October 20: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has formed a task force to prepare a draft to amend the Public Procurement Act-…
October 20: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has formed a task force to prepare a draft to amend the Public Procurement Act-…
October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to…
October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few…
October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the…
October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western…
October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML.…
October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half.…
October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international…
October 19: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to leave for the UK in the first week of November to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change that is scheduled to be held in Glasgow,…
October 19: The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain…
October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of…
October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20…
October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October…
October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select…
October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping…
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The task force will have representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministry, Law Ministry, Physical Infrastructure Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Energy Ministry, Forest Ministry, Land Management and other ministries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The task force will submit a draft within fifteen days after studying the Public Procurement Act, regulations, bidding documents, suggestions received from various organizations, bodies and experts including the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion held at MoF, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office presented a preliminary draft on the issues to be amended in the Act. As per the proposed provision, it has been recommended to reduce the timeframe for submission of bids for public construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The preliminary draft has proposed 35 days for submission of international bids and 21 days for national bids. Likewise, after the application are accepted it has been proposed to reduce the time period for issuing letter of intent as well. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new provision, it takes three days to issue LoI for national bids and seven days for international bids. Representatives of the Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal have submitted a 39-point recommendation letter seeking for further reforms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Sharma said timely amendment to the Public Procurement Act was necessary to speed up the development activities, ensure quality work and contribute to the national capital by increasing capital expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to prepare amendment drafts keeping in view the quality, transparency and competitiveness of development activities. He has also directed to make provisions to give priority to domestic human resources as much as possible while selecting consultants for construction. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion, Dr Bishwo Nath Poudel, vicecChairman of the National Planning Commission, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, secretaries of various ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, Public Procurement Monitoring Office, joint secretaries and experts expressed their views over the errors in the Public Procurement Act and regulations. They have asked to prepare a draft of the Public Procurement Act by addressing the concerns over the practice of providing multiple contracts to single contractor, project construction delays for years, delay over procurements due to lack of legal protection among other issues.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13900', 'image' => '20211020111235_AAEAAQA1062x598.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 11:11:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14154', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Active Monsoon Brings Heavy Rain; Sudurpaschim Mostly Affected ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Abrupt changes in the weather have adversely affected diverse sectors across the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal has recently witnessed the joint impacts of low pressure system active in the Bay of Bengal and Central India now moving to the north and the westerly wind system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist Raju Pradhananga told the state-owned RSS that the systems have caused heavy rainfall. It will have impact up to Thursday morning, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will gradually open from Thursday afternoon. The system was active since October 17. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The western Nepal, especially Sudur Paschim Province has been badly affected due to the impact of the two systems. The country has focused its attention to relief and rescue of flood and landslide survivors following the heavy rain. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though detail assessment of loss and damage is yet to be ascertained, natural disaster is reported to have affected over 12 districts. Six people have so far died in the disastrous events. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for the relief and rescue in the needed areas. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13899', 'image' => '20211020105431_20200511091310_Storm.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14152', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '31 Dead, 43 Missing in Floods and Landslides ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days.', 'content' => '<p><em><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A six-lane road in Bhimdutta Municipality of Kanchanpur district damaged by the swollen Mahakali river on Tuesday. Photo: RSS</span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest update provided by the Home Ministry, as many as 43 people have been reported missing in landslides and floods across the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">200 houses have been inundated in Bhimdatta municipality of Kanchanpur. The local administration in Kanchanpur district has said rescue efforts are on in the area. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Mahakali River in Sudurpaschim Province has recorded the highest water level in eight years. The flow of water in the River that divides Nepal and India was measured to be at 547,224 cusec on Tuesday afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Traffic movement across between Nepal and India through the far-western frontier has been completely shut following the alarming rise in the water level in the River. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13898', 'image' => '20211020080208_SBS_Kanchanpur-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:01:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14153', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Directs Concerned Bodies to Gear up Rescue and Relief Efforts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Following the PM's directive on Tuesday, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand instructed subordinate bodies of the Ministry to mitigate disaster risk and to protect peoples' life and property from disaster-related incidents. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The home minister has directed all the security bodies and the local administrations to work in coordination for rescue and relief. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel said cloudy weather has developed throughout the country since October 17 and the western region of the country has been affected the most due to flood. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Big rivers like Seti, Mahakali, Karnali, West Rapti, among others and their tributaries have been flooded. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13897', 'image' => '20211020080454_20210715115732_adsafd (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14151', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Mahakali Bridge and Dry Port to Enhance Nepal’s trade with India ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier. The dry port to be built in the western part of Nepal and the Mahakali Bridge currently under construction will connect parts of far-western Nepal to the national road network and is expected to boost Nepal-India trade. The construction of the motorable bridge over the Mahakali River that connects Dodhara-Chandani to the mainland of Nepal is almost 70 percent complete. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, a suspension bridge and roadway from India is used to reach the municipality located in Kanchanpur district of the far-western province. Once the construction of the bride is complete, Dodhara Chandni Municipality can be accessed directly from Mahendranagar. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The 800-meter-long Mahakali bridge will connect more than 50,000 population of Dodhara Chandani Municipality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the Department of Roads Shiva Prasad Nepal said that it will be easier to travel directly from Mahendranagar through a four-lane motorable bridge after the completion of the bridge. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the bridge from Mahendranagar to Chandni Dodhara is targeted to be completed within the next fiscal year. The cost for the construction of the bridge is Rs 3 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Along with the road network, a dry port will also be built,” Nepal said, adding, “The bridge is expected to act as a gateway to western Nepal's trade.” The bridge was inaugurated by the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2074 BS. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of the department said that although the bridge was supposed to be completed in three years, the construction has been delayed due to Covid-19 and technical reasons. Western Nepal is very close to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states of India. It is estimated that this will play a big role in the trade between Nepal and India and will also facilitate in bringing down the cost of export and import. At present, higher exports from Birgunj and Biratnagar are done and more imports from Bhairahawa customs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had also put forward the concept of constructing Dodhara Chandni dry port in 2068 BS to facilitate trade from the far western state. However, so far the government has not been able to acquire the land required for the port. A report was prepared in 2072 BS after a field study by a group including the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and other concerned agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13896', 'image' => '20211019020501_10453460_787458074651379_6365892886777233625_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 14:04:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14150', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2 Dozen Bills Stuck in Parliament due to Obstruction from CPN-UML', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. The law-making process, which was affected by the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the previous government twice, has not been able to move forward even months after it was reinstated by the Supreme Court. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the parliament proceedings resumed, the Railway Bill was withdrawn by the government and the replacement budget was introduced. Other than this, the house proceedings have remained obstructed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Parliament Secretariat, fifty bills related to economic and social issues are currently under consideration in both the houses of parliament. Among them, more than three dozen of the bills are in the House of Representatives, which has been stranded due to the obstruction by the opposition party.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bills related to construction and development of national priority projects, export-import regulation, public procurement, competition, promotion and market protection bill, drinking water and sanitation, customs bill, credit protection and other bills have been registered in the House of Representatives and the process of endorsing them has not gathered any momentum.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Insurance Bill, Information Technology Bill, Public Debt Management Bill were under discussion in various committees of the parliament. After the restoration of the parliament, the insurance bill was discussed in the Finance Committee only once, but it has not been finalized yet.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Dahal, President of the Finance Committee said that clause-wise discussions on the bills could not be held due to the dissolution of parliament, Covid-19, and festivals.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rojnath Pandey, Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, said there is no alternative to start house proceedings after reaching consensus among all parties. He informed that the parliamentary panels are prepared to speed up the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the Immigration Bill, two bills related to the Civil Aviation Authority, Statistics Bill, Prevention of Corruption Bill, Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Third Amendment) Bill, Social Security (First Amendment) Bill are gathering dust in the National Assembly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi argues that when the lawmaking process is affected, it will also affect the overall investment environment. If laws are not formed in time, the national goals put forward by the government will be affected and even private and foreign investors will be reluctant to invest due to lack of investment-friendly laws.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya says it is unfortunate that the lawmaking process is affected despite having the parliament. He believes that the former prime minister influenced the lawmaking process by dissolving parliament on grounds of inter-party conflicts while the current PM has failed to reach consensus among political parties to move ahead with the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had tried to end the stalemate in the parliament by calling all-party meetings separately before Dashain but the CPN UML boycotted the meetings. CPN-UML has been insisting that one-on-one talks should be held between UML Chairman KP Oli, the government and the Speaker of the parliament. