed to organize a ceremony to sign the agreement in Nepal. The two countries had initially signed the agreement in 2005 in a bid to make labour migration safe and regular. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the ongoing visit of the Nepali delegation, both the ministers held discussions on implementation of decisions made by the fourth meeting of Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee organised in Kathmandu in December, 2021. Nepal and Qatar had agreed to revise the labour agreement back then.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Various issues including social security of Nepali workers, safety at workplace, health facility and arrangement of 24-hour insurance were also discussed, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal (RSS) reported.</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"">According to the RSS, there are more than 300,000 Nepali workers in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Qatari Minister Marri expressed his interest to recruit Nepali workers in the FIFA World Cup to be held later in 2022 in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting was attended by Secretary Ek Narayn Aryal, Joint-Secretary Rajeev Pokharel, Under-Secretary Dr Thaneshwar Bhusal, officials of the Nepali Embassy in Qatar and Secretary of the Labour Ministry of Qatar, Mohammed Hassan Al Obaidli. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14710', 'image' => '20220322111531_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Qatar_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 11:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14967', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Arriving on March 25 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. ', '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: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shared about the three-day visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister beginning from upcoming Friday. Chinese Minister Wang is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the statement said that he will also meet with former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairperson KP Sharma Oli and former Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Dr Khadka, leading their respective delegations on March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Councilor Wang Yi will return home on March 27, informed the MoFA. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Related News</span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Read also: </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14px">What are the Agendas of Nepal during upcoming Visit of Chinese Foreign Minister?</span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">https://www.newbusinessage.com/Articles/view/14935</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14709', 'image' => '20220321055304_1647854768.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 17:52:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14965', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Small and Genuine Farmers Struggle to get Loans', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. As per the plan, he went to the Rastriya Banijya Bank near his village to take loan. But to his disappointment, he could not get any loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It’s already been 10 months since I tried to take a loan of Rs 10 million to modernize vegetable and fruit farming. But there is still no hope of getting any loan,” said Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks and financial institutions are constantly introducing various agricultural loan schemes. But eventually, most of the farmers end up dejected like Bhuwaneshwor Yadav. Although the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show huge investments for agricultural loans, such loans never reach the farmers in reality.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Guriya Kumari Jhanani, another farmer, states that only those who have affiliations with the bank get loans. “Farmers like us have no access to banks. Due to which the hard working farmers always have to face trouble to acquire loans from banks,” she said. She complained that she had been trying to get a loan for 6 months but has not received it yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Talking with New Business Age, Yadav said that most of the farmers have been cultivating improved varieties of vegetables and fruits by taking loans from relatives and rich people of the village at 36 percent interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The monetary policy introduced by the central bank also mentions about providing agricultural loans to the farmers for the promotion of agro-enterprises and businesses, but farmers like us have to face lots of problems in getting loans from banks,” added Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Director of Nepal Bankers Association, Anil Sharma also says that it is still difficult for farmers to get loans. Stating that genuine and small farmers have not been able to get agricultural loans, he said that farmers still continue to be deprived of banking loans. According to him, only about 85,000 farmers have received such loans in the last eight years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Khojraj Katuwal, president of the Nepal Agricultural Machinery Entrepreneurs' Association, says that the banking sector should invest heavily in agriculture to uplift Nepal's agricultural sector and make it more commercial. He said that the attraction of the educated generation in the agricultural sector would also increase if the government implements the rule of not only keeping the physical property, but also intellectual property as collateral in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB officials claim that they have not received any complaint from farmers regarding the issue of not being able to get agricultural loans. NRB spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta said that the NRB has made agriculture loan mandatory now, adding that 15 percent of the total loan has to go to the agricultural sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Out of the total loans disbursed by the commercial banks, 11 percent has gone to the agricultural sector. However, if a bank is reluctant to give loan, it may be because of the current situation where banks do not think it is safe to make investments,” said Bhatta adding that about Rs 600 billion has already been invested in the agricultural sector so far.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14707', 'image' => '20220321033912_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 15:38:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14964', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘1.25 Billion Meters of cloths Smuggled into Nepal Every Year’ ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><strong>Om Prakash Khanal</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic industrialists of Nepal estimate that 100 million meters of cloths are produced annually by 200 big and small textile industries of Nepal. The remaining demand is fulfilled through imports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Textile producers claim that about 200 million pieces of cloths enter the country through formal channels while the remaining quantities are entering Nepal unofficially through the open border it shares with India. This shows that around 1.25 billion meters of cloths are imported in an illegal way. