September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against…
September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against…
September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September…
September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year…
September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day…
September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive…
September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3…
September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the…
September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses.…
September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five…
September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff.…
September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas…
September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the…
September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management.…
September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP…
September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented a substitution bill of the budget for the current fiscal year during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday, September 10.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill announced curtailing of meeting allowance, fuel, maintenance, staff training cost, skills development and public awareness training and workshop costs, programme costs, monitoring and evaluation costs, visit costs and miscellaneous programme costs at a minimum rate of ten percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The amount of Rs 5 billion to be saved from the proposed austerity measure would be utilized to purchase vaccines, shared Finance Minster Sharma. The bill tabled in the parliament on Friday has substituted the budget introduced earlier by the erstwhile government through ordinance on May 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The then KP Sharma Oli-led government had dissolved the HoR on May 25 when preparation was underway to call the parliamentary session. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was presumed that the budget unveiled through ordinance earlier would be substituted following the formation of a new government led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to acute disease survivors </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incumbent government has announced a relief of Rs 5,000 per month to each of the patients having undergone kidney transplant, all types of cancer survivors and patients with spinal injuries as treatment and medicine support. This is expected to provide relief to a large number of kidney patients and cancer patients. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The substitution bill has also made arrangement to provide relief to the families who had sacrificed their lives in different political movements. The families of those devoting their lives to the people’s movement, people’s war, Madhes unrest and various political movements would receive Rs 3,000 each, the Minister informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Among other new measures included in the substituted bill are Rs 10,000 each to the coronavirus-infected patients from low-income family and those working in the informal sector for one time, providing subsidized grant to 500,000 disadvantaged families who lost their employment and income generation opportunities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Necessary preparation is underway to distribute this grant amount to the needy families within mid-October in coordination with the local level. The government has increased the coverage of agro insurance and livestock insurance so as to attract farmers to this sector. -- RSS </span><br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13687', 'image' => '20210911093229_20210616024457_20200504033240_1588549898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13941', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Presents Budget Replacement Bill of Rs 1.63 Trillion in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill issued in place of the ordinance budget announced by the previous government led by KP Sharma Oli is less than the previous budget by almost Rs 15 billion.</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"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented the replacement bill by revising the ordinance budget and downsizing it by Rs 14.74 billion. The Oli government had announced a budget of Rs 1647.57 billion on May 29.</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"">Finance Minister Sharma presented an estimate of income and expenditures of the current fiscal year with revisions in the third meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The bill incorporates the issues relating to the reduction of multi-dimensional poverty, securing a high economic growth rate and adopting and promoting inclusive economic policy as salient features of the budget, reports the state-owned national news agency RSS. </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"">Out of the total budget, the government has allocated Rs 677 billion (41.42 percent) for current expenditure and Rs 378 billion (23.16 percent) for capital expenditure. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rs 189 billion (11.60 percent) has been allocated for fiscal management and Rs 387 billion (23.72 percent) for handover to local and provincial levels. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government is expected to raise Rs 1050.08 billion from revenue collection while Rs 59.9 billion will be received from foreign grants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill has reduced portions of domestic and foreign loans by approximately Rs 37 billion and while the current expenditure has been slashed by 10 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Sharma announced that an arrangement has been made to form a think-tank at the Finance Ministry to study, research and analyze issues related to budget.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13686', 'image' => '20210911092204_1631281254.janardan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:21:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13940', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Received around Rs 200 Billion FDI from 52 countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77. This was revealed by a survey report on foreign direct investment, 2076/77, released by Nepal Rastra Bank on September 9.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">By mid-July of the review year, Nepal received Rs 198.52 billion foreign investment. Before that, FDI inflow stood at Rs 182.91 billion in FY 2075/76. In the fiscal year 2074/75, foreign investment received was more than Rs 200 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Besides investing the amount, the investors are also taking back profit from their shares. However, they have been reinvesting the dividends </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Taking all of them into account, foreign investment equivalent to Rs 198.52 billion has been maintained as of mid-July 2077 BS.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The share of paid-up capital in the foreign investment maintained till the review period was 54.4 percent. Similarly, the share of reinvestment (reserve) made through dividends is 33.8 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Similarly, the share of foreign investment in the form of loans is 11.8 percent, according to the survey report. On the basis of amount, the foreign investment received by Nepal can be classified into Rs 108.07 billion in paid-up capital, Rs 67.07 billion in reserves and Rs 23.37 billion in loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">India has the largest share of foreign investment. India's share of foreign investment reserves is 31.5 percent. China is second as of mid-July 2077, with a share of 15.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">St. Kitts and Nevis are in third place with 7.7 percent share. Foreign investment of 52 countries has been maintained in Nepal as of the review period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Nepal received Rs. 62.45 billion from India, Rs. 30.97 billion from China, and Rs 15.27 billion from St. Kitts and Nevis. Similarly, Rs. 12.93 billion from Ireland and Rs. 12.43 billion from Singapore were received as foreign direct investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that the foreign investment reserves were satisfactory till the review period. The year 2076/77 is the year directly affected by the Covid-19. "Foreign investment reserves have increased during that period," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Of the foreign direct investment in Nepal, 56 percent is in the industrial sector. Similarly, 43.9 percent of investment has been maintained in the service sector. Under the service sector, 27.3 percent has been maintained in banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NRB has been studying the regional status of such foreign investment by collecting the necessary data. The Department of Economic Research has been conducting on-site surveys on foreign direct investment, especially with the aim of assisting in the formulation of necessary policies.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13685', 'image' => '20210910070517_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 19:04:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13939', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'MCC Delegation Holds High-Level Meetings', 'sub_title' => 'MCC Vice President Sumar Assures the Grant Programme has no Military Component', 'summary' => 'September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit to expedite the US funded project at a time when the grant agreement is yet to be endorsed by the parliament even after four years of signing the pact. <br /> Sumar arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday (September 9) to specifically affirm that the MCC grant programme has no military component and that it will not jeopardize Nepal’s sovereignty. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The MCC delegation has intensified meetings with political party leaders, high-ranking officials and business community to push ahead with its agenda.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sumar will discuss the required steps to implement the US$ 500 million MCC-Nepal infrastructure project during her meeting with various government officials, and business and community leaders. She will also clarify the questions provided by the Ministry of Finance and also hear the views of the people in general regarding the much-hyped grant agreement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During her meeting with the leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli at his residence in Balkot on Thursday, Sumar urged him to support the MCC.<br /> According to UML’s Foreign Department Chief Rajan Bhattarai, who attended the meeting, Oli told the MCC Vice President that the UML will not make its official stance on this issue until the government makes its viewpoint clear on the MCC. Oli reportedly argued that the UML was not in a position to take a stance since it is an opposition party. <br /> According to Oli, the incumbent government should first be clear whether to approve the MCC. “The UML will then make its stance clear. Until now, the UML has not made any perception,” Bhattarai quoted Oli as saying. <br /> Recalling that the MCC could not be approved in the past despite efforts of UML-led government, Oli reportedly said that the UML will not have any direct role now since the party is not leading the government but is the main opposition party. <br /> Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Nepal issued a statement reminding that the Government of Nepal had designed a five-year grant programme to provide more reliable electricity as well as power and transportation at lower costs for all Nepalis prior to negotiating and signing the agreement in 2017.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The political parties are divided over whether to endorse the grant agreement or not.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13684', 'image' => '20210910125944_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:58:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13937', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Readymade Garments worth Rs 1.5 Billion being Imported for Festive Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season. Targeting the upcoming festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, traders have started importing large quantities of garments in bulk. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders import readymade garments from countries like India, China, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. Dil Sundar Shrestha, chairperson of the Trade Fair Committee under Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) told New Business Age that they are importing goods like footwear, shirts, pants, t-shirts, half pants, jackets, saris, kurthas and others worth Rs 1.5 billion for the upcoming festivals. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, the trade of such items increases by 40 percent during big festivals like Dashain and Tihar as compared to other times, so traders import large quantities of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">He said that even though the importers could not visit the respective countries to import goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ordering goods via online medium. In addition, he said that due to the impact of the pandemic, consumers will have to buy clothes at higher prices this year as the price of the goods have increased. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The traders say that the price has gone up as the transportation cost and the price of raw materials for making clothes have has increased in the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier, the fare for a container imported from Kolkata was $2,000, but now it has increased to as much as $4,000 per container. The import of clothes has been reduced by 50 percent this year due to the low prospects of trade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Under normal circumstances, traders would import ready-made garments worth up to Rs 3 billion targeting the festivals. However, they have estimated that the volume of trade will be reduced this year due to the decline in purchasing power of the consumers. Compared to the normal situation, the traders estimate that the garment business will be only 60 percent during the festive season this year. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13683', 'image' => '20210910122258_20200901114856_1598909272.4.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:22:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13936', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NOC Saves Rs 3 Billion since the Operation of Cross-Border Petroleum Pipeline ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion that used to be spent in the transportation of the petroleum products from India to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 79 km pipeline from Motihari, India to Amalekhgunj, Nepal, was set up with the assistance from the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been supplying petroleum product via the underground pipeline since September 10, 2019 after the pipeline was jointly inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart and the then prime minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this period, NOC informed that it imported 1.61 billion litres of diesel through the pipeline. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NOC Executive Director Surendra Pandey told the state-owned national news agency RSS that they were able to make the saving by cutting transportation cost and also due to the reduced technical loss. </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"">Following the success of the import of diesel via the pipeline, Pandey said that the process to import petrol and kerosene oil from the same pipeline has been initiated with the support from the IOC.</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 informed sources, the supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene from the same pipeline would begin after one and a half years. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13682', 'image' => '20210910112012_pipeline.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 11:19:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13935', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Issues Warning Against Cryptocurrency Trading ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country. Issuing a notice on September 9, the central bank said such illegal activities are subject to punishment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019, any sort of cryptocurrency trading and mining is illegal in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that it issued such warning after observing that some groups are actively involved in swindling people by encouraging them to get involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "Cryptocurrency trading and mining and encouraging the illegal activities is punishable by law. Those swindling people through these illegal activities are subject to action," reads the notice. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13681', 'image' => '20210910105148_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 10:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13938', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sundar Yatayat to add 20 More Electric Buses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. The private company is is currently operating three buses on the Ring Road and one along the Bhaktapur-Ratna Park route. Now, Sundar Yatayat is planning to expand the service by operating buses on all routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday on the occasion of the thirda anniversary of Sundar Yatayat, Chairman of the company, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa informed that 20 new buses would arrive within the next 25 days. The company bought the buses from China's BAK Company at a cost of Rs 110 million. Thapa informed that the goal is to increase the number of electric buses operated by Sundar Yatayat to 100 in the next six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company started providing clean transportation service in the Kathmandu Valley with two buses in August 2019. Since then, two more buses have been added. Although the company had said that 25 buses would be added in the previous year, it still has not been able to bring new buses so far. Stating that it was a little later than the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19, Chairman of the company Bhesh Bahadur Thapa said that buses are being added so that the electric buses would run on all the routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The buses operated by the company have a capacity of 40 seats. They can cover a distance of 265 km on a single charge. According to the company, a digital payment facility has also been arranged in the bus. In addition, these buses are disable friendly as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sundar Yatayat has also set out a long-term ambitious plan to assemble electric vehicles and export them to Bangladesh. The company has leased 8 bighas and 10 kathas of land from Sainamaina Municipality in Butwal, in order to set up the assembly plant. The initial investment for the plant is going to be Rs 3.60 billion approximately. Sundar Yatayat has also invited tenders to select a company for the construction of the plant.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company's investment in the plant is very low. Even though it will remain as a sister organization, Sichuan Guang Automobile of China will have 47 percent stakes and SEC Company of the UAE will have 46 percent of stakes in the industry. Thapa informed that Sundar Yatayat will invest only 7 percent for the assembly plant.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13680', 'image' => '20210910123141_20210826022928_20210706023411yatayat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:30:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13934', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Investment Board sets Target to bring $10 Billion Foreign Investment in Five Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board revealed its strategic plan on Wednesday (September 8) stating that they have set a target of approving investment worth US$ 10 billion in the next five years. Out of the total investment, the board intends to manage US$ 6 billion for projects run under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also the chairman of the board, unveiled the strategic plan during the 10th anniversary of the board. Addressing the function, PM Deuba said that the total annual average investment of Rs 558 billion would not be enough to achieve the sustainable development goals. The new strategic plan is expected to help create at least 100,000 jobs and contribute to the creation of an environment for investment promotion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The strategic plan has adopted five important goals to develop the board as an excellent center of public-private partnership. The plan also calls for making Nepal an attractive destination for investment to attain economic prosperity. The four pillars of the strategic plan include project development and management, investment promotion, institutional development and coordination, as well as cooperation and partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Deuba said that at a time when COVID-19 pandemic has created an unfavorable investment environment, the board is doing a remarkable work to attract investment during such difficult circumstances.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government needs to include the private sector in the national priority projects, he said that the concept of PPP should be taken forward because investment form private sector is necessary for national pride projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, during the ceremony, said that the board should now take a step forward and reach out to investors with suitable investment projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to involve the local people in the investment modality of public-private partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Another 'P' that stands for people should be added to the PPP model. Failure to involve the people affected by the projects will hamper the construction process and increase the cost of the project. Therefore, the ‘Three-P’ model of investment should be changed to ‘Four Ps’.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the relatively cheap labor force and immense natural resources available in Nepal are the main assets that the country has, Minister Sharma stressed on the need for the board to act as a catalyst to accelerate the journey of development and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal acknowledged the board as the main body responsible for public-private partnership management in Nepal and added that cooperation is necessary to attract investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the board Sushil Bhatta said that the board has prepared a list of projects to accelerate infrastructure development, which will ensure returns for investors and also meet the needs of the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Investment Board is getting stronger in project development, implementation and facilitation for investors after a decade of experience.