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13895', 'image' => '20211019014936_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:48:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14149', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM to Resume Printing Drivers’ License Cards in One and a Half Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. The cards could not be printed for a long time since the card did not fit in the mass printer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said that the printing of driving license had been halted as the mass printer was purchased from one company and the card was purchased from another company. Director General Namaraj Ghimire said that they are ready to bring the card as it is now compatible with the mass printers. "We are in the process of bringing the card," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DoTM informed that 1.4 million cards will be brought in the first phase and the problem of distributing license will be solved immediately. Ghimire assured that care will be taken not to repeat the same mistakes in the coming days. He also said considering the technical problems faced now, all the aspects would be taken into consideration when signing contracts in the future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The “smart' driver's license”, which was introduced for the convenience of the service seekers, is not working as expected. Due to various problems, the service seekers are not able to get the license on time. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Previously, due to the limited capacity of the equipment, the service seekers could not get the license on time. Two years ago, the department had bought a mass printer with large capacity and one million cards from the same company. DoTM has only one or two thousand cards remaining. Due to the scarcity of cards, the department is printing licenses only for those who are in dire need. Transportation offices have started issuing temporary driver's licenses for one year because of the shortage of printing cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13894', 'image' => '20211019013649_Qualifications-for-Driving-License-Application-in-Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:36:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14148', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Loss of Nepal Oil Corporation Expected to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The price of petroleum product has skyrocketed worldwide due to the unnatural rise in the price of crude oil in the world market. The price of crude oil in the international market reached US$ 85.58 per barrel on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest price list sent by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on October 16, the NOC’s losses are expected to increase further. Spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya informed that the fortnightly loss of the corporation is projected to exceed Rs 2.22 billion as per the price list received from IOC on September 15.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new price list sent by the IOC, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.77 per liter and diesel and domestic and international aviation fuel by Rs 7.9 per liter.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has to purchase petrol for Rs 145 per liter, diesel for Rs 127.16 per liter, kerosene for Rs 93.41 per liter, domestic aviation fuel for Rs 90.56 per liter, international aviation fuel for Rs 82.13 per liter, and LP gas for Rs 1,961.88 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the retail price of petrol in Kathmandu has been fixed at Rs 130 per liter. Similarly, the price of diesel and kerosene has been fixed at Rs 113 per liter, domestic aviation fuel at Rs 86 per liter, and LP gas at Rs 1,450 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The corporation will have to bear a loss of Rs 15 per liter on sale of petrol, Rs 14.16 for diesel sales, Rs 4.56 per liter for the sale of domestic aviation fuel, and Rs 511.88 per cylinder of LP gas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has a modest profit only on kerosene and international aviation fuel. The corporation earns Rs 19.59 per liter from the sale of kerosene and Rs 10.37 per liter from the sale of international aviation fuel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rising fuel prices in the global market have hampered the corporation's efforts to reduce losses. The increase in purchase price has added a challenge to the corporation, which has been making a profit by reducing past losses. The corporation had gradually turned to a profitable organisation by repaying a loan of Rs 37 billion six or seven years ago. Last year, the corporation again incurred a loss of around Rs 3 billion. Spokesperson Upadhyaya said that the corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 6 billion in the last three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is feared that the supply of petroleum may be disrupted as the corporation is running at a huge loss. While the corporation is constantly running at a loss, it can also affect the supply system, said a corporation official.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13893', 'image' => '20211019125210_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14147', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba to lead Nepali Delegation during COP26 in Glasgow', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to leave for the UK in the first week of November to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change that is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">October 19: A meeting of the Council of Ministers has decided to form a delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to attend the 'world leaders' summit' on climate change to be held in Glasgow of the United Kingdom (UK). <br /> The 26th Conference of Party (COP-26) on climate change is taking place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki confirmed that the cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to form a delegation led by the Prime Minister to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change in Glasgow. PM Deuba will leave for Gasgow in the first week of November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">This conference would be the first foreign tour of Deuba after being appointed as the new Prime Minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Since PM Deuba is attending the conference under the UN in the UK, his visit will not be bilateral.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13892', 'image' => '20211019122646_cop.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:25:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14146', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels and Lodges in Myagdi Filled with Domestic Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The hotels and lodges here are full of tourists. Visitors in such big numbers have arrived after two years," said Baburam Acharya, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association, Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Acharya, the hotels and lodges in Beni, Galeshwor, Pokharebagar, Bhurung-Tatopani, Dana, Ghorepani and Singa are filled with domestic tourists. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Association's Mygadi chapter said that 50 hotels in Beni have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 tourists. The hoteliers have said they had to send some guests to Baglung and Kusma for lack of rooms in Beni. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Large number of visitors from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Biratnagar, Rupandehi, among other places arrived here after October 15, the main day of Bada Dashain festival. The tourists are reportedly on their way to Mustang via Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Indra Bahadur Nepali said the number of tourists travelling to and from Mustang in motorcycles and private cars has suddenly surged. According to him, more than 500 vehicles are travelling on the Beni-Jomsom road daily since the last two days. Before this, 100 to 150 vehicles used to ply on this road daily. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The surge in tourists has elated the hotel and restaurant operators here in the district. They are hopeful of their business picking up pace after suffering a blow for about two years due to COVID-19 pandemic. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13891', 'image' => '20211019091516_20190109011855_poon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 09:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14145', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Efforts to Bring Back Stolen, Sold Artifacts and Sculptures ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Damodar Gautam, Director General of the Department, told the state-owned national news agency RSS said that efforts are being made in coordination with Nepal's embassies abroad, Interpol and foreign museums to garner information regarding such stolen and sold Nepali artifacts so as to retrieve them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to RSS, the department is also coordinating with concerned authorities in the UK, the USA and France to reclaim such Nepali treasure trove that long have been in these countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Gautam shared that identification of the country of origin of idols of Lord Ganesh and Thanka painting abroad becomes harder since both are also found in India and Tibet respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Many museums abroad and many cultural and historical collectors were found to have kept idols, artifacts and religious materials under 'Nepalese Collection'. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government of Nepal came forward to bring back such cultural properties that were illegally exported or smuggled abroad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department, according to Gautam, faces human resource crunch which has also affected in bringing back such stolen heritages on time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He shared that there are currently 25 staffers at the department that is responsible for protecting and maintain archeological sites, ancient monuments including remains of national importance, museum and archive management. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13890', 'image' => '20211019084532_ynhtjrt0wfk61.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:44:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14144', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Auctions Treasury Bills ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has started selling the treasury bills through the tender process from October 18 in a bid to mobilize short-term loans for the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accordingly, NRB issued treasury bills worth Rs 200 million for a period of 91 days, treasury bills worth Rs 5 billion for a period of 182 days and treasury bills worth Rs 6 billion for a period of 364 days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The treasury bills of 91 days' period will mature on 18 January 2022 while the treasury bill of 182 days' period will be mature on 19 April 2022 and that of 365 days' period will be mature on 18 October 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Before this, NRB had issued treasury bills worth Rs 13.25 billion on October 11. The auctioning of the treasury bills opened online at 3 pm on October 18. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13889', 'image' => '20211019082504_20210420034241_20201106055408_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:24:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14143', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Hits Rs 91,300 per Tola ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to the Dashain festival, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 90,600 per tola. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the price of worked gold has been fixed at Rs 90,800 per tola against Rs 90,150 per tola before Dashain on October 11. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Federation of Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association is the authorised body for determining the prices of gold and silver in the Nepali market based on the price in the international market. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the Federation has set the price of silver at Rs 1,225 per tola yesterday, an increment of Rs 45 per tola compared to last Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13888', 'image' => '20211019081202_20170207035408_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:11:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14142', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'SSF Starts Providing Medical Treatment Facility to Contributors', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kapil Mani Gyawali, executive director of the fund, said that the facility could be availed from three hospitals at the initial stage even though the fund has signed MoUs with more than 100 hospitals to provide such facility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Contributors can avail the medical treatment from National Orthopedic Hospital in Jorpati, Kathmandu, Chitwan’s Old Medical College, and the Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa. The contributors do not have to come to SSF office and submit a bill to claim medical expenses incurred at the three hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gyawali said that the program is ready to be implemented in all the hospitals with whom they have signed MOU within a month and a half. "We are discussing with all the hospitals. Soon, there will be an arrangement to get treatment from more than 100 hospitals based on identity cards," he said. Officials of the fund claim that the contributors can easily get treatment from the hospitals within the prescribed limits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SSF spokesperson, Vivek Panthi, said that discussions are underway in the second phase to provide this facility to the contributors at TU Teaching Hospitals, Maharajgunj, Ganga Lal Hospital, and Bir Hospital. He said that this facility is being promoted with special priority in all the states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the latest statistics, the Social Security Fund has signed MoUs with 19 hospitals in Province 1, 16 in Province 2, 21 in Bagmati Province, 8 in Gandaki Province, 14 in Lumbini Province, 10 in Province 6, and 17 in Sudur Paschim Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Although the signing of new MoUs have slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, SSF officials say they will now move forward at a faster pace. Lately, the Social Security Fund has been trying to remove various obstacles by revising the operation procedure brought in the first phase of the contribution-based social security fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The second amendment has clarified conflicting and ambiguous provisions regarding retirement benefits. Earlier, there was confusion that the contributors could not receive any amount before the retirement age of 60. The provision has been amended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the SSF officials, the previous provision of contributors not getting any benefit if they leave the work has also been revised.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13887', 'image' => '20211018031553_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 15:15:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14141', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Reliance on Foreign Shipping Firms Raising Transportation Cost of Foreign Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although transportation cost is a major factor in foreign trade, the private sector is worried that trade competitiveness is declining due to inability to reduce these shipping costs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, coordinator of FNCCI’s Transport and Transit Committee of Province 2, states that there is monopoly of foreign companies in shipping as the government has been unable to promote private sector in transit service.