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some of this comes from shopping in the markets across the border. However, most of them are smuggled with the intention of evading revenue. Entrepreneurs have accused the agencies deployed at the border for being indifferent to the smuggling. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although the increasing consumption of textile is an opportunity for domestic industries, the illegal supply of textile has been frustrating them. Industrialist Munka complains that the domestic industries have not been able to increase their capacity due to the cheap cloths smuggled in from the open border. The domestic market is dominated by the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Director of Nobel Textile Binay Shah says that the climate of Terai region of Nepal is suitable for the textile industry. However, the industry has not been able to take advantage of this opportunity as the government has not taken a policy to protect the domestic industries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he says that the domestic industries have not been able to increase investment due to unfavorable government policy even though both production and market are favorable.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Another industrialist Ramesh Gadiya claims that the textile industry can become self-reliant if the government provides them protection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"There are examples of countries like the UK, China, Bangladesh moving ahead in industrial development by promoting the textile industry," said Gadiya. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Nepal used to export textile to India until 25/30 years ago. However, the situation has reversed now. Most of the textiles are imported from India, majority of them in illegal way," says Munka who is also the director of Crown and Kohinoor Textile. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14706', 'image' => '20220321014650_cotton-cloth-500x500.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 13:45:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', '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: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', '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 Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS 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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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 his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further 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"">According to the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">March 23: The Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting public private partnerships (PPP) and SDGs-friendly investment in Nepal. </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"">Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IBN Sushil Bhatta and UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé signed the agreement amid a function in the capital. </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 IBN said the MoU is expected to help in institutional capacity building, promotion of private investment and public private partnership. The MoU also includes the issues of social and environmental impact assessment on project development, project development agreement and project investment agreement, among others. Likewise, cooperation on development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to effectively run the services of IBN are also included in the MoU. </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"">Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at the board’s office, CEO Bhatta said that the agreement would help in investment promotion in Nepal. Bhatta added the MoU has given a new ray of hope on investment promotion in Nepal. He stressed the need for exchange of cooperation on capacity building of IBN and risk reduction of the investors. </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"">On the occasion, UNDP's Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé said that the UNDP has been collaborating with 170 nations for their development.</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"">She expressed hope that the agreement with the IBN would help in capacity building of all three tiers of government at a time when Nepal is graduating to a developing nation from LDC. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14719', 'image' => '20220323011841_1-s2.0-S0048969721036111-ga1_lrg.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 13:18:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14976', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bird Flu Spreads in 11 Districts ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. ', '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 23: The latest spell of bird flu, which was first reported in January this year, has now spread to 11 districts. Despite the outbreak, the Department of Livestock Services says that it does not have the required budget for the prevention and control of the disease. </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"">Information officer of the department as well as senior livestock development officer Dr Chandra Dhakal said that looking at the damage at present, an additional budget of Rs 60 to 70 million is required for infection control and compensation. </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 budget allocated for bird flu control and compensation in the current fiscal year (FY) is not sufficient as the virus has already caused damages more than the budget set aside for the prevention and control of the disease.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government has allocated Rs 12.1 million for the control and prevention of bird flu as well as to provide compensation for the poultry farmers. However, the department said that the budget 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"">Dhakal said that the details of the damage in 11 districts have been received and now the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is preparing to seek budget from the Ministry of Finance. </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 infection has spread in Morang, Kathmandu, Sunsari, Udayapur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok, Chitwan, Kaski, Parsa, and Dhanusha districts. At present, 64,872 birds, 27,371 eggs, 15,094 kg feed and 22 kg chicken have been destroyed in these districts. </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"">Dinesh Raj Mishra, general secretary of the Nepal Poultry Federation said that it is unfortunate to have problems in controlling the infection due to lack of budget for the sector which contributes 4.5 percent to the GDP. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There’s inadequate budgets for controlling the spread in the infected area. On the other hand, lack of manpower in the department has made it difficult for the authorities to find out the places that have been infected. This has further increased the infection rate. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Even when the farmers try to get tested for bird flu, it is not possible for timely action due to the lack of human resources.