March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime…
March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime…
Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF)…
March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing…
March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year.…
March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims.…
March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed…
March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose…
March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river…
March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles.…
Gold dealers intensify lobbies for an increase of daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices.…
March 28: The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal…
An Explainer: Banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or…
March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN).…
March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district.…
March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal.…
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In each of these years, the economy expanded by more than six percent -- 8.98 percent in 2016-17, 7.62 percent in 2017-18 and 6.66 percent in 2018-19. This was the first time Nepal's economic growth rate had remained above six percent for three consecutive years. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country sending the economy into a tailspin. This caused the economy to shrink by 1.88 percent in the last fiscal year.<br /> Economic activities gradually started to gather pace after the second half of the current fiscal year as Covid-19 related disruptions started fading, leading to gradual resumption in industrial activities. Lately, incipient signs of recovery are also being seen in wholesale and retail trade, transport, and financial services, as lockdowns have been lifted. Yet growth rate is projected to stand at 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year, according to the World Bank. This growth rate is higher than the bank's previous estimate of 0.6 percent, but way below the government's target of seven percent.<br /> "Since Nepal's economy [virtually] did not grow in two years, per capita income is going to get hit," Hans Timmer, World Bank chief economist for the South Asia region, told a virtual press meet.<br /> There is more bad news for Nepal. The growth is unlikely to accelerate in the next fiscal year as well. Nepal's growth, despite a low base, is expected to hover around 3.9 percent in 2021-22, according to World Bank projections. The growth rate is expected to rise to 5.1 percent in 2022-23. But again this growth rate is way below the pre-pandemic levels.<br /> Nepal's economic growth is likely to remain tepid in the coming years due to slow recovery in tourism and industrial sectors. Tourism is expected to fully recover only in 2022-23, while industrial activities are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels until early 2022-23, according to the World Bank's latest South Asia Economic Focus, an annual report. Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favourable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialisation. But there is a risk that the current political uncertainty, if prolonged, may undermine investment sentiment, says the report titled, 'South Asia Vaccinates'. This warning comes at a time when investment is expected to grow by 12.7 percent in South Asia in the current fiscal year. Low investment may further hamper Nepal's growth prospects at a time when closure of enterprises has culled large number of jobs. To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development, says the World Bank report.<br /> Much of the projections made by the World Bank on the economy are contingent on effective vaccination campaigns in Nepal and abroad. Delays in vaccination or new outbreaks of Covid-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery and hit the tourism sector. The World Bank has, thus, called on the government to spend money on vaccination. Ending the pandemic a half to one-and-a-half years earlier and spurring an earlier economic recovery would prevent output loss in the range of 4.9 percent to 14.6 percent in Nepal, says the report. But vaccinating at least 70 percent of the population is easier said than done as Nepal is likely to face shortage of vaccines in the coming days due to global scarcity, albeit the country was one of the first recipients of the jabs in the world, thanks to support extended by India.<br /> Nepal cannot afford another lockdown or severe restriction in movements as significant jobs and income losses triggered by the pandemic have already increased vulnerability. At least 1.2 million people are estimated to have fallen into the trap of poverty and 1.6 million are expected to have lost their jobs because of the lockdown clamped to contain the spread of Covid-19.<br /> The lockdown is also expected to have worsened the problem of food insecurity in 18 percent of households in Nepal, while income losses instigated by the lockdown are expected to have increased the school dropout rate. A typical student can expect to lose as much as US$445 (2017 PPP) annually as a result of lost schooling and learning opportunities, according to the World Bank.<br /> Prior to the pandemic, Nepal's social sector, which includes education and health, had performed well because of remittances flowing into the country. "But going forward remittance is going to be a point of concern as there has been a reduction in migration," said Timmer. Number of people leaving the country for employment purpose had started taking a dip in the pre-pandemic period, as there were more opportunities in the country and the government had started negotiating with labour destinations, such as Malaysia, for better social security of its workers, which had reduced the charm for Nepali labourers.<br /> Lately, countries like Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf, which absorb a bulk of Nepali labourers, have introduced policies that favour the employment of native-born workers, which might reduce job opportunities for Nepalis. There is also the danger that some migrants who were repatriated when host country activities were shut down may not be able to get their original jobs back. What's more, many of the economies in the Gulf are shifting out of oil production and the decline of migrant demand due to Covid-19 may have accelerated that process.<br /> If remittance inflow shrinks, Nepal's current account deficit will widen, exerting pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Already, Nepal's current account – largely the difference between income generated from exports and imports of goods and services – is in a deficit as imports are gradually growing with the resumption in economic activities. Nepal's current account deficit is expected to further widen over the medium term, according to the World Bank, as import growth is expected to accelerate due to growth in consumption, while service exports, mainly tourism, are expected to remain subdued until 2021-22. By 2021-22, the current account deficit is projected to reach 3.2 percent of GDP, financed primarily by long-term concessional borrowing.<br /> The fiscal deficit is also projected to remain elevated over the medium term. While revenue performance is expected to remain weak, additional spending on economic relief measures, vaccinations, and the resumption of project implementation will widen the fiscal deficit to just under eight percent of GDP in 2021-22, says the World Bank report.<br /> "Thereafter it is projected to stabilise at 6.5 percent of GDP in 2022-23 as revenues recover. Total public debt is expected to reach 41.9 percent of GDP in 2020-21 and gradually increase to 51.3 percent by 2022-23," adds the report.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12974', 'image' => '20210331063053_20200430025148_Economic-Growth-Decline 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 18:28:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13227', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 2.7% in current fiscal year ', 'sub_title' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'summary' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'content' => '<p>March 31:<br /> Nepal’s economy is likely to grow by 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year 2020/21, according to a latest projection by the World Bank.</p> <p>Releasing the South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) on Wednesday, the World Bank said that the economy is expected to grow in the current fiscal year after a contraction in the last fiscal year as the Covid-19 related disruptions fade and government relief spending materializes.</p> <p>The World Bank through its March’s SAEF—a biannual publication providing recent economic developments and a near-term economic outlook for the region—revised Nepal’s growth forecast slightly up by 0.6 percentage point from a projection of 2.1 percent in January.</p> <p>While the World Bank’s growth forecast is an indication of economic recovery from the contraction of 1.9 percent in the last fiscal year 2019/20, it is way lower than the government’s target to achieve 7 percent of GDP growth in the current fiscal year.</p> <p>However, the World Bank, in its report, warned that significant jobs and income losses are likely to have increased vulnerability.</p> <p>“To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development,” read the report which lifts the growth forecast of South Asia due to efforts to keep Covid-19 caseload under control and swiftly roll out vaccine campaigns.</p> <p>But, there are still risks which could Nepal's recovery prospects. According to the World Bank’s latest report, downside risks to its outlook stem from new waves of Covid-19 infections and political uncertainties. </p> <p>“Delays in vaccination and/or new outbreaks of COVID-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery. The resumption of tourism would be delayed if international travel restrictions are imposed,” the report stated. “Domestic risks include political uncertainty, which could undermine investment sentiment,” it added.</p> <p>Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favorable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialization, according to the World Bank’s report.<br /> The economic growth in South Asia is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 in South Asia and 4.4 percent in 2022, climbing from historic lows in 2020 and putting the region on a path to recovery, according to the World Bank report. But growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector, still reel from job losses, falling incomes, worsening inequalities, and human capital deficits, the report said.</p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12973', 'image' => '20210331010612_Growth Forecast.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 13:02:21', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13225', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Summer Clothes Increase with Rise in Demand', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand. With the winter coming to an end and rising temperature, the demand for such garments has been increasing in the market. Likewise, the prices too have been rising.<br /> Despite the growing fear of coronavirus, the number of customers coming to buy clothes for summer is increasing in the main business centres of Kathmandu such as Asan, Indrachowk, New Road, and Sundhara. Rakesh Sapkota, who has been involved in wholesale business of readymade garments in Asan, said that the number of traders coming to Kathmandu from outside the valley has increased.<br /> Last year, when the summer season started, the trade of readymade garments came to a standstill as the government had imposed lockdown in Nepal to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, Sapkota said that the textile business is expected to be good this year. According to him, the trade of summer clothes is maximum in the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). However, customers have already started flocking to buy clothes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">As demand grows, ready-made garment traders are increasing their imports from China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, importers are not able to go abroad on their own to import textiles, so they have been looking at textile designs online and buying clothes through agents.<br /> Dil Sundar Shrestha, president of the fair committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that the rise in the price of dollar and the price of containers has affected the price of clothes. According to him, the price of a T-shirt that used to be Rs 700 has now gone up to Rs 1,000.<br /> Nepali traders import readymade garments worth Rs 4 billion for summer every year. According to traders, about 40 percent of the garments are imported from India, 20 percent from China, and the remaining 40 percent from other countries. Due to the lockdown and restriction on movement, the import of readymade garments from abroad had declined. However, now that foreign textiles are being imported again, the market for Nepali products is said to be declining.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12971', 'image' => '20210330030707_1617056840.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 15:06:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13224', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Gold Ornaments Continues to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. A total of 17.5 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 60.73 million have been imported in the review period. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, 13 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 50.60 million were imported into the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The import of gold has increased by 20 in this fiscal year in terms of the volume of import. Nepal imports gold ornaments from 17 countries – Bahrain, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Oman, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and Iceland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with the import of raw gold, import of gold ornaments is growing exponentially in the country. Nepal has skilled manpower and required infrastructure to make gold ornaments in accordance to the designs popular in the international market but the import is still rising. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“Customers have shown preference to buy ornaments that are showcased in the movies resulting in the import of gold ornaments,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association. He said the demand for Nepalese-designed ornaments is declining while the foreign designs are getting popular. So, the import of gold ornaments is increasing, according to Shakya. Likewise, migrant workers returning from labour destination countries are also bringing in gold ornaments with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Traders say despite having human resources and machines to prepare gold ornaments, import is rising. They were of the view that government should take necessary measures to prevent this. “Import of gold ornaments benefits particular group of traders but is detrimental to the economy of the country, so it should be prevented,” says Manik Ratna Shakya, President of FENEGOSIDA, adding, “The government should introduce policies to stop this increasing trend of import.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Shakya argues that the government should increase the daily quota of importing raw gold to discourage the import of gold ornaments. “The market is currently facing shortage of raw gold which should be increased from the current daily quota of 10 kg,” he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Stakeholders believe that it is beneficial to import raw gold instead of gold ornaments. The government has also hiked the customs duty on gold ornaments from 10 percent to 15 percent. The customs duty was increased in response to the traders’ demand. Increase in customs duty was expected to cut down the import of gold ornaments but the import has not declined, said former president of FENEGOSIDA Shakya.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12970', 'image' => '20210330021410_1617057299.5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 14:13:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13222', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Fund pays around Rs 50 million against Claim ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Among the four categories through which the workers are offered financial security, the Fund has made payment worth Rs 47.3 million to altogether 1,435 beneficiaries. Among them, most payments have been made for the medical treatment, health protection and maternity plan, according to the Fund. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Fund launched in late 2018 has already paid over Rs 20.5 million to 1,226 beneficiaries under the medical treatment, health protection and maternity scheme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Similarly, 70 beneficiaries have been paid over Rs 1.8 million under the accident and disability scheme. A total of 22 beneficiaries have received over Rs 3.4 million under the dependent family plan and over Rs 10.6 million to 117 beneficiaries, the Fund said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Till March 24, the Fund has received contribution deposit amounting to over Rs 4.8 billion. There are altogether 194,000 workers enlisted in the Fund. The number of employers stands at 13,616. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12968', 'image' => '20210330114500_20210225124654_Social-Security-Fund-SSF.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13221', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Self-Employment Fund to Create Employment for 12,000 Youths', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.<br /> The fund will create self-employment through five new programmes targeting youths in the current fiscal year. The fund provides a loan of Rs. 200,000 at a concessional rate to young people who need funds for starting business.<br /> Dr. Kalyan Roka, executive vice president of the fund, informed that the fund will create self-employment for 12,000 youths under five new programmes-Cooperation Based Partnership Programme, Koshi Economic Corridor Programme, Bheri-Karnali Economic Corridor Programme, Kathmandu Valley Self-Employment Programme, and Terai-Madhes Self-Employment Programme.<br /> He said that the fund will soon launch a self-employment-oriented programme by providing loans to the youth.<br /> The fund will provide Rs 200,000 at 3.2 percent interest to the youths to run their business based on their skills, abilities, and knowledge.<br /> The fund will make the youths self-employed by collaborating with the local level.<br /> The fund will provide the loan to the youth through banks, financial institutions, and cooperatives at the local level. The fund has now called for proposals from the local level governments for cooperation.<br /> The fund’s programme coordinator Nar Bahadur Saud informed that 12 local level governments have submitted proposals for partnership. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12967', 'image' => '20210330113421_Youth-and-Small-Entrepreneur-Self-Employment-Fund.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:33:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13220', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Chinese Company to build Tunnel of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government had selected the Chinese firm for this project in the first week of March. Alhough the government has already signed an agreement with the company, the process of constructing the tunnel will start only after a year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">According to Project Director Sushil Acharya, Tunnel Boring Machine will be used for the construction of the tunnel. This method has been used and proved successful in Bheri Babai tunnel construction project. It will take more than a year to acquire in the machine, so construction will start in a year, said Krishna Prasad Nepal, spokesperson of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Company needs to prepare a design of the machine and get it approved by the department and this process will take around six months. It takes further three to four months to build the machine. The company needs to get the machine from the USA. And the procurement process will take another three to four months. Therefore, government officials say the construction process will start only after year. The procurement and transportation cost of the machine is estimated to cost Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“In the next one year, the process of getting the machine as well as other required preparation here in the country will take place simultaneously,” said Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The proposed multipurpose project plans to construct 13.2 km long tunnel to divert the Sunkoshi river to the Marin river located in Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district. The government had estimated the cost of the tunnel construction to be around Rs 15 billion. But the Chinese firm offered to construct the tunnel at Rs 10.5 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Engineering Group had constructed the tunnel in Bheri-Babai Diversion project as well. Apart from the tunnel construction, resources have not been arranged to construct other infrastructures required for the project. The department needs to call for applications to build other infrastructure like head works, powerhouse, hydro mechanical works among others. The department will seek for applications as soon as financial resources are arranged. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Meanwhile, the project has completed other tasks like distributing compensation to the affected families, cutting down trees in the project area. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 46 billion. This project, which aims to provide irrigation facilities in Province 2, was enlisted as a National Pride Project in February 2020. Four districts of Province 2- Bara Rautahat, Mahottari and Sarlahi - will get irrigation facility once this project is completed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with irrigation facility, the project plans to generate 29 MW of electricity.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12966', 'image' => '20210329024547_20210309021842_87019025_102143838070883_7397641457198170112_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 14:45:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13219', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Kathmandu Valley sees Running Water from Melamchi River ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running, relieving Kathmanduites of hard life they had been enduring for want of drinking water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">People of areas in the Valley including Battisputali, Jayabageshwori, Chabahil, Kutubahal, Sifal, Kalopule, Airport Height and Dhanawantari have got their taps with running water from the project since Sunday (March 28), said the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited (KUKL). </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The KUKL has a plan to discharge the water deposited in the water ponds through the existing pipelines and release the water through newly installed pipelines later. At present, 40 million liters of water has been released on a daily basis, said KUKL Chief Executive Director Milan Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the first phase, the water would be distributed soon to Mahangkalchaur, Anamnagar, Minbhavan and Khumaltarv areas, he said, adding that other areas would receive water gradually. Water collected in the Mahankal pond would be distributed to Chabahil, Kutubahal and Aananda Nagar, he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Quantity of the water released on a daily basis would be increased to 170 million. The KUKL aims to release the water on taps on a daily basis as far as possible. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">"Otherwise, water will be released on alternative days," said Shakya. For the time being, existing tariffs would be retained for using water. Tariffs would be increased only in consent with customers, added Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A team from the respective authorities would find out and resolve problems when customers complain of their taps without running water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There had been an acute water crisis in the Valley since long. So as to address water crisis, the government established Melamchi Water Supply Project Board in 1998 as a body to implement the Melamchi Water Supply Project. However, it took as long as 23 years for the completion of the project. -- RSS </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12965', 'image' => '20210329110357_20210212111048_20200317114243_Melamchi 1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 11:03:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13218', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Electric Vehicles Comes to a Halt ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. The import of electric vehicles that have been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year, has completely stopped in February. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Customs, while 103 electric vehicles were imported till January this year, not a single vehicle was imported in February. According to the department, 428 electric vehicles were imported in the corresponding period of last year.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Entrepreneurs say that the import of such vehicles has decreased after the government increased the customs duty on the import of electric vehicles through the budget of the current fiscal year. Till last fiscal year, the import duty on electric vehicles was only 10 percent. But after the government increased it to 80 percent, the importers stopped bringing electric vehicles to Nepal. General Secretary of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Sunil Rijal said that the demand has fallen sharply after the government increased customs duty on electric vehicles.