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Transit is not only the foundation of foreign trade, but also of the economy. However, the government has so far taken it lightly. Indifference to the expansion of infrastructure related to transit services has led to high transportation cost," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to entrepreneurs, India, which is Nepal's largest trading partner, has reduced its transportation cost to fifteen percent and plans to bring it down to 10 percent in the next few years. Compared to this, Nepal’s transportation cost for foreign trade is more than thirty percent. Entrepreneur Pradip Kumar Kedia says that the cost has not come down though the government has sought alternatives to Indian seaport, made procedural improvements, and expanded infrastructure at the border points.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers have been experiencing higher transportation costs despite the improvements in infrastructure and required procedures. “Infrastructure and procedural improvements alone are not enough. Domestic companies should be mobilized in its operation," opined Kedia who is also the former president of FNCCI Birgunj chapter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The volume of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing every year. However, foreign companies dominate the transportation and transit service. "Transit services that take place via third countries through sea, rail and land routes are all offered by international companies. Until now no domestic company has been established to offer cargo services. We are lagging behind in terms of policy," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani suggests the private sector of the country should be promoted to reduce the transportation cost by increasing competition in transit services. Entrepreneur Rajendra Gupta argues that the government has instead discouraged domestic companies through unstable policy. "Without a stable policy, infrastructure of transit services cannot be consolidated. Without any reasonable basis, the government sometimes imposes and removes VAT on transportation services. Such practice creates confusion in trade," shares Gupta. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Navneet Agrawal says that despite some infrastructural and procedural improvements related to transit services in the last few years, the domestic importers have not been able to experience any reform.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13886', 'image' => '20211018025403_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 14:53:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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The task force will have representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministry, Law Ministry, Physical Infrastructure Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Energy Ministry, Forest Ministry, Land Management and other ministries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The task force will submit a draft within fifteen days after studying the Public Procurement Act, regulations, bidding documents, suggestions received from various organizations, bodies and experts including the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion held at MoF, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office presented a preliminary draft on the issues to be amended in the Act. As per the proposed provision, it has been recommended to reduce the timeframe for submission of bids for public construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The preliminary draft has proposed 35 days for submission of international bids and 21 days for national bids. Likewise, after the application are accepted it has been proposed to reduce the time period for issuing letter of intent as well. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new provision, it takes three days to issue LoI for national bids and seven days for international bids. Representatives of the Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal have submitted a 39-point recommendation letter seeking for further reforms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Sharma said timely amendment to the Public Procurement Act was necessary to speed up the development activities, ensure quality work and contribute to the national capital by increasing capital expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to prepare amendment drafts keeping in view the quality, transparency and competitiveness of development activities. He has also directed to make provisions to give priority to domestic human resources as much as possible while selecting consultants for construction. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion, Dr Bishwo Nath Poudel, vicecChairman of the National Planning Commission, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, secretaries of various ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, Public Procurement Monitoring Office, joint secretaries and experts expressed their views over the errors in the Public Procurement Act and regulations. They have asked to prepare a draft of the Public Procurement Act by addressing the concerns over the practice of providing multiple contracts to single contractor, project construction delays for years, delay over procurements due to lack of legal protection among other issues.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13900', 'image' => '20211020111235_AAEAAQA1062x598.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 11:11:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14154', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Active Monsoon Brings Heavy Rain; Sudurpaschim Mostly Affected ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Abrupt changes in the weather have adversely affected diverse sectors across the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal has recently witnessed the joint impacts of low pressure system active in the Bay of Bengal and Central India now moving to the north and the westerly wind system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist Raju Pradhananga told the state-owned RSS that the systems have caused heavy rainfall. It will have impact up to Thursday morning, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will gradually open from Thursday afternoon. The system was active since October 17. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The western Nepal, especially Sudur Paschim Province has been badly affected due to the impact of the two systems. The country has focused its attention to relief and rescue of flood and landslide survivors following the heavy rain. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though detail assessment of loss and damage is yet to be ascertained, natural disaster is reported to have affected over 12 districts. Six people have so far died in the disastrous events. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for the relief and rescue in the needed areas. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13899', 'image' => '20211020105431_20200511091310_Storm.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14152', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '31 Dead, 43 Missing in Floods and Landslides ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days.', 'content' => '<p><em><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A six-lane road in Bhimdutta Municipality of Kanchanpur district damaged by the swollen Mahakali river on Tuesday. Photo: RSS</span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest update provided by the Home Ministry, as many as 43 people have been reported missing in landslides and floods across the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">200 houses have been inundated in Bhimdatta municipality of Kanchanpur. The local administration in Kanchanpur district has said rescue efforts are on in the area. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Mahakali River in Sudurpaschim Province has recorded the highest water level in eight years. The flow of water in the River that divides Nepal and India was measured to be at 547,224 cusec on Tuesday afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Traffic movement across between Nepal and India through the far-western frontier has been completely shut following the alarming rise in the water level in the River. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13898', 'image' => '20211020080208_SBS_Kanchanpur-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:01:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14153', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Directs Concerned Bodies to Gear up Rescue and Relief Efforts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Following the PM's directive on Tuesday, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand instructed subordinate bodies of the Ministry to mitigate disaster risk and to protect peoples' life and property from disaster-related incidents. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The home minister has directed all the security bodies and the local administrations to work in coordination for rescue and relief. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel said cloudy weather has developed throughout the country since October 17 and the western region of the country has been affected the most due to flood. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Big rivers like Seti, Mahakali, Karnali, West Rapti, among others and their tributaries have been flooded. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13897', 'image' => '20211020080454_20210715115732_adsafd (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14151', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Mahakali Bridge and Dry Port to Enhance Nepal’s trade with India ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier. The dry port to be built in the western part of Nepal and the Mahakali Bridge currently under construction will connect parts of far-western Nepal to the national road network and is expected to boost Nepal-India trade. The construction of the motorable bridge over the Mahakali River that connects Dodhara-Chandani to the mainland of Nepal is almost 70 percent complete. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, a suspension bridge and roadway from India is used to reach the municipality located in Kanchanpur district of the far-western province. Once the construction of the bride is complete, Dodhara Chandni Municipality can be accessed directly from Mahendranagar. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The 800-meter-long Mahakali bridge will connect more than 50,000 population of Dodhara Chandani Municipality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the Department of Roads Shiva Prasad Nepal said that it will be easier to travel directly from Mahendranagar through a four-lane motorable bridge after the completion of the bridge. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the bridge from Mahendranagar to Chandni Dodhara is targeted to be completed within the next fiscal year. The cost for the construction of the bridge is Rs 3 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Along with the road network, a dry port will also be built,” Nepal said, adding, “The bridge is expected to act as a gateway to western Nepal's trade.” The bridge was inaugurated by the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2074 BS. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of the department said that although the bridge was supposed to be completed in three years, the construction has been delayed due to Covid-19 and technical reasons. Western Nepal is very close to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states of India. It is estimated that this will play a big role in the trade between Nepal and India and will also facilitate in bringing down the cost of export and import. At present, higher exports from Birgunj and Biratnagar are done and more imports from Bhairahawa customs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had also put forward the concept of constructing Dodhara Chandni dry port in 2068 BS to facilitate trade from the far western state. However, so far the government has not been able to acquire the land required for the port. A report was prepared in 2072 BS after a field study by a group including the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and other concerned agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13896', 'image' => '20211019020501_10453460_787458074651379_6365892886777233625_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 14:04:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14150', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2 Dozen Bills Stuck in Parliament due to Obstruction from CPN-UML', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. The law-making process, which was affected by the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the previous government twice, has not been able to move forward even months after it was reinstated by the Supreme Court. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the parliament proceedings resumed, the Railway Bill was withdrawn by the government and the replacement budget was introduced. Other than this, the house proceedings have remained obstructed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Parliament Secretariat, fifty bills related to economic and social issues are currently under consideration in both the houses of parliament. Among them, more than three dozen of the bills are in the House of Representatives, which has been stranded due to the obstruction by the opposition party.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bills related to construction and development of national priority projects, export-import regulation, public procurement, competition, promotion and market protection bill, drinking water and sanitation, customs bill, credit protection and other bills have been registered in the House of Representatives and the process of endorsing them has not gathered any momentum.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Insurance Bill, Information Technology Bill, Public Debt Management Bill were under discussion in various committees of the parliament. After the restoration of the parliament, the insurance bill was discussed in the Finance Committee only once, but it has not been finalized yet.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Dahal, President of the Finance Committee said that clause-wise discussions on the bills could not be held due to the dissolution of parliament, Covid-19, and festivals.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rojnath Pandey, Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, said there is no alternative to start house proceedings after reaching consensus among all parties. He informed that the parliamentary panels are prepared to speed up the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the Immigration Bill, two bills related to the Civil Aviation Authority, Statistics Bill, Prevention of Corruption Bill, Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Third Amendment) Bill, Social Security (First Amendment) Bill are gathering dust in the National Assembly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi argues that when the lawmaking process is affected, it will also affect the overall investment environment. If laws are not formed in time, the national goals put forward by the government will be affected and even private and foreign investors will be reluctant to invest due to lack of investment-friendly laws.