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In order to control the infection immediately, the department said that it is necessary to amend the Monitoring Plan and Standard Operating Procedures of the government in line with the laws prevalent at the federal, provincial and local levels and the Bird Flu Control Regulations, 2078. Apart from this, a budget should be allocated in each province to control the infection, strengthen inter-state coordination, and coordination with the Ministry of Finance for resource management. </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 outbreak of bird flu was first reported in Nepal in Jhapa on January 16, 2009. Since then, it has spread to more than 250 places in Nepal, according to government statistics. One person died in Nepal in 2019 due to the infection, which can also be transmitted to human beings. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14718', 'image' => '20220323123309_20220224114055_istockphoto-153240559-612x612.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 12:32:22', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14975', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'President Bhandari Issues Railway Ordinance Again ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 23: President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued the Railway Ordinance-2078 BS on Tuesday, March 22. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to a statement issued by the President’s Office, the ordinance was issued in accordance with the Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal upon the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">As per the constitutional provision, an ordinance needs to be tabled at the Parliament session within 60 days of the first meeting of both the Houses.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The expiry of railway ordinances issued earlier has been creating problems in inaugurating the Jayanagar-Janakpur railway service. The government has invested Rs 1 billion for operating the railway services and has also purchased two trains from India. However, it has not been able to operate the service in lack of related laws.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">This is the third time that the government has issued railway ordinance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the government had issued the Railway Ordinance 2078 on May 6, 2021, when there was a lack of law to operate the railways and the parliament was not in session. Seven months after the ordinance became inactive, the Railway Ordinance 2078 was issued again on December 1, 2021.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">However, the ordinance could not be passed by the House of Representatives due to the obstruction created by the main opposition party CPN UML. The winter session of parliament, which was overshadowed by the MCC agenda, was prorogued on March 15 before the Railway Ordinance could be tabled for endorsement.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-23', 'modified' => '2022-03-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14717', 'image' => '20220323112458_20220316071651_Railwayy.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-23 11:24:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14974', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Ncell Wins Int’l Awards at 2022 Asian Telecom Awards', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: Ncell Axiata Limited has won two prestigious awards at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards. Issuing a statement on Sunday (March 20), Ncell said that the telecommunication giant of Nepal bagged the ‘Telecom Company of the Year’ and ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ awards at the Asian awards ceremony. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The company said that it was recognized with these prestigious honours for its remarkable performance and establishment of the Integrated Data Centre (IDC).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Ncell, the Asian Telecom Awards traces its heritage to the period when Asian Mobile News started in 2003 in Singapore. The awards programme recognises outstanding achievements and initiatives of Asia's leading telecom companies. Winners of the awards under various categories were recognised via digital presentations, the statement added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> The company further said that prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sector and telecom companies were driven to develop and launch new features and plans to keep serving consumers and stay competitive. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“To recognise these extraordinary organisations in the Asia Pacific that showed resilience and outstanding performance, the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 honoured these companies who were able to navigate their way despite various challenges in the market whilst providing relevant and award-winning products and services,” states the Asian Telecom Awards.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell was honoured with the ‘Telecom Company of the Year Award’ for providing a reliable network to Nepal’s population, whilst also contributing to the government’s effort in raising COVID-19 awareness through mass media and its own mobile network. The company also received the ‘Infrastructure Initiative of the Year’ award for its resilient effort in building a state-of-the-art cutting-edge IDC, contributing to the government’s initiative in establishing a backbone for its digitalisation drive.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> “We are truly honoured to receive the prestigious Asian Telecom Awards in two categories. These awards reflect how we have been contributing to the people and the country. This is also a recognition for what we have done in response against the COVID since 2020 and our continuous digitalization journey,” the statement quoted Andy Chong, CEO of Ncell, as saying. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Our achievements are shaped by the strength of the foundations we have put in place, and I would like to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment to excellence.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""> Ncell claimed that it was the first private entity to support the government by contributing Rs 100 million to the COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control, and Treatment Fund set up by the government to support its initiative for COVID-19 response. As part of its CSR, the company also collaborated with the Ministry of Health and Population as an exclusive partner to raise awareness on COVID-19 to endorse key behavioral changes amongst the general public as a prevention against the spread of COVID-19, the company added. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On the infrastructure front, Ncell has built the Tier-III standard IDC in a highly sensitive earthquake zone in Kathmandu Valley to provide stable and resilient connectivity considering the nature of the area. This is first of its kind in the South Asia region that such infrastructure has been built, the statement said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“This is also one of many significant investments of the company which will play a crucial role in supporting Digital Nepal framework of the government for the journey towards digital future.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Ncell said it built the IDC taking into account the impact of the devastating earthquakes of 2015, to make sure that a proper framework was established to respond to disasters in a better way. The company said that the IDC is also a physical testament to the company’s commitment to having a robust infrastructure in responding to such crises.