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Electric Vehicles Association of Nepal Umesh Shrestha said that there has been no demand for electric vehicles in the market of late. "The price of a vehicle, which was Rs 5.7 million to Rs 6 million last year, is now more than Rs 10 million after the customs duty hike," he said, adding, "Even if the government claims it wants to promote electric vehicles, such vehicles have not been imported due to the government’s policy."</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He further said that some of the imported vehicles have already arrived this year and there is no new imports now. "There is no demand in the market. If the government does not facilitate the import of electric vehicles, there is no possibility of importing new electric vehicles in the coming days," he said.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12964', 'image' => '20210329104035_electric-vehicles-india-evs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 10:39:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13217', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will the government increase daily quota for gold imports?', 'sub_title' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies to increase daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'summary' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies for an increase of daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'content' => '<p><em><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong></em><br /> March 28:<br /> The government recently lifted a ban on imports of items like dried peas, betel nuts, dates and luxury vehicles that were put in place for nearly a year.</p> <p>Earlier last year when coronavirus was sweeping the country, the government decided to impose restrictions on various imports with an aim to curb the outflow of foreign currency and prevent the external sector position’s deterioration.</p> <p>Citing that the imports of expensive items will have a negative impact on the foreign exchange reserves, the government had banned the import of high-end vehicles worth more than $50,000, expensive nuts, alcohol and limited gold import quota. The daily quota of gold import was also reduced to 10 kg from 20 kg. These restrictions on the imports were imposed soon after the lockdown was imposed in March last year in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus.</p> <p>With the economy of the country regaining its some pace, the government has been gradually loosening its restrictions on the imports that it had placed last year. The ban on alcohol was lifted on the eve of Dashain and Tihar festivals last year. Last week, the government decided to allow imports of high-end vehicles without any restriction. Withdrawing the blanket ban, the government imposed quota on imports of black pepper, peas, dates and betel nuts.</p> <p>While the blanket ban has been lifted, with quantitative restrictions on the import of some commodities, the government is yet to decide whether to raise the daily quota on gold import that was lowered last year. <br /> Gold dealers are now lobbying with the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to revise the daily quota upward in line with a rise in the demands for ornaments and jewelry in the market.<br /> NRB currently allows commercial banks to import a total of 10 kg of gold daily which is then sold to gold dealers in the market.<br /> Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) has been demanding that this quota be hiked to 25 kg per day. Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Fenegosida, opined that the government should have relaxed the restriction on import of gold quota along with other items.</p> <p>“During our discussions with senior officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), they had responded positively to our demand to increase the gold quota,” said Shakya.</p> <p>Upon the recommendation of the MoICS, the NRB makes decision whether to lower or raise the quota of gold imports. </p> <p>Fenegosida President Shakya said that they are preparing to intensify their pressure upon the government to increase the gold quota to 25 kg. Gold dealers say that it is now time to revise the limit on the quantity of precious yellow metal allowed to import into the country.</p> <p>According to Shakya, the demand of the bullion has gone up in recent months after a decline in its price. The price of the precious metal which had reached a new high of Rs 103,500 per Tola on August 7 last year is now down to Rs 86,300 per Tola on Friday. Last year, the price of per Tola gold had climbed to six-digit for the first time in Nepal. However, the gold price has been falling in recent months. Gold dealers say that the drop in the price has lifted demands that have been depressed by the pandemic.<br /> They also expect the demands to rise further during the wedding season (April/May) that boosts the sale of ornaments and jewelry in the market. <br /> Fenegosida leaders say that the central bank should not worry much about the decline in its foreign exchange reserves as the bullion price has fallen significantly in the international market. </p> <p>If the daily quota is not revised in line with the market demands, there is a chance of smuggling of the gold as in the past, warn gold dealers.</p> <p>However, the central bank is less likely to increase the quota immediately. NRB’s Deputy Spokesperson Naryan Prasad Pokhrel said the central bank may consider revising the daily quota on the imports of gold through its monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2021/22 that begins in mid July.</p> <p>Gold is one of the major imported items in Nepal. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country imported gold worth Rs 34.63 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19 out of the total import of Rs 1,418.54 billion. </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12963', 'image' => '20210328040204_GOLD IN NEPAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 15:50:35', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13216', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Recurrent Expenditure of MCC Project more than Capital Expenditure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 28: The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><strong>March 28: </strong><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Of the total spent budget, 16.28 percent has been spent under current expenditure and 11.57 percent has been spent as capital expenditure.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government's indecisiveness regarding the US-funded MCC programme has led to poor spending of budget. If the MCC is not ratified by the parliament as soon as possible, a significant amount of budget will freeze, said a senior official at the Ministry of Finance. Only 12 percent of the allocated budget has been spent of which recurrent expenditure is higher than capital expenditure, said official on condition of anonymity.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee has already been formed to implement the MCC programme. The government is bearing all the administrative expenses, as well as the fees of the consultants and international experts. The longer the parliament takes to endorse the programme, the higher the financial burden will be for the government. A total of Rs 20.86 million has been spent to provide salaries of the employees and operation of the committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The recently released second quarterly report by the MoF points towards lack of agreement behind the delay in the budget spending. Likewise, inability to procure required software, materials and delay in land acquisition is another reason.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">"Unless the parliament endorses the MCC, it can't be implemented in full fledged manner," said Khadga Bahadur Bista, Managing Director of MCC-Nepal. However the proposed project design, land acquisition process, EIA are about to be completed, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">To build a substation in Ratmate of Nuwakot, MCC-Nepal is acquiring 184 plots of land from locals of ward no.7 Belkotgadhi municipality. The project is yet to provide compensation to 30 percent of the affected people. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government had signed the MCC grant agreement worth Rs 550 billion with the US government in September 2017.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">As per the agreement, the US government would provide a grant of $50 million to build electricity infrastructure and increase road transportation. And Nepal government would contribute $13 million for the project. The government had agreed to fully implement the program from this year but hasn't initiated the work as per the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">Since the political parties have failed to reach the agreement, endorsement of the program by the parliament has also remained uncertain. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12962', 'image' => '20210328020032_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 13:59:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13215', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dollar Prepaid Card Facility in Nepal, Explained', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'An Explainer: Banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.', 'content' => '<p><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong><br /> March 27:<br /> People in Nepal no longer have to rely on their friends or relatives abroad to sign up for Netflix to watch movies and TV shows, purchase things from Amazon or Flipkart, boost their posts in Facebook or Twitter for advertisements or book hotels before embarking into a vacation to Thailand or other countries just because they cannot make foreign currency payment online.<br /> Now, banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.<br /> Since this is the first time that banking institutions are introducing this facility in Nepal, there are some questions and confusions regarding dollar prepaid cards.<br /> With the help of bankers and officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), New Business Age addresses some of these questions and confusions that you might have about this facility.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What is a foreign currency prepaid card? </strong></em><br /> Foreign Currency Prepaid Card, as suggested by its name, is a payment card issued by a bank to its clients to make payment in foreign currency. Since US Dollar is the world’s dominant foreign currency, most of these cards would be Dollar Prepaid Cards. Like a prepaid Sim card of a telecommunication company where you load credit and make phone calls from that card, you have to get the card from a bank and load cash on your account to shop online from this card. Commercial or development banks issue these dollar payment cards up to an annual limit of $500.<br /> <br /> <strong>Is this new facility a really big thing?</strong><br /> It is, at least for those who had long been struggling to do online transactions or make payment in dollars or other foreign currencies from Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has a restrictive foreign exchange policy or the central regulatory bank allows you to get or convert a limited amount of foreign currency to the public only under certain conditions. For example, when you are flying abroad, you can get foreign currency exchange up to a limit of $1,500 provided that you present an air ticket, visa and passport to a bank. The reason for the central bank making such a tight grip on foreign currency reserves is that they are considered a cushion for the country if it slips into a financial crisis or struggles to pay for its imports. Due to the central bank’s restriction, people were prohibited from purchasing goods and services online by paying in foreign currency. With this new facility, people will be able to make payment from Nepal for online purchase of goods or services up to a certain limit.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Why did the central bank relax foreign currency payment restrictions?</strong></em><br /> The restrictive foreign exchange regulation had not stopped many people from doing online shopping or purchase of services and commodities from abroad as people were finding a way around the central bank’s restriction. But, many such transactions were not legal. Amid growing demands from the public for the relaxation, the NRB announced that it will allow banks to issue dollar prepaid cards last year through its monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2020/21. In line with the policy, it issued a circular to banking institutions last week allowing them to issue dollar payment cards with certain conditions and a value limit of $500 a year. Foreign exchange reserves surging to a record high level also make the central bank amenable to a suggestion of relaxation on online shopping by paying dollars or other currencies.</p> <p><em><strong>Where can I get one? How much does it cost?</strong></em><br /> As soon as the NRB paved the way for the issuance of dollar payment cards, some banks have already introduced their Dollar Prepaid Cards while others are also rushing to roll out their products.<br /> Machhapuchchhre Bank Ltd, Nabil Bank Ltd and NMB Bank Ltd have already started issuing dollar cards in line with the central bank’s directive. Representatives of these banks say that any of their branches will facilitate the issuance of dollar prepaid cards.<br /> While the NRB has not said anything about the charges banks are allowed to take from their customers, charges and fees for this facility may vary from bank to bank. Banks charge subscription fees, reload fee, re-issue fee.<br /> For example, Nabil Bank Ltd says it charges Rs 1,000 as subscription fee, Rs 500 as reload fee and $5 dollar as re-issuance fee. It’s card is valid for four years.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What are dollar prepaid card’s limitations and conditions?</strong></em><br /> Customers willing to take benefit of international prepaid cards are allowed to take prepaid dollar cards from a single bank only. NRB has set $500 as the limit per year beginning from the date the card is activated. However, those who have earnings on international currency will have higher limits. Foreign currency earnings from selling any services like from Google Ads can be deposited in this account. If the deposited amount exceeds $5000, the amount will be transferred to users’ domestic or international bank accounts. Cardholders are restricted from making payments except for the online purchase of goods and services. These dollar cards will be allowed to make payments only for the international payment for online shopping of goods and services. Such cards can’t be used for transactions that result in capital gains. Neither can these cards be used to withdraw money from ATMs and POS machines.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What documents are needed to apply for this card?</strong></em><br /> To get the prepaid card, a client must have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and have their Know-your-customer (KYC) updated account in a bank that provides this facility. Any individual, firm, company, or organization can get it by loading (converting) their domestic currency (Nepali rupees) into the foreign currency (US Dollar) from the banks.<br /> If the customer wants to take a card without their name printed, it is issued on the same day of submitting the application. The card with the customer’s name printed will take three to four working days.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What will be the exchange rate?</strong></em><br /> The bank issuing the card will use the exchange rate of the day to load the cash in the card. Similarly, if any cardholder want the money that is due in the card, the bank will have to deposit the cash back into the cardholder’s account based on the exchange rate of the day when it has to be returned.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What if I acquire multiple cards from separate banks?</strong></em><br /> If anyone found to be acquiring more than one card or breaching any condition, s/he could face charges of misappropriation or deflection of foreign currency under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 2019. Applicants will have to make self-declaration that they have not acquired the dollar card from another bank. Similarly, banks will have to submit all monthly details of their cardholders to the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the NRB which helps the central bank to track all transactions made from dollar prepaid cards.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-27', 'modified' => '2021-03-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12961', 'image' => '20210327022951_Dollar Prepaid Card.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-27 14:25:26', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13214', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Parliamentary Panel Proposes Bringing Government’s Health Insurance Scheme under Insurance Board', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). The government has been running the health insurance scheme since the last few years by forming a separate Health Insurance Board. Deliberating on the new Insurance Bill presented in the parliament, lawmakers have proposed bringing the health insurance scheme under IBN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">During a clause-wise discussion on the bill on March 24-25, the Finance Committee of parliament proposed to include the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board. Krishna Prasad Dahal, chairman of the committee, said the parliamentary panel has suggested the government to include the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority (currently the IBN). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Clause-wise discussion on the Insurance Bill which has been presented in the parliament to amend and integrate insurance-related laws was also held earlier. This bill was registered in the parliament in 2019. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill proposes transforming the current Insurance Board into Insurance Authority. If the bill is approved, the government’s health insurance program will be regulated by the same Insurance Authority. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“To regulate health insurance program through the proposed Insurance Authority, the Health Insurance Act needs to be scrapped. But the bill has not stated anything about this,” says Dahal, adding, “There are technical problems to immediately bring the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority. So, changes have been proposed.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government has formed Health Insurance Board but it has not been able to work effectively due to lack of skilled human resources. Taking this into consideration, the current changes to the program has been proposed. It has been said that millions of rupees in insurance premium raised under the health insurance plan create difficulties to bring the insurance plan under the control of the proposed Insurance Authority. Problems could arise to manage the collected premium and settle insurance claims, Dahal said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill also proposes to establish a special fund targeting the marginalized people. Insurance companies will be required to allocate one percent of their income to the fund. The fund will be utilized to get the poor people insured. A separate work procedure will be issued soon so that the companies can utilize the fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill has also proposed to reduce regulation fee being collected from insurance companies. The Insurance Board collect one percent of their income as regulation fee which will be reduced to 0.5 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“If the Authority focuses on stern regulation and insurance companies bring numerous insurance policies, the regulation fee might be reduced,” says Revenue Secretary Ram Sharan Pudasaini.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The license period of Insurance company is also being extended from one year to three years under the proposed bill. The bill has also proposed to reduce penalty fee to around Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 from Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12960', 'image' => '20210326044439_cba3a6cf93e9da58e7f6d9fc39688d07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 16:43:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13213', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Gets Permission for Surveying Kulekhani-Sisneri Pump Storage', 'sub_title' => 'The electricity authority is preparing to complete the survey in three months', 'summary' => 'March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. Last week, the department gave permission to NEA to study the Kulekhani-Sisneri pump storage project.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had registered an application with the department last December seeking permission to survey the project. The department issued permission for the survey to NEA after completing all necessary processes. Director-General of the Department Navin Raj Singh confirmed that the department has granted permission to the NEA for the survey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya also said that NEA has received permission for surveying the project. He said that they will immediately begin with the survey. "The survey will be completed in two-and-a-half months. Also, the environmental impact assessment will be completed in nine months, and then process of raising investment and construction of the project will proceed ahead. The validity of the license is of two years," Shakya informed New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Shakya, the timeframe to conduct the survey can be further extended up to five years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The NEA Engineering Company under NEA had conducted a preliminary study on the construction of the project some time ago. During the study, the team identified the potential of building a pump storage plant.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The pump under this project will be constructed at Sisneri, which is 2 km away from the Kulekhani Dam, and will be operated in the evening peak hour (4 hours). At that time, 100 MW of electricity will be generated from Kulekhani Dam.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA will utilize the current of the water coming out of the turbine of the powerhouse to generate 100 MW of electricity. NEA has plans to reverse the water back to Kulekhani Dam by installing pumps and motors. The project is estimated to cost Rs 8 billion. NEA plans to raise the fund by seeking assistance from donor agencies as well as by taking loan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA claims to finish the project within two years after starting the construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had earlier planned to build Begnas-Rupa pump storage in Kaski district. However, as it was costly, NEA dismissed the project.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12959', 'image' => '20210326032216_20210218115310_20200818043659_1597700431.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 15:20:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13212', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Removes Provision of Seven-Day Quarantine for Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. A', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. All of the previous arrangements and restrictions have been removed with the announcement of the new directive on Thursday, March 25.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">However, tourists will have to submit the document of negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival in Nepal or the certificate of taking Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the new criteria, foreign tourists need to show the documents including recommendation from the Department of Tourism or Nepal Tourism Board, proof of hotel booking, valid travel insurance at the check-in counter of the airline while boarding plane for Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Foreign tourists visiting Nepal will have to undergo another PCR test before they are allowed to travel to their preferred destination on condition that the test report turns negative.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had issued a certain criteria under which tourists had to stay in hotel quarantine for at least seven days after entering Nepal. The tourists were allowed go for trekking and mountaineering only if they tested negative for coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Spokesperson of the Ministry Taranath Adhikari informed that the recent cabinet meeting issued the new directive with the objective of facilitating the tourists. The move is expected to provide a relief to the ailing tourism industry that has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">In case the PCR report of tourists is positive after entering Nepal, they have to stay in the hotel quarantine, the official said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The government has also made special arrangements for Indian tourists visiting Nepal. In case of Indian tourists coming by air, arrangements will be made in accordance to the Nepal-India Travel Bubble Agreement. Similarly, the government has made a policy that those coming through border should submit the required documents at the check points along the Nepal-India border. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12958', 'image' => '20210326125058_20200930115831_1601420205.89.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 12:50:15', '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