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya says it is unfortunate that the lawmaking process is affected despite having the parliament. He believes that the former prime minister influenced the lawmaking process by dissolving parliament on grounds of inter-party conflicts while the current PM has failed to reach consensus among political parties to move ahead with the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had tried to end the stalemate in the parliament by calling all-party meetings separately before Dashain but the CPN UML boycotted the meetings. CPN-UML has been insisting that one-on-one talks should be held between UML Chairman KP Oli, the government and the Speaker of the parliament. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13895', 'image' => '20211019014936_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:48:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14149', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM to Resume Printing Drivers’ License Cards in One and a Half Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. The cards could not be printed for a long time since the card did not fit in the mass printer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said that the printing of driving license had been halted as the mass printer was purchased from one company and the card was purchased from another company. Director General Namaraj Ghimire said that they are ready to bring the card as it is now compatible with the mass printers. "We are in the process of bringing the card," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DoTM informed that 1.4 million cards will be brought in the first phase and the problem of distributing license will be solved immediately. Ghimire assured that care will be taken not to repeat the same mistakes in the coming days. He also said considering the technical problems faced now, all the aspects would be taken into consideration when signing contracts in the future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The “smart' driver's license”, which was introduced for the convenience of the service seekers, is not working as expected. Due to various problems, the service seekers are not able to get the license on time. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Previously, due to the limited capacity of the equipment, the service seekers could not get the license on time. Two years ago, the department had bought a mass printer with large capacity and one million cards from the same company. DoTM has only one or two thousand cards remaining. Due to the scarcity of cards, the department is printing licenses only for those who are in dire need. Transportation offices have started issuing temporary driver's licenses for one year because of the shortage of printing cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13894', 'image' => '20211019013649_Qualifications-for-Driving-License-Application-in-Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:36:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14148', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Loss of Nepal Oil Corporation Expected to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The price of petroleum product has skyrocketed worldwide due to the unnatural rise in the price of crude oil in the world market. The price of crude oil in the international market reached US$ 85.58 per barrel on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest price list sent by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on October 16, the NOC’s losses are expected to increase further. Spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya informed that the fortnightly loss of the corporation is projected to exceed Rs 2.22 billion as per the price list received from IOC on September 15.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new price list sent by the IOC, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.77 per liter and diesel and domestic and international aviation fuel by Rs 7.9 per liter.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has to purchase petrol for Rs 145 per liter, diesel for Rs 127.16 per liter, kerosene for Rs 93.41 per liter, domestic aviation fuel for Rs 90.56 per liter, international aviation fuel for Rs 82.13 per liter, and LP gas for Rs 1,961.88 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the retail price of petrol in Kathmandu has been fixed at Rs 130 per liter. Similarly, the price of diesel and kerosene has been fixed at Rs 113 per liter, domestic aviation fuel at Rs 86 per liter, and LP gas at Rs 1,450 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The corporation will have to bear a loss of Rs 15 per liter on sale of petrol, Rs 14.16 for diesel sales, Rs 4.56 per liter for the sale of domestic aviation fuel, and Rs 511.88 per cylinder of LP gas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has a modest profit only on kerosene and international aviation fuel. The corporation earns Rs 19.59 per liter from the sale of kerosene and Rs 10.37 per liter from the sale of international aviation fuel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rising fuel prices in the global market have hampered the corporation's efforts to reduce losses. The increase in purchase price has added a challenge to the corporation, which has been making a profit by reducing past losses. The corporation had gradually turned to a profitable organisation by repaying a loan of Rs 37 billion six or seven years ago. Last year, the corporation again incurred a loss of around Rs 3 billion. Spokesperson Upadhyaya said that the corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 6 billion in the last three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is feared that the supply of petroleum may be disrupted as the corporation is running at a huge loss. While the corporation is constantly running at a loss, it can also affect the supply system, said a corporation official.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13893', 'image' => '20211019125210_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14147', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba to lead Nepali Delegation during COP26 in Glasgow', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to leave for the UK in the first week of November to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change that is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">October 19: A meeting of the Council of Ministers has decided to form a delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to attend the 'world leaders' summit' on climate change to be held in Glasgow of the United Kingdom (UK). <br /> The 26th Conference of Party (COP-26) on climate change is taking place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki confirmed that the cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to form a delegation led by the Prime Minister to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change in Glasgow. PM Deuba will leave for Gasgow in the first week of November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">This conference would be the first foreign tour of Deuba after being appointed as the new Prime Minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Since PM Deuba is attending the conference under the UN in the UK, his visit will not be bilateral.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13892', 'image' => '20211019122646_cop.