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Liu Su Hong, Managing Director of Hongsi Holding Group China, a Chinese company, said that they have started cement production in Nepal by investing around Rs 40 billion. According to him, Chinese company Hongsi Holding Group wants to invest more in Nepal. He informed that they have moved ahead to develop the second phase of Hongsi Holding and Dang Cement project in collaboration with SH Investment Limited of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">833 Billion Investment approved in 10 years</span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Investment Board Nepal has approved investment of Rs 833 billion in one decade since its establishment. The board was established in 2068 BS to raise investment in large projects through PPP model.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the decade, the board has approved 27 different projects and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to move forward seven major projects. Similarly, it has organised two investment conferences.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During this period, the Hongsi Shivam Cement Factory, a China-Nepal joint venture worth USD 360 million (Rs 43.20 billion) facilitated by the IBN, has come into operation under the big project. Its daily production capacity is 6,000 tons.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">China-Nepal joint venture Hwasin Cement Narayani worth USD 140 million is being prepared for operation. Its daily production capacity is 3,000 tons. The board has informed that there is a Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the 900 MW Arun III with an estimated cost of Rs 144 billion and the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project with an estimated cost of Rs 116 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Forty percent of the construction work of Arun III, a joint venture between India and Nepal, has been completed and the project aims to generate electricity by 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13679', 'image' => '20210909021007_20210623122152_20210115025352_20160222122813_ep3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 14:09:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Picks 12 Service Providers for Online Payment of Electricity Tariff', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. A meeting of the NEA Board of Directors held recently selected those companies for online payment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various companies had been providing the facility of online payment of electricity tariff. However, after the decision to allow only the selected 12 companies for online payment of electricity tariff, other companies will not be allowed to make online payment from now onwards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA has given permission to e-Sewa, Sparrow Pay, Sajilo Pay, CellPay, IME Digital Solutions, PayWell, Nepal Digital Payment and iCash Private Limited to make online payments. Electricity tariff can be paid from the mobile app, software etc of the selected companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Mahalaxmi Bank have also been selected for electronic payment services. The authority informed that the tariff can be paid through the mobile app of the banks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers have stated that they will not charge any fee for the online payment of up to Rs 500 per month. However, PayWell has stated that service charges will not be applied when payment is up to Rs 1,000 per month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Majority of service providers have said that they will charge a maximum of Rs 5 per transaction for a monthly payment of Rs 500 to Rs 500,000. Out of the 12 service providers, 10 companies have said that they will charge Rs 5 per transaction. Sajilo Pay and PayWell on the other hand have fixed Rs 4.80 and Rs 3 as service charge per transaction, respectively.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13678', 'image' => '20210909014202_20210514031053_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 13:41:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shipping Cost Doubles Within a Week ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade. Traders say that the transportation cost, which has been rising since the outbreak of Covid-19, is now at an all-time high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers say that container fares have also doubled in the first week of September. Ashish Lath, an importer, said that the container charges that were between USD 3500 to 4000 while importing goods from the Chinese port to Birgunj dry port until August has spiked to USD 8000.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders said that the increase in fares is due to the imbalance in the supply and demand of containers globally. Containers have been in short supply in European and American countries since the beginning of September.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lath, who is also the secretary of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the shipping companies have increased the fares by taking advantage of this opportunity. According to the traders, shipping companies have been raising fares since March last year amid the Covid-19 crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers can't get the containers even after paying USD 8,000 at the Chinese port, said Secretary Lath.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">‘Until a year ago, 20-ton containers were being transported from the Chinese port to Birgunj for 1,500 to 2,000 dollars. The fare, which was up to USD 4,000 last month, has started to increase this month,” said importer Navneet Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Omprakash Moure, there is a shortage of containers in China and Europe as more containers are 'booked' from Chinese ports due to increased demand for goods in Europe and the United States during the New Year and Christmas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"Containers are in short supply as Chinese traders increase their supply to Europe and the United States. It has had an impact on our business as well,” said Moure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Sushant Chachan, coordinator of the Dry Port and ICP Committee of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lack of containers has also affected cargo coming from US and European countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Chachan, the joint secretary of the union, said that the demand in the US and Europe has increased and the containers from China have stopped there.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"It's a result of imbalance between supply and demand. At present, the transportation cost alone has reached 30 percent of the total price of the goods. It should be 10 percent," Chachan said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Prices of groundnuts and pulses from the United States and Canada have risen sharply. The price of such items has already gone up by 30 percent. Importers say it is likely to go above 60 percent due to a spike in transportation costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Covid pandemic has hampered labor supplies at ports and delayed loading and unloading, argue traders.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">They shared that the cost of transportation is high as ships have to wait for 15-20 days at the port.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13677', 'image' => '20210909115351_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:53:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Floods Damage Flowers worth Rs 50 Million', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country. Continuous rainfall and floods in many parts of the country including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Itahari, Butwal and Chitwan have damaged flowers grown in nurseries. Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of the Floriculture Association of Nepal, told New Business Age that the damage caused by the rains and floods is estimated to be around Rs 50 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, 2 million seedlings were damaged by the floods in Bagmati and Dhobikhola rivers of Kathmandu on Monday (September 6). The floods have caused an estimated loss of more than Rs 4 million in Kathmandu alone. The floods have destroyed many flowers that were planted for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In Kavrepalanchok, 50,000 flower seedlings planted on 25 ropanis of land have been destroyed due to the impact of rain. The association informed that the full detail of the extent of damage on flowers of only Kathmandu district is available at the moment. Meanwhile, details of damage in the rest of the districts are also being collected. It is also estimated that Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts may also have suffered the same damage as of Kathmandu.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the association, florists and farmers, who have been suffering heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, have been further affected by the floods due continuous rainfall since last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Shrestha, the flower business had incurred a daily loss of Rs 10 million during the lockdown period last year. Even at the present, the business is down to 30 percent compared to normal days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Flower business is spread in 43 districts of Nepal. Around 700 entrepreneurs are involved in the flower business while 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. According to the association, there is an investment of around Rs 6 billion in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13676', 'image' => '20210909110157_20190326021608__MG_4339.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:01:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Cell of Landfill Site Built in Nuwakot’s Bancharedanda', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. The Ministry of Urban Development has stated that the construction of the first cell of the landfill site has been completed. The ministry informed the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction has directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the waste.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Spokesperson for the ministry, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, said that the construction of the cell has been completed and that he is not responsible for other works. As the ministry has instructed the department to take immediate decision on waste management in coordination with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, it is said that garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley will reach Bancharedanda in a few days. The ministry has stated that the construction of the second cell and other works are still underway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A contract agreement was signed with Lumbini Koshi and Neupane JV for the construction of a long-term sanitary landfill site in Bancharedanda on May 5, 2019. Although the entire construction work was supposed to be completed last April as per the agreement, the work still has not been completed yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Meanwhile, Hari Kumar Shrestha, the head of the Environment Department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, says that he has not received any official information from the ministry or the department about waste management in Bancharedanda. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Fearing that the locals might obstruct the movement of vehicles carrying garbage to Bancharedanda, Kathmandu Metropolitan City said that long-term waste management should be done only after a proper discussion with the locals and related bodies. After 18 days, garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley has started to be collected since Wednesday. However, garbage of all places has still not been managed properly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Garbage collection of local levels of Kathmandu Valley had been halted since August 16, 2021. This was the consequence of locals of Sisdol protesting against the garbage disposal in addition tp the problems caused by continuous rainfall. According to Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, all the garbage could not be managed at once as it has been collected for a long time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The landfill site in Sisdol was constructed in 2062 BS for waste management for only two years. Garbage is being managed in the site by burying it with soil and extending the site from time to time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Every day, 1,200 metric tons of garbage is dumped in the Sisdol from the Kathmandu Valley. Out of this, 500 metric tons of garbage is collected from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City itself. At least 200 vehicles of garbage are taken to Sisdol on a daily basis. About 75 percent of the daily waste from the Kathmandu Valley is managed in Sisdol.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13675', 'image' => '20210909114444_20210826080929_1-s2.0-S0197397515001277-gr1 - Copy (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:43:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Table Replacement Bill in place of Ordinance Budget during House Session', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli. According to the Ministry of Finance, the bill is about to be tabled in the parliament to replace the budget brought by the previous government for the current fiscal year 2078/79 through an ordinance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma is preparing to table the bill for approval on September 9 if there is no obstruction from the opposition. According to the ministry sources, the current government is ready to change the size of the budget mentioned in the ordinance through the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government led by Oli had announced a budget of Rs 1.647 trillion for the current fiscal year through an ordinance. The current government formed after Oli's ouster is preparing to bring a bill to replace it. The government plans to get the bill approved after holding necessary discussions within a week of registering the bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is also assessing the activities of the opposition party CPN (UML) before introducing the bill in the parliament. "The government is preparing to look into the party's activities in the parliament today (Wednesday) and register the bill on Thursday," a ministry source said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The UML, which has been protesting against the replacement bill, has already shown signs to protest in the parliament. The current government has stopped awarding new contracts to more than 2,000 road projects that the Oli-led government had put forward under the Constituency Strategic Road Program. UML is dissatisfied with the suspension of its budget plan. Various sources informed New Business Age that the government is ready not to move ahead with such projects through the replacement bill. It is likely to further annoy the opposition. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Gyanendra Karki said that a replacement bill is prepared to pass the budget brought by the previous government with amendments. The government has discussed the issue with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki said that he had met UML Chairman Oli a few days ago and proposed to pass the budget by suspending some rules of the parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, Karki said that Oli refused to pass the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The UML is not ready to suspend some rules of the parliament to pass the budget replacement bill," Karki said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government had brought the budget through an ordinance by dissolving the House of Representatives under the constitutional provision. However, the Supreme Court intervened and revived the dissolved House. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13674', 'image' => '20210908033538_Nepalese_Constituent_Assembly_Building.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 15:34:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Attempt to Endorse MCC divides Ruling Coalition', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.', '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"">September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.</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"">After four years of dilly-dallying, the government is making an attempt to endorse the MCC through the current parliamentary session that will begin later today (September 8).</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"">It has been four years since the MCC agreement was signed on September 14, 2017. According to a source at the Finance Ministry, the government has sought explanation from the MCC regarding the disputed issues related to the grant. As soon as it receives reply, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma will present the grant agreement in Parliament for endorsement. However, it is not easy for the government to approve the MCC without majority support.</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"">From the House of Representatives to the general public, the government has been under intense pressure not to approve the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deuba instructs MPs not to speak arbitrarily</span></span></em></strong></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"">Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed parliamentarians of the ruling party not to speak arbitrarily against the MCC. Stating that the MCC agreement is in Nepal's interest, he gave such instructions at the parliamentary party meeting of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba also said that unnecessary politics is happening in the name of MCC. According to him, the country is still borrowing large amounts of money from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at high interest. MCC is a grant for development and it is being politicized unnecessarily, said Deuba. He added that the grant is for the development of the country and the government is taking forward the MCC to reduce the debt.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba said that power transmission lines and roads would be upgraded in Nepal under the MCC project. He said that discussions would be held with the parties represented in the parliament to pass the MCC. On the other hand, Members of Parliaments of Congress raised various queries and questions about the MCC. Some lawmakers also drew Deuba's attention to the fact that some provisions of the MCC cannot be passed without amendment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Don't let the MCC pass in the current form: Dahal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Addressing a meeting of the Young Communist League (YCL), a sister organisation of the CPN-Maoist on Tuesday, chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the MCC should not be passed in the current situation.</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 issue of MCC is being discussed not only in the cities but also in the villages. We have sent a diplomatic note to the United States after drawing the attention of the government and the party but the answer is yet to be received,” said a YCL leader quoting Dahal. “In the current form, the MCC will not be passed under any circumstances. There is no possibility of MCC to be passed by parliament.”</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"">Dahal urged the cadres to remain calm saying that the Maoists would not enter into an agreement that would harm the nation and nationality. Dahal said that the suggestions given by the task force led by the then CPN senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal would also be taken into consideration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Indication that UML will not support</span></span></em></strong></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 main opposition party, the UML, had tried to expedite the MCC when it was in power. Due to the lack of cooperation from the speaker of the parliament at that time, he could not move forward the proposal in the Parliament, which led to a long conflict between the then Prime Minister and the Speaker. Now as the UML is in opposition, its strategy is wait and watch. UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli has been challenging the ruling party to pass the MCC. He reiterated the same thing while addressing a party function in Pokhara on Tuesday. According to a high-ranking source, the UML will not support the government in approving the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MCC vice president coming to Nepal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Fatema Sumar, vice president of the US-funded project MCC, is scheduled to visit Nepal. She is coming to Nepal on September 9 as the dispute over the MCC agreement is escalating.</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"">She will meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the main opposition party and Chairman of the CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of the CPN-Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal and others to take stock of the implementation status of the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Slogans against MCC in the streets</span></span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the government tried to move forward the MCC in Parliament, slogans against the MCC began to erupt in the streets. Protests by the ruling and opposition parties and civil society have started on a daily basis. Their only demand is to repeal the MCC. Accordingly, the Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand has announced an agitation against the American project MCC.</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 central office of the CPN (Maoist) on Tuesday revealed a programme of the week-long agitation including a general assembly in Kathmandu. Bibeksheel Sajha Party, which has been identifying itself as an alternative power, has also urged not to pass the MCC agreement in its current form. In a statement, Bibeksheel Sajha Party said that some of the conditions of the MCC agreement were highly objectionable and against Nepal's national pride and interests. It said those conditions should not be passed without amendment. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13673', 'image' => '20210908020138_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 14:00:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented a substitution bill of the budget for the current fiscal year during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday, September 10.