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13228', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Economy Unlikely to Rebound to Pre-pandemic Levels Soon', 'sub_title' => 'World Bank Predicts 2.7% Growth Rate for this FY, 3.9% for Next', 'summary' => 'March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime soon.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Rupak D Sharma<br /> March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime soon.<br /> Nepal's economy grew at an average of 7.75 percent per annum in the three-year period from 2016-17 and 2018-19. In each of these years, the economy expanded by more than six percent -- 8.98 percent in 2016-17, 7.62 percent in 2017-18 and 6.66 percent in 2018-19. This was the first time Nepal's economic growth rate had remained above six percent for three consecutive years. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country sending the economy into a tailspin. This caused the economy to shrink by 1.88 percent in the last fiscal year.<br /> Economic activities gradually started to gather pace after the second half of the current fiscal year as Covid-19 related disruptions started fading, leading to gradual resumption in industrial activities. Lately, incipient signs of recovery are also being seen in wholesale and retail trade, transport, and financial services, as lockdowns have been lifted. Yet growth rate is projected to stand at 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year, according to the World Bank. This growth rate is higher than the bank's previous estimate of 0.6 percent, but way below the government's target of seven percent.<br /> "Since Nepal's economy [virtually] did not grow in two years, per capita income is going to get hit," Hans Timmer, World Bank chief economist for the South Asia region, told a virtual press meet.<br /> There is more bad news for Nepal. The growth is unlikely to accelerate in the next fiscal year as well. Nepal's growth, despite a low base, is expected to hover around 3.9 percent in 2021-22, according to World Bank projections. The growth rate is expected to rise to 5.1 percent in 2022-23. But again this growth rate is way below the pre-pandemic levels.<br /> Nepal's economic growth is likely to remain tepid in the coming years due to slow recovery in tourism and industrial sectors. Tourism is expected to fully recover only in 2022-23, while industrial activities are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels until early 2022-23, according to the World Bank's latest South Asia Economic Focus, an annual report. Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favourable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialisation. But there is a risk that the current political uncertainty, if prolonged, may undermine investment sentiment, says the report titled, 'South Asia Vaccinates'. This warning comes at a time when investment is expected to grow by 12.7 percent in South Asia in the current fiscal year. Low investment may further hamper Nepal's growth prospects at a time when closure of enterprises has culled large number of jobs. To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development, says the World Bank report.<br /> Much of the projections made by the World Bank on the economy are contingent on effective vaccination campaigns in Nepal and abroad. Delays in vaccination or new outbreaks of Covid-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery and hit the tourism sector. The World Bank has, thus, called on the government to spend money on vaccination. Ending the pandemic a half to one-and-a-half years earlier and spurring an earlier economic recovery would prevent output loss in the range of 4.9 percent to 14.6 percent in Nepal, says the report. But vaccinating at least 70 percent of the population is easier said than done as Nepal is likely to face shortage of vaccines in the coming days due to global scarcity, albeit the country was one of the first recipients of the jabs in the world, thanks to support extended by India.<br /> Nepal cannot afford another lockdown or severe restriction in movements as significant jobs and income losses triggered by the pandemic have already increased vulnerability. At least 1.2 million people are estimated to have fallen into the trap of poverty and 1.6 million are expected to have lost their jobs because of the lockdown clamped to contain the spread of Covid-19.<br /> The lockdown is also expected to have worsened the problem of food insecurity in 18 percent of households in Nepal, while income losses instigated by the lockdown are expected to have increased the school dropout rate. A typical student can expect to lose as much as US$445 (2017 PPP) annually as a result of lost schooling and learning opportunities, according to the World Bank.<br /> Prior to the pandemic, Nepal's social sector, which includes education and health, had performed well because of remittances flowing into the country. "But going forward remittance is going to be a point of concern as there has been a reduction in migration," said Timmer. Number of people leaving the country for employment purpose had started taking a dip in the pre-pandemic period, as there were more opportunities in the country and the government had started negotiating with labour destinations, such as Malaysia, for better social security of its workers, which had reduced the charm for Nepali labourers.<br /> Lately, countries like Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf, which absorb a bulk of Nepali labourers, have introduced policies that favour the employment of native-born workers, which might reduce job opportunities for Nepalis. There is also the danger that some migrants who were repatriated when host country activities were shut down may not be able to get their original jobs back. What's more, many of the economies in the Gulf are shifting out of oil production and the decline of migrant demand due to Covid-19 may have accelerated that process.<br /> If remittance inflow shrinks, Nepal's current account deficit will widen, exerting pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Already, Nepal's current account – largely the difference between income generated from exports and imports of goods and services – is in a deficit as imports are gradually growing with the resumption in economic activities. Nepal's current account deficit is expected to further widen over the medium term, according to the World Bank, as import growth is expected to accelerate due to growth in consumption, while service exports, mainly tourism, are expected to remain subdued until 2021-22. By 2021-22, the current account deficit is projected to reach 3.2 percent of GDP, financed primarily by long-term concessional borrowing.<br /> The fiscal deficit is also projected to remain elevated over the medium term. While revenue performance is expected to remain weak, additional spending on economic relief measures, vaccinations, and the resumption of project implementation will widen the fiscal deficit to just under eight percent of GDP in 2021-22, says the World Bank report.<br /> "Thereafter it is projected to stabilise at 6.5 percent of GDP in 2022-23 as revenues recover. Total public debt is expected to reach 41.9 percent of GDP in 2020-21 and gradually increase to 51.3 percent by 2022-23," adds the report.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12974', 'image' => '20210331063053_20200430025148_Economic-Growth-Decline 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 18:28:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13227', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 2.7% in current fiscal year ', 'sub_title' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'summary' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'content' => '<p>March 31:<br /> Nepal’s economy is likely to grow by 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year 2020/21, according to a latest projection by the World Bank.</p> <p>Releasing the South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) on Wednesday, the World Bank said that the economy is expected to grow in the current fiscal year after a contraction in the last fiscal year as the Covid-19 related disruptions fade and government relief spending materializes.</p> <p>The World Bank through its March’s SAEF—a biannual publication providing recent economic developments and a near-term economic outlook for the region—revised Nepal’s growth forecast slightly up by 0.6 percentage point from a projection of 2.1 percent in January.</p> <p>While the World Bank’s growth forecast is an indication of economic recovery from the contraction of 1.9 percent in the last fiscal year 2019/20, it is way lower than the government’s target to achieve 7 percent of GDP growth in the current fiscal year.</p> <p>However, the World Bank, in its report, warned that significant jobs and income losses are likely to have increased vulnerability.</p> <p>“To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development,” read the report which lifts the growth forecast of South Asia due to efforts to keep Covid-19 caseload under control and swiftly roll out vaccine campaigns.</p> <p>But, there are still risks which could Nepal's recovery prospects. According to the World Bank’s latest report, downside risks to its outlook stem from new waves of Covid-19 infections and political uncertainties. </p> <p>“Delays in vaccination and/or new outbreaks of COVID-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery. The resumption of tourism would be delayed if international travel restrictions are imposed,” the report stated. “Domestic risks include political uncertainty, which could undermine investment sentiment,” it added.</p> <p>Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favorable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialization, according to the World Bank’s report.<br /> The economic growth in South Asia is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 in South Asia and 4.4 percent in 2022, climbing from historic lows in 2020 and putting the region on a path to recovery, according to the World Bank report. But growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector, still reel from job losses, falling incomes, worsening inequalities, and human capital deficits, the report said.</p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12973', 'image' => '20210331010612_Growth Forecast.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 13:02:21', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13225', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Summer Clothes Increase with Rise in Demand', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand. With the winter coming to an end and rising temperature, the demand for such garments has been increasing in the market. Likewise, the prices too have been rising.<br /> Despite the growing fear of coronavirus, the number of customers coming to buy clothes for summer is increasing in the main business centres of Kathmandu such as Asan, Indrachowk, New Road, and Sundhara. Rakesh Sapkota, who has been involved in wholesale business of readymade garments in Asan, said that the number of traders coming to Kathmandu from outside the valley has increased.<br /> Last year, when the summer season started, the trade of readymade garments came to a standstill as the government had imposed lockdown in Nepal to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, Sapkota said that the textile business is expected to be good this year. According to him, the trade of summer clothes is maximum in the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). However, customers have already started flocking to buy clothes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">As demand grows, ready-made garment traders are increasing their imports from China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, importers are not able to go abroad on their own to import textiles, so they have been looking at textile designs online and buying clothes through agents.<br /> Dil Sundar Shrestha, president of the fair committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that the rise in the price of dollar and the price of containers has affected the price of clothes. According to him, the price of a T-shirt that used to be Rs 700 has now gone up to Rs 1,000.<br /> Nepali traders import readymade garments worth Rs 4 billion for summer every year. According to traders, about 40 percent of the garments are imported from India, 20 percent from China, and the remaining 40 percent from other countries. Due to the lockdown and restriction on movement, the import of readymade garments from abroad had declined. However, now that foreign textiles are being imported again, the market for Nepali products is said to be declining.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12971', 'image' => '20210330030707_1617056840.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 15:06:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13224', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Gold Ornaments Continues to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. A total of 17.5 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 60.73 million have been imported in the review period. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, 13 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 50.60 million were imported into the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The import of gold has increased by 20 in this fiscal year in terms of the volume of import. Nepal imports gold ornaments from 17 countries – Bahrain, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Oman, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and Iceland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with the import of raw gold, import of gold ornaments is growing exponentially in the country. Nepal has skilled manpower and required infrastructure to make gold ornaments in accordance to the designs popular in the international market but the import is still rising. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“Customers have shown preference to buy ornaments that are showcased in the movies resulting in the import of gold ornaments,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association. He said the demand for Nepalese-designed ornaments is declining while the foreign designs are getting popular. So, the import of gold ornaments is increasing, according to Shakya. Likewise, migrant workers returning from labour destination countries are also bringing in gold ornaments with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Traders say despite having human resources and machines to prepare gold ornaments, import is rising. They were of the view that government should take necessary measures to prevent this. “Import of gold ornaments benefits particular group of traders but is detrimental to the economy of the country, so it should be prevented,” says Manik Ratna Shakya, President of FENEGOSIDA, adding, “The government should introduce policies to stop this increasing trend of import.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Shakya argues that the government should increase the daily quota of importing raw gold to discourage the import of gold ornaments. “The market is currently facing shortage of raw gold which should be increased from the current daily quota of 10 kg,” he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Stakeholders believe that it is beneficial to import raw gold instead of gold ornaments. The government has also hiked the customs duty on gold ornaments from 10 percent to 15 percent. The customs duty was increased in response to the traders’ demand. Increase in customs duty was expected to cut down the import of gold ornaments but the import has not declined, said former president of FENEGOSIDA Shakya.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12970', 'image' => '20210330021410_1617057299.5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 14:13:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13222', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Fund pays around Rs 50 million against Claim ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Among the four categories through which the workers are offered financial security, the Fund has made payment worth Rs 47.3 million to altogether 1,435 beneficiaries. Among them, most payments have been made for the medical treatment, health protection and maternity plan, according to the Fund. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Fund launched in late 2018 has already paid over Rs 20.5 million to 1,226 beneficiaries under the medical treatment, health protection and maternity scheme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Similarly, 70 beneficiaries have been paid over Rs 1.8 million under the accident and disability scheme. A total of 22 beneficiaries have received over Rs 3.4 million under the dependent family plan and over Rs 10.6 million to 117 beneficiaries, the Fund said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Till March 24, the Fund has received contribution deposit amounting to over Rs 4.8 billion. There are altogether 194,000 workers enlisted in the Fund. The number of employers stands at 13,616. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12968', 'image' => '20210330114500_20210225124654_Social-Security-Fund-SSF.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13221', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Self-Employment Fund to Create Employment for 12,000 Youths', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.<br /> The fund will create self-employment through five new programmes targeting youths in the current fiscal year. The fund provides a loan of Rs. 200,000 at a concessional rate to young people who need funds for starting business.<br /> Dr. Kalyan Roka, executive vice president of the fund, informed that the fund will create self-employment for 12,000 youths under five new programmes-Cooperation Based Partnership Programme, Koshi Economic Corridor Programme, Bheri-Karnali Economic Corridor Programme, Kathmandu Valley Self-Employment Programme, and Terai-Madhes Self-Employment Programme.<br /> He said that the fund will soon launch a self-employment-oriented programme by providing loans to the youth.<br /> The fund will provide Rs 200,000 at 3.2 percent interest to the youths to run their business based on their skills, abilities, and knowledge.<br /> The fund will make the youths self-employed by collaborating with the local level.<br /> The fund will provide the loan to the youth through banks, financial institutions, and cooperatives at the local level. The fund has now called for proposals from the local level governments for cooperation.<br /> The fund’s programme coordinator Nar Bahadur Saud informed that 12 local level governments have submitted proposals for partnership. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12967', 'image' => '20210330113421_Youth-and-Small-Entrepreneur-Self-Employment-Fund.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:33:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13220', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Chinese Company to build Tunnel of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government had selected the Chinese firm for this project in the first week of March. Alhough the government has already signed an agreement with the company, the process of constructing the tunnel will start only after a year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">According to Project Director Sushil Acharya, Tunnel Boring Machine will be used for the construction of the tunnel. This method has been used and proved successful in Bheri Babai tunnel construction project. It will take more than a year to acquire in the machine, so construction will start in a year, said Krishna Prasad Nepal, spokesperson of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Company needs to prepare a design of the machine and get it approved by the department and this process will take around six months. It takes further three to four months to build the machine. The company needs to get the machine from the USA. And the procurement process will take another three to four months. Therefore, government officials say the construction process will start only after year. The procurement and transportation cost of the machine is estimated to cost Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“In the next one year, the process of getting the machine as well as other required preparation here in the country will take place simultaneously,” said Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The proposed multipurpose project plans to construct 13.2 km long tunnel to divert the Sunkoshi river to the Marin river located in Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district. The government had estimated the cost of the tunnel construction to be around Rs 15 billion. But the Chinese firm offered to construct the tunnel at Rs 10.5 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Engineering Group had constructed the tunnel in Bheri-Babai Diversion project as well. Apart from the tunnel construction, resources have not been arranged to construct other infrastructures required for the project. The department needs to call for applications to build other infrastructure like head works, powerhouse, hydro mechanical works among others. The department will seek for applications as soon as financial resources are arranged. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Meanwhile, the project has completed other tasks like distributing compensation to the affected families, cutting down trees in the project area. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 46 billion. This project, which aims to provide irrigation facilities in Province 2, was enlisted as a National Pride Project in February 2020. Four districts of Province 2- Bara Rautahat, Mahottari and Sarlahi - will get irrigation facility once this project is completed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with irrigation facility, the project plans to generate 29 MW of electricity.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12966', 'image' => '20210329024547_20210309021842_87019025_102143838070883_7397641457198170112_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 14:45:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13219', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Kathmandu Valley sees Running Water from Melamchi River ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running, relieving Kathmanduites of hard life they had been enduring for want of drinking water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">People of areas in the Valley including Battisputali, Jayabageshwori, Chabahil, Kutubahal, Sifal, Kalopule, Airport Height and Dhanawantari have got their taps with running water from the project since Sunday (March 28), said the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited (KUKL). </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The KUKL has a plan to discharge the water deposited in the water ponds through the existing pipelines and release the water through newly installed pipelines later. At present, 40 million liters of water has been released on a daily basis, said KUKL Chief Executive Director Milan Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the first phase, the water would be distributed soon to Mahangkalchaur, Anamnagar, Minbhavan and Khumaltarv areas, he said, adding that other areas would receive water gradually. Water collected in the Mahankal pond would be distributed to Chabahil, Kutubahal and Aananda Nagar, he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Quantity of the water released on a daily basis would be increased to 170 million. The KUKL aims to release the water on taps on a daily basis as far as possible. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">"Otherwise, water will be released on alternative days," said Shakya. For the time being, existing tariffs would be retained for using water. Tariffs would be increased only in consent with customers, added Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A team from the respective authorities would find out and resolve problems when customers complain of their taps without running water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There had been an acute water crisis in the Valley since long. So as to address water crisis, the government established Melamchi Water Supply Project Board in 1998 as a body to implement the Melamchi Water Supply Project. However, it took as long as 23 years for the completion of the project. -- RSS </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12965', 'image' => '20210329110357_20210212111048_20200317114243_Melamchi 1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 11:03:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13218', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Electric Vehicles Comes to a Halt ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. The import of electric vehicles that have been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year, has completely stopped in February. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Customs, while 103 electric vehicles were imported till January this year, not a single vehicle was imported in February. According to the department, 428 electric vehicles were imported in the corresponding period of last year.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Entrepreneurs say that the import of such vehicles has decreased after the government increased the customs duty on the import of electric vehicles through the budget of the current fiscal year. Till last fiscal year, the import duty on electric vehicles was only 10 percent. But after the government increased it to 80 percent, the importers stopped bringing electric vehicles to Nepal. General Secretary of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Sunil Rijal said that the demand has fallen sharply after the government increased customs duty on electric vehicles.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Electric Vehicles Association of Nepal Umesh Shrestha said that there has been no demand for electric vehicles in the market of late. "The price of a vehicle, which was Rs 5.7 million to Rs 6 million last year, is now more than Rs 10 million after the customs duty hike," he said, adding, "Even if the government claims it wants to promote electric vehicles, such vehicles have not been imported due to the government’s policy."</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He further said that some of the imported vehicles have already arrived this year and there is no new imports now. "There is no demand in the market. If the government does not facilitate the import of electric vehicles, there is no possibility of importing new electric vehicles in the coming days," he said.