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It will serve to enhance data-based businesses, ensuring a stable and wide-band network, anticipating the need of clients from various sectors including banking, financial institutions, and insurance companies amongst others.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Earlier, Ncell had also bagged multiple prestigious awards in 2021 which include ‘Most Impactful Sustainability Initiative’ and ‘Best Overall COVID-19 Response’ in Axiata Senior Leadership Awards 2021; ‘The Social Contribution Award’ and ‘Crisis Response Award’ in World Communication Awards (WCA) 2021; ‘Innovative Health Solutions Award (Private Sector/NGO)’ in World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global ICT Excellence Awards – Merit Award 2021; ‘Telecom CEO of the Year’ and ‘Most Socially Responsible Telecom Company’ in Global Business Outlook (GBO) Awards 2021 and ‘National HR Excellence Awards 2020’ HR Meet 2021, Growth Sellers Private Limited.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Similarly, other awards conferred to Ncell in 2021 were ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2021’ by Employer Branding Institute, World Human Resource Development Congress and Stars of the Industry Group, ‘Health Tech Award 2021’ by Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Awards and ‘TM Forum Catalyst Team Award 2021-Sustainability leadership’ by TM Forum’s 2021 Catalyst awards.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14716', 'image' => '20220322084342_Ncell Awards.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 20:42:47', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14973', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Farmers Facing Shortage of Fertilizers as Government Stores them in Warehouse', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: It has already been two months since 45,000 sacks of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers have been stored in the warehouse of the provincial offices of Agriculture Inputs Company Limited. But the farmers have not received the fertilizer even after the onset of maize sowing season. The company is waiting for the distribution order from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development for the sales of the stored fertilizer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Pradip Kafle, a farmer from Jhumka in Sunsari, says, “Fertilizer was not available before sowing maize. The government is forcing the farmers to use inferior fertilizers from India while storing the needed fertilizer in the warehouses.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bhubaneswar Yadav, another farmer from Chhitaha in Sunsari, has sown maize in 6 bighas of land (3.71 acres). He has repeatedly approached the Biratnagar-based Agriculture Inputs Company Limited to get the required DAP fertilizer but has not been able to acquire it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There are 682 farmers affiliated to his Chandrodaya Agricultural Cooperative. They need 100 tons of fertilizer for about 100 hectares of land. However, the state-owned company responsible for distributing fertilzers to the farmers at subsidized rates has been dilly-dallying the distribution of fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has forced the farmers to buy of fertilizer smuggled from the across the border. Now, it is already time for sowing the seeds of maize and planting sugarcane. But, the Agciculture Inputs Company has not distributed the stacked fertilizers.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Shyam Sundar Chaudhary, a farmer from Gadhi village is surprised why the fertilizer is not being distributed despite having a stock at the warehouse. The Trishakti Agricultural Cooperative, which he is associated with, has 100 farmers who own about 800 hectares of land. He is disappointed that he did not get fertilizer needed for maize and sugarcane at the peak of planting season.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The authorities keep saying they have stock of fertilizer and will be distributed it in 1 or 2 weeks. But they do not distribute. Due to this, the farmers are worried that they will have to grow the crops without fertilizers, which will result in a decline in production.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Lamichhane, the acting chief of the provincial office of the Agriculture Inputs Company Limited said that they received 2,250 tons of DAP which have been safely stored in the warehouse. He said that the fertilizer could be sold to the farmers at Rs 2200 per sack. But they cannot sell the fertilizers unless the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development grants them permission to do so.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Province 1 has a demand for about 70,000 tons of fertilizers, but only 2,250 tons of fertilizers are available. The fertilizer stored at the warehouse needs to be supplied to the 14 districts of Province 1 and to Province 2 as well. However, the distribution has not been possible since the ministry has not granted such permission.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The company said that they could not distribute the fertilizer as the Ministry of Agriculture of Province 1 has not issued any order regarding the amount of fertilizers to be sent to each district. They said that the farmers would be relieved this time if urea arrives as per the G2G agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14715', 'image' => '20220322063339_Fertilizer.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 18:32:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14972', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Preparing to Downsize Budget for PM Employment Programme ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The government is preparing to donwsize the budget of the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) initiated by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is under pressure to lower the budget for distribution-oriented programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2079/80). Therefore, the government decided to cut the budget for the PMEP due to resource crunch.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, the National Planning Commission has reduced the ceiling for this programme. Director of the PM Employment Programme and joint secretary of the ministry, Danduraj Ghimire confirmed that the ceiling has been reduced. He said that the ministry has given the maximum limit for spending in such projects run with the assistance of the World Bank. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The NPC has fixed a ceiling of Rs 3.70 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In the current fiscal year (FY 2078/79), the government had allocated Rs 12 billion for the PM Employment Programme along with Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) project run with support from the World Bank. For the next fiscal year, the government can spend a maximum of Rs 7.5 billion for these projects. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The funds provided by the World Bank have been declining, so the ceiling may have come down. There is little chance of a budget increment for these programmes,” Ghimire told New Business Age. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KP Sharma Oli-led government had signed an agreement with the World Bank to avail loan for the ‘YETI’ project to support the PM Employment Programme. Accordingly, the World Bank has already provided concessional loans of $120 million or Rs 14 billion. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The World Bank agreed to provide the loan for four years. Under this heading, the World Bank has given a loan of Rs 7 billion for the current fiscal year, while the government has allocated Rs 5 billion for the PM Employment Programme. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the government has been able to spend only Rs 350 million in the first seven months of the current fiscal year under this programme. The PMEP is a project run at the local level. The budget needs to be transferred to the account of the local units. But the programme is not being run effectively even though eight months have already elapsed in the current fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last year, around 176,000 people received employment under this programme while the officials at the ministry have been saying that more people will get employment this year. However, labour expert Ganesh Gurung says that the government has not been able to implement the programme effectively.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government could have made a difference by providing employment to the people through the PMEP when the economy was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. But that didn’t happen, says Gurung.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14714', 'image' => '20220322052440_6017968757738_pm_employment.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 17:23:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14971', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Trade Deficit Remains High due to Inflation in International Market', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: The country’s trade deficit has crossed Rs 1,100 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Due to the rising Balance of Payments (BoP) and declining foreign exchange reserves, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) had adopted a strategy to discourage imports. Despite such measures, the trade deficit remains high because of the increase in prices of the imported items.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to the Department of Customs, the country imported goods worth Rs 1387.3 billion as of mid-March in the current fiscal year while the country’s export during this time was worth Rs 147.74 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The country’s BoP is high and the foreign exchange reserves declining due to excessive imports. Taking this into consideration, the central bank had adopted various policies since the last three months to discourage imports. In late December, NRB introduced a provision of 100 percent cash margin for opening LC to import 20 luxurious items. The central bank added another 27 items to the list in late January. A month later, the central bank reduced the import quota of gold by half to 10 kg. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the imports declined in the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), it again increased the very next month (mid-February to mid-March).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal imported goods worth Rs 161 billion in mid-February to mid-March while the imports were worth Rs 148 billion in mid-January to mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal’s exports also increased in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March). During the review month, Nepal exported goods worth Rs 16 billion against Rs 12 billion a month ago.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the quantity of imports has declined, the prices have increased in the international market and the value of Nepali currency has depreciated compared to the US dollars. As a result, the trade deficit remains high, according to Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14713', 'image' => '20220322021323_Trade.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 14:12:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14970', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Internet Service Providers Fail to Clear Dues for Using NEA’s Electricity Poles', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 22: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has informed that the internet and cable television service providers have not paid the charges for using the electricity poles. Last September, the ISPs and cable TV service providers had reached an understanding with the NEA to pay certain amount within November for using electricity pole. The two sides had also agreed for a new charge for using the poles. However, the NEA says that the service providers have not paid the dues even three months after the deadline ended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA added that the service providers have not yet contacted them for new agreement on pole rent. NEA has also warned to cut the wires again after the internet and cable television service providers did not come to pay the charges and sign new agreement. NEA issued a public notice a few days ago asking the ISPs to clear the dues immediately.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai warned of cutting the wires again if the service providers fail to pay the charges. “We have already issued a notice seeking clearance of dues for using the electricity poles. If the service providers do not come to pay the charges as specified in the notice, we will cut the wire,” said Bhattarai. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Sudhir Parajuli, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal refused to make any comment on this issue.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Last September, a task force was formed to resolve the dispute over the pole rent. The task force formed under the coordination of a joint secretary of the Ministry of Communications consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Nepal Telecommunication Authority, Nepal Electricity Authority and internet service providers. The task force had submitted a study report to the Ministry of Communications last November, which concluded that the pole rent was expensive and suggested a new rate. However, the government is yet to take any decision as per the recommendation of the taskforce.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers are supposed to pay a certain amount for using the structures including the electricity poles of the NEA. However, NEA has stated that some companies have not paid such rent since 2015. NEA had announced the new rent with effect from 2018. However, some companies have not paid the new rent saying it is too expensive. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14712', 'image' => '20220322012959_connectingtotheinternet_image.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 13:29:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14968', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal, Qatar Agree to Renew Bilateral Labour Pact ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 22: The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 22: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Government of Nepal has reached an understanding with Qatar to renew the bilateral labour agreement between the two nations. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to government sources, the two countries agreed to renew the labour pact following a meeting held between Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, and Labour Minister of Qatar, Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri during Minister Shrestha’s ongoing visit to Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Minister Shrestha briefed his Qatari counterpart about the draft sent by the Government of Nepal for the renewal of labour agreement between Nepal and Qatar. According to Minister Shrestha's Secretariat, both sides agreed to finalize the draft soon by holding discussions over it. Once the draft is finalized, the two countries agreed to organize a ceremony to sign the agreement in Nepal. The two countries had initially signed the agreement in 2005 in a bid to make labour migration safe and regular. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During the ongoing visit of the Nepali delegation, both the ministers held discussions on implementation of decisions made by the fourth meeting of Nepal-Qatar Joint Committee organised in Kathmandu in December, 2021. Nepal and Qatar had agreed to revise the labour agreement back then.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Various issues including social security of Nepali workers, safety at workplace, health facility and arrangement of 24-hour insurance were also discussed, the state-owned national news agency of Nepal (RSS) reported.</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"">According to the RSS, there are more than 300,000 Nepali workers in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Similarly, Qatari Minister Marri expressed his interest to recruit Nepali workers in the FIFA World Cup to be held later in 2022 in Qatar. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The meeting was attended by Secretary Ek Narayn Aryal, Joint-Secretary Rajeev Pokharel, Under-Secretary Dr Thaneshwar Bhusal, officials of the Nepali Embassy in Qatar and Secretary of the Labour Ministry of Qatar, Mohammed Hassan Al Obaidli. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-22', 'modified' => '2022-03-22', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14710', 'image' => '20220322111531_Flag-Pins-Nepal-Qatar_600x600.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-22 11:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14967', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Arriving on March 25 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. ', '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: Chinese State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi is paying an official visit to Nepal from March 25 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Narayan Khadka. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shared about the three-day visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister beginning from upcoming Friday. Chinese Minister Wang is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Furthermore, the statement said that he will also meet with former Prime Minister and CPN (UML) Chairperson KP Sharma Oli and former Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Dr Khadka, leading their respective delegations on March 26. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">State Councilor Wang Yi will return home on March 27, informed the MoFA. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Related News</span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Read also: </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14px">What are the Agendas of Nepal during upcoming Visit of Chinese Foreign Minister?</span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">https://www.newbusinessage.com/Articles/view/14935</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14709', 'image' => '20220321055304_1647854768.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 17:52:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14965', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Small and Genuine Farmers Struggle to get Loans', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: Bhuwaneswar Yadav, a farmer of Gadhi-3 Chhitaha in Sunsari, was planning to take an agricultural loan as he was in need of investment to cultivate vegetables and fruits in four hectares of land. As per the plan, he went to the Rastriya Banijya Bank near his village to take loan. But to his disappointment, he could not get any loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“It’s already been 10 months since I tried to take a loan of Rs 10 million to modernize vegetable and fruit farming. But there is still no hope of getting any loan,” said Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Banks and financial institutions are constantly introducing various agricultural loan schemes. But eventually, most of the farmers end up dejected like Bhuwaneshwor Yadav. Although the statistics of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show huge investments for agricultural loans, such loans never reach the farmers in reality.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Guriya Kumari Jhanani, another farmer, states that only those who have affiliations with the bank get loans. “Farmers like us have no access to banks. Due to which the hard working farmers always have to face trouble to acquire loans from banks,” she said. She complained that she had been trying to get a loan for 6 months but has not received it yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Talking with New Business Age, Yadav said that most of the farmers have been cultivating improved varieties of vegetables and fruits by taking loans from relatives and rich people of the village at 36 percent interest. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“The monetary policy introduced by the central bank also mentions about providing agricultural loans to the farmers for the promotion of agro-enterprises and businesses, but farmers like us have to face lots of problems in getting loans from banks,” added Yadav.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Director of Nepal Bankers Association, Anil Sharma also says that it is still difficult for farmers to get loans. Stating that genuine and small farmers have not been able to get agricultural loans, he said that farmers still continue to be deprived of banking loans. According to him, only about 85,000 farmers have received such loans in the last eight years.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Khojraj Katuwal, president of the Nepal Agricultural Machinery Entrepreneurs' Association, says that the banking sector should invest heavily in agriculture to uplift Nepal's agricultural sector and make it more commercial. He said that the attraction of the educated generation in the agricultural sector would also increase if the government implements the rule of not only keeping the physical property, but also intellectual property as collateral in the coming days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NRB officials claim that they have not received any complaint from farmers regarding the issue of not being able to get agricultural loans. NRB spokesperson Gunakar Bhatta said that the NRB has made agriculture loan mandatory now, adding that 15 percent of the total loan has to go to the agricultural sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Out of the total loans disbursed by the commercial banks, 11 percent has gone to the agricultural sector. However, if a bank is reluctant to give loan, it may be because of the current situation where banks do not think it is safe to make investments,” said Bhatta adding that about Rs 600 billion has already been invested in the agricultural sector so far.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14707', 'image' => '20220321033912_Agri.