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill announced curtailing of meeting allowance, fuel, maintenance, staff training cost, skills development and public awareness training and workshop costs, programme costs, monitoring and evaluation costs, visit costs and miscellaneous programme costs at a minimum rate of ten percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The amount of Rs 5 billion to be saved from the proposed austerity measure would be utilized to purchase vaccines, shared Finance Minster Sharma. The bill tabled in the parliament on Friday has substituted the budget introduced earlier by the erstwhile government through ordinance on May 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The then KP Sharma Oli-led government had dissolved the HoR on May 25 when preparation was underway to call the parliamentary session. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was presumed that the budget unveiled through ordinance earlier would be substituted following the formation of a new government led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to acute disease survivors </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incumbent government has announced a relief of Rs 5,000 per month to each of the patients having undergone kidney transplant, all types of cancer survivors and patients with spinal injuries as treatment and medicine support. This is expected to provide relief to a large number of kidney patients and cancer patients. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The substitution bill has also made arrangement to provide relief to the families who had sacrificed their lives in different political movements. The families of those devoting their lives to the people’s movement, people’s war, Madhes unrest and various political movements would receive Rs 3,000 each, the Minister informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Among other new measures included in the substituted bill are Rs 10,000 each to the coronavirus-infected patients from low-income family and those working in the informal sector for one time, providing subsidized grant to 500,000 disadvantaged families who lost their employment and income generation opportunities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Necessary preparation is underway to distribute this grant amount to the needy families within mid-October in coordination with the local level. The government has increased the coverage of agro insurance and livestock insurance so as to attract farmers to this sector. -- RSS </span><br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13687', 'image' => '20210911093229_20210616024457_20200504033240_1588549898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13941', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Presents Budget Replacement Bill of Rs 1.63 Trillion in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill issued in place of the ordinance budget announced by the previous government led by KP Sharma Oli is less than the previous budget by almost Rs 15 billion.</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"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented the replacement bill by revising the ordinance budget and downsizing it by Rs 14.74 billion. The Oli government had announced a budget of Rs 1647.57 billion on May 29.</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"">Finance Minister Sharma presented an estimate of income and expenditures of the current fiscal year with revisions in the third meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The bill incorporates the issues relating to the reduction of multi-dimensional poverty, securing a high economic growth rate and adopting and promoting inclusive economic policy as salient features of the budget, reports the state-owned national news agency RSS. </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"">Out of the total budget, the government has allocated Rs 677 billion (41.42 percent) for current expenditure and Rs 378 billion (23.16 percent) for capital expenditure. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rs 189 billion (11.60 percent) has been allocated for fiscal management and Rs 387 billion (23.72 percent) for handover to local and provincial levels. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government is expected to raise Rs 1050.08 billion from revenue collection while Rs 59.9 billion will be received from foreign grants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill has reduced portions of domestic and foreign loans by approximately Rs 37 billion and while the current expenditure has been slashed by 10 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Sharma announced that an arrangement has been made to form a think-tank at the Finance Ministry to study, research and analyze issues related to budget.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13686', 'image' => '20210911092204_1631281254.janardan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:21:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13940', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Received around Rs 200 Billion FDI from 52 countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77. This was revealed by a survey report on foreign direct investment, 2076/77, released by Nepal Rastra Bank on September 9.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">By mid-July of the review year, Nepal received Rs 198.52 billion foreign investment. Before that, FDI inflow stood at Rs 182.91 billion in FY 2075/76. In the fiscal year 2074/75, foreign investment received was more than Rs 200 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Besides investing the amount, the investors are also taking back profit from their shares. However, they have been reinvesting the dividends </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Taking all of them into account, foreign investment equivalent to Rs 198.52 billion has been maintained as of mid-July 2077 BS.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The share of paid-up capital in the foreign investment maintained till the review period was 54.4 percent. Similarly, the share of reinvestment (reserve) made through dividends is 33.8 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Similarly, the share of foreign investment in the form of loans is 11.8 percent, according to the survey report. On the basis of amount, the foreign investment received by Nepal can be classified into Rs 108.07 billion in paid-up capital, Rs 67.07 billion in reserves and Rs 23.37 billion in loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">India has the largest share of foreign investment. India's share of foreign investment reserves is 31.5 percent. China is second as of mid-July 2077, with a share of 15.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">St. Kitts and Nevis are in third place with 7.7 percent share. Foreign investment of 52 countries has been maintained in Nepal as of the review period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Nepal received Rs. 62.45 billion from India, Rs. 30.97 billion from China, and Rs 15.27 billion from St. Kitts and Nevis. Similarly, Rs. 12.93 billion from Ireland and Rs. 12.43 billion from Singapore were received as foreign direct investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that the foreign investment reserves were satisfactory till the review period. The year 2076/77 is the year directly affected by the Covid-19. "Foreign investment reserves have increased during that period," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Of the foreign direct investment in Nepal, 56 percent is in the industrial sector. Similarly, 43.9 percent of investment has been maintained in the service sector. Under the service sector, 27.3 percent has been maintained in banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NRB has been studying the regional status of such foreign investment by collecting the necessary data. The Department of Economic Research has been conducting on-site surveys on foreign direct investment, especially with the aim of assisting in the formulation of necessary policies.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13685', 'image' => '20210910070517_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 19:04:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13939', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'MCC Delegation Holds High-Level Meetings', 'sub_title' => 'MCC Vice President Sumar Assures the Grant Programme has no Military Component', 'summary' => 'September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit to expedite the US funded project at a time when the grant agreement is yet to be endorsed by the parliament even after four years of signing the pact. <br /> Sumar arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday (September 9) to specifically affirm that the MCC grant programme has no military component and that it will not jeopardize Nepal’s sovereignty. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The MCC delegation has intensified meetings with political party leaders, high-ranking officials and business community to push ahead with its agenda.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sumar will discuss the required steps to implement the US$ 500 million MCC-Nepal infrastructure project during her meeting with various government officials, and business and community leaders. She will also clarify the questions provided by the Ministry of Finance and also hear the views of the people in general regarding the much-hyped grant agreement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During her meeting with the leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli at his residence in Balkot on Thursday, Sumar urged him to support the MCC.<br /> According to UML’s Foreign Department Chief Rajan Bhattarai, who attended the meeting, Oli told the MCC Vice President that the UML will not make its official stance on this issue until the government makes its viewpoint clear on the MCC. Oli reportedly argued that the UML was not in a position to take a stance since it is an opposition party. <br /> According to Oli, the incumbent government should first be clear whether to approve the MCC. “The UML will then make its stance clear. Until now, the UML has not made any perception,” Bhattarai quoted Oli as saying. <br /> Recalling that the MCC could not be approved in the past despite efforts of UML-led government, Oli reportedly said that the UML will not have any direct role now since the party is not leading the government but is the main opposition party. <br /> Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Nepal issued a statement reminding that the Government of Nepal had designed a five-year grant programme to provide more reliable electricity as well as power and transportation at lower costs for all Nepalis prior to negotiating and signing the agreement in 2017.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The political parties are divided over whether to endorse the grant agreement or not.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13684', 'image' => '20210910125944_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:58:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13937', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Readymade Garments worth Rs 1.5 Billion being Imported for Festive Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season. Targeting the upcoming festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, traders have started importing large quantities of garments in bulk. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders import readymade garments from countries like India, China, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. Dil Sundar Shrestha, chairperson of the Trade Fair Committee under Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) told New Business Age that they are importing goods like footwear, shirts, pants, t-shirts, half pants, jackets, saris, kurthas and others worth Rs 1.5 billion for the upcoming festivals. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, the trade of such items increases by 40 percent during big festivals like Dashain and Tihar as compared to other times, so traders import large quantities of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">He said that even though the importers could not visit the respective countries to import goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ordering goods via online medium. In addition, he said that due to the impact of the pandemic, consumers will have to buy clothes at higher prices this year as the price of the goods have increased. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The traders say that the price has gone up as the transportation cost and the price of raw materials for making clothes have has increased in the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier, the fare for a container imported from Kolkata was $2,000, but now it has increased to as much as $4,000 per container. The import of clothes has been reduced by 50 percent this year due to the low prospects of trade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Under normal circumstances, traders would import ready-made garments worth up to Rs 3 billion targeting the festivals. However, they have estimated that the volume of trade will be reduced this year due to the decline in purchasing power of the consumers. Compared to the normal situation, the traders estimate that the garment business will be only 60 percent during the festive season this year. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13683', 'image' => '20210910122258_20200901114856_1598909272.4.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:22:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13936', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NOC Saves Rs 3 Billion since the Operation of Cross-Border Petroleum Pipeline ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion that used to be spent in the transportation of the petroleum products from India to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 79 km pipeline from Motihari, India to Amalekhgunj, Nepal, was set up with the assistance from the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been supplying petroleum product via the underground pipeline since September 10, 2019 after the pipeline was jointly inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart and the then prime minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this period, NOC informed that it imported 1.61 billion litres of diesel through the pipeline. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NOC Executive Director Surendra Pandey told the state-owned national news agency RSS that they were able to make the saving by cutting transportation cost and also due to the reduced technical loss. </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"">Following the success of the import of diesel via the pipeline, Pandey said that the process to import petrol and kerosene oil from the same pipeline has been initiated with the support from the IOC.</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 informed sources, the supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene from the same pipeline would begin after one and a half years. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13682', 'image' => '20210910112012_pipeline.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 11:19:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13935', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Issues Warning Against Cryptocurrency Trading ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country. Issuing a notice on September 9, the central bank said such illegal activities are subject to punishment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019, any sort of cryptocurrency trading and mining is illegal in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that it issued such warning after observing that some groups are actively involved in swindling people by encouraging them to get involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "Cryptocurrency trading and mining and encouraging the illegal activities is punishable by law. Those swindling people through these illegal activities are subject to action," reads the notice. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13681', 'image' => '20210910105148_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 10:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13938', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sundar Yatayat to add 20 More Electric Buses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. The private company is is currently operating three buses on the Ring Road and one along the Bhaktapur-Ratna Park route. Now, Sundar Yatayat is planning to expand the service by operating buses on all routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday on the occasion of the thirda anniversary of Sundar Yatayat, Chairman of the company, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa informed that 20 new buses would arrive within the next 25 days. The company bought the buses from China's BAK Company at a cost of Rs 110 million. Thapa informed that the goal is to increase the number of electric buses operated by Sundar Yatayat to 100 in the next six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company started providing clean transportation service in the Kathmandu Valley with two buses in August 2019. Since then, two more buses have been added. Although the company had said that 25 buses would be added in the previous year, it still has not been able to bring new buses so far. Stating that it was a little later than the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19, Chairman of the company Bhesh Bahadur Thapa said that buses are being added so that the electric buses would run on all the routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The buses operated by the company have a capacity of 40 seats. They can cover a distance of 265 km on a single charge. According to the company, a digital payment facility has also been arranged in the bus. In addition, these buses are disable friendly as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sundar Yatayat has also set out a long-term ambitious plan to assemble electric vehicles and export them to Bangladesh. The company has leased 8 bighas and 10 kathas of land from Sainamaina Municipality in Butwal, in order to set up the assembly plant. The initial investment for the plant is going to be Rs 3.60 billion approximately. Sundar Yatayat has also invited tenders to select a company for the construction of the plant.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company's investment in the plant is very low. Even though it will remain as a sister organization, Sichuan Guang Automobile of China will have 47 percent stakes and SEC Company of the UAE will have 46 percent of stakes in the industry. Thapa informed that Sundar Yatayat will invest only 7 percent for the assembly plant.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13680', 'image' => '20210910123141_20210826022928_20210706023411yatayat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:30:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13934', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Investment Board sets Target to bring $10 Billion Foreign Investment in Five Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board revealed its strategic plan on Wednesday (September 8) stating that they have set a target of approving investment worth US$ 10 billion in the next five years. Out of the total investment, the board intends to manage US$ 6 billion for projects run under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also the chairman of the board, unveiled the strategic plan during the 10th anniversary of the board. Addressing the function, PM Deuba said that the total annual average investment of Rs 558 billion would not be enough to achieve the sustainable development goals. The new strategic plan is expected to help create at least 100,000 jobs and contribute to the creation of an environment for investment promotion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The strategic plan has adopted five important goals to develop the board as an excellent center of public-private partnership. The plan also calls for making Nepal an attractive destination for investment to attain economic prosperity. The four pillars of the strategic plan include project development and management, investment promotion, institutional development and coordination, as well as cooperation and partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Deuba said that at a time when COVID-19 pandemic has created an unfavorable investment environment, the board is doing a remarkable work to attract investment during such difficult circumstances.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government needs to include the private sector in the national priority projects, he said that the concept of PPP should be taken forward because investment form private sector is necessary for national pride projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, during the ceremony, said that the board should now take a step forward and reach out to investors with suitable investment projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to involve the local people in the investment modality of public-private partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Another 'P' that stands for people should be added to the PPP model. Failure to involve the people affected by the projects will hamper the construction process and increase the cost of the project. Therefore, the ‘Three-P’ model of investment should be changed to ‘Four Ps’.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the relatively cheap labor force and immense natural resources available in Nepal are the main assets that the country has, Minister Sharma stressed on the need for the board to act as a catalyst to accelerate the journey of development and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal acknowledged the board as the main body responsible for public-private partnership management in Nepal and added that cooperation is necessary to attract investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the board Sushil Bhatta said that the board has prepared a list of projects to accelerate infrastructure development, which will ensure returns for investors and also meet the needs of the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Investment Board is getting stronger in project development, implementation and facilitation for investors after a decade of experience.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Liu Su Hong, Managing Director of Hongsi Holding Group China, a Chinese company, said that they have started cement production in Nepal by investing around Rs 40 billion. According to him, Chinese company Hongsi Holding Group wants to invest more in Nepal. He informed that they have moved ahead to develop the second phase of Hongsi Holding and Dang Cement project in collaboration with SH Investment Limited of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">833 Billion Investment approved in 10 years</span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Investment Board Nepal has approved investment of Rs 833 billion in one decade since its establishment. The board was established in 2068 BS to raise investment in large projects through PPP model.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the decade, the board has approved 27 different projects and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to move forward seven major projects. Similarly, it has organised two investment conferences.