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12964', 'image' => '20210329104035_electric-vehicles-india-evs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 10:39:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13217', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will the government increase daily quota for gold imports?', 'sub_title' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies to increase daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'summary' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies for an increase of daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'content' => '<p><em><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong></em><br /> March 28:<br /> The government recently lifted a ban on imports of items like dried peas, betel nuts, dates and luxury vehicles that were put in place for nearly a year.</p> <p>Earlier last year when coronavirus was sweeping the country, the government decided to impose restrictions on various imports with an aim to curb the outflow of foreign currency and prevent the external sector position’s deterioration.</p> <p>Citing that the imports of expensive items will have a negative impact on the foreign exchange reserves, the government had banned the import of high-end vehicles worth more than $50,000, expensive nuts, alcohol and limited gold import quota. The daily quota of gold import was also reduced to 10 kg from 20 kg. These restrictions on the imports were imposed soon after the lockdown was imposed in March last year in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus.</p> <p>With the economy of the country regaining its some pace, the government has been gradually loosening its restrictions on the imports that it had placed last year. The ban on alcohol was lifted on the eve of Dashain and Tihar festivals last year. Last week, the government decided to allow imports of high-end vehicles without any restriction. Withdrawing the blanket ban, the government imposed quota on imports of black pepper, peas, dates and betel nuts.</p> <p>While the blanket ban has been lifted, with quantitative restrictions on the import of some commodities, the government is yet to decide whether to raise the daily quota on gold import that was lowered last year. <br /> Gold dealers are now lobbying with the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to revise the daily quota upward in line with a rise in the demands for ornaments and jewelry in the market.<br /> NRB currently allows commercial banks to import a total of 10 kg of gold daily which is then sold to gold dealers in the market.<br /> Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) has been demanding that this quota be hiked to 25 kg per day. Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Fenegosida, opined that the government should have relaxed the restriction on import of gold quota along with other items.</p> <p>“During our discussions with senior officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), they had responded positively to our demand to increase the gold quota,” said Shakya.</p> <p>Upon the recommendation of the MoICS, the NRB makes decision whether to lower or raise the quota of gold imports. </p> <p>Fenegosida President Shakya said that they are preparing to intensify their pressure upon the government to increase the gold quota to 25 kg. Gold dealers say that it is now time to revise the limit on the quantity of precious yellow metal allowed to import into the country.</p> <p>According to Shakya, the demand of the bullion has gone up in recent months after a decline in its price. The price of the precious metal which had reached a new high of Rs 103,500 per Tola on August 7 last year is now down to Rs 86,300 per Tola on Friday. Last year, the price of per Tola gold had climbed to six-digit for the first time in Nepal. However, the gold price has been falling in recent months. Gold dealers say that the drop in the price has lifted demands that have been depressed by the pandemic.<br /> They also expect the demands to rise further during the wedding season (April/May) that boosts the sale of ornaments and jewelry in the market. <br /> Fenegosida leaders say that the central bank should not worry much about the decline in its foreign exchange reserves as the bullion price has fallen significantly in the international market. </p> <p>If the daily quota is not revised in line with the market demands, there is a chance of smuggling of the gold as in the past, warn gold dealers.</p> <p>However, the central bank is less likely to increase the quota immediately. NRB’s Deputy Spokesperson Naryan Prasad Pokhrel said the central bank may consider revising the daily quota on the imports of gold through its monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2021/22 that begins in mid July.</p> <p>Gold is one of the major imported items in Nepal. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country imported gold worth Rs 34.63 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19 out of the total import of Rs 1,418.54 billion. </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12963', 'image' => '20210328040204_GOLD IN NEPAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 15:50:35', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13216', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Recurrent Expenditure of MCC Project more than Capital Expenditure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 28: The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><strong>March 28: </strong><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Of the total spent budget, 16.28 percent has been spent under current expenditure and 11.57 percent has been spent as capital expenditure.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government's indecisiveness regarding the US-funded MCC programme has led to poor spending of budget. If the MCC is not ratified by the parliament as soon as possible, a significant amount of budget will freeze, said a senior official at the Ministry of Finance. Only 12 percent of the allocated budget has been spent of which recurrent expenditure is higher than capital expenditure, said official on condition of anonymity.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee has already been formed to implement the MCC programme. The government is bearing all the administrative expenses, as well as the fees of the consultants and international experts. The longer the parliament takes to endorse the programme, the higher the financial burden will be for the government. A total of Rs 20.86 million has been spent to provide salaries of the employees and operation of the committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The recently released second quarterly report by the MoF points towards lack of agreement behind the delay in the budget spending. Likewise, inability to procure required software, materials and delay in land acquisition is another reason.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">"Unless the parliament endorses the MCC, it can't be implemented in full fledged manner," said Khadga Bahadur Bista, Managing Director of MCC-Nepal. However the proposed project design, land acquisition process, EIA are about to be completed, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">To build a substation in Ratmate of Nuwakot, MCC-Nepal is acquiring 184 plots of land from locals of ward no.7 Belkotgadhi municipality. The project is yet to provide compensation to 30 percent of the affected people. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government had signed the MCC grant agreement worth Rs 550 billion with the US government in September 2017.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">As per the agreement, the US government would provide a grant of $50 million to build electricity infrastructure and increase road transportation. And Nepal government would contribute $13 million for the project. The government had agreed to fully implement the program from this year but hasn't initiated the work as per the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">Since the political parties have failed to reach the agreement, endorsement of the program by the parliament has also remained uncertain. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12962', 'image' => '20210328020032_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 13:59:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13215', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dollar Prepaid Card Facility in Nepal, Explained', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'An Explainer: Banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.', 'content' => '<p><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong><br /> March 27:<br /> People in Nepal no longer have to rely on their friends or relatives abroad to sign up for Netflix to watch movies and TV shows, purchase things from Amazon or Flipkart, boost their posts in Facebook or Twitter for advertisements or book hotels before embarking into a vacation to Thailand or other countries just because they cannot make foreign currency payment online.<br /> Now, banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.<br /> Since this is the first time that banking institutions are introducing this facility in Nepal, there are some questions and confusions regarding dollar prepaid cards.<br /> With the help of bankers and officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), New Business Age addresses some of these questions and confusions that you might have about this facility.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What is a foreign currency prepaid card? </strong></em><br /> Foreign Currency Prepaid Card, as suggested by its name, is a payment card issued by a bank to its clients to make payment in foreign currency. Since US Dollar is the world’s dominant foreign currency, most of these cards would be Dollar Prepaid Cards. Like a prepaid Sim card of a telecommunication company where you load credit and make phone calls from that card, you have to get the card from a bank and load cash on your account to shop online from this card. Commercial or development banks issue these dollar payment cards up to an annual limit of $500.<br /> <br /> <strong>Is this new facility a really big thing?</strong><br /> It is, at least for those who had long been struggling to do online transactions or make payment in dollars or other foreign currencies from Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has a restrictive foreign exchange policy or the central regulatory bank allows you to get or convert a limited amount of foreign currency to the public only under certain conditions. For example, when you are flying abroad, you can get foreign currency exchange up to a limit of $1,500 provided that you present an air ticket, visa and passport to a bank. The reason for the central bank making such a tight grip on foreign currency reserves is that they are considered a cushion for the country if it slips into a financial crisis or struggles to pay for its imports. Due to the central bank’s restriction, people were prohibited from purchasing goods and services online by paying in foreign currency. With this new facility, people will be able to make payment from Nepal for online purchase of goods or services up to a certain limit.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Why did the central bank relax foreign currency payment restrictions?</strong></em><br /> The restrictive foreign exchange regulation had not stopped many people from doing online shopping or purchase of services and commodities from abroad as people were finding a way around the central bank’s restriction. But, many such transactions were not legal. Amid growing demands from the public for the relaxation, the NRB announced that it will allow banks to issue dollar prepaid cards last year through its monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2020/21. In line with the policy, it issued a circular to banking institutions last week allowing them to issue dollar payment cards with certain conditions and a value limit of $500 a year. Foreign exchange reserves surging to a record high level also make the central bank amenable to a suggestion of relaxation on online shopping by paying dollars or other currencies.</p> <p><em><strong>Where can I get one? How much does it cost?</strong></em><br /> As soon as the NRB paved the way for the issuance of dollar payment cards, some banks have already introduced their Dollar Prepaid Cards while others are also rushing to roll out their products.<br /> Machhapuchchhre Bank Ltd, Nabil Bank Ltd and NMB Bank Ltd have already started issuing dollar cards in line with the central bank’s directive. Representatives of these banks say that any of their branches will facilitate the issuance of dollar prepaid cards.<br /> While the NRB has not said anything about the charges banks are allowed to take from their customers, charges and fees for this facility may vary from bank to bank. Banks charge subscription fees, reload fee, re-issue fee.<br /> For example, Nabil Bank Ltd says it charges Rs 1,000 as subscription fee, Rs 500 as reload fee and $5 dollar as re-issuance fee. It’s card is valid for four years.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What are dollar prepaid card’s limitations and conditions?</strong></em><br /> Customers willing to take benefit of international prepaid cards are allowed to take prepaid dollar cards from a single bank only. NRB has set $500 as the limit per year beginning from the date the card is activated. However, those who have earnings on international currency will have higher limits. Foreign currency earnings from selling any services like from Google Ads can be deposited in this account. If the deposited amount exceeds $5000, the amount will be transferred to users’ domestic or international bank accounts. Cardholders are restricted from making payments except for the online purchase of goods and services. These dollar cards will be allowed to make payments only for the international payment for online shopping of goods and services. Such cards can’t be used for transactions that result in capital gains. Neither can these cards be used to withdraw money from ATMs and POS machines.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What documents are needed to apply for this card?</strong></em><br /> To get the prepaid card, a client must have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and have their Know-your-customer (KYC) updated account in a bank that provides this facility. Any individual, firm, company, or organization can get it by loading (converting) their domestic currency (Nepali rupees) into the foreign currency (US Dollar) from the banks.<br /> If the customer wants to take a card without their name printed, it is issued on the same day of submitting the application. The card with the customer’s name printed will take three to four working days.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What will be the exchange rate?</strong></em><br /> The bank issuing the card will use the exchange rate of the day to load the cash in the card. Similarly, if any cardholder want the money that is due in the card, the bank will have to deposit the cash back into the cardholder’s account based on the exchange rate of the day when it has to be returned.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What if I acquire multiple cards from separate banks?</strong></em><br /> If anyone found to be acquiring more than one card or breaching any condition, s/he could face charges of misappropriation or deflection of foreign currency under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 2019. Applicants will have to make self-declaration that they have not acquired the dollar card from another bank. Similarly, banks will have to submit all monthly details of their cardholders to the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the NRB which helps the central bank to track all transactions made from dollar prepaid cards.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-27', 'modified' => '2021-03-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12961', 'image' => '20210327022951_Dollar Prepaid Card.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-27 14:25:26', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13214', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Parliamentary Panel Proposes Bringing Government’s Health Insurance Scheme under Insurance Board', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). The government has been running the health insurance scheme since the last few years by forming a separate Health Insurance Board. Deliberating on the new Insurance Bill presented in the parliament, lawmakers have proposed bringing the health insurance scheme under IBN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">During a clause-wise discussion on the bill on March 24-25, the Finance Committee of parliament proposed to include the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board. Krishna Prasad Dahal, chairman of the committee, said the parliamentary panel has suggested the government to include the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority (currently the IBN). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Clause-wise discussion on the Insurance Bill which has been presented in the parliament to amend and integrate insurance-related laws was also held earlier. This bill was registered in the parliament in 2019. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill proposes transforming the current Insurance Board into Insurance Authority. If the bill is approved, the government’s health insurance program will be regulated by the same Insurance Authority. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“To regulate health insurance program through the proposed Insurance Authority, the Health Insurance Act needs to be scrapped. But the bill has not stated anything about this,” says Dahal, adding, “There are technical problems to immediately bring the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority. So, changes have been proposed.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government has formed Health Insurance Board but it has not been able to work effectively due to lack of skilled human resources. Taking this into consideration, the current changes to the program has been proposed. It has been said that millions of rupees in insurance premium raised under the health insurance plan create difficulties to bring the insurance plan under the control of the proposed Insurance Authority. Problems could arise to manage the collected premium and settle insurance claims, Dahal said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill also proposes to establish a special fund targeting the marginalized people. Insurance companies will be required to allocate one percent of their income to the fund. The fund will be utilized to get the poor people insured. A separate work procedure will be issued soon so that the companies can utilize the fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill has also proposed to reduce regulation fee being collected from insurance companies. The Insurance Board collect one percent of their income as regulation fee which will be reduced to 0.5 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“If the Authority focuses on stern regulation and insurance companies bring numerous insurance policies, the regulation fee might be reduced,” says Revenue Secretary Ram Sharan Pudasaini.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The license period of Insurance company is also being extended from one year to three years under the proposed bill. The bill has also proposed to reduce penalty fee to around Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 from Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12960', 'image' => '20210326044439_cba3a6cf93e9da58e7f6d9fc39688d07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 16:43:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13213', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Gets Permission for Surveying Kulekhani-Sisneri Pump Storage', 'sub_title' => 'The electricity authority is preparing to complete the survey in three months', 'summary' => 'March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. Last week, the department gave permission to NEA to study the Kulekhani-Sisneri pump storage project.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had registered an application with the department last December seeking permission to survey the project. The department issued permission for the survey to NEA after completing all necessary processes. Director-General of the Department Navin Raj Singh confirmed that the department has granted permission to the NEA for the survey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya also said that NEA has received permission for surveying the project. He said that they will immediately begin with the survey. "The survey will be completed in two-and-a-half months. Also, the environmental impact assessment will be completed in nine months, and then process of raising investment and construction of the project will proceed ahead. The validity of the license is of two years," Shakya informed New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Shakya, the timeframe to conduct the survey can be further extended up to five years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The NEA Engineering Company under NEA had conducted a preliminary study on the construction of the project some time ago. During the study, the team identified the potential of building a pump storage plant.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The pump under this project will be constructed at Sisneri, which is 2 km away from the Kulekhani Dam, and will be operated in the evening peak hour (4 hours). At that time, 100 MW of electricity will be generated from Kulekhani Dam.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA will utilize the current of the water coming out of the turbine of the powerhouse to generate 100 MW of electricity. NEA has plans to reverse the water back to Kulekhani Dam by installing pumps and motors. The project is estimated to cost Rs 8 billion. NEA plans to raise the fund by seeking assistance from donor agencies as well as by taking loan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA claims to finish the project within two years after starting the construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had earlier planned to build Begnas-Rupa pump storage in Kaski district. However, as it was costly, NEA dismissed the project.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12959', 'image' => '20210326032216_20210218115310_20200818043659_1597700431.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 15:20:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13212', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Removes Provision of Seven-Day Quarantine for Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. A', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. All of the previous arrangements and restrictions have been removed with the announcement of the new directive on Thursday, March 25.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">However, tourists will have to submit the document of negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival in Nepal or the certificate of taking Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the new criteria, foreign tourists need to show the documents including recommendation from the Department of Tourism or Nepal Tourism Board, proof of hotel booking, valid travel insurance at the check-in counter of the airline while boarding plane for Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Foreign tourists visiting Nepal will have to undergo another PCR test before they are allowed to travel to their preferred destination on condition that the test report turns negative.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had issued a certain criteria under which tourists had to stay in hotel quarantine for at least seven days after entering Nepal. The tourists were allowed go for trekking and mountaineering only if they tested negative for coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Spokesperson of the Ministry Taranath Adhikari informed that the recent cabinet meeting issued the new directive with the objective of facilitating the tourists. The move is expected to provide a relief to the ailing tourism industry that has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">In case the PCR report of tourists is positive after entering Nepal, they have to stay in the hotel quarantine, the official said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The government has also made special arrangements for Indian tourists visiting Nepal. In case of Indian tourists coming by air, arrangements will be made in accordance to the Nepal-India Travel Bubble Agreement. Similarly, the government has made a policy that those coming through border should submit the required documents at the check points along the Nepal-India border. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12958', 'image' => '20210326125058_20200930115831_1601420205.89.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 12:50:15', '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