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 15:38:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14964', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '‘1.25 Billion Meters of cloths Smuggled into Nepal Every Year’ ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><strong>Om Prakash Khanal</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">March 21: It is estimated that a person uses an average of 50 meters of cloth per year. On this basis, textile industrialist Pitambar Kumar Munka claims that 1.5 billion meters of cloths are consumed annually in Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Domestic industrialists of Nepal estimate that 100 million meters of cloths are produced annually by 200 big and small textile industries of Nepal. The remaining demand is fulfilled through imports. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Textile producers claim that about 200 million pieces of cloths enter the country through formal channels while the remaining quantities are entering Nepal unofficially through the open border it shares with India. This shows that around 1.25 billion meters of cloths are imported in an illegal way. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some of this comes from shopping in the markets across the border. However, most of them are smuggled with the intention of evading revenue. Entrepreneurs have accused the agencies deployed at the border for being indifferent to the smuggling. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although the increasing consumption of textile is an opportunity for domestic industries, the illegal supply of textile has been frustrating them. Industrialist Munka complains that the domestic industries have not been able to increase their capacity due to the cheap cloths smuggled in from the open border. The domestic market is dominated by the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Director of Nobel Textile Binay Shah says that the climate of Terai region of Nepal is suitable for the textile industry. However, the industry has not been able to take advantage of this opportunity as the government has not taken a policy to protect the domestic industries. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Furthermore, he says that the domestic industries have not been able to increase investment due to unfavorable government policy even though both production and market are favorable.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Another industrialist Ramesh Gadiya claims that the textile industry can become self-reliant if the government provides them protection. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"There are examples of countries like the UK, China, Bangladesh moving ahead in industrial development by promoting the textile industry," said Gadiya. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Nepal used to export textile to India until 25/30 years ago. However, the situation has reversed now. Most of the textiles are imported from India, majority of them in illegal way," says Munka who is also the director of Crown and Kohinoor Textile. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14706', 'image' => '20220321014650_cotton-cloth-500x500.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 13:45:45', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14962', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Icefall Doctors Arrive at Everest Base Camp ', 'sub_title' => 'Arrival of Tourists starts Increasing', 'summary' => 'March 21: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. ', '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: A team of eight icefall doctors has reached the Everest Base Camp to pave the route for mountaineers to the summit of Mt Everest, the world’s highest peak. A team led by Angsarki Sherpa, an icefall doctor who has been active in route construction for a long time, has reached the base camp. </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 team left Namche for the base camp on March 12 and will start the work after determining the auspicious hour with the guidance of a Lama, said Vice-chairman of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) Lama Kaji Sherpa. En route to the base camp, the team also paid homage at the Pangboche monastery. </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"">Icefall doctors carve out the route from the base camp to camp II of Mount Everest using stairs and ropes. From the base camp, the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, as well as Lhotse and Nuptse are climbed. </span></span></span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Tourists start arriving </span></span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Meanwhile, with the onset of the tourist season, foreign tourists have started coming to Khumbu in the Everest region. The number of foreign tourists entering the Khumbu region has been increasing following the onset of spring. </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 Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality, more than 100 domestic and foreign tourists visit the Khumbu area daily. </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"">Arrival of tourists in the Khumbu region had been affected for a long time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a tourism entrepreneur from Khumbu Pasanglamu Rural Municipality-4, Chukum, said that tourists have started coming in large numbers now. </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 bustle of tourists has increased at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla with up to 20 helicopters and 35 flights made to Lukla daily, said Dwarika Achhami, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lukla. </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"">Normally, tourist arrivals in Khumbu area increase from September to November and from February to May every year. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14704', 'image' => '20220321092807_258199_218718311485233_5600013_o.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14961', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'ADB Director General Reaffirms Continued Support for Nepal’s Development Agenda ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 21: The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19.', '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 Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Director General for South Asia, Kenichi Yokoyama, pledged for ADB’s continued support for Nepal’s development during his four-day visit to Nepal from March 16 to 19. Yokoyama had earlier served as the country director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017, the state-owned national news agency RSS 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""> “I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” RSS quoted Director General Yokoyama as saying. </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 RSS, Yokoyama said the focus now should be on structural reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while devolving services to the local levels. These, he believed, would raise productivity in agriculture, manufacturing, and services which are the prerequisites to achieving higher economic growth. </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 his meeting with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama reportedly applauded the government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and manage its impact on public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination programme, with more than 80 percent of the targeted population receiving two doses. He sought the continued leadership of the ministry to accelerate timely, efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms, RSS further 