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During this period, the Hongsi Shivam Cement Factory, a China-Nepal joint venture worth USD 360 million (Rs 43.20 billion) facilitated by the IBN, has come into operation under the big project. Its daily production capacity is 6,000 tons.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">China-Nepal joint venture Hwasin Cement Narayani worth USD 140 million is being prepared for operation. Its daily production capacity is 3,000 tons. The board has informed that there is a Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the 900 MW Arun III with an estimated cost of Rs 144 billion and the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project with an estimated cost of Rs 116 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Forty percent of the construction work of Arun III, a joint venture between India and Nepal, has been completed and the project aims to generate electricity by 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13679', 'image' => '20210909021007_20210623122152_20210115025352_20160222122813_ep3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 14:09:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Picks 12 Service Providers for Online Payment of Electricity Tariff', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. A meeting of the NEA Board of Directors held recently selected those companies for online payment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various companies had been providing the facility of online payment of electricity tariff. However, after the decision to allow only the selected 12 companies for online payment of electricity tariff, other companies will not be allowed to make online payment from now onwards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA has given permission to e-Sewa, Sparrow Pay, Sajilo Pay, CellPay, IME Digital Solutions, PayWell, Nepal Digital Payment and iCash Private Limited to make online payments. Electricity tariff can be paid from the mobile app, software etc of the selected companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Mahalaxmi Bank have also been selected for electronic payment services. The authority informed that the tariff can be paid through the mobile app of the banks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers have stated that they will not charge any fee for the online payment of up to Rs 500 per month. However, PayWell has stated that service charges will not be applied when payment is up to Rs 1,000 per month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Majority of service providers have said that they will charge a maximum of Rs 5 per transaction for a monthly payment of Rs 500 to Rs 500,000. Out of the 12 service providers, 10 companies have said that they will charge Rs 5 per transaction. Sajilo Pay and PayWell on the other hand have fixed Rs 4.80 and Rs 3 as service charge per transaction, respectively.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13678', 'image' => '20210909014202_20210514031053_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 13:41:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shipping Cost Doubles Within a Week ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade. Traders say that the transportation cost, which has been rising since the outbreak of Covid-19, is now at an all-time high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers say that container fares have also doubled in the first week of September. Ashish Lath, an importer, said that the container charges that were between USD 3500 to 4000 while importing goods from the Chinese port to Birgunj dry port until August has spiked to USD 8000.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders said that the increase in fares is due to the imbalance in the supply and demand of containers globally. Containers have been in short supply in European and American countries since the beginning of September.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lath, who is also the secretary of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the shipping companies have increased the fares by taking advantage of this opportunity. According to the traders, shipping companies have been raising fares since March last year amid the Covid-19 crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers can't get the containers even after paying USD 8,000 at the Chinese port, said Secretary Lath.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">‘Until a year ago, 20-ton containers were being transported from the Chinese port to Birgunj for 1,500 to 2,000 dollars. The fare, which was up to USD 4,000 last month, has started to increase this month,” said importer Navneet Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Omprakash Moure, there is a shortage of containers in China and Europe as more containers are 'booked' from Chinese ports due to increased demand for goods in Europe and the United States during the New Year and Christmas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"Containers are in short supply as Chinese traders increase their supply to Europe and the United States. It has had an impact on our business as well,” said Moure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Sushant Chachan, coordinator of the Dry Port and ICP Committee of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lack of containers has also affected cargo coming from US and European countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Chachan, the joint secretary of the union, said that the demand in the US and Europe has increased and the containers from China have stopped there.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"It's a result of imbalance between supply and demand. At present, the transportation cost alone has reached 30 percent of the total price of the goods. It should be 10 percent," Chachan said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Prices of groundnuts and pulses from the United States and Canada have risen sharply. The price of such items has already gone up by 30 percent. Importers say it is likely to go above 60 percent due to a spike in transportation costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Covid pandemic has hampered labor supplies at ports and delayed loading and unloading, argue traders.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">They shared that the cost of transportation is high as ships have to wait for 15-20 days at the port.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13677', 'image' => '20210909115351_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:53:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Floods Damage Flowers worth Rs 50 Million', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country. Continuous rainfall and floods in many parts of the country including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Itahari, Butwal and Chitwan have damaged flowers grown in nurseries. Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of the Floriculture Association of Nepal, told New Business Age that the damage caused by the rains and floods is estimated to be around Rs 50 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, 2 million seedlings were damaged by the floods in Bagmati and Dhobikhola rivers of Kathmandu on Monday (September 6). The floods have caused an estimated loss of more than Rs 4 million in Kathmandu alone. The floods have destroyed many flowers that were planted for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In Kavrepalanchok, 50,000 flower seedlings planted on 25 ropanis of land have been destroyed due to the impact of rain. The association informed that the full detail of the extent of damage on flowers of only Kathmandu district is available at the moment. Meanwhile, details of damage in the rest of the districts are also being collected. It is also estimated that Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts may also have suffered the same damage as of Kathmandu.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the association, florists and farmers, who have been suffering heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, have been further affected by the floods due continuous rainfall since last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Shrestha, the flower business had incurred a daily loss of Rs 10 million during the lockdown period last year. Even at the present, the business is down to 30 percent compared to normal days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Flower business is spread in 43 districts of Nepal. Around 700 entrepreneurs are involved in the flower business while 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. According to the association, there is an investment of around Rs 6 billion in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13676', 'image' => '20210909110157_20190326021608__MG_4339.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:01:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Cell of Landfill Site Built in Nuwakot’s Bancharedanda', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. The Ministry of Urban Development has stated that the construction of the first cell of the landfill site has been completed. The ministry informed the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction has directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the waste.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Spokesperson for the ministry, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, said that the construction of the cell has been completed and that he is not responsible for other works. As the ministry has instructed the department to take immediate decision on waste management in coordination with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, it is said that garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley will reach Bancharedanda in a few days. The ministry has stated that the construction of the second cell and other works are still underway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A contract agreement was signed with Lumbini Koshi and Neupane JV for the construction of a long-term sanitary landfill site in Bancharedanda on May 5, 2019. Although the entire construction work was supposed to be completed last April as per the agreement, the work still has not been completed yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Meanwhile, Hari Kumar Shrestha, the head of the Environment Department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, says that he has not received any official information from the ministry or the department about waste management in Bancharedanda. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Fearing that the locals might obstruct the movement of vehicles carrying garbage to Bancharedanda, Kathmandu Metropolitan City said that long-term waste management should be done only after a proper discussion with the locals and related bodies. After 18 days, garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley has started to be collected since Wednesday. However, garbage of all places has still not been managed properly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Garbage collection of local levels of Kathmandu Valley had been halted since August 16, 2021. This was the consequence of locals of Sisdol protesting against the garbage disposal in addition tp the problems caused by continuous rainfall. According to Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, all the garbage could not be managed at once as it has been collected for a long time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The landfill site in Sisdol was constructed in 2062 BS for waste management for only two years. Garbage is being managed in the site by burying it with soil and extending the site from time to time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Every day, 1,200 metric tons of garbage is dumped in the Sisdol from the Kathmandu Valley. Out of this, 500 metric tons of garbage is collected from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City itself. At least 200 vehicles of garbage are taken to Sisdol on a daily basis. About 75 percent of the daily waste from the Kathmandu Valley is managed in Sisdol.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13675', 'image' => '20210909114444_20210826080929_1-s2.0-S0197397515001277-gr1 - Copy (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:43:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Table Replacement Bill in place of Ordinance Budget during House Session', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli. According to the Ministry of Finance, the bill is about to be tabled in the parliament to replace the budget brought by the previous government for the current fiscal year 2078/79 through an ordinance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma is preparing to table the bill for approval on September 9 if there is no obstruction from the opposition. According to the ministry sources, the current government is ready to change the size of the budget mentioned in the ordinance through the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government led by Oli had announced a budget of Rs 1.647 trillion for the current fiscal year through an ordinance. The current government formed after Oli's ouster is preparing to bring a bill to replace it. The government plans to get the bill approved after holding necessary discussions within a week of registering the bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is also assessing the activities of the opposition party CPN (UML) before introducing the bill in the parliament. "The government is preparing to look into the party's activities in the parliament today (Wednesday) and register the bill on Thursday," a ministry source said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The UML, which has been protesting against the replacement bill, has already shown signs to protest in the parliament. The current government has stopped awarding new contracts to more than 2,000 road projects that the Oli-led government had put forward under the Constituency Strategic Road Program. UML is dissatisfied with the suspension of its budget plan. Various sources informed New Business Age that the government is ready not to move ahead with such projects through the replacement bill. It is likely to further annoy the opposition. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Gyanendra Karki said that a replacement bill is prepared to pass the budget brought by the previous government with amendments. The government has discussed the issue with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki said that he had met UML Chairman Oli a few days ago and proposed to pass the budget by suspending some rules of the parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, Karki said that Oli refused to pass the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The UML is not ready to suspend some rules of the parliament to pass the budget replacement bill," Karki said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government had brought the budget through an ordinance by dissolving the House of Representatives under the constitutional provision. However, the Supreme Court intervened and revived the dissolved House. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13674', 'image' => '20210908033538_Nepalese_Constituent_Assembly_Building.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 15:34:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Attempt to Endorse MCC divides Ruling Coalition', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.', '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"">September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.</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"">After four years of dilly-dallying, the government is making an attempt to endorse the MCC through the current parliamentary session that will begin later today (September 8).</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"">It has been four years since the MCC agreement was signed on September 14, 2017. According to a source at the Finance Ministry, the government has sought explanation from the MCC regarding the disputed issues related to the grant. As soon as it receives reply, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma will present the grant agreement in Parliament for endorsement. However, it is not easy for the government to approve the MCC without majority support.</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"">From the House of Representatives to the general public, the government has been under intense pressure not to approve the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deuba instructs MPs not to speak arbitrarily</span></span></em></strong></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"">Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed parliamentarians of the ruling party not to speak arbitrarily against the MCC. Stating that the MCC agreement is in Nepal's interest, he gave such instructions at the parliamentary party meeting of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba also said that unnecessary politics is happening in the name of MCC. According to him, the country is still borrowing large amounts of money from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at high interest. MCC is a grant for development and it is being politicized unnecessarily, said Deuba. He added that the grant is for the development of the country and the government is taking forward the MCC to reduce the debt.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba said that power transmission lines and roads would be upgraded in Nepal under the MCC project. He said that discussions would be held with the parties represented in the parliament to pass the MCC. On the other hand, Members of Parliaments of Congress raised various queries and questions about the MCC. Some lawmakers also drew Deuba's attention to the fact that some provisions of the MCC cannot be passed without amendment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Don't let the MCC pass in the current form: Dahal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Addressing a meeting of the Young Communist League (YCL), a sister organisation of the CPN-Maoist on Tuesday, chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the MCC should not be passed in the current situation.</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 issue of MCC is being discussed not only in the cities but also in the villages. We have sent a diplomatic note to the United States after drawing the attention of the government and the party but the answer is yet to be received,” said a YCL leader quoting Dahal. “In the current form, the MCC will not be passed under any circumstances. There is no possibility of MCC to be passed by parliament.”</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"">Dahal urged the cadres to remain calm saying that the Maoists would not enter into an agreement that would harm the nation and nationality. Dahal said that the suggestions given by the task force led by the then CPN senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal would also be taken into consideration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Indication that UML will not support</span></span></em></strong></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 main opposition party, the UML, had tried to expedite the MCC when it was in power. Due to the lack of cooperation from the speaker of the parliament at that time, he could not move forward the proposal in the Parliament, which led to a long conflict between the then Prime Minister and the Speaker. Now as the UML is in opposition, its strategy is wait and watch. UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli has been challenging the ruling party to pass the MCC. He reiterated the same thing while addressing a party function in Pokhara on Tuesday. According to a high-ranking source, the UML will not support the government in approving the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MCC vice president coming to Nepal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Fatema Sumar, vice president of the US-funded project MCC, is scheduled to visit Nepal. She is coming to Nepal on September 9 as the dispute over the MCC agreement is escalating.</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"">She will meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the main opposition party and Chairman of the CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of the CPN-Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal and others to take stock of the implementation status of the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Slogans against MCC in the streets</span></span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the government tried to move forward the MCC in Parliament, slogans against the MCC began to erupt in the streets. Protests by the ruling and opposition parties and civil society have started on a daily basis. Their only demand is to repeal the MCC. Accordingly, the Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand has announced an agitation against the American project MCC.</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 central office of the CPN (Maoist) on Tuesday revealed a programme of the week-long agitation including a general assembly in Kathmandu. Bibeksheel Sajha Party, which has been identifying itself as an alternative power, has also urged not to pass the MCC agreement in its current form. In a statement, Bibeksheel Sajha Party said that some of the conditions of the MCC agreement were highly objectionable and against Nepal's national pride and interests. It said those conditions should not be passed without amendment. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13673', 'image' => '20210908020138_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 14:00:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented a substitution bill of the budget for the current fiscal year during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday, September 10.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill announced curtailing of meeting allowance, fuel, maintenance, staff training cost, skills development and public awareness training and workshop costs, programme costs, monitoring and evaluation costs, visit costs and miscellaneous programme costs at a minimum rate of ten percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The amount of Rs 5 billion to be saved from the proposed austerity measure would be utilized to purchase vaccines, shared Finance Minster Sharma. The bill tabled in the parliament on Friday has substituted the budget introduced earlier by the erstwhile government through ordinance on May 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The then KP Sharma Oli-led government had dissolved the HoR on May 25 when preparation was underway to call the parliamentary session. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was presumed that the budget unveiled through ordinance earlier would be substituted following the formation of a new government led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to acute disease survivors </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incumbent government has announced a relief of Rs 5,000 per month to each of the patients having undergone kidney transplant, all types of cancer survivors and patients with spinal injuries as treatment and medicine support. This is expected to provide relief to a large number of kidney patients and cancer patients. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The substitution bill has also made arrangement to provide relief to the families who had sacrificed their lives in different political movements. The families of those devoting their lives to the people’s movement, people’s war, Madhes unrest and various political movements would receive Rs 3,000 each, the Minister informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Among other new measures included in the substituted bill are Rs 10,000 each to the coronavirus-infected patients from low-income family and those working in the informal sector for one time, providing subsidized grant to 500,000 disadvantaged families who lost their employment and income generation opportunities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Necessary preparation is underway to distribute this grant amount to the needy families within mid-October in coordination with the local level. The government has increased the coverage of agro insurance and livestock insurance so as to attract farmers to this sector. -- RSS </span><br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13687', 'image' => '20210911093229_20210616024457_20200504033240_1588549898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13941', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Presents Budget Replacement Bill of Rs 1.63 Trillion in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill issued in place of the ordinance budget announced by the previous government led by KP Sharma Oli is less than the previous budget by almost Rs 15 billion.</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"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented the replacement bill by revising the ordinance budget and downsizing it by Rs 14.74 billion. The Oli government had announced a budget of Rs 1647.57 billion on May 29.</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"">Finance Minister Sharma presented an estimate of income and expenditures of the current fiscal year with revisions in the third meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The bill incorporates the issues relating to the reduction of multi-dimensional poverty, securing a high economic growth rate and adopting and promoting inclusive economic policy as salient features of the budget, reports the state-owned national news agency RSS. </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"">Out of the total budget, the government has allocated Rs 677 billion (41.42 percent) for current expenditure and Rs 378 billion (23.16 percent) for capital expenditure. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rs 189 billion (11.60 percent) has been allocated for fiscal management and Rs 387 billion (23.72 percent) for handover to local and provincial levels. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government is expected to raise Rs 1050.08 billion from revenue collection while Rs 59.9 billion will be received from foreign grants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill has reduced portions of domestic and foreign loans by approximately Rs 37 billion and while the current expenditure has been slashed by 10 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Sharma announced that an arrangement has been made to form a think-tank at the Finance Ministry to study, research and analyze issues related to budget.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13686', 'image' => '20210911092204_1631281254.janardan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:21:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13940', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Received around Rs 200 Billion FDI from 52 countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77. This was revealed by a survey report on foreign direct investment, 2076/77, released by Nepal Rastra Bank on September 9.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">By mid-July of the review year, Nepal received Rs 198.52 billion foreign investment. Before that, FDI inflow stood at Rs 182.91 billion in FY 2075/76. In the fiscal year 2074/75, foreign investment received was more than Rs 200 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Besides investing the amount, the investors are also taking back profit from their shares. However, they have been reinvesting the dividends </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Taking all of them into account, foreign investment equivalent to Rs 198.52 billion has been maintained as of mid-July 2077 BS.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The share of paid-up capital in the foreign investment maintained till the review period was 54.4 percent. Similarly, the share of reinvestment (reserve) made through dividends is 33.8 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Similarly, the share of foreign investment in the form of loans is 11.8 percent, according to the survey report. On the basis of amount, the foreign investment received by Nepal can be classified into Rs 108.07 billion in paid-up capital, Rs 67.07 billion in reserves and Rs 23.37 billion in loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">India has the largest share of foreign investment. India's share of foreign investment reserves is 31.5 percent. China is second as of mid-July 2077, with a share of 15.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">St. Kitts and Nevis are in third place with 7.7 percent share. Foreign investment of 52 countries has been maintained in Nepal as of the review period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Nepal received Rs. 62.45 billion from India, Rs. 30.97 billion from China, and Rs 15.27 billion from St. Kitts and Nevis. Similarly, Rs. 12.93 billion from Ireland and Rs. 12.43 billion from Singapore were received as foreign direct investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that the foreign investment reserves were satisfactory till the review period. The year 2076/77 is the year directly affected by the Covid-19. "Foreign investment reserves have increased during that period," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Of the foreign direct investment in Nepal, 56 percent is in the industrial sector. Similarly, 43.9 percent of investment has been maintained in the service sector. Under the service sector, 27.3 percent has been maintained in banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NRB has been studying the regional status of such foreign investment by collecting the necessary data. The Department of Economic Research has been conducting on-site surveys on foreign direct investment, especially with the aim of assisting in the formulation of necessary policies.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13685', 'image' => '20210910070517_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 19:04:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13939', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'MCC Delegation Holds High-Level Meetings', 'sub_title' => 'MCC Vice President Sumar Assures the Grant Programme has no Military Component', 'summary' => 'September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit to expedite the US funded project at a time when the grant agreement is yet to be endorsed by the parliament even after four years of signing the pact. <br /> Sumar arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday (September 9) to specifically affirm that the MCC grant programme has no military component and that it will not jeopardize Nepal’s sovereignty. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The MCC delegation has intensified meetings with political party leaders, high-ranking officials and business community to push ahead with its agenda.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sumar will discuss the required steps to implement the US$ 500 million MCC-Nepal infrastructure project during her meeting with various government officials, and business and community leaders. She will also clarify the questions provided by the Ministry of Finance and also hear the views of the people in general regarding the much-hyped grant agreement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During her meeting with the leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli at his residence in Balkot on Thursday, Sumar urged him to support the MCC.<br /> According to UML’s Foreign Department Chief Rajan Bhattarai, who attended the meeting, Oli told the MCC Vice President that the UML will not make its official stance on this issue until the government makes its viewpoint clear on the MCC. Oli reportedly argued that the UML was not in a position to take a stance since it is an opposition party. <br /> According to Oli, the incumbent government should first be clear whether to approve the MCC. “The UML will then make its stance clear. Until now, the UML has not made any perception,” Bhattarai quoted Oli as saying. <br /> Recalling that the MCC could not be approved in the past despite efforts of UML-led government, Oli reportedly said that the UML will not have any direct role now since the party is not leading the government but is the main opposition party. <br /> Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Nepal issued a statement reminding that the Government of Nepal had designed a five-year grant programme to provide more reliable electricity as well as power and transportation at lower costs for all Nepalis prior to negotiating and signing the agreement in 2017.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The political parties are divided over whether to endorse the grant agreement or not.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13684', 'image' => '20210910125944_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:58:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13937', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Readymade Garments worth Rs 1.5 Billion being Imported for Festive Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season. Targeting the upcoming festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, traders have started importing large quantities of garments in bulk. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders import readymade garments from countries like India, China, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. Dil Sundar Shrestha, chairperson of the Trade Fair Committee under Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) told New Business Age that they are importing goods like footwear, shirts, pants, t-shirts, half pants, jackets, saris, kurthas and others worth Rs 1.5 billion for the upcoming festivals. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, the trade of such items increases by 40 percent during big festivals like Dashain and Tihar as compared to other times, so traders import large quantities of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">He said that even though the importers could not visit the respective countries to import goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ordering goods via online medium. In addition, he said that due to the impact of the pandemic, consumers will have to buy clothes at higher prices this year as the price of the goods have increased. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The traders say that the price has gone up as the transportation cost and the price of raw materials for making clothes have has increased in the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier, the fare for a container imported from Kolkata was $2,000, but now it has increased to as much as $4,000 per container. The import of clothes has been reduced by 50 percent this year due to the low prospects of trade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Under normal circumstances, traders would import ready-made garments worth up to Rs 3 billion targeting the festivals. However, they have estimated that the volume of trade will be reduced this year due to the decline in purchasing power of the consumers. Compared to the normal situation, the traders estimate that the garment business will be only 60 percent during the festive season this year. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13683', 'image' => '20210910122258_20200901114856_1598909272.4.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:22:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13936', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NOC Saves Rs 3 Billion since the Operation of Cross-Border Petroleum Pipeline ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion that used to be spent in the transportation of the petroleum products from India to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 79 km pipeline from Motihari, India to Amalekhgunj, Nepal, was set up with the assistance from the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been supplying petroleum product via the underground pipeline since September 10, 2019 after the pipeline was jointly inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart and the then prime minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this period, NOC informed that it imported 1.61 billion litres of diesel through the pipeline. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NOC Executive Director Surendra Pandey told the state-owned national news agency RSS that they were able to make the saving by cutting transportation cost and also due to the reduced technical loss. </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"">Following the success of the import of diesel via the pipeline, Pandey said that the process to import petrol and kerosene oil from the same pipeline has been initiated with the support from the IOC.</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 informed sources, the supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene from the same pipeline would begin after one and a half years. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13682', 'image' => '20210910112012_pipeline.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 11:19:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13935', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Issues Warning Against Cryptocurrency Trading ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country. Issuing a notice on September 9, the central bank said such illegal activities are subject to punishment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019, any sort of cryptocurrency trading and mining is illegal in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that it issued such warning after observing that some groups are actively involved in swindling people by encouraging them to get involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "Cryptocurrency trading and mining and encouraging the illegal activities is punishable by law. Those swindling people through these illegal activities are subject to action," reads the notice. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13681', 'image' => '20210910105148_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 10:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13938', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sundar Yatayat to add 20 More Electric Buses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. The private company is is currently operating three buses on the Ring Road and one along the Bhaktapur-Ratna Park route. Now, Sundar Yatayat is planning to expand the service by operating buses on all routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday on the occasion of the thirda anniversary of Sundar Yatayat, Chairman of the company, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa informed that 20 new buses would arrive within the next 25 days. The company bought the buses from China's BAK Company at a cost of Rs 110 million. Thapa informed that the goal is to increase the number of electric buses operated by Sundar Yatayat to 100 in the next six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company started providing clean transportation service in the Kathmandu Valley with two buses in August 2019. Since then, two more buses have been added. Although the company had said that 25 buses would be added in the previous year, it still has not been able to bring new buses so far. Stating that it was a little later than the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19, Chairman of the company Bhesh Bahadur Thapa said that buses are being added so that the electric buses would run on all the routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The buses operated by the company have a capacity of 40 seats. They can cover a distance of 265 km on a single charge. According to the company, a digital payment facility has also been arranged in the bus. In addition, these buses are disable friendly as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sundar Yatayat has also set out a long-term ambitious plan to assemble electric vehicles and export them to Bangladesh. The company has leased 8 bighas and 10 kathas of land from Sainamaina Municipality in Butwal, in order to set up the assembly plant. The initial investment for the plant is going to be Rs 3.60 billion approximately. Sundar Yatayat has also invited tenders to select a company for the construction of the plant.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company's investment in the plant is very low. Even though it will remain as a sister organization, Sichuan Guang Automobile of China will have 47 percent stakes and SEC Company of the UAE will have 46 percent of stakes in the industry. Thapa informed that Sundar Yatayat will invest only 7 percent for the assembly plant.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13680', 'image' => '20210910123141_20210826022928_20210706023411yatayat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:30:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13934', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Investment Board sets Target to bring $10 Billion Foreign Investment in Five Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board revealed its strategic plan on Wednesday (September 8) stating that they have set a target of approving investment worth US$ 10 billion in the next five years. Out of the total investment, the board intends to manage US$ 6 billion for projects run under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also the chairman of the board, unveiled the strategic plan during the 10th anniversary of the board. Addressing the function, PM Deuba said that the total annual average investment of Rs 558 billion would not be enough to achieve the sustainable development goals. The new strategic plan is expected to help create at least 100,000 jobs and contribute to the creation of an environment for investment promotion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The strategic plan has adopted five important goals to develop the board as an excellent center of public-private partnership. The plan also calls for making Nepal an attractive destination for investment to attain economic prosperity. The four pillars of the strategic plan include project development and management, investment promotion, institutional development and coordination, as well as cooperation and partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Deuba said that at a time when COVID-19 pandemic has created an unfavorable investment environment, the board is doing a remarkable work to attract investment during such difficult circumstances.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government needs to include the private sector in the national priority projects, he said that the concept of PPP should be taken forward because investment form private sector is necessary for national pride projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, during the ceremony, said that the board should now take a step forward and reach out to investors with suitable investment projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to involve the local people in the investment modality of public-private partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Another 'P' that stands for people should be added to the PPP model. Failure to involve the people affected by the projects will hamper the construction process and increase the cost of the project. Therefore, the ‘Three-P’ model of investment should be changed to ‘Four Ps’.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the relatively cheap labor force and immense natural resources available in Nepal are the main assets that the country has, Minister Sharma stressed on the need for the board to act as a catalyst to accelerate the journey of development and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal acknowledged the board as the main body responsible for public-private partnership management in Nepal and added that cooperation is necessary to attract investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the board Sushil Bhatta said that the board has prepared a list of projects to accelerate infrastructure development, which will ensure returns for investors and also meet the needs of the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Investment Board is getting stronger in project development, implementation and facilitation for investors after a decade of experience.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Liu Su Hong, Managing Director of Hongsi Holding Group China, a Chinese company, said that they have started cement production in Nepal by investing around Rs 40 billion. According to him, Chinese company Hongsi Holding Group wants to invest more in Nepal. He informed that they have moved ahead to develop the second phase of Hongsi Holding and Dang Cement project in collaboration with SH Investment Limited of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">833 Billion Investment approved in 10 years</span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Investment Board Nepal has approved investment of Rs 833 billion in one decade since its establishment. The board was established in 2068 BS to raise investment in large projects through PPP model.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the decade, the board has approved 27 different projects and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to move forward seven major projects. Similarly, it has organised two investment conferences.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During this period, the Hongsi Shivam Cement Factory, a China-Nepal joint venture worth USD 360 million (Rs 43.20 billion) facilitated by the IBN, has come into operation under the big project. Its daily production capacity is 6,000 tons.