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13228', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal's Economy Unlikely to Rebound to Pre-pandemic Levels Soon', 'sub_title' => 'World Bank Predicts 2.7% Growth Rate for this FY, 3.9% for Next', 'summary' => 'March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime soon.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">Rupak D Sharma<br /> March 31: If the latest World Bank forecasts are anything to go by, it will take years for Nepal's economy to rebound to the pre-pandemic levels, as tourism and industrial activities are unlikely to recover anytime soon.<br /> Nepal's economy grew at an average of 7.75 percent per annum in the three-year period from 2016-17 and 2018-19. In each of these years, the economy expanded by more than six percent -- 8.98 percent in 2016-17, 7.62 percent in 2017-18 and 6.66 percent in 2018-19. This was the first time Nepal's economic growth rate had remained above six percent for three consecutive years. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country sending the economy into a tailspin. This caused the economy to shrink by 1.88 percent in the last fiscal year.<br /> Economic activities gradually started to gather pace after the second half of the current fiscal year as Covid-19 related disruptions started fading, leading to gradual resumption in industrial activities. Lately, incipient signs of recovery are also being seen in wholesale and retail trade, transport, and financial services, as lockdowns have been lifted. Yet growth rate is projected to stand at 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year, according to the World Bank. This growth rate is higher than the bank's previous estimate of 0.6 percent, but way below the government's target of seven percent.<br /> "Since Nepal's economy [virtually] did not grow in two years, per capita income is going to get hit," Hans Timmer, World Bank chief economist for the South Asia region, told a virtual press meet.<br /> There is more bad news for Nepal. The growth is unlikely to accelerate in the next fiscal year as well. Nepal's growth, despite a low base, is expected to hover around 3.9 percent in 2021-22, according to World Bank projections. The growth rate is expected to rise to 5.1 percent in 2022-23. But again this growth rate is way below the pre-pandemic levels.<br /> Nepal's economic growth is likely to remain tepid in the coming years due to slow recovery in tourism and industrial sectors. Tourism is expected to fully recover only in 2022-23, while industrial activities are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels until early 2022-23, according to the World Bank's latest South Asia Economic Focus, an annual report. Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favourable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialisation. But there is a risk that the current political uncertainty, if prolonged, may undermine investment sentiment, says the report titled, 'South Asia Vaccinates'. This warning comes at a time when investment is expected to grow by 12.7 percent in South Asia in the current fiscal year. Low investment may further hamper Nepal's growth prospects at a time when closure of enterprises has culled large number of jobs. To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development, says the World Bank report.<br /> Much of the projections made by the World Bank on the economy are contingent on effective vaccination campaigns in Nepal and abroad. Delays in vaccination or new outbreaks of Covid-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery and hit the tourism sector. The World Bank has, thus, called on the government to spend money on vaccination. Ending the pandemic a half to one-and-a-half years earlier and spurring an earlier economic recovery would prevent output loss in the range of 4.9 percent to 14.6 percent in Nepal, says the report. But vaccinating at least 70 percent of the population is easier said than done as Nepal is likely to face shortage of vaccines in the coming days due to global scarcity, albeit the country was one of the first recipients of the jabs in the world, thanks to support extended by India.<br /> Nepal cannot afford another lockdown or severe restriction in movements as significant jobs and income losses triggered by the pandemic have already increased vulnerability. At least 1.2 million people are estimated to have fallen into the trap of poverty and 1.6 million are expected to have lost their jobs because of the lockdown clamped to contain the spread of Covid-19.<br /> The lockdown is also expected to have worsened the problem of food insecurity in 18 percent of households in Nepal, while income losses instigated by the lockdown are expected to have increased the school dropout rate. A typical student can expect to lose as much as US$445 (2017 PPP) annually as a result of lost schooling and learning opportunities, according to the World Bank.<br /> Prior to the pandemic, Nepal's social sector, which includes education and health, had performed well because of remittances flowing into the country. "But going forward remittance is going to be a point of concern as there has been a reduction in migration," said Timmer. Number of people leaving the country for employment purpose had started taking a dip in the pre-pandemic period, as there were more opportunities in the country and the government had started negotiating with labour destinations, such as Malaysia, for better social security of its workers, which had reduced the charm for Nepali labourers.<br /> Lately, countries like Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf, which absorb a bulk of Nepali labourers, have introduced policies that favour the employment of native-born workers, which might reduce job opportunities for Nepalis. There is also the danger that some migrants who were repatriated when host country activities were shut down may not be able to get their original jobs back. What's more, many of the economies in the Gulf are shifting out of oil production and the decline of migrant demand due to Covid-19 may have accelerated that process.<br /> If remittance inflow shrinks, Nepal's current account deficit will widen, exerting pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Already, Nepal's current account – largely the difference between income generated from exports and imports of goods and services – is in a deficit as imports are gradually growing with the resumption in economic activities. Nepal's current account deficit is expected to further widen over the medium term, according to the World Bank, as import growth is expected to accelerate due to growth in consumption, while service exports, mainly tourism, are expected to remain subdued until 2021-22. By 2021-22, the current account deficit is projected to reach 3.2 percent of GDP, financed primarily by long-term concessional borrowing.<br /> The fiscal deficit is also projected to remain elevated over the medium term. While revenue performance is expected to remain weak, additional spending on economic relief measures, vaccinations, and the resumption of project implementation will widen the fiscal deficit to just under eight percent of GDP in 2021-22, says the World Bank report.<br /> "Thereafter it is projected to stabilise at 6.5 percent of GDP in 2022-23 as revenues recover. Total public debt is expected to reach 41.9 percent of GDP in 2020-21 and gradually increase to 51.3 percent by 2022-23," adds the report.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12974', 'image' => '20210331063053_20200430025148_Economic-Growth-Decline 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 18:28:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13227', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 2.7% in current fiscal year ', 'sub_title' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'summary' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'content' => '<p>March 31:<br /> Nepal’s economy is likely to grow by 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year 2020/21, according to a latest projection by the World Bank.</p> <p>Releasing the South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) on Wednesday, the World Bank said that the economy is expected to grow in the current fiscal year after a contraction in the last fiscal year as the Covid-19 related disruptions fade and government relief spending materializes.</p> <p>The World Bank through its March’s SAEF—a biannual publication providing recent economic developments and a near-term economic outlook for the region—revised Nepal’s growth forecast slightly up by 0.6 percentage point from a projection of 2.1 percent in January.</p> <p>While the World Bank’s growth forecast is an indication of economic recovery from the contraction of 1.9 percent in the last fiscal year 2019/20, it is way lower than the government’s target to achieve 7 percent of GDP growth in the current fiscal year.</p> <p>However, the World Bank, in its report, warned that significant jobs and income losses are likely to have increased vulnerability.</p> <p>“To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development,” read the report which lifts the growth forecast of South Asia due to efforts to keep Covid-19 caseload under control and swiftly roll out vaccine campaigns.</p> <p>But, there are still risks which could Nepal's recovery prospects. According to the World Bank’s latest report, downside risks to its outlook stem from new waves of Covid-19 infections and political uncertainties. </p> <p>“Delays in vaccination and/or new outbreaks of COVID-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery. The resumption of tourism would be delayed if international travel restrictions are imposed,” the report stated. “Domestic risks include political uncertainty, which could undermine investment sentiment,” it added.</p> <p>Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favorable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialization, according to the World Bank’s report.<br /> The economic growth in South Asia is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 in South Asia and 4.4 percent in 2022, climbing from historic lows in 2020 and putting the region on a path to recovery, according to the World Bank report. But growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector, still reel from job losses, falling incomes, worsening inequalities, and human capital deficits, the report said.</p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12973', 'image' => '20210331010612_Growth Forecast.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 13:02:21', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13225', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Summer Clothes Increase with Rise in Demand', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand. With the winter coming to an end and rising temperature, the demand for such garments has been increasing in the market. Likewise, the prices too have been rising.<br /> Despite the growing fear of coronavirus, the number of customers coming to buy clothes for summer is increasing in the main business centres of Kathmandu such as Asan, Indrachowk, New Road, and Sundhara. Rakesh Sapkota, who has been involved in wholesale business of readymade garments in Asan, said that the number of traders coming to Kathmandu from outside the valley has increased.<br /> Last year, when the summer season started, the trade of readymade garments came to a standstill as the government had imposed lockdown in Nepal to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, Sapkota said that the textile business is expected to be good this year. According to him, the trade of summer clothes is maximum in the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). However, customers have already started flocking to buy clothes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">As demand grows, ready-made garment traders are increasing their imports from China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, importers are not able to go abroad on their own to import textiles, so they have been looking at textile designs online and buying clothes through agents.<br /> Dil Sundar Shrestha, president of the fair committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that the rise in the price of dollar and the price of containers has affected the price of clothes. According to him, the price of a T-shirt that used to be Rs 700 has now gone up to Rs 1,000.<br /> Nepali traders import readymade garments worth Rs 4 billion for summer every year. According to traders, about 40 percent of the garments are imported from India, 20 percent from China, and the remaining 40 percent from other countries. Due to the lockdown and restriction on movement, the import of readymade garments from abroad had declined. However, now that foreign textiles are being imported again, the market for Nepali products is said to be declining.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12971', 'image' => '20210330030707_1617056840.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 15:06:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13224', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Gold Ornaments Continues to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. A total of 17.5 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 60.73 million have been imported in the review period. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, 13 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 50.60 million were imported into the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The import of gold has increased by 20 in this fiscal year in terms of the volume of import. Nepal imports gold ornaments from 17 countries – Bahrain, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Oman, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and Iceland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with the import of raw gold, import of gold ornaments is growing exponentially in the country. Nepal has skilled manpower and required infrastructure to make gold ornaments in accordance to the designs popular in the international market but the import is still rising. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“Customers have shown preference to buy ornaments that are showcased in the movies resulting in the import of gold ornaments,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association. He said the demand for Nepalese-designed ornaments is declining while the foreign designs are getting popular. So, the import of gold ornaments is increasing, according to Shakya. Likewise, migrant workers returning from labour destination countries are also bringing in gold ornaments with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Traders say despite having human resources and machines to prepare gold ornaments, import is rising. They were of the view that government should take necessary measures to prevent this. “Import of gold ornaments benefits particular group of traders but is detrimental to the economy of the country, so it should be prevented,” says Manik Ratna Shakya, President of FENEGOSIDA, adding, “The government should introduce policies to stop this increasing trend of import.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Shakya argues that the government should increase the daily quota of importing raw gold to discourage the import of gold ornaments. “The market is currently facing shortage of raw gold which should be increased from the current daily quota of 10 kg,” he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Stakeholders believe that it is beneficial to import raw gold instead of gold ornaments. The government has also hiked the customs duty on gold ornaments from 10 percent to 15 percent. The customs duty was increased in response to the traders’ demand. Increase in customs duty was expected to cut down the import of gold ornaments but the import has not declined, said former president of FENEGOSIDA Shakya.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12970', 'image' => '20210330021410_1617057299.5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 14:13:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13222', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Fund pays around Rs 50 million against Claim ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Among the four categories through which the workers are offered financial security, the Fund has made payment worth Rs 47.3 million to altogether 1,435 beneficiaries. Among them, most payments have been made for the medical treatment, health protection and maternity plan, according to the Fund. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Fund launched in late 2018 has already paid over Rs 20.5 million to 1,226 beneficiaries under the medical treatment, health protection and maternity scheme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Similarly, 70 beneficiaries have been paid over Rs 1.8 million under the accident and disability scheme. A total of 22 beneficiaries have received over Rs 3.4 million under the dependent family plan and over Rs 10.6 million to 117 beneficiaries, the Fund said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Till March 24, the Fund has received contribution deposit amounting to over Rs 4.8 billion. There are altogether 194,000 workers enlisted in the Fund. The number of employers stands at 13,616. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12968', 'image' => '20210330114500_20210225124654_Social-Security-Fund-SSF.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13221', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Self-Employment Fund to Create Employment for 12,000 Youths', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.<br /> The fund will create self-employment through five new programmes targeting youths in the current fiscal year. The fund provides a loan of Rs. 200,000 at a concessional rate to young people who need funds for starting business.<br /> Dr. Kalyan Roka, executive vice president of the fund, informed that the fund will create self-employment for 12,000 youths under five new programmes-Cooperation Based Partnership Programme, Koshi Economic Corridor Programme, Bheri-Karnali Economic Corridor Programme, Kathmandu Valley Self-Employment Programme, and Terai-Madhes Self-Employment Programme.<br /> He said that the fund will soon launch a self-employment-oriented programme by providing loans to the youth.<br /> The fund will provide Rs 200,000 at 3.2 percent interest to the youths to run their business based on their skills, abilities, and knowledge.<br /> The fund will make the youths self-employed by collaborating with the local level.<br /> The fund will provide the loan to the youth through banks, financial institutions, and cooperatives at the local level. The fund has now called for proposals from the local level governments for cooperation.<br /> The fund’s programme coordinator Nar Bahadur Saud informed that 12 local level governments have submitted proposals for partnership. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12967', 'image' => '20210330113421_Youth-and-Small-Entrepreneur-Self-Employment-Fund.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:33:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13220', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Chinese Company to build Tunnel of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government had selected the Chinese firm for this project in the first week of March. Alhough the government has already signed an agreement with the company, the process of constructing the tunnel will start only after a year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">According to Project Director Sushil Acharya, Tunnel Boring Machine will be used for the construction of the tunnel. This method has been used and proved successful in Bheri Babai tunnel construction project. It will take more than a year to acquire in the machine, so construction will start in a year, said Krishna Prasad Nepal, spokesperson of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Company needs to prepare a design of the machine and get it approved by the department and this process will take around six months. It takes further three to four months to build the machine. The company needs to get the machine from the USA. And the procurement process will take another three to four months. Therefore, government officials say the construction process will start only after year. The procurement and transportation cost of the machine is estimated to cost Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“In the next one year, the process of getting the machine as well as other required preparation here in the country will take place simultaneously,” said Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The proposed multipurpose project plans to construct 13.2 km long tunnel to divert the Sunkoshi river to the Marin river located in Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district. The government had estimated the cost of the tunnel construction to be around Rs 15 billion. But the Chinese firm offered to construct the tunnel at Rs 10.5 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Engineering Group had constructed the tunnel in Bheri-Babai Diversion project as well. Apart from the tunnel construction, resources have not been arranged to construct other infrastructures required for the project. The department needs to call for applications to build other infrastructure like head works, powerhouse, hydro mechanical works among others. The department will seek for applications as soon as financial resources are arranged. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Meanwhile, the project has completed other tasks like distributing compensation to the affected families, cutting down trees in the project area. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 46 billion. This project, which aims to provide irrigation facilities in Province 2, was enlisted as a National Pride Project in February 2020. Four districts of Province 2- Bara Rautahat, Mahottari and Sarlahi - will get irrigation facility once this project is completed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with irrigation facility, the project plans to generate 29 MW of electricity.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12966', 'image' => '20210329024547_20210309021842_87019025_102143838070883_7397641457198170112_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 14:45:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13219', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Kathmandu Valley sees Running Water from Melamchi River ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running, relieving Kathmanduites of hard life they had been enduring for want of drinking water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">People of areas in the Valley including Battisputali, Jayabageshwori, Chabahil, Kutubahal, Sifal, Kalopule, Airport Height and Dhanawantari have got their taps with running water from the project since Sunday (March 28), said the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited (KUKL). </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The KUKL has a plan to discharge the water deposited in the water ponds through the existing pipelines and release the water through newly installed pipelines later. At present, 40 million liters of water has been released on a daily basis, said KUKL Chief Executive Director Milan Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the first phase, the water would be distributed soon to Mahangkalchaur, Anamnagar, Minbhavan and Khumaltarv areas, he said, adding that other areas would receive water gradually. Water collected in the Mahankal pond would be distributed to Chabahil, Kutubahal and Aananda Nagar, he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Quantity of the water released on a daily basis would be increased to 170 million. The KUKL aims to release the water on taps on a daily basis as far as possible. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">"Otherwise, water will be released on alternative days," said Shakya. For the time being, existing tariffs would be retained for using water. Tariffs would be increased only in consent with customers, added Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A team from the respective authorities would find out and resolve problems when customers complain of their taps without running water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There had been an acute water crisis in the Valley since long. So as to address water crisis, the government established Melamchi Water Supply Project Board in 1998 as a body to implement the Melamchi Water Supply Project. However, it took as long as 23 years for the completion of the project. -- RSS </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12965', 'image' => '20210329110357_20210212111048_20200317114243_Melamchi 1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 11:03:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13218', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Electric Vehicles Comes to a Halt ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. The import of electric vehicles that have been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year, has completely stopped in February. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Customs, while 103 electric vehicles were imported till January this year, not a single vehicle was imported in February. According to the department, 428 electric vehicles were imported in the corresponding period of last year.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Entrepreneurs say that the import of such vehicles has decreased after the government increased the customs duty on the import of electric vehicles through the budget of the current fiscal year. Till last fiscal year, the import duty on electric vehicles was only 10 percent. But after the government increased it to 80 percent, the importers stopped bringing electric vehicles to Nepal. General Secretary of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Sunil Rijal said that the demand has fallen sharply after the government increased customs duty on electric vehicles.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Electric Vehicles Association of Nepal Umesh Shrestha said that there has been no demand for electric vehicles in the market of late. "The price of a vehicle, which was Rs 5.7 million to Rs 6 million last year, is now more than Rs 10 million after the customs duty hike," he said, adding, "Even if the government claims it wants to promote electric vehicles, such vehicles have not been imported due to the government’s policy."</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He further said that some of the imported vehicles have already arrived this year and there is no new imports now. "There is no demand in the market. If the government does not facilitate the import of electric vehicles, there is no possibility of importing new electric vehicles in the coming days," he said.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12964', 'image' => '20210329104035_electric-vehicles-india-evs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 10:39:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13217', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will the government increase daily quota for gold imports?', 'sub_title' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies to increase daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'summary' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies for an increase of daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'content' => '<p><em><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong></em><br /> March 28:<br /> The government recently lifted a ban on imports of items like dried peas, betel nuts, dates and luxury vehicles that were put in place for nearly a year.