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"">According to the news agency, the ADB Director General also met with Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister for Water Supply, Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister for Urban Development, Ram Kumari Jhankri; Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal; and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners. </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"">He also visited the ADB-supported Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The 137 million dollar project is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and systems in the Kathmandu Valley. </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"">ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an annual average of around 300 million dollar during 2015–2017 to about $600 million during 2018–2020. </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"">"ADB is aiming to maintain support, at 500–600 million dollar in concessional resources per year in the next the years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and more inclusive growth," he assured. </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"">A concessional loan of 250 million dollar was provided by ADB to the government in May 2020 for its COVID-19 pandemic response that focused on providing budgetary resources for the containment and prevention of the virus, protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small businesses. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-21', 'modified' => '2022-03-21', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14703', 'image' => '20220321091056_ADB.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-21 09:09:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14960', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal’s Economy under the Grip of Cronyism', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. ', 'content' => '<p><strong><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Milan Bishwakarma </span></span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">March 20: It has been more than three decades since Nepal adopted a free-market policy but the country’s economy has not progressed as per the expectations. On the contrary, cronyism is flourishing in recent years. Cronyism means the appointment of certain group of people, especially friends and associates to positions of authority by the rulers, without proper regard to their qualifications. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">When cronyism flourishes, businesses lack competition and this in turn will impact the economy negatively. Because of this new trend, the ones governing the country have been taking undue advantage while those with innovative ideas and the ones who believe in hard work are at the receiving end.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Pitambar Sharma says that cronyism thrived after the people’s war waged by the Maoists. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Cronyism existed there even before. But, it has prospered after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal,” said Sharma.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“After the abolition of monarchy, the Maoist rebels came in power. As the new government did not have good links with the business community, cronyism was relatively less for the first few years. But slowly, a limited group of businessmen had access to the bedrooms of the leaders. The leaders also developed good relations with them. That is when cronyism amplified,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is said that the trend of cronyism began in the Netherlands in the 15<sup>th</sup>/16<sup>th</sup> century. Experts say that this trend was prevalent in Nepal since the Malla era. However, many people were hopeful of cronyism to end and competition to prosper after Nepal adopted a free-market policy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Rameshwar Khanal says most of the sectors have already been plagued by cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Besides the agriculture, information and technology sectors, almost all other sectors are in the grip of cronyism,” said Khanal, adding, “Looking at the institutional structure, this trend is overwhelming from the local level to the centre.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to him, cronyism is seen in small scale in the local units and the provinces while there is predominantly large-scale cronyism at the centre.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">It is evident from the fact that only the people close to political parties bag contracts at the local levels. People have been complaining that the task of preparing documentaries of the local units are given to the near and dear ones of the local unit chiefs. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Cronyism reflects the relation between the government and a certain groups of people. It means that the entrepreneurs close to the government are immune to monitoring while the general public comes under the grip of those businessmen. Therefore, experts argue that cronyism is not in the best interest of free-market policy.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">They say that cronyism is an obstacle to the development of free market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Economic expert and consultant Sujeev Shakya says the government’s policy to control most of the sectors is also a form of cronyism. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“When there is government control instead of monitoring, the government itself protects those involved in wrongdoings,” says Shakya, adding that new entrepreneurship cannot develop due to the tight control.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">At present, one needs government’s approval to start business in any sector. The government is found to have been giving such permissions to their close aides and confidants. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Shakya says cronyism has flourished especially in the sectors that require license. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former secretary Khanal argues that although the leaders in power are people’s representatives in true sense, their have been mostly indulged in making those close to them rich and wealthy. He argues that this trend will deprive people who have skill from their rights. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Of late, businessmen have themselves climbed to the policy-making level. The presence of businessmen in political parties is also increasing.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“It does not mean that the businessmen cannot get involved in politics at all. But it is certain that they will formulate policies in their favour once they reach the policy-making level. This will impact the economy adversely,” said one analyst requesting anonymity. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Analyst Shrama says that big political parties are not in a mood to discourage this trend. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">“Parties need money for the election. Once they take the money, they must do the works that benefit the business groups. This only helps cronyism prosper,” says Sharma.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-03-20', 'modified' => '2022-03-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14702', 'image' => '20220320075315_1647725990.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-03-20 19:52:23', '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