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">China-Nepal joint venture Hwasin Cement Narayani worth USD 140 million is being prepared for operation. Its daily production capacity is 3,000 tons. The board has informed that there is a Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the 900 MW Arun III with an estimated cost of Rs 144 billion and the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project with an estimated cost of Rs 116 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Forty percent of the construction work of Arun III, a joint venture between India and Nepal, has been completed and the project aims to generate electricity by 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13679', 'image' => '20210909021007_20210623122152_20210115025352_20160222122813_ep3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 14:09:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Picks 12 Service Providers for Online Payment of Electricity Tariff', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. A meeting of the NEA Board of Directors held recently selected those companies for online payment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various companies had been providing the facility of online payment of electricity tariff. However, after the decision to allow only the selected 12 companies for online payment of electricity tariff, other companies will not be allowed to make online payment from now onwards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA has given permission to e-Sewa, Sparrow Pay, Sajilo Pay, CellPay, IME Digital Solutions, PayWell, Nepal Digital Payment and iCash Private Limited to make online payments. Electricity tariff can be paid from the mobile app, software etc of the selected companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Mahalaxmi Bank have also been selected for electronic payment services. The authority informed that the tariff can be paid through the mobile app of the banks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers have stated that they will not charge any fee for the online payment of up to Rs 500 per month. However, PayWell has stated that service charges will not be applied when payment is up to Rs 1,000 per month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Majority of service providers have said that they will charge a maximum of Rs 5 per transaction for a monthly payment of Rs 500 to Rs 500,000. Out of the 12 service providers, 10 companies have said that they will charge Rs 5 per transaction. Sajilo Pay and PayWell on the other hand have fixed Rs 4.80 and Rs 3 as service charge per transaction, respectively.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13678', 'image' => '20210909014202_20210514031053_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 13:41:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shipping Cost Doubles Within a Week ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade. Traders say that the transportation cost, which has been rising since the outbreak of Covid-19, is now at an all-time high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers say that container fares have also doubled in the first week of September. Ashish Lath, an importer, said that the container charges that were between USD 3500 to 4000 while importing goods from the Chinese port to Birgunj dry port until August has spiked to USD 8000.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders said that the increase in fares is due to the imbalance in the supply and demand of containers globally. Containers have been in short supply in European and American countries since the beginning of September.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lath, who is also the secretary of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the shipping companies have increased the fares by taking advantage of this opportunity. According to the traders, shipping companies have been raising fares since March last year amid the Covid-19 crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers can't get the containers even after paying USD 8,000 at the Chinese port, said Secretary Lath.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">‘Until a year ago, 20-ton containers were being transported from the Chinese port to Birgunj for 1,500 to 2,000 dollars. The fare, which was up to USD 4,000 last month, has started to increase this month,” said importer Navneet Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Omprakash Moure, there is a shortage of containers in China and Europe as more containers are 'booked' from Chinese ports due to increased demand for goods in Europe and the United States during the New Year and Christmas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"Containers are in short supply as Chinese traders increase their supply to Europe and the United States. It has had an impact on our business as well,” said Moure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Sushant Chachan, coordinator of the Dry Port and ICP Committee of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lack of containers has also affected cargo coming from US and European countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Chachan, the joint secretary of the union, said that the demand in the US and Europe has increased and the containers from China have stopped there.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"It's a result of imbalance between supply and demand. At present, the transportation cost alone has reached 30 percent of the total price of the goods. It should be 10 percent," Chachan said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Prices of groundnuts and pulses from the United States and Canada have risen sharply. The price of such items has already gone up by 30 percent. Importers say it is likely to go above 60 percent due to a spike in transportation costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Covid pandemic has hampered labor supplies at ports and delayed loading and unloading, argue traders.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">They shared that the cost of transportation is high as ships have to wait for 15-20 days at the port.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13677', 'image' => '20210909115351_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:53:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Floods Damage Flowers worth Rs 50 Million', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country. Continuous rainfall and floods in many parts of the country including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Itahari, Butwal and Chitwan have damaged flowers grown in nurseries. Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of the Floriculture Association of Nepal, told New Business Age that the damage caused by the rains and floods is estimated to be around Rs 50 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, 2 million seedlings were damaged by the floods in Bagmati and Dhobikhola rivers of Kathmandu on Monday (September 6). The floods have caused an estimated loss of more than Rs 4 million in Kathmandu alone. The floods have destroyed many flowers that were planted for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In Kavrepalanchok, 50,000 flower seedlings planted on 25 ropanis of land have been destroyed due to the impact of rain. The association informed that the full detail of the extent of damage on flowers of only Kathmandu district is available at the moment. Meanwhile, details of damage in the rest of the districts are also being collected. It is also estimated that Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts may also have suffered the same damage as of Kathmandu.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the association, florists and farmers, who have been suffering heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, have been further affected by the floods due continuous rainfall since last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Shrestha, the flower business had incurred a daily loss of Rs 10 million during the lockdown period last year. Even at the present, the business is down to 30 percent compared to normal days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Flower business is spread in 43 districts of Nepal. Around 700 entrepreneurs are involved in the flower business while 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. According to the association, there is an investment of around Rs 6 billion in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13676', 'image' => '20210909110157_20190326021608__MG_4339.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:01:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Cell of Landfill Site Built in Nuwakot’s Bancharedanda', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. The Ministry of Urban Development has stated that the construction of the first cell of the landfill site has been completed. The ministry informed the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction has directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the waste.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Spokesperson for the ministry, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, said that the construction of the cell has been completed and that he is not responsible for other works. As the ministry has instructed the department to take immediate decision on waste management in coordination with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, it is said that garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley will reach Bancharedanda in a few days. The ministry has stated that the construction of the second cell and other works are still underway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A contract agreement was signed with Lumbini Koshi and Neupane JV for the construction of a long-term sanitary landfill site in Bancharedanda on May 5, 2019. Although the entire construction work was supposed to be completed last April as per the agreement, the work still has not been completed yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Meanwhile, Hari Kumar Shrestha, the head of the Environment Department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, says that he has not received any official information from the ministry or the department about waste management in Bancharedanda. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Fearing that the locals might obstruct the movement of vehicles carrying garbage to Bancharedanda, Kathmandu Metropolitan City said that long-term waste management should be done only after a proper discussion with the locals and related bodies. After 18 days, garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley has started to be collected since Wednesday. However, garbage of all places has still not been managed properly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Garbage collection of local levels of Kathmandu Valley had been halted since August 16, 2021. This was the consequence of locals of Sisdol protesting against the garbage disposal in addition tp the problems caused by continuous rainfall. According to Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, all the garbage could not be managed at once as it has been collected for a long time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The landfill site in Sisdol was constructed in 2062 BS for waste management for only two years. Garbage is being managed in the site by burying it with soil and extending the site from time to time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Every day, 1,200 metric tons of garbage is dumped in the Sisdol from the Kathmandu Valley. Out of this, 500 metric tons of garbage is collected from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City itself. At least 200 vehicles of garbage are taken to Sisdol on a daily basis. About 75 percent of the daily waste from the Kathmandu Valley is managed in Sisdol.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13675', 'image' => '20210909114444_20210826080929_1-s2.0-S0197397515001277-gr1 - Copy (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:43:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Table Replacement Bill in place of Ordinance Budget during House Session', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli. According to the Ministry of Finance, the bill is about to be tabled in the parliament to replace the budget brought by the previous government for the current fiscal year 2078/79 through an ordinance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma is preparing to table the bill for approval on September 9 if there is no obstruction from the opposition. According to the ministry sources, the current government is ready to change the size of the budget mentioned in the ordinance through the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government led by Oli had announced a budget of Rs 1.647 trillion for the current fiscal year through an ordinance. The current government formed after Oli's ouster is preparing to bring a bill to replace it. The government plans to get the bill approved after holding necessary discussions within a week of registering the bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is also assessing the activities of the opposition party CPN (UML) before introducing the bill in the parliament. "The government is preparing to look into the party's activities in the parliament today (Wednesday) and register the bill on Thursday," a ministry source said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The UML, which has been protesting against the replacement bill, has already shown signs to protest in the parliament. The current government has stopped awarding new contracts to more than 2,000 road projects that the Oli-led government had put forward under the Constituency Strategic Road Program. UML is dissatisfied with the suspension of its budget plan. Various sources informed New Business Age that the government is ready not to move ahead with such projects through the replacement bill. It is likely to further annoy the opposition. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Gyanendra Karki said that a replacement bill is prepared to pass the budget brought by the previous government with amendments. The government has discussed the issue with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki said that he had met UML Chairman Oli a few days ago and proposed to pass the budget by suspending some rules of the parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, Karki said that Oli refused to pass the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The UML is not ready to suspend some rules of the parliament to pass the budget replacement bill," Karki said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government had brought the budget through an ordinance by dissolving the House of Representatives under the constitutional provision. However, the Supreme Court intervened and revived the dissolved House. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13674', 'image' => '20210908033538_Nepalese_Constituent_Assembly_Building.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 15:34:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Attempt to Endorse MCC divides Ruling Coalition', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.', '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"">September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.</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"">After four years of dilly-dallying, the government is making an attempt to endorse the MCC through the current parliamentary session that will begin later today (September 8).</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"">It has been four years since the MCC agreement was signed on September 14, 2017. According to a source at the Finance Ministry, the government has sought explanation from the MCC regarding the disputed issues related to the grant. As soon as it receives reply, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma will present the grant agreement in Parliament for endorsement. However, it is not easy for the government to approve the MCC without majority support.</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"">From the House of Representatives to the general public, the government has been under intense pressure not to approve the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deuba instructs MPs not to speak arbitrarily</span></span></em></strong></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"">Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed parliamentarians of the ruling party not to speak arbitrarily against the MCC. Stating that the MCC agreement is in Nepal's interest, he gave such instructions at the parliamentary party meeting of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba also said that unnecessary politics is happening in the name of MCC. According to him, the country is still borrowing large amounts of money from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at high interest. MCC is a grant for development and it is being politicized unnecessarily, said Deuba. He added that the grant is for the development of the country and the government is taking forward the MCC to reduce the debt.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba said that power transmission lines and roads would be upgraded in Nepal under the MCC project. He said that discussions would be held with the parties represented in the parliament to pass the MCC. On the other hand, Members of Parliaments of Congress raised various queries and questions about the MCC. Some lawmakers also drew Deuba's attention to the fact that some provisions of the MCC cannot be passed without amendment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Don't let the MCC pass in the current form: Dahal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Addressing a meeting of the Young Communist League (YCL), a sister organisation of the CPN-Maoist on Tuesday, chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the MCC should not be passed in the current situation.</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 issue of MCC is being discussed not only in the cities but also in the villages. We have sent a diplomatic note to the United States after drawing the attention of the government and the party but the answer is yet to be received,” said a YCL leader quoting Dahal. “In the current form, the MCC will not be passed under any circumstances. There is no possibility of MCC to be passed by parliament.”</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"">Dahal urged the cadres to remain calm saying that the Maoists would not enter into an agreement that would harm the nation and nationality. Dahal said that the suggestions given by the task force led by the then CPN senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal would also be taken into consideration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Indication that UML will not support</span></span></em></strong></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 main opposition party, the UML, had tried to expedite the MCC when it was in power. Due to the lack of cooperation from the speaker of the parliament at that time, he could not move forward the proposal in the Parliament, which led to a long conflict between the then Prime Minister and the Speaker. Now as the UML is in opposition, its strategy is wait and watch. UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli has been challenging the ruling party to pass the MCC. He reiterated the same thing while addressing a party function in Pokhara on Tuesday. According to a high-ranking source, the UML will not support the government in approving the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MCC vice president coming to Nepal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Fatema Sumar, vice president of the US-funded project MCC, is scheduled to visit Nepal. She is coming to Nepal on September 9 as the dispute over the MCC agreement is escalating.</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"">She will meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the main opposition party and Chairman of the CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of the CPN-Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal and others to take stock of the implementation status of the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Slogans against MCC in the streets</span></span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the government tried to move forward the MCC in Parliament, slogans against the MCC began to erupt in the streets. Protests by the ruling and opposition parties and civil society have started on a daily basis. Their only demand is to repeal the MCC. Accordingly, the Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand has announced an agitation against the American project MCC.</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 central office of the CPN (Maoist) on Tuesday revealed a programme of the week-long agitation including a general assembly in Kathmandu. Bibeksheel Sajha Party, which has been identifying itself as an alternative power, has also urged not to pass the MCC agreement in its current form. In a statement, Bibeksheel Sajha Party said that some of the conditions of the MCC agreement were highly objectionable and against Nepal's national pride and interests. It said those conditions should not be passed without amendment. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13673', 'image' => '20210908020138_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 14:00:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The government has come up with a measure to cut off all meeting allowances under the recurrent costs and subsequently utilize the savings of Rs 5 billion for the procurement of vaccines against COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented a substitution bill of the budget for the current fiscal year during a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday, September 10.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill announced curtailing of meeting allowance, fuel, maintenance, staff training cost, skills development and public awareness training and workshop costs, programme costs, monitoring and evaluation costs, visit costs and miscellaneous programme costs at a minimum rate of ten percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The amount of Rs 5 billion to be saved from the proposed austerity measure would be utilized to purchase vaccines, shared Finance Minster Sharma. The bill tabled in the parliament on Friday has substituted the budget introduced earlier by the erstwhile government through ordinance on May 29. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The then KP Sharma Oli-led government had dissolved the HoR on May 25 when preparation was underway to call the parliamentary session. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">It was presumed that the budget unveiled through ordinance earlier would be substituted following the formation of a new government led by Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to acute disease survivors </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The incumbent government has announced a relief of Rs 5,000 per month to each of the patients having undergone kidney transplant, all types of cancer survivors and patients with spinal injuries as treatment and medicine support. This is expected to provide relief to a large number of kidney patients and cancer patients. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The substitution bill has also made arrangement to provide relief to the families who had sacrificed their lives in different political movements. The families of those devoting their lives to the people’s movement, people’s war, Madhes unrest and various political movements would receive Rs 3,000 each, the Minister informed. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Among other new measures included in the substituted bill are Rs 10,000 each to the coronavirus-infected patients from low-income family and those working in the informal sector for one time, providing subsidized grant to 500,000 disadvantaged families who lost their employment and income generation opportunities. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Necessary preparation is underway to distribute this grant amount to the needy families within mid-October in coordination with the local level. The government has increased the coverage of agro insurance and livestock insurance so as to attract farmers to this sector. -- RSS </span><br /> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13687', 'image' => '20210911093229_20210616024457_20200504033240_1588549898.