</p> <p>Earlier last year when coronavirus was sweeping the country, the government decided to impose restrictions on various imports with an aim to curb the outflow of foreign currency and prevent the external sector position’s deterioration.</p> <p>Citing that the imports of expensive items will have a negative impact on the foreign exchange reserves, the government had banned the import of high-end vehicles worth more than $50,000, expensive nuts, alcohol and limited gold import quota. The daily quota of gold import was also reduced to 10 kg from 20 kg. These restrictions on the imports were imposed soon after the lockdown was imposed in March last year in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus.</p> <p>With the economy of the country regaining its some pace, the government has been gradually loosening its restrictions on the imports that it had placed last year. The ban on alcohol was lifted on the eve of Dashain and Tihar festivals last year. Last week, the government decided to allow imports of high-end vehicles without any restriction. Withdrawing the blanket ban, the government imposed quota on imports of black pepper, peas, dates and betel nuts.</p> <p>While the blanket ban has been lifted, with quantitative restrictions on the import of some commodities, the government is yet to decide whether to raise the daily quota on gold import that was lowered last year. <br /> Gold dealers are now lobbying with the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to revise the daily quota upward in line with a rise in the demands for ornaments and jewelry in the market.<br /> NRB currently allows commercial banks to import a total of 10 kg of gold daily which is then sold to gold dealers in the market.<br /> Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) has been demanding that this quota be hiked to 25 kg per day. Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Fenegosida, opined that the government should have relaxed the restriction on import of gold quota along with other items.</p> <p>“During our discussions with senior officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), they had responded positively to our demand to increase the gold quota,” said Shakya.</p> <p>Upon the recommendation of the MoICS, the NRB makes decision whether to lower or raise the quota of gold imports. </p> <p>Fenegosida President Shakya said that they are preparing to intensify their pressure upon the government to increase the gold quota to 25 kg. Gold dealers say that it is now time to revise the limit on the quantity of precious yellow metal allowed to import into the country.</p> <p>According to Shakya, the demand of the bullion has gone up in recent months after a decline in its price. The price of the precious metal which had reached a new high of Rs 103,500 per Tola on August 7 last year is now down to Rs 86,300 per Tola on Friday. Last year, the price of per Tola gold had climbed to six-digit for the first time in Nepal. However, the gold price has been falling in recent months. Gold dealers say that the drop in the price has lifted demands that have been depressed by the pandemic.<br /> They also expect the demands to rise further during the wedding season (April/May) that boosts the sale of ornaments and jewelry in the market. <br /> Fenegosida leaders say that the central bank should not worry much about the decline in its foreign exchange reserves as the bullion price has fallen significantly in the international market. </p> <p>If the daily quota is not revised in line with the market demands, there is a chance of smuggling of the gold as in the past, warn gold dealers.</p> <p>However, the central bank is less likely to increase the quota immediately. NRB’s Deputy Spokesperson Naryan Prasad Pokhrel said the central bank may consider revising the daily quota on the imports of gold through its monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2021/22 that begins in mid July.</p> <p>Gold is one of the major imported items in Nepal. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country imported gold worth Rs 34.63 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19 out of the total import of Rs 1,418.54 billion. </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12963', 'image' => '20210328040204_GOLD IN NEPAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 15:50:35', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13216', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Recurrent Expenditure of MCC Project more than Capital Expenditure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 28: The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><strong>March 28: </strong><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Of the total spent budget, 16.28 percent has been spent under current expenditure and 11.57 percent has been spent as capital expenditure.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government's indecisiveness regarding the US-funded MCC programme has led to poor spending of budget. If the MCC is not ratified by the parliament as soon as possible, a significant amount of budget will freeze, said a senior official at the Ministry of Finance. Only 12 percent of the allocated budget has been spent of which recurrent expenditure is higher than capital expenditure, said official on condition of anonymity.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee has already been formed to implement the MCC programme. The government is bearing all the administrative expenses, as well as the fees of the consultants and international experts. The longer the parliament takes to endorse the programme, the higher the financial burden will be for the government. A total of Rs 20.86 million has been spent to provide salaries of the employees and operation of the committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The recently released second quarterly report by the MoF points towards lack of agreement behind the delay in the budget spending. Likewise, inability to procure required software, materials and delay in land acquisition is another reason.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">"Unless the parliament endorses the MCC, it can't be implemented in full fledged manner," said Khadga Bahadur Bista, Managing Director of MCC-Nepal. However the proposed project design, land acquisition process, EIA are about to be completed, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">To build a substation in Ratmate of Nuwakot, MCC-Nepal is acquiring 184 plots of land from locals of ward no.7 Belkotgadhi municipality. The project is yet to provide compensation to 30 percent of the affected people. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government had signed the MCC grant agreement worth Rs 550 billion with the US government in September 2017.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">As per the agreement, the US government would provide a grant of $50 million to build electricity infrastructure and increase road transportation. And Nepal government would contribute $13 million for the project. The government had agreed to fully implement the program from this year but hasn't initiated the work as per the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">Since the political parties have failed to reach the agreement, endorsement of the program by the parliament has also remained uncertain. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12962', 'image' => '20210328020032_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 13:59:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13215', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dollar Prepaid Card Facility in Nepal, Explained', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'An Explainer: Banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.', 'content' => '<p><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong><br /> March 27:<br /> People in Nepal no longer have to rely on their friends or relatives abroad to sign up for Netflix to watch movies and TV shows, purchase things from Amazon or Flipkart, boost their posts in Facebook or Twitter for advertisements or book hotels before embarking into a vacation to Thailand or other countries just because they cannot make foreign currency payment online.<br /> Now, banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.<br /> Since this is the first time that banking institutions are introducing this facility in Nepal, there are some questions and confusions regarding dollar prepaid cards.<br /> With the help of bankers and officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), New Business Age addresses some of these questions and confusions that you might have about this facility.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What is a foreign currency prepaid card? </strong></em><br /> Foreign Currency Prepaid Card, as suggested by its name, is a payment card issued by a bank to its clients to make payment in foreign currency. Since US Dollar is the world’s dominant foreign currency, most of these cards would be Dollar Prepaid Cards. Like a prepaid Sim card of a telecommunication company where you load credit and make phone calls from that card, you have to get the card from a bank and load cash on your account to shop online from this card. Commercial or development banks issue these dollar payment cards up to an annual limit of $500.<br /> <br /> <strong>Is this new facility a really big thing?</strong><br /> It is, at least for those who had long been struggling to do online transactions or make payment in dollars or other foreign currencies from Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has a restrictive foreign exchange policy or the central regulatory bank allows you to get or convert a limited amount of foreign currency to the public only under certain conditions. For example, when you are flying abroad, you can get foreign currency exchange up to a limit of $1,500 provided that you present an air ticket, visa and passport to a bank. The reason for the central bank making such a tight grip on foreign currency reserves is that they are considered a cushion for the country if it slips into a financial crisis or struggles to pay for its imports. Due to the central bank’s restriction, people were prohibited from purchasing goods and services online by paying in foreign currency. With this new facility, people will be able to make payment from Nepal for online purchase of goods or services up to a certain limit.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Why did the central bank relax foreign currency payment restrictions?</strong></em><br /> The restrictive foreign exchange regulation had not stopped many people from doing online shopping or purchase of services and commodities from abroad as people were finding a way around the central bank’s restriction. But, many such transactions were not legal. Amid growing demands from the public for the relaxation, the NRB announced that it will allow banks to issue dollar prepaid cards last year through its monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2020/21. In line with the policy, it issued a circular to banking institutions last week allowing them to issue dollar payment cards with certain conditions and a value limit of $500 a year. Foreign exchange reserves surging to a record high level also make the central bank amenable to a suggestion of relaxation on online shopping by paying dollars or other currencies.</p> <p><em><strong>Where can I get one? How much does it cost?</strong></em><br /> As soon as the NRB paved the way for the issuance of dollar payment cards, some banks have already introduced their Dollar Prepaid Cards while others are also rushing to roll out their products.<br /> Machhapuchchhre Bank Ltd, Nabil Bank Ltd and NMB Bank Ltd have already started issuing dollar cards in line with the central bank’s directive. Representatives of these banks say that any of their branches will facilitate the issuance of dollar prepaid cards.<br /> While the NRB has not said anything about the charges banks are allowed to take from their customers, charges and fees for this facility may vary from bank to bank. Banks charge subscription fees, reload fee, re-issue fee.<br /> For example, Nabil Bank Ltd says it charges Rs 1,000 as subscription fee, Rs 500 as reload fee and $5 dollar as re-issuance fee. It’s card is valid for four years.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What are dollar prepaid card’s limitations and conditions?</strong></em><br /> Customers willing to take benefit of international prepaid cards are allowed to take prepaid dollar cards from a single bank only. NRB has set $500 as the limit per year beginning from the date the card is activated. However, those who have earnings on international currency will have higher limits. Foreign currency earnings from selling any services like from Google Ads can be deposited in this account. If the deposited amount exceeds $5000, the amount will be transferred to users’ domestic or international bank accounts. Cardholders are restricted from making payments except for the online purchase of goods and services. These dollar cards will be allowed to make payments only for the international payment for online shopping of goods and services. Such cards can’t be used for transactions that result in capital gains. Neither can these cards be used to withdraw money from ATMs and POS machines.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What documents are needed to apply for this card?</strong></em><br /> To get the prepaid card, a client must have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and have their Know-your-customer (KYC) updated account in a bank that provides this facility. Any individual, firm, company, or organization can get it by loading (converting) their domestic currency (Nepali rupees) into the foreign currency (US Dollar) from the banks.<br /> If the customer wants to take a card without their name printed, it is issued on the same day of submitting the application. The card with the customer’s name printed will take three to four working days.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What will be the exchange rate?</strong></em><br /> The bank issuing the card will use the exchange rate of the day to load the cash in the card. Similarly, if any cardholder want the money that is due in the card, the bank will have to deposit the cash back into the cardholder’s account based on the exchange rate of the day when it has to be returned.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What if I acquire multiple cards from separate banks?</strong></em><br /> If anyone found to be acquiring more than one card or breaching any condition, s/he could face charges of misappropriation or deflection of foreign currency under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 2019. Applicants will have to make self-declaration that they have not acquired the dollar card from another bank. Similarly, banks will have to submit all monthly details of their cardholders to the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the NRB which helps the central bank to track all transactions made from dollar prepaid cards.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-27', 'modified' => '2021-03-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12961', 'image' => '20210327022951_Dollar Prepaid Card.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-27 14:25:26', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13214', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Parliamentary Panel Proposes Bringing Government’s Health Insurance Scheme under Insurance Board', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). The government has been running the health insurance scheme since the last few years by forming a separate Health Insurance Board. Deliberating on the new Insurance Bill presented in the parliament, lawmakers have proposed bringing the health insurance scheme under IBN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">During a clause-wise discussion on the bill on March 24-25, the Finance Committee of parliament proposed to include the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board. Krishna Prasad Dahal, chairman of the committee, said the parliamentary panel has suggested the government to include the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority (currently the IBN). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Clause-wise discussion on the Insurance Bill which has been presented in the parliament to amend and integrate insurance-related laws was also held earlier. This bill was registered in the parliament in 2019. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill proposes transforming the current Insurance Board into Insurance Authority. If the bill is approved, the government’s health insurance program will be regulated by the same Insurance Authority. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“To regulate health insurance program through the proposed Insurance Authority, the Health Insurance Act needs to be scrapped. But the bill has not stated anything about this,” says Dahal, adding, “There are technical problems to immediately bring the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority. So, changes have been proposed.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government has formed Health Insurance Board but it has not been able to work effectively due to lack of skilled human resources. Taking this into consideration, the current changes to the program has been proposed. It has been said that millions of rupees in insurance premium raised under the health insurance plan create difficulties to bring the insurance plan under the control of the proposed Insurance Authority. Problems could arise to manage the collected premium and settle insurance claims, Dahal said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill also proposes to establish a special fund targeting the marginalized people. Insurance companies will be required to allocate one percent of their income to the fund. The fund will be utilized to get the poor people insured. A separate work procedure will be issued soon so that the companies can utilize the fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill has also proposed to reduce regulation fee being collected from insurance companies. The Insurance Board collect one percent of their income as regulation fee which will be reduced to 0.5 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“If the Authority focuses on stern regulation and insurance companies bring numerous insurance policies, the regulation fee might be reduced,” says Revenue Secretary Ram Sharan Pudasaini.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The license period of Insurance company is also being extended from one year to three years under the proposed bill. The bill has also proposed to reduce penalty fee to around Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 from Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12960', 'image' => '20210326044439_cba3a6cf93e9da58e7f6d9fc39688d07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 16:43:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13213', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Gets Permission for Surveying Kulekhani-Sisneri Pump Storage', 'sub_title' => 'The electricity authority is preparing to complete the survey in three months', 'summary' => 'March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. Last week, the department gave permission to NEA to study the Kulekhani-Sisneri pump storage project.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had registered an application with the department last December seeking permission to survey the project. The department issued permission for the survey to NEA after completing all necessary processes. Director-General of the Department Navin Raj Singh confirmed that the department has granted permission to the NEA for the survey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya also said that NEA has received permission for surveying the project. He said that they will immediately begin with the survey. "The survey will be completed in two-and-a-half months. Also, the environmental impact assessment will be completed in nine months, and then process of raising investment and construction of the project will proceed ahead. The validity of the license is of two years," Shakya informed New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Shakya, the timeframe to conduct the survey can be further extended up to five years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The NEA Engineering Company under NEA had conducted a preliminary study on the construction of the project some time ago. During the study, the team identified the potential of building a pump storage plant.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The pump under this project will be constructed at Sisneri, which is 2 km away from the Kulekhani Dam, and will be operated in the evening peak hour (4 hours). At that time, 100 MW of electricity will be generated from Kulekhani Dam.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA will utilize the current of the water coming out of the turbine of the powerhouse to generate 100 MW of electricity. NEA has plans to reverse the water back to Kulekhani Dam by installing pumps and motors. The project is estimated to cost Rs 8 billion. NEA plans to raise the fund by seeking assistance from donor agencies as well as by taking loan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA claims to finish the project within two years after starting the construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had earlier planned to build Begnas-Rupa pump storage in Kaski district. However, as it was costly, NEA dismissed the project.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12959', 'image' => '20210326032216_20210218115310_20200818043659_1597700431.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 15:20:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13212', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Removes Provision of Seven-Day Quarantine for Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. A', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. All of the previous arrangements and restrictions have been removed with the announcement of the new directive on Thursday, March 25.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">However, tourists will have to submit the document of negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival in Nepal or the certificate of taking Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the new criteria, foreign tourists need to show the documents including recommendation from the Department of Tourism or Nepal Tourism Board, proof of hotel booking, valid travel insurance at the check-in counter of the airline while boarding plane for Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Foreign tourists visiting Nepal will have to undergo another PCR test before they are allowed to travel to their preferred destination on condition that the test report turns negative.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had issued a certain criteria under which tourists had to stay in hotel quarantine for at least seven days after entering Nepal. The tourists were allowed go for trekking and mountaineering only if they tested negative for coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Spokesperson of the Ministry Taranath Adhikari informed that the recent cabinet meeting issued the new directive with the objective of facilitating the tourists. The move is expected to provide a relief to the ailing tourism industry that has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">In case the PCR report of tourists is positive after entering Nepal, they have to stay in the hotel quarantine, the official said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The government has also made special arrangements for Indian tourists visiting Nepal. In case of Indian tourists coming by air, arrangements will be made in accordance to the Nepal-India Travel Bubble Agreement. Similarly, the government has made a policy that those coming through border should submit the required documents at the check points along the Nepal-India border. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12958', 'image' => '20210326125058_20200930115831_1601420205.89.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 12:50:15', '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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In each of these years, the economy expanded by more than six percent -- 8.98 percent in 2016-17, 7.62 percent in 2017-18 and 6.66 percent in 2018-19. This was the first time Nepal's economic growth rate had remained above six percent for three consecutive years. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country sending the economy into a tailspin. This caused the economy to shrink by 1.88 percent in the last fiscal year.<br /> Economic activities gradually started to gather pace after the second half of the current fiscal year as Covid-19 related disruptions started fading, leading to gradual resumption in industrial activities. Lately, incipient signs of recovery are also being seen in wholesale and retail trade, transport, and financial services, as lockdowns have been lifted. Yet growth rate is projected to stand at 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year, according to the World Bank. This growth rate is higher than the bank's previous estimate of 0.6 percent, but way below the government's target of seven percent.<br /> "Since Nepal's economy [virtually] did not grow in two years, per capita income is going to get hit," Hans Timmer, World Bank chief economist for the South Asia region, told a virtual press meet.<br /> There is more bad news for Nepal. The growth is unlikely to accelerate in the next fiscal year as well. Nepal's growth, despite a low base, is expected to hover around 3.9 percent in 2021-22, according to World Bank projections. The growth rate is expected to rise to 5.1 percent in 2022-23. But again this growth rate is way below the pre-pandemic levels.<br /> Nepal's economic growth is likely to remain tepid in the coming years due to slow recovery in tourism and industrial sectors. Tourism is expected to fully recover only in 2022-23, while industrial activities are likely to remain below pre-pandemic levels until early 2022-23, according to the World Bank's latest South Asia Economic Focus, an annual report. Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favourable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialisation. But there is a risk that the current political uncertainty, if prolonged, may undermine investment sentiment, says the report titled, 'South Asia Vaccinates'. This warning comes at a time when investment is expected to grow by 12.7 percent in South Asia in the current fiscal year. Low investment may further hamper Nepal's growth prospects at a time when closure of enterprises has culled large number of jobs. To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development, says the World Bank report.<br /> Much of the projections made by the World Bank on the economy are contingent on effective vaccination campaigns in Nepal and abroad. Delays in vaccination or new outbreaks of Covid-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery and hit the tourism sector. The World Bank has, thus, called on the government to spend money on vaccination. Ending the pandemic a half to one-and-a-half years earlier and spurring an earlier economic recovery would prevent output loss in the range of 4.9 percent to 14.6 percent in Nepal, says the report. But vaccinating at least 70 percent of the population is easier said than done as Nepal is likely to face shortage of vaccines in the coming days due to global scarcity, albeit the country was one of the first recipients of the jabs in the world, thanks to support extended by India.<br /> Nepal cannot afford another lockdown or severe restriction in movements as significant jobs and income losses triggered by the pandemic have already increased vulnerability. At least 1.2 million people are estimated to have fallen into the trap of poverty and 1.6 million are expected to have lost their jobs because of the lockdown clamped to contain the spread of Covid-19.<br /> The lockdown is also expected to have worsened the problem of food insecurity in 18 percent of households in Nepal, while income losses instigated by the lockdown are expected to have increased the school dropout rate. A typical student can expect to lose as much as US$445 (2017 PPP) annually as a result of lost schooling and learning opportunities, according to the World Bank.<br /> Prior to the pandemic, Nepal's social sector, which includes education and health, had performed well because of remittances flowing into the country. "But going forward remittance is going to be a point of concern as there has been a reduction in migration," said Timmer. Number of people leaving the country for employment purpose had started taking a dip in the pre-pandemic period, as there were more opportunities in the country and the government had started negotiating with labour destinations, such as Malaysia, for better social security of its workers, which had reduced the charm for Nepali labourers.<br /> Lately, countries like Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf, which absorb a bulk of Nepali labourers, have introduced policies that favour the employment of native-born workers, which might reduce job opportunities for Nepalis. There is also the danger that some migrants who were repatriated when host country activities were shut down may not be able to get their original jobs back. What's more, many of the economies in the Gulf are shifting out of oil production and the decline of migrant demand due to Covid-19 may have accelerated that process.<br /> If remittance inflow shrinks, Nepal's current account deficit will widen, exerting pressure on foreign exchange reserves. Already, Nepal's current account – largely the difference between income generated from exports and imports of goods and services – is in a deficit as imports are gradually growing with the resumption in economic activities. Nepal's current account deficit is expected to further widen over the medium term, according to the World Bank, as import growth is expected to accelerate due to growth in consumption, while service exports, mainly tourism, are expected to remain subdued until 2021-22. By 2021-22, the current account deficit is projected to reach 3.2 percent of GDP, financed primarily by long-term concessional borrowing.<br /> The fiscal deficit is also projected to remain elevated over the medium term. While revenue performance is expected to remain weak, additional spending on economic relief measures, vaccinations, and the resumption of project implementation will widen the fiscal deficit to just under eight percent of GDP in 2021-22, says the World Bank report.<br /> "Thereafter it is projected to stabilise at 6.5 percent of GDP in 2022-23 as revenues recover. Total public debt is expected to reach 41.9 percent of GDP in 2020-21 and gradually increase to 51.3 percent by 2022-23," adds the report.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12974', 'image' => '20210331063053_20200430025148_Economic-Growth-Decline 2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 18:28:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13227', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank projects Nepal’s economy to grow by 2.7% in current fiscal year ', 'sub_title' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'summary' => 'Recovery in current fiscal year due to fading disruptions from Covid-19 and govt relief spending, says World Bank’s latest edition of South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) ', 'content' => '<p>March 31:<br /> Nepal’s economy is likely to grow by 2.7 percent in the current fiscal year 2020/21, according to a latest projection by the World Bank.</p> <p>Releasing the South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) on Wednesday, the World Bank said that the economy is expected to grow in the current fiscal year after a contraction in the last fiscal year as the Covid-19 related disruptions fade and government relief spending materializes.</p> <p>The World Bank through its March’s SAEF—a biannual publication providing recent economic developments and a near-term economic outlook for the region—revised Nepal’s growth forecast slightly up by 0.6 percentage point from a projection of 2.1 percent in January.</p> <p>While the World Bank’s growth forecast is an indication of economic recovery from the contraction of 1.9 percent in the last fiscal year 2019/20, it is way lower than the government’s target to achieve 7 percent of GDP growth in the current fiscal year.</p> <p>However, the World Bank, in its report, warned that significant jobs and income losses are likely to have increased vulnerability.</p> <p>“To ensure the recovery is sustained and resilient, policy priorities will need to include: strengthening health systems, supporting agriculture production, and a focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development,” read the report which lifts the growth forecast of South Asia due to efforts to keep Covid-19 caseload under control and swiftly roll out vaccine campaigns.</p> <p>But, there are still risks which could Nepal's recovery prospects. According to the World Bank’s latest report, downside risks to its outlook stem from new waves of Covid-19 infections and political uncertainties. </p> <p>“Delays in vaccination and/or new outbreaks of COVID-19 both domestically and globally would dampen prospects of economic recovery. The resumption of tourism would be delayed if international travel restrictions are imposed,” the report stated. “Domestic risks include political uncertainty, which could undermine investment sentiment,” it added.</p> <p>Agriculture will remain a strong growth driver, thanks to favorable monsoons and continued government investments in irrigation and commercialization, according to the World Bank’s report.<br /> The economic growth in South Asia is set to increase by 7.2 percent in 2021 in South Asia and 4.4 percent in 2022, climbing from historic lows in 2020 and putting the region on a path to recovery, according to the World Bank report. But growth is uneven and economic activity well below pre-COVID-19 estimates, as many businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector, still reel from job losses, falling incomes, worsening inequalities, and human capital deficits, the report said.</p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-31', 'modified' => '2021-03-31', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12973', 'image' => '20210331010612_Growth Forecast.JPG', 'article_date' => '2021-03-31 13:02:21', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => true, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13225', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Summer Clothes Increase with Rise in Demand', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">March 30: The prices of summer clothes have gone up along with the growing demand. With the winter coming to an end and rising temperature, the demand for such garments has been increasing in the market. Likewise, the prices too have been rising.<br /> Despite the growing fear of coronavirus, the number of customers coming to buy clothes for summer is increasing in the main business centres of Kathmandu such as Asan, Indrachowk, New Road, and Sundhara. Rakesh Sapkota, who has been involved in wholesale business of readymade garments in Asan, said that the number of traders coming to Kathmandu from outside the valley has increased.<br /> Last year, when the summer season started, the trade of readymade garments came to a standstill as the government had imposed lockdown in Nepal to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, Sapkota said that the textile business is expected to be good this year. According to him, the trade of summer clothes is maximum in the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). However, customers have already started flocking to buy clothes.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">As demand grows, ready-made garment traders are increasing their imports from China, India, Thailand, and Indonesia. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, importers are not able to go abroad on their own to import textiles, so they have been looking at textile designs online and buying clothes through agents.<br /> Dil Sundar Shrestha, president of the fair committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that the rise in the price of dollar and the price of containers has affected the price of clothes. According to him, the price of a T-shirt that used to be Rs 700 has now gone up to Rs 1,000.<br /> Nepali traders import readymade garments worth Rs 4 billion for summer every year. According to traders, about 40 percent of the garments are imported from India, 20 percent from China, and the remaining 40 percent from other countries. Due to the lockdown and restriction on movement, the import of readymade garments from abroad had declined. However, now that foreign textiles are being imported again, the market for Nepali products is said to be declining.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12971', 'image' => '20210330030707_1617056840.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 15:06:09', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13224', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Gold Ornaments Continues to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 30: The import of gold ornaments has increased by 20 percent in the eight months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. A total of 17.5 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 60.73 million have been imported in the review period. In the corresponding period of last fiscal year, 13 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 50.60 million were imported into the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The import of gold has increased by 20 in this fiscal year in terms of the volume of import. Nepal imports gold ornaments from 17 countries – Bahrain, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Oman, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and Iceland.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with the import of raw gold, import of gold ornaments is growing exponentially in the country. Nepal has skilled manpower and required infrastructure to make gold ornaments in accordance to the designs popular in the international market but the import is still rising. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“Customers have shown preference to buy ornaments that are showcased in the movies resulting in the import of gold ornaments,” said Tej Ratna Shakya, former president of the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association. He said the demand for Nepalese-designed ornaments is declining while the foreign designs are getting popular. So, the import of gold ornaments is increasing, according to Shakya. Likewise, migrant workers returning from labour destination countries are also bringing in gold ornaments with them. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Traders say despite having human resources and machines to prepare gold ornaments, import is rising. They were of the view that government should take necessary measures to prevent this. “Import of gold ornaments benefits particular group of traders but is detrimental to the economy of the country, so it should be prevented,” says Manik Ratna Shakya, President of FENEGOSIDA, adding, “The government should introduce policies to stop this increasing trend of import.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Shakya argues that the government should increase the daily quota of importing raw gold to discourage the import of gold ornaments. “The market is currently facing shortage of raw gold which should be increased from the current daily quota of 10 kg,” he said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Stakeholders believe that it is beneficial to import raw gold instead of gold ornaments. The government has also hiked the customs duty on gold ornaments from 10 percent to 15 percent. The customs duty was increased in response to the traders’ demand. Increase in customs duty was expected to cut down the import of gold ornaments but the import has not declined, said former president of FENEGOSIDA Shakya.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12970', 'image' => '20210330021410_1617057299.5.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 14:13:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13222', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Social Security Fund pays around Rs 50 million against Claim ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 30: The contribution-based Social Security Fund has so far paid around Rs 50 million to the beneficiaries based on their claims. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Among the four categories through which the workers are offered financial security, the Fund has made payment worth Rs 47.3 million to altogether 1,435 beneficiaries. Among them, most payments have been made for the medical treatment, health protection and maternity plan, according to the Fund. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Fund launched in late 2018 has already paid over Rs 20.5 million to 1,226 beneficiaries under the medical treatment, health protection and maternity scheme. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Similarly, 70 beneficiaries have been paid over Rs 1.8 million under the accident and disability scheme. A total of 22 beneficiaries have received over Rs 3.4 million under the dependent family plan and over Rs 10.6 million to 117 beneficiaries, the Fund said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Till March 24, the Fund has received contribution deposit amounting to over Rs 4.8 billion. There are altogether 194,000 workers enlisted in the Fund. The number of employers stands at 13,616. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12968', 'image' => '20210330114500_20210225124654_Social-Security-Fund-SSF.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:44:16', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13221', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Self-Employment Fund to Create Employment for 12,000 Youths', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Cambria">March 30: The Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund plans to create employment opportunities to 12,000 unemployed youths.<br /> The fund will create self-employment through five new programmes targeting youths in the current fiscal year. The fund provides a loan of Rs. 200,000 at a concessional rate to young people who need funds for starting business.<br /> Dr. Kalyan Roka, executive vice president of the fund, informed that the fund will create self-employment for 12,000 youths under five new programmes-Cooperation Based Partnership Programme, Koshi Economic Corridor Programme, Bheri-Karnali Economic Corridor Programme, Kathmandu Valley Self-Employment Programme, and Terai-Madhes Self-Employment Programme.<br /> He said that the fund will soon launch a self-employment-oriented programme by providing loans to the youth.<br /> The fund will provide Rs 200,000 at 3.2 percent interest to the youths to run their business based on their skills, abilities, and knowledge.<br /> The fund will make the youths self-employed by collaborating with the local level.<br /> The fund will provide the loan to the youth through banks, financial institutions, and cooperatives at the local level. The fund has now called for proposals from the local level governments for cooperation.<br /> The fund’s programme coordinator Nar Bahadur Saud informed that 12 local level governments have submitted proposals for partnership. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-30', 'modified' => '2021-03-30', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12967', 'image' => '20210330113421_Youth-and-Small-Entrepreneur-Self-Employment-Fund.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-30 11:33:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13220', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Chinese Company to build Tunnel of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Project', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 29: The government has signed agreement with China Overseas Engineering Group for the construction of tunnel of the Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government had selected the Chinese firm for this project in the first week of March. Alhough the government has already signed an agreement with the company, the process of constructing the tunnel will start only after a year. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">According to Project Director Sushil Acharya, Tunnel Boring Machine will be used for the construction of the tunnel. This method has been used and proved successful in Bheri Babai tunnel construction project. It will take more than a year to acquire in the machine, so construction will start in a year, said Krishna Prasad Nepal, spokesperson of the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Company needs to prepare a design of the machine and get it approved by the department and this process will take around six months. It takes further three to four months to build the machine. The company needs to get the machine from the USA. And the procurement process will take another three to four months. Therefore, government officials say the construction process will start only after year. The procurement and transportation cost of the machine is estimated to cost Rs 1 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“In the next one year, the process of getting the machine as well as other required preparation here in the country will take place simultaneously,” said Nepal. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The proposed multipurpose project plans to construct 13.2 km long tunnel to divert the Sunkoshi river to the Marin river located in Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district. The government had estimated the cost of the tunnel construction to be around Rs 15 billion. But the Chinese firm offered to construct the tunnel at Rs 10.5 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">China Overseas Engineering Group had constructed the tunnel in Bheri-Babai Diversion project as well. Apart from the tunnel construction, resources have not been arranged to construct other infrastructures required for the project. The department needs to call for applications to build other infrastructure like head works, powerhouse, hydro mechanical works among others. The department will seek for applications as soon as financial resources are arranged. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Meanwhile, the project has completed other tasks like distributing compensation to the affected families, cutting down trees in the project area. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 46 billion. This project, which aims to provide irrigation facilities in Province 2, was enlisted as a National Pride Project in February 2020. Four districts of Province 2- Bara Rautahat, Mahottari and Sarlahi - will get irrigation facility once this project is completed. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Along with irrigation facility, the project plans to generate 29 MW of electricity.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12966', 'image' => '20210329024547_20210309021842_87019025_102143838070883_7397641457198170112_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 14:45:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13219', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Kathmandu Valley sees Running Water from Melamchi River ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">March 29: The long-awaited Melamchi drinking water project has been materialized. Dried taps in the Kathmandu Valley have seen water from the Melamchi river running, relieving Kathmanduites of hard life they had been enduring for want of drinking water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">People of areas in the Valley including Battisputali, Jayabageshwori, Chabahil, Kutubahal, Sifal, Kalopule, Airport Height and Dhanawantari have got their taps with running water from the project since Sunday (March 28), said the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited (KUKL). </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The KUKL has a plan to discharge the water deposited in the water ponds through the existing pipelines and release the water through newly installed pipelines later. At present, 40 million liters of water has been released on a daily basis, said KUKL Chief Executive Director Milan Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">In the first phase, the water would be distributed soon to Mahangkalchaur, Anamnagar, Minbhavan and Khumaltarv areas, he said, adding that other areas would receive water gradually. Water collected in the Mahankal pond would be distributed to Chabahil, Kutubahal and Aananda Nagar, he said. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">Quantity of the water released on a daily basis would be increased to 170 million. The KUKL aims to release the water on taps on a daily basis as far as possible. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">"Otherwise, water will be released on alternative days," said Shakya. For the time being, existing tariffs would be retained for using water. Tariffs would be increased only in consent with customers, added Shakya. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">A team from the respective authorities would find out and resolve problems when customers complain of their taps without running water. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">There had been an acute water crisis in the Valley since long. So as to address water crisis, the government established Melamchi Water Supply Project Board in 1998 as a body to implement the Melamchi Water Supply Project. However, it took as long as 23 years for the completion of the project. -- RSS </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12965', 'image' => '20210329110357_20210212111048_20200317114243_Melamchi 1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 11:03:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13218', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Import of Electric Vehicles Comes to a Halt ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 29: The import of eectric vehicles has come to a halt although the government has adopted a policey of increasing the use of electric vehicles. The import of electric vehicles that have been declining since the beginning of the current fiscal year, has completely stopped in February. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the Department of Customs, while 103 electric vehicles were imported till January this year, not a single vehicle was imported in February. According to the department, 428 electric vehicles were imported in the corresponding period of last year.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Entrepreneurs say that the import of such vehicles has decreased after the government increased the customs duty on the import of electric vehicles through the budget of the current fiscal year. Till last fiscal year, the import duty on electric vehicles was only 10 percent. But after the government increased it to 80 percent, the importers stopped bringing electric vehicles to Nepal. General Secretary of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Sunil Rijal said that the demand has fallen sharply after the government increased customs duty on electric vehicles.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chairman of the Electric Vehicles Association of Nepal Umesh Shrestha said that there has been no demand for electric vehicles in the market of late. "The price of a vehicle, which was Rs 5.7 million to Rs 6 million last year, is now more than Rs 10 million after the customs duty hike," he said, adding, "Even if the government claims it wants to promote electric vehicles, such vehicles have not been imported due to the government’s policy."</span></span> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">He further said that some of the imported vehicles have already arrived this year and there is no new imports now. "There is no demand in the market. If the government does not facilitate the import of electric vehicles, there is no possibility of importing new electric vehicles in the coming days," he said.