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13941', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Presents Budget Replacement Bill of Rs 1.63 Trillion in Parliament', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 11: The incumbent government has allocated Rs 1.63 trillion for the current fiscal year (FY 2021/22) through the replacement bill tabled at the parliament meeting on Friday, September 10. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill issued in place of the ordinance budget announced by the previous government led by KP Sharma Oli is less than the previous budget by almost Rs 15 billion.</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"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma presented the replacement bill by revising the ordinance budget and downsizing it by Rs 14.74 billion. The Oli government had announced a budget of Rs 1647.57 billion on May 29.</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"">Finance Minister Sharma presented an estimate of income and expenditures of the current fiscal year with revisions in the third meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR). </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The bill incorporates the issues relating to the reduction of multi-dimensional poverty, securing a high economic growth rate and adopting and promoting inclusive economic policy as salient features of the budget, reports the state-owned national news agency RSS. </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"">Out of the total budget, the government has allocated Rs 677 billion (41.42 percent) for current expenditure and Rs 378 billion (23.16 percent) for capital expenditure. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, Rs 189 billion (11.60 percent) has been allocated for fiscal management and Rs 387 billion (23.72 percent) for handover to local and provincial levels. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government is expected to raise Rs 1050.08 billion from revenue collection while Rs 59.9 billion will be received from foreign grants. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The replacement bill has reduced portions of domestic and foreign loans by approximately Rs 37 billion and while the current expenditure has been slashed by 10 percent. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Finance Minister Sharma announced that an arrangement has been made to form a think-tank at the Finance Ministry to study, research and analyze issues related to budget.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-11', 'modified' => '2021-09-11', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13686', 'image' => '20210911092204_1631281254.janardan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-11 09:21:11', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13940', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal Received around Rs 200 Billion FDI from 52 countries', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: The foreign investment reserve of Nepal has increased by 8.5 percent by the end of the Fiscal Year 2076/77. This was revealed by a survey report on foreign direct investment, 2076/77, released by Nepal Rastra Bank on September 9.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">By mid-July of the review year, Nepal received Rs 198.52 billion foreign investment. Before that, FDI inflow stood at Rs 182.91 billion in FY 2075/76. In the fiscal year 2074/75, foreign investment received was more than Rs 200 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Besides investing the amount, the investors are also taking back profit from their shares. However, they have been reinvesting the dividends </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Taking all of them into account, foreign investment equivalent to Rs 198.52 billion has been maintained as of mid-July 2077 BS.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The share of paid-up capital in the foreign investment maintained till the review period was 54.4 percent. Similarly, the share of reinvestment (reserve) made through dividends is 33.8 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Similarly, the share of foreign investment in the form of loans is 11.8 percent, according to the survey report. On the basis of amount, the foreign investment received by Nepal can be classified into Rs 108.07 billion in paid-up capital, Rs 67.07 billion in reserves and Rs 23.37 billion in loan.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">India has the largest share of foreign investment. India's share of foreign investment reserves is 31.5 percent. China is second as of mid-July 2077, with a share of 15.6 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">St. Kitts and Nevis are in third place with 7.7 percent share. Foreign investment of 52 countries has been maintained in Nepal as of the review period.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Nepal received Rs. 62.45 billion from India, Rs. 30.97 billion from China, and Rs 15.27 billion from St. Kitts and Nevis. Similarly, Rs. 12.93 billion from Ireland and Rs. 12.43 billion from Singapore were received as foreign direct investment. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Executive Director of Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha said that the foreign investment reserves were satisfactory till the review period. The year 2076/77 is the year directly affected by the Covid-19. "Foreign investment reserves have increased during that period," he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Of the foreign direct investment in Nepal, 56 percent is in the industrial sector. Similarly, 43.9 percent of investment has been maintained in the service sector. Under the service sector, 27.3 percent has been maintained in banks and financial institutions, and insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NRB has been studying the regional status of such foreign investment by collecting the necessary data. The Department of Economic Research has been conducting on-site surveys on foreign direct investment, especially with the aim of assisting in the formulation of necessary policies.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13685', 'image' => '20210910070517_20160513034506_editor.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 19:04:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13939', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'MCC Delegation Holds High-Level Meetings', 'sub_title' => 'MCC Vice President Sumar Assures the Grant Programme has no Military Component', 'summary' => 'September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: A high-level delegation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) led by its vice president Fatema Sumar has arrived in Nepal for a four-day visit to expedite the US funded project at a time when the grant agreement is yet to be endorsed by the parliament even after four years of signing the pact. <br /> Sumar arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday (September 9) to specifically affirm that the MCC grant programme has no military component and that it will not jeopardize Nepal’s sovereignty. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The MCC delegation has intensified meetings with political party leaders, high-ranking officials and business community to push ahead with its agenda.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Sumar will discuss the required steps to implement the US$ 500 million MCC-Nepal infrastructure project during her meeting with various government officials, and business and community leaders. She will also clarify the questions provided by the Ministry of Finance and also hear the views of the people in general regarding the much-hyped grant agreement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">During her meeting with the leader of the main opposition party CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli at his residence in Balkot on Thursday, Sumar urged him to support the MCC.<br /> According to UML’s Foreign Department Chief Rajan Bhattarai, who attended the meeting, Oli told the MCC Vice President that the UML will not make its official stance on this issue until the government makes its viewpoint clear on the MCC. Oli reportedly argued that the UML was not in a position to take a stance since it is an opposition party. <br /> According to Oli, the incumbent government should first be clear whether to approve the MCC. “The UML will then make its stance clear. Until now, the UML has not made any perception,” Bhattarai quoted Oli as saying. <br /> Recalling that the MCC could not be approved in the past despite efforts of UML-led government, Oli reportedly said that the UML will not have any direct role now since the party is not leading the government but is the main opposition party. <br /> Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Nepal issued a statement reminding that the Government of Nepal had designed a five-year grant programme to provide more reliable electricity as well as power and transportation at lower costs for all Nepalis prior to negotiating and signing the agreement in 2017.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The political parties are divided over whether to endorse the grant agreement or not.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13684', 'image' => '20210910125944_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:58:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13937', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Readymade Garments worth Rs 1.5 Billion being Imported for Festive Season', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Garment traders are importing readymade garments worth Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season. Targeting the upcoming festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, traders have started importing large quantities of garments in bulk. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders import readymade garments from countries like India, China, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. Dil Sundar Shrestha, chairperson of the Trade Fair Committee under Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) told New Business Age that they are importing goods like footwear, shirts, pants, t-shirts, half pants, jackets, saris, kurthas and others worth Rs 1.5 billion for the upcoming festivals. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, the trade of such items increases by 40 percent during big festivals like Dashain and Tihar as compared to other times, so traders import large quantities of goods. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">He said that even though the importers could not visit the respective countries to import goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ordering goods via online medium. In addition, he said that due to the impact of the pandemic, consumers will have to buy clothes at higher prices this year as the price of the goods have increased. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The traders say that the price has gone up as the transportation cost and the price of raw materials for making clothes have has increased in the international market. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Earlier, the fare for a container imported from Kolkata was $2,000, but now it has increased to as much as $4,000 per container. The import of clothes has been reduced by 50 percent this year due to the low prospects of trade. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Under normal circumstances, traders would import ready-made garments worth up to Rs 3 billion targeting the festivals. However, they have estimated that the volume of trade will be reduced this year due to the decline in purchasing power of the consumers. Compared to the normal situation, the traders estimate that the garment business will be only 60 percent during the festive season this year. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13683', 'image' => '20210910122258_20200901114856_1598909272.4.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:22:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13936', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NOC Saves Rs 3 Billion since the Operation of Cross-Border Petroleum Pipeline ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">September 10: The operation of Nepal-India Cross-Broder Petroleum Pipeline since the last two years has helped Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) save as much as Rs 3 billion that used to be spent in the transportation of the petroleum products from India to Nepal. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The 79 km pipeline from Motihari, India to Amalekhgunj, Nepal, was set up with the assistance from the Indian government.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been supplying petroleum product via the underground pipeline since September 10, 2019 after the pipeline was jointly inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart and the then prime minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli.</span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">During this period, NOC informed that it imported 1.61 billion litres of diesel through the pipeline. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">NOC Executive Director Surendra Pandey told the state-owned national news agency RSS that they were able to make the saving by cutting transportation cost and also due to the reduced technical loss. </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"">Following the success of the import of diesel via the pipeline, Pandey said that the process to import petrol and kerosene oil from the same pipeline has been initiated with the support from the IOC.</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 informed sources, the supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene from the same pipeline would begin after one and a half years. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13682', 'image' => '20210910112012_pipeline.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 11:19:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13935', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Central Bank Issues Warning Against Cryptocurrency Trading ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">September 10: Nepal Rastra Bank has warned people involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining that such activities are illegal in the country. Issuing a notice on September 9, the central bank said such illegal activities are subject to punishment. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019, any sort of cryptocurrency trading and mining is illegal in the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The central bank said that it issued such warning after observing that some groups are actively involved in swindling people by encouraging them to get involved in cryptocurrency trading and mining.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "Cryptocurrency trading and mining and encouraging the illegal activities is punishable by law. Those swindling people through these illegal activities are subject to action," reads the notice. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13681', 'image' => '20210910105148_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 10:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13938', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Sundar Yatayat to add 20 More Electric Buses', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 10: Sundar Yatayat Pvt Ltd is preparing to operate an additional 20 buses. The private company is is currently operating three buses on the Ring Road and one along the Bhaktapur-Ratna Park route. Now, Sundar Yatayat is planning to expand the service by operating buses on all routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Speaking at a program organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday on the occasion of the thirda anniversary of Sundar Yatayat, Chairman of the company, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa informed that 20 new buses would arrive within the next 25 days. The company bought the buses from China's BAK Company at a cost of Rs 110 million. Thapa informed that the goal is to increase the number of electric buses operated by Sundar Yatayat to 100 in the next six months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company started providing clean transportation service in the Kathmandu Valley with two buses in August 2019. Since then, two more buses have been added. Although the company had said that 25 buses would be added in the previous year, it still has not been able to bring new buses so far. Stating that it was a little later than the schedule due to the impact of Covid-19, Chairman of the company Bhesh Bahadur Thapa said that buses are being added so that the electric buses would run on all the routes in the valley.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The buses operated by the company have a capacity of 40 seats. They can cover a distance of 265 km on a single charge. According to the company, a digital payment facility has also been arranged in the bus. In addition, these buses are disable friendly as well.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sundar Yatayat has also set out a long-term ambitious plan to assemble electric vehicles and export them to Bangladesh. The company has leased 8 bighas and 10 kathas of land from Sainamaina Municipality in Butwal, in order to set up the assembly plant. The initial investment for the plant is going to be Rs 3.60 billion approximately. Sundar Yatayat has also invited tenders to select a company for the construction of the plant.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The company's investment in the plant is very low. Even though it will remain as a sister organization, Sichuan Guang Automobile of China will have 47 percent stakes and SEC Company of the UAE will have 46 percent of stakes in the industry. Thapa informed that Sundar Yatayat will invest only 7 percent for the assembly plant.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-10', 'modified' => '2021-09-10', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13680', 'image' => '20210910123141_20210826022928_20210706023411yatayat.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-10 12:30:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13934', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Investment Board sets Target to bring $10 Billion Foreign Investment in Five Years', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: The Investment Board Nepal has set a target to attract investment of US$10 billion over the next five years.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The board revealed its strategic plan on Wednesday (September 8) stating that they have set a target of approving investment worth US$ 10 billion in the next five years. Out of the total investment, the board intends to manage US$ 6 billion for projects run under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is also the chairman of the board, unveiled the strategic plan during the 10th anniversary of the board. Addressing the function, PM Deuba said that the total annual average investment of Rs 558 billion would not be enough to achieve the sustainable development goals. The new strategic plan is expected to help create at least 100,000 jobs and contribute to the creation of an environment for investment promotion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The strategic plan has adopted five important goals to develop the board as an excellent center of public-private partnership. The plan also calls for making Nepal an attractive destination for investment to attain economic prosperity. The four pillars of the strategic plan include project development and management, investment promotion, institutional development and coordination, as well as cooperation and partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Deuba said that at a time when COVID-19 pandemic has created an unfavorable investment environment, the board is doing a remarkable work to attract investment during such difficult circumstances.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the government needs to include the private sector in the national priority projects, he said that the concept of PPP should be taken forward because investment form private sector is necessary for national pride projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, during the ceremony, said that the board should now take a step forward and reach out to investors with suitable investment projects.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to involve the local people in the investment modality of public-private partnership.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Another 'P' that stands for people should be added to the PPP model. Failure to involve the people affected by the projects will hamper the construction process and increase the cost of the project. Therefore, the ‘Three-P’ model of investment should be changed to ‘Four Ps’.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Stating that the relatively cheap labor force and immense natural resources available in Nepal are the main assets that the country has, Minister Sharma stressed on the need for the board to act as a catalyst to accelerate the journey of development and prosperity.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal acknowledged the board as the main body responsible for public-private partnership management in Nepal and added that cooperation is necessary to attract investment from the private sector.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chief Executive Officer of the board Sushil Bhatta said that the board has prepared a list of projects to accelerate infrastructure development, which will ensure returns for investors and also meet the needs of the country.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the Investment Board is getting stronger in project development, implementation and facilitation for investors after a decade of experience.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Speaking on the occasion, Liu Su Hong, Managing Director of Hongsi Holding Group China, a Chinese company, said that they have started cement production in Nepal by investing around Rs 40 billion. According to him, Chinese company Hongsi Holding Group wants to invest more in Nepal. He informed that they have moved ahead to develop the second phase of Hongsi Holding and Dang Cement project in collaboration with SH Investment Limited of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">833 Billion Investment approved in 10 years</span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Investment Board Nepal has approved investment of Rs 833 billion in one decade since its establishment. The board was established in 2068 BS to raise investment in large projects through PPP model.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the decade, the board has approved 27 different projects and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to move forward seven major projects. Similarly, it has organised two investment conferences.