</span></span> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-29', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12964', 'image' => '20210329104035_electric-vehicles-india-evs.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-29 10:39:46', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13217', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Will the government increase daily quota for gold imports?', 'sub_title' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies to increase daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'summary' => 'Gold dealers intensify lobbies for an increase of daily quota for imports of gold, citing rising demands for jewelry and ornaments in line with correction in gold prices. ', 'content' => '<p><em><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong></em><br /> March 28:<br /> The government recently lifted a ban on imports of items like dried peas, betel nuts, dates and luxury vehicles that were put in place for nearly a year.</p> <p>Earlier last year when coronavirus was sweeping the country, the government decided to impose restrictions on various imports with an aim to curb the outflow of foreign currency and prevent the external sector position’s deterioration.</p> <p>Citing that the imports of expensive items will have a negative impact on the foreign exchange reserves, the government had banned the import of high-end vehicles worth more than $50,000, expensive nuts, alcohol and limited gold import quota. The daily quota of gold import was also reduced to 10 kg from 20 kg. These restrictions on the imports were imposed soon after the lockdown was imposed in March last year in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus.</p> <p>With the economy of the country regaining its some pace, the government has been gradually loosening its restrictions on the imports that it had placed last year. The ban on alcohol was lifted on the eve of Dashain and Tihar festivals last year. Last week, the government decided to allow imports of high-end vehicles without any restriction. Withdrawing the blanket ban, the government imposed quota on imports of black pepper, peas, dates and betel nuts.</p> <p>While the blanket ban has been lifted, with quantitative restrictions on the import of some commodities, the government is yet to decide whether to raise the daily quota on gold import that was lowered last year. <br /> Gold dealers are now lobbying with the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to revise the daily quota upward in line with a rise in the demands for ornaments and jewelry in the market.<br /> NRB currently allows commercial banks to import a total of 10 kg of gold daily which is then sold to gold dealers in the market.<br /> Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) has been demanding that this quota be hiked to 25 kg per day. Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Fenegosida, opined that the government should have relaxed the restriction on import of gold quota along with other items.</p> <p>“During our discussions with senior officials at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), they had responded positively to our demand to increase the gold quota,” said Shakya.</p> <p>Upon the recommendation of the MoICS, the NRB makes decision whether to lower or raise the quota of gold imports. </p> <p>Fenegosida President Shakya said that they are preparing to intensify their pressure upon the government to increase the gold quota to 25 kg. Gold dealers say that it is now time to revise the limit on the quantity of precious yellow metal allowed to import into the country.</p> <p>According to Shakya, the demand of the bullion has gone up in recent months after a decline in its price. The price of the precious metal which had reached a new high of Rs 103,500 per Tola on August 7 last year is now down to Rs 86,300 per Tola on Friday. Last year, the price of per Tola gold had climbed to six-digit for the first time in Nepal. However, the gold price has been falling in recent months. Gold dealers say that the drop in the price has lifted demands that have been depressed by the pandemic.<br /> They also expect the demands to rise further during the wedding season (April/May) that boosts the sale of ornaments and jewelry in the market. <br /> Fenegosida leaders say that the central bank should not worry much about the decline in its foreign exchange reserves as the bullion price has fallen significantly in the international market. </p> <p>If the daily quota is not revised in line with the market demands, there is a chance of smuggling of the gold as in the past, warn gold dealers.</p> <p>However, the central bank is less likely to increase the quota immediately. NRB’s Deputy Spokesperson Naryan Prasad Pokhrel said the central bank may consider revising the daily quota on the imports of gold through its monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2021/22 that begins in mid July.</p> <p>Gold is one of the major imported items in Nepal. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country imported gold worth Rs 34.63 billion in the fiscal year 2018/19 out of the total import of Rs 1,418.54 billion. </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12963', 'image' => '20210328040204_GOLD IN NEPAL.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 15:50:35', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13216', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Recurrent Expenditure of MCC Project more than Capital Expenditure', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 28: The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><strong>March 28: </strong><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government has spent Rs 1.11 billion out of Rs 9 billion budget allocated to implement the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Of the total spent budget, 16.28 percent has been spent under current expenditure and 11.57 percent has been spent as capital expenditure.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government's indecisiveness regarding the US-funded MCC programme has led to poor spending of budget. If the MCC is not ratified by the parliament as soon as possible, a significant amount of budget will freeze, said a senior official at the Ministry of Finance. Only 12 percent of the allocated budget has been spent of which recurrent expenditure is higher than capital expenditure, said official on condition of anonymity.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee has already been formed to implement the MCC programme. The government is bearing all the administrative expenses, as well as the fees of the consultants and international experts. The longer the parliament takes to endorse the programme, the higher the financial burden will be for the government. A total of Rs 20.86 million has been spent to provide salaries of the employees and operation of the committee. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">The recently released second quarterly report by the MoF points towards lack of agreement behind the delay in the budget spending. Likewise, inability to procure required software, materials and delay in land acquisition is another reason.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">"Unless the parliament endorses the MCC, it can't be implemented in full fledged manner," said Khadga Bahadur Bista, Managing Director of MCC-Nepal. However the proposed project design, land acquisition process, EIA are about to be completed, he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">To build a substation in Ratmate of Nuwakot, MCC-Nepal is acquiring 184 plots of land from locals of ward no.7 Belkotgadhi municipality. The project is yet to provide compensation to 30 percent of the affected people. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:13.5pt">The government had signed the MCC grant agreement worth Rs 550 billion with the US government in September 2017.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">As per the agreement, the US government would provide a grant of $50 million to build electricity infrastructure and increase road transportation. And Nepal government would contribute $13 million for the project. The government had agreed to fully implement the program from this year but hasn't initiated the work as per the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:13.5pt">Since the political parties have failed to reach the agreement, endorsement of the program by the parliament has also remained uncertain. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-28', 'modified' => '2021-03-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12962', 'image' => '20210328020032_20200914112314_1600032154.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-28 13:59:34', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13215', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dollar Prepaid Card Facility in Nepal, Explained', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'An Explainer: Banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.', 'content' => '<p><strong>Rebati Adhikari</strong><br /> March 27:<br /> People in Nepal no longer have to rely on their friends or relatives abroad to sign up for Netflix to watch movies and TV shows, purchase things from Amazon or Flipkart, boost their posts in Facebook or Twitter for advertisements or book hotels before embarking into a vacation to Thailand or other countries just because they cannot make foreign currency payment online.<br /> Now, banking institutions in Nepal are offering foreign currency (dollar) prepaid cards which you can use for the payment of online shopping or purchase.<br /> Since this is the first time that banking institutions are introducing this facility in Nepal, there are some questions and confusions regarding dollar prepaid cards.<br /> With the help of bankers and officials of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), New Business Age addresses some of these questions and confusions that you might have about this facility.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What is a foreign currency prepaid card? </strong></em><br /> Foreign Currency Prepaid Card, as suggested by its name, is a payment card issued by a bank to its clients to make payment in foreign currency. Since US Dollar is the world’s dominant foreign currency, most of these cards would be Dollar Prepaid Cards. Like a prepaid Sim card of a telecommunication company where you load credit and make phone calls from that card, you have to get the card from a bank and load cash on your account to shop online from this card. Commercial or development banks issue these dollar payment cards up to an annual limit of $500.<br /> <br /> <strong>Is this new facility a really big thing?</strong><br /> It is, at least for those who had long been struggling to do online transactions or make payment in dollars or other foreign currencies from Nepal. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has a restrictive foreign exchange policy or the central regulatory bank allows you to get or convert a limited amount of foreign currency to the public only under certain conditions. For example, when you are flying abroad, you can get foreign currency exchange up to a limit of $1,500 provided that you present an air ticket, visa and passport to a bank. The reason for the central bank making such a tight grip on foreign currency reserves is that they are considered a cushion for the country if it slips into a financial crisis or struggles to pay for its imports. Due to the central bank’s restriction, people were prohibited from purchasing goods and services online by paying in foreign currency. With this new facility, people will be able to make payment from Nepal for online purchase of goods or services up to a certain limit.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Why did the central bank relax foreign currency payment restrictions?</strong></em><br /> The restrictive foreign exchange regulation had not stopped many people from doing online shopping or purchase of services and commodities from abroad as people were finding a way around the central bank’s restriction. But, many such transactions were not legal. Amid growing demands from the public for the relaxation, the NRB announced that it will allow banks to issue dollar prepaid cards last year through its monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2020/21. In line with the policy, it issued a circular to banking institutions last week allowing them to issue dollar payment cards with certain conditions and a value limit of $500 a year. Foreign exchange reserves surging to a record high level also make the central bank amenable to a suggestion of relaxation on online shopping by paying dollars or other currencies.</p> <p><em><strong>Where can I get one? How much does it cost?</strong></em><br /> As soon as the NRB paved the way for the issuance of dollar payment cards, some banks have already introduced their Dollar Prepaid Cards while others are also rushing to roll out their products.<br /> Machhapuchchhre Bank Ltd, Nabil Bank Ltd and NMB Bank Ltd have already started issuing dollar cards in line with the central bank’s directive. Representatives of these banks say that any of their branches will facilitate the issuance of dollar prepaid cards.<br /> While the NRB has not said anything about the charges banks are allowed to take from their customers, charges and fees for this facility may vary from bank to bank. Banks charge subscription fees, reload fee, re-issue fee.<br /> For example, Nabil Bank Ltd says it charges Rs 1,000 as subscription fee, Rs 500 as reload fee and $5 dollar as re-issuance fee. It’s card is valid for four years.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What are dollar prepaid card’s limitations and conditions?</strong></em><br /> Customers willing to take benefit of international prepaid cards are allowed to take prepaid dollar cards from a single bank only. NRB has set $500 as the limit per year beginning from the date the card is activated. However, those who have earnings on international currency will have higher limits. Foreign currency earnings from selling any services like from Google Ads can be deposited in this account. If the deposited amount exceeds $5000, the amount will be transferred to users’ domestic or international bank accounts. Cardholders are restricted from making payments except for the online purchase of goods and services. These dollar cards will be allowed to make payments only for the international payment for online shopping of goods and services. Such cards can’t be used for transactions that result in capital gains. Neither can these cards be used to withdraw money from ATMs and POS machines.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What documents are needed to apply for this card?</strong></em><br /> To get the prepaid card, a client must have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and have their Know-your-customer (KYC) updated account in a bank that provides this facility. Any individual, firm, company, or organization can get it by loading (converting) their domestic currency (Nepali rupees) into the foreign currency (US Dollar) from the banks.<br /> If the customer wants to take a card without their name printed, it is issued on the same day of submitting the application. The card with the customer’s name printed will take three to four working days.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What will be the exchange rate?</strong></em><br /> The bank issuing the card will use the exchange rate of the day to load the cash in the card. Similarly, if any cardholder want the money that is due in the card, the bank will have to deposit the cash back into the cardholder’s account based on the exchange rate of the day when it has to be returned.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>What if I acquire multiple cards from separate banks?</strong></em><br /> If anyone found to be acquiring more than one card or breaching any condition, s/he could face charges of misappropriation or deflection of foreign currency under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 2019. Applicants will have to make self-declaration that they have not acquired the dollar card from another bank. Similarly, banks will have to submit all monthly details of their cardholders to the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the NRB which helps the central bank to track all transactions made from dollar prepaid cards.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-27', 'modified' => '2021-03-27', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12961', 'image' => '20210327022951_Dollar Prepaid Card.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-27 14:25:26', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '35' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13214', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Parliamentary Panel Proposes Bringing Government’s Health Insurance Scheme under Insurance Board', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">March 26: A parliamentary panel has proposed to bring the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board Nepal (IBN). The government has been running the health insurance scheme since the last few years by forming a separate Health Insurance Board. Deliberating on the new Insurance Bill presented in the parliament, lawmakers have proposed bringing the health insurance scheme under IBN.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">During a clause-wise discussion on the bill on March 24-25, the Finance Committee of parliament proposed to include the government’s health insurance scheme under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Board. Krishna Prasad Dahal, chairman of the committee, said the parliamentary panel has suggested the government to include the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority (currently the IBN). </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Clause-wise discussion on the Insurance Bill which has been presented in the parliament to amend and integrate insurance-related laws was also held earlier. This bill was registered in the parliament in 2019. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill proposes transforming the current Insurance Board into Insurance Authority. If the bill is approved, the government’s health insurance program will be regulated by the same Insurance Authority. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“To regulate health insurance program through the proposed Insurance Authority, the Health Insurance Act needs to be scrapped. But the bill has not stated anything about this,” says Dahal, adding, “There are technical problems to immediately bring the health insurance scheme under the proposed Insurance Authority. So, changes have been proposed.” </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The government has formed Health Insurance Board but it has not been able to work effectively due to lack of skilled human resources. Taking this into consideration, the current changes to the program has been proposed. It has been said that millions of rupees in insurance premium raised under the health insurance plan create difficulties to bring the insurance plan under the control of the proposed Insurance Authority. Problems could arise to manage the collected premium and settle insurance claims, Dahal said. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill also proposes to establish a special fund targeting the marginalized people. Insurance companies will be required to allocate one percent of their income to the fund. The fund will be utilized to get the poor people insured. A separate work procedure will be issued soon so that the companies can utilize the fund. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The bill has also proposed to reduce regulation fee being collected from insurance companies. The Insurance Board collect one percent of their income as regulation fee which will be reduced to 0.5 percent. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">“If the Authority focuses on stern regulation and insurance companies bring numerous insurance policies, the regulation fee might be reduced,” says Revenue Secretary Ram Sharan Pudasaini.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The license period of Insurance company is also being extended from one year to three years under the proposed bill. The bill has also proposed to reduce penalty fee to around Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 from Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000. </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12960', 'image' => '20210326044439_cba3a6cf93e9da58e7f6d9fc39688d07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 16:43:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13213', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NEA Gets Permission for Surveying Kulekhani-Sisneri Pump Storage', 'sub_title' => 'The electricity authority is preparing to complete the survey in three months', 'summary' => 'March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">March 26: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from the Department of Electricity Development to survey the 100 MW pump storage plant to be built using the Kulekhani Dam in the Makwanpur district. Last week, the department gave permission to NEA to study the Kulekhani-Sisneri pump storage project.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had registered an application with the department last December seeking permission to survey the project. The department issued permission for the survey to NEA after completing all necessary processes. Director-General of the Department Navin Raj Singh confirmed that the department has granted permission to the NEA for the survey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya also said that NEA has received permission for surveying the project. He said that they will immediately begin with the survey. "The survey will be completed in two-and-a-half months. Also, the environmental impact assessment will be completed in nine months, and then process of raising investment and construction of the project will proceed ahead. The validity of the license is of two years," Shakya informed New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to Shakya, the timeframe to conduct the survey can be further extended up to five years. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The NEA Engineering Company under NEA had conducted a preliminary study on the construction of the project some time ago. During the study, the team identified the potential of building a pump storage plant.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The pump under this project will be constructed at Sisneri, which is 2 km away from the Kulekhani Dam, and will be operated in the evening peak hour (4 hours). At that time, 100 MW of electricity will be generated from Kulekhani Dam.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA will utilize the current of the water coming out of the turbine of the powerhouse to generate 100 MW of electricity. NEA has plans to reverse the water back to Kulekhani Dam by installing pumps and motors. The project is estimated to cost Rs 8 billion. NEA plans to raise the fund by seeking assistance from donor agencies as well as by taking loan.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA claims to finish the project within two years after starting the construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">NEA had earlier planned to build Begnas-Rupa pump storage in Kaski district. However, as it was costly, NEA dismissed the project.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12959', 'image' => '20210326032216_20210218115310_20200818043659_1597700431.Clipboard08.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 15:20:27', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '13212', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Removes Provision of Seven-Day Quarantine for Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. A', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">March 26: The government has issued a fresh directive regarding the visit of foreign tourists to Nepal. All of the previous arrangements and restrictions have been removed with the announcement of the new directive on Thursday, March 25.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">However, tourists will have to submit the document of negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arrival in Nepal or the certificate of taking Covid-19 vaccine. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">According to the new criteria, foreign tourists need to show the documents including recommendation from the Department of Tourism or Nepal Tourism Board, proof of hotel booking, valid travel insurance at the check-in counter of the airline while boarding plane for Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Foreign tourists visiting Nepal will have to undergo another PCR test before they are allowed to travel to their preferred destination on condition that the test report turns negative.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had issued a certain criteria under which tourists had to stay in hotel quarantine for at least seven days after entering Nepal. The tourists were allowed go for trekking and mountaineering only if they tested negative for coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Spokesperson of the Ministry Taranath Adhikari informed that the recent cabinet meeting issued the new directive with the objective of facilitating the tourists. The move is expected to provide a relief to the ailing tourism industry that has been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">In case the PCR report of tourists is positive after entering Nepal, they have to stay in the hotel quarantine, the official said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">The government has also made special arrangements for Indian tourists visiting Nepal. In case of Indian tourists coming by air, arrangements will be made in accordance to the Nepal-India Travel Bubble Agreement. Similarly, the government has made a policy that those coming through border should submit the required documents at the check points along the Nepal-India border. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-03-26', 'modified' => '2021-03-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12958', 'image' => '20210326125058_20200930115831_1601420205.89.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-03-26 12:50:15', '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