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During this period, the Hongsi Shivam Cement Factory, a China-Nepal joint venture worth USD 360 million (Rs 43.20 billion) facilitated by the IBN, has come into operation under the big project. Its daily production capacity is 6,000 tons.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">China-Nepal joint venture Hwasin Cement Narayani worth USD 140 million is being prepared for operation. Its daily production capacity is 3,000 tons. The board has informed that there is a Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the 900 MW Arun III with an estimated cost of Rs 144 billion and the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project with an estimated cost of Rs 116 billion.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Forty percent of the construction work of Arun III, a joint venture between India and Nepal, has been completed and the project aims to generate electricity by 2023.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13679', 'image' => '20210909021007_20210623122152_20210115025352_20160222122813_ep3.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 14:09:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13933', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Picks 12 Service Providers for Online Payment of Electricity Tariff', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 9: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected 12 service providers for online payment of electricity tariff. A meeting of the NEA Board of Directors held recently selected those companies for online payment.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Various companies had been providing the facility of online payment of electricity tariff. However, after the decision to allow only the selected 12 companies for online payment of electricity tariff, other companies will not be allowed to make online payment from now onwards.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA has given permission to e-Sewa, Sparrow Pay, Sajilo Pay, CellPay, IME Digital Solutions, PayWell, Nepal Digital Payment and iCash Private Limited to make online payments. Electricity tariff can be paid from the mobile app, software etc of the selected companies.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Similarly, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Mahalaxmi Bank have also been selected for electronic payment services. The authority informed that the tariff can be paid through the mobile app of the banks.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The service providers have stated that they will not charge any fee for the online payment of up to Rs 500 per month. However, PayWell has stated that service charges will not be applied when payment is up to Rs 1,000 per month.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Majority of service providers have said that they will charge a maximum of Rs 5 per transaction for a monthly payment of Rs 500 to Rs 500,000. Out of the 12 service providers, 10 companies have said that they will charge Rs 5 per transaction. Sajilo Pay and PayWell on the other hand have fixed Rs 4.80 and Rs 3 as service charge per transaction, respectively.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13678', 'image' => '20210909014202_20210514031053_NEA.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 13:41:04', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13932', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Shipping Cost Doubles Within a Week ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: Shipping companies have increased the shipping and container charges for overseas trade. Traders say that the transportation cost, which has been rising since the outbreak of Covid-19, is now at an all-time high.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers say that container fares have also doubled in the first week of September. Ashish Lath, an importer, said that the container charges that were between USD 3500 to 4000 while importing goods from the Chinese port to Birgunj dry port until August has spiked to USD 8000.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Traders said that the increase in fares is due to the imbalance in the supply and demand of containers globally. Containers have been in short supply in European and American countries since the beginning of September.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Lath, who is also the secretary of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the shipping companies have increased the fares by taking advantage of this opportunity. According to the traders, shipping companies have been raising fares since March last year amid the Covid-19 crisis.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Importers can't get the containers even after paying USD 8,000 at the Chinese port, said Secretary Lath.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">‘Until a year ago, 20-ton containers were being transported from the Chinese port to Birgunj for 1,500 to 2,000 dollars. The fare, which was up to USD 4,000 last month, has started to increase this month,” said importer Navneet Agrawal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Omprakash Moure, there is a shortage of containers in China and Europe as more containers are 'booked' from Chinese ports due to increased demand for goods in Europe and the United States during the New Year and Christmas.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"Containers are in short supply as Chinese traders increase their supply to Europe and the United States. It has had an impact on our business as well,” said Moure.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Sushant Chachan, coordinator of the Dry Port and ICP Committee of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the lack of containers has also affected cargo coming from US and European countries.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Chachan, the joint secretary of the union, said that the demand in the US and Europe has increased and the containers from China have stopped there.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">"It's a result of imbalance between supply and demand. At present, the transportation cost alone has reached 30 percent of the total price of the goods. It should be 10 percent," Chachan said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Prices of groundnuts and pulses from the United States and Canada have risen sharply. The price of such items has already gone up by 30 percent. Importers say it is likely to go above 60 percent due to a spike in transportation costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The Covid pandemic has hampered labor supplies at ports and delayed loading and unloading, argue traders.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">They shared that the cost of transportation is high as ships have to wait for 15-20 days at the port.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13677', 'image' => '20210909115351_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:53:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13930', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Floods Damage Flowers worth Rs 50 Million', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The floriculture business has lost more than Rs 50 million due to floods in different parts of the country. Continuous rainfall and floods in many parts of the country including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Itahari, Butwal and Chitwan have damaged flowers grown in nurseries. Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of the Floriculture Association of Nepal, told New Business Age that the damage caused by the rains and floods is estimated to be around Rs 50 million.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to him, 2 million seedlings were damaged by the floods in Bagmati and Dhobikhola rivers of Kathmandu on Monday (September 6). The floods have caused an estimated loss of more than Rs 4 million in Kathmandu alone. The floods have destroyed many flowers that were planted for the Dashain and Tihar festivals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In Kavrepalanchok, 50,000 flower seedlings planted on 25 ropanis of land have been destroyed due to the impact of rain. The association informed that the full detail of the extent of damage on flowers of only Kathmandu district is available at the moment. Meanwhile, details of damage in the rest of the districts are also being collected. It is also estimated that Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts may also have suffered the same damage as of Kathmandu.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the association, florists and farmers, who have been suffering heavy losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, have been further affected by the floods due continuous rainfall since last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to Shrestha, the flower business had incurred a daily loss of Rs 10 million during the lockdown period last year. Even at the present, the business is down to 30 percent compared to normal days.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Flower business is spread in 43 districts of Nepal. Around 700 entrepreneurs are involved in the flower business while 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. According to the association, there is an investment of around Rs 6 billion in this sector.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13676', 'image' => '20210909110157_20190326021608__MG_4339.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:01:08', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13931', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'First Cell of Landfill Site Built in Nuwakot’s Bancharedanda', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">September 9: The first cell of the landfill site under construction at Bancharedanda of Nuwakot is being prepared for long-term waste management. The Ministry of Urban Development has stated that the construction of the first cell of the landfill site has been completed. The ministry informed the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction has directed the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the waste.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Spokesperson for the ministry, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, said that the construction of the cell has been completed and that he is not responsible for other works. As the ministry has instructed the department to take immediate decision on waste management in coordination with Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, it is said that garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley will reach Bancharedanda in a few days. The ministry has stated that the construction of the second cell and other works are still underway.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">A contract agreement was signed with Lumbini Koshi and Neupane JV for the construction of a long-term sanitary landfill site in Bancharedanda on May 5, 2019. Although the entire construction work was supposed to be completed last April as per the agreement, the work still has not been completed yet.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Meanwhile, Hari Kumar Shrestha, the head of the Environment Department of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, says that he has not received any official information from the ministry or the department about waste management in Bancharedanda. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Fearing that the locals might obstruct the movement of vehicles carrying garbage to Bancharedanda, Kathmandu Metropolitan City said that long-term waste management should be done only after a proper discussion with the locals and related bodies. After 18 days, garbage of 18 local levels of Kathmandu Valley has started to be collected since Wednesday. However, garbage of all places has still not been managed properly.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Garbage collection of local levels of Kathmandu Valley had been halted since August 16, 2021. This was the consequence of locals of Sisdol protesting against the garbage disposal in addition tp the problems caused by continuous rainfall. According to Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, all the garbage could not be managed at once as it has been collected for a long time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The landfill site in Sisdol was constructed in 2062 BS for waste management for only two years. Garbage is being managed in the site by burying it with soil and extending the site from time to time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Every day, 1,200 metric tons of garbage is dumped in the Sisdol from the Kathmandu Valley. Out of this, 500 metric tons of garbage is collected from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City itself. At least 200 vehicles of garbage are taken to Sisdol on a daily basis. About 75 percent of the daily waste from the Kathmandu Valley is managed in Sisdol.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-09', 'modified' => '2021-09-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13675', 'image' => '20210909114444_20210826080929_1-s2.0-S0197397515001277-gr1 - Copy (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-09 11:43:39', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13929', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government to Table Replacement Bill in place of Ordinance Budget during House Session', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">September 8: The government is all set to table a replacement bill in parliament in place of the ordinance budget issued by the former government led by KP Oli. According to the Ministry of Finance, the bill is about to be tabled in the parliament to replace the budget brought by the previous government for the current fiscal year 2078/79 through an ordinance.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Janardan Sharma is preparing to table the bill for approval on September 9 if there is no obstruction from the opposition. According to the ministry sources, the current government is ready to change the size of the budget mentioned in the ordinance through the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government led by Oli had announced a budget of Rs 1.647 trillion for the current fiscal year through an ordinance. The current government formed after Oli's ouster is preparing to bring a bill to replace it. The government plans to get the bill approved after holding necessary discussions within a week of registering the bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government is also assessing the activities of the opposition party CPN (UML) before introducing the bill in the parliament. "The government is preparing to look into the party's activities in the parliament today (Wednesday) and register the bill on Thursday," a ministry source said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The UML, which has been protesting against the replacement bill, has already shown signs to protest in the parliament. The current government has stopped awarding new contracts to more than 2,000 road projects that the Oli-led government had put forward under the Constituency Strategic Road Program. UML is dissatisfied with the suspension of its budget plan. Various sources informed New Business Age that the government is ready not to move ahead with such projects through the replacement bill. It is likely to further annoy the opposition. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Gyanendra Karki said that a replacement bill is prepared to pass the budget brought by the previous government with amendments. The government has discussed the issue with UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Karki said that he had met UML Chairman Oli a few days ago and proposed to pass the budget by suspending some rules of the parliament.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, Karki said that Oli refused to pass the replacement bill.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"The UML is not ready to suspend some rules of the parliament to pass the budget replacement bill," Karki said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The previous government had brought the budget through an ordinance by dissolving the House of Representatives under the constitutional provision. However, the Supreme Court intervened and revived the dissolved House. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13674', 'image' => '20210908033538_Nepalese_Constituent_Assembly_Building.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 15:34:50', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13928', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Attempt to Endorse MCC divides Ruling Coalition', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.', '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"">September 8: The government has started efforts to endorse the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant agreement.</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"">After four years of dilly-dallying, the government is making an attempt to endorse the MCC through the current parliamentary session that will begin later today (September 8).</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"">It has been four years since the MCC agreement was signed on September 14, 2017. According to a source at the Finance Ministry, the government has sought explanation from the MCC regarding the disputed issues related to the grant. As soon as it receives reply, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma will present the grant agreement in Parliament for endorsement. However, it is not easy for the government to approve the MCC without majority support.</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"">From the House of Representatives to the general public, the government has been under intense pressure not to approve the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Deuba instructs MPs not to speak arbitrarily</span></span></em></strong></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"">Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed parliamentarians of the ruling party not to speak arbitrarily against the MCC. Stating that the MCC agreement is in Nepal's interest, he gave such instructions at the parliamentary party meeting of the Nepali Congress on Tuesday.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba also said that unnecessary politics is happening in the name of MCC. According to him, the country is still borrowing large amounts of money from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at high interest. MCC is a grant for development and it is being politicized unnecessarily, said Deuba. He added that the grant is for the development of the country and the government is taking forward the MCC to reduce the debt.</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"">During the meeting, Deuba said that power transmission lines and roads would be upgraded in Nepal under the MCC project. He said that discussions would be held with the parties represented in the parliament to pass the MCC. On the other hand, Members of Parliaments of Congress raised various queries and questions about the MCC. Some lawmakers also drew Deuba's attention to the fact that some provisions of the MCC cannot be passed without amendment.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Don't let the MCC pass in the current form: Dahal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Addressing a meeting of the Young Communist League (YCL), a sister organisation of the CPN-Maoist on Tuesday, chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the MCC should not be passed in the current situation.</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 issue of MCC is being discussed not only in the cities but also in the villages. We have sent a diplomatic note to the United States after drawing the attention of the government and the party but the answer is yet to be received,” said a YCL leader quoting Dahal. “In the current form, the MCC will not be passed under any circumstances. There is no possibility of MCC to be passed by parliament.”</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"">Dahal urged the cadres to remain calm saying that the Maoists would not enter into an agreement that would harm the nation and nationality. Dahal said that the suggestions given by the task force led by the then CPN senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal would also be taken into consideration.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Indication that UML will not support</span></span></em></strong></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 main opposition party, the UML, had tried to expedite the MCC when it was in power. Due to the lack of cooperation from the speaker of the parliament at that time, he could not move forward the proposal in the Parliament, which led to a long conflict between the then Prime Minister and the Speaker. Now as the UML is in opposition, its strategy is wait and watch. UML chairperson KP Sharma Oli has been challenging the ruling party to pass the MCC. He reiterated the same thing while addressing a party function in Pokhara on Tuesday. According to a high-ranking source, the UML will not support the government in approving the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">MCC vice president coming to Nepal</span></span></em></strong></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"">Fatema Sumar, vice president of the US-funded project MCC, is scheduled to visit Nepal. She is coming to Nepal on September 9 as the dispute over the MCC agreement is escalating.</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"">She will meet Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the main opposition party and Chairman of the CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of the CPN-Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal and others to take stock of the implementation status of the MCC.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><strong><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Slogans against MCC in the streets</span></span></em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As the government tried to move forward the MCC in Parliament, slogans against the MCC began to erupt in the streets. Protests by the ruling and opposition parties and civil society have started on a daily basis. Their only demand is to repeal the MCC. Accordingly, the Communist Party of Nepal led by Netra Bikram Chand has announced an agitation against the American project MCC.</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 central office of the CPN (Maoist) on Tuesday revealed a programme of the week-long agitation including a general assembly in Kathmandu. Bibeksheel Sajha Party, which has been identifying itself as an alternative power, has also urged not to pass the MCC agreement in its current form. In a statement, Bibeksheel Sajha Party said that some of the conditions of the MCC agreement were highly objectionable and against Nepal's national pride and interests. It said those conditions should not be passed without amendment. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-09-08', 'modified' => '2021-09-08', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13673', 'image' => '20210908020138_20201218014622_1608248580.11.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-09-08 14:00:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, '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