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:25:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14146', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels and Lodges in Myagdi Filled with Domestic Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The hotels and lodges here are full of tourists. Visitors in such big numbers have arrived after two years," said Baburam Acharya, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association, Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Acharya, the hotels and lodges in Beni, Galeshwor, Pokharebagar, Bhurung-Tatopani, Dana, Ghorepani and Singa are filled with domestic tourists. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Association's Mygadi chapter said that 50 hotels in Beni have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 tourists. The hoteliers have said they had to send some guests to Baglung and Kusma for lack of rooms in Beni. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Large number of visitors from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Biratnagar, Rupandehi, among other places arrived here after October 15, the main day of Bada Dashain festival. The tourists are reportedly on their way to Mustang via Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Indra Bahadur Nepali said the number of tourists travelling to and from Mustang in motorcycles and private cars has suddenly surged. According to him, more than 500 vehicles are travelling on the Beni-Jomsom road daily since the last two days. Before this, 100 to 150 vehicles used to ply on this road daily. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The surge in tourists has elated the hotel and restaurant operators here in the district. They are hopeful of their business picking up pace after suffering a blow for about two years due to COVID-19 pandemic. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13891', 'image' => '20211019091516_20190109011855_poon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 09:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14145', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Efforts to Bring Back Stolen, Sold Artifacts and Sculptures ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Damodar Gautam, Director General of the Department, told the state-owned national news agency RSS said that efforts are being made in coordination with Nepal's embassies abroad, Interpol and foreign museums to garner information regarding such stolen and sold Nepali artifacts so as to retrieve them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to RSS, the department is also coordinating with concerned authorities in the UK, the USA and France to reclaim such Nepali treasure trove that long have been in these countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Gautam shared that identification of the country of origin of idols of Lord Ganesh and Thanka painting abroad becomes harder since both are also found in India and Tibet respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Many museums abroad and many cultural and historical collectors were found to have kept idols, artifacts and religious materials under 'Nepalese Collection'. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government of Nepal came forward to bring back such cultural properties that were illegally exported or smuggled abroad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department, according to Gautam, faces human resource crunch which has also affected in bringing back such stolen heritages on time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He shared that there are currently 25 staffers at the department that is responsible for protecting and maintain archeological sites, ancient monuments including remains of national importance, museum and archive management. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13890', 'image' => '20211019084532_ynhtjrt0wfk61.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:44:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14144', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Auctions Treasury Bills ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has started selling the treasury bills through the tender process from October 18 in a bid to mobilize short-term loans for the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accordingly, NRB issued treasury bills worth Rs 200 million for a period of 91 days, treasury bills worth Rs 5 billion for a period of 182 days and treasury bills worth Rs 6 billion for a period of 364 days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The treasury bills of 91 days' period will mature on 18 January 2022 while the treasury bill of 182 days' period will be mature on 19 April 2022 and that of 365 days' period will be mature on 18 October 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Before this, NRB had issued treasury bills worth Rs 13.25 billion on October 11. The auctioning of the treasury bills opened online at 3 pm on October 18. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13889', 'image' => '20211019082504_20210420034241_20201106055408_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:24:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14143', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Hits Rs 91,300 per Tola ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to the Dashain festival, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 90,600 per tola. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the price of worked gold has been fixed at Rs 90,800 per tola against Rs 90,150 per tola before Dashain on October 11. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Federation of Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association is the authorised body for determining the prices of gold and silver in the Nepali market based on the price in the international market. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the Federation has set the price of silver at Rs 1,225 per tola yesterday, an increment of Rs 45 per tola compared to last Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13888', 'image' => '20211019081202_20170207035408_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:11:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14142', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'SSF Starts Providing Medical Treatment Facility to Contributors', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kapil Mani Gyawali, executive director of the fund, said that the facility could be availed from three hospitals at the initial stage even though the fund has signed MoUs with more than 100 hospitals to provide such facility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Contributors can avail the medical treatment from National Orthopedic Hospital in Jorpati, Kathmandu, Chitwan’s Old Medical College, and the Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa. The contributors do not have to come to SSF office and submit a bill to claim medical expenses incurred at the three hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gyawali said that the program is ready to be implemented in all the hospitals with whom they have signed MOU within a month and a half. "We are discussing with all the hospitals. Soon, there will be an arrangement to get treatment from more than 100 hospitals based on identity cards," he said. Officials of the fund claim that the contributors can easily get treatment from the hospitals within the prescribed limits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SSF spokesperson, Vivek Panthi, said that discussions are underway in the second phase to provide this facility to the contributors at TU Teaching Hospitals, Maharajgunj, Ganga Lal Hospital, and Bir Hospital. He said that this facility is being promoted with special priority in all the states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the latest statistics, the Social Security Fund has signed MoUs with 19 hospitals in Province 1, 16 in Province 2, 21 in Bagmati Province, 8 in Gandaki Province, 14 in Lumbini Province, 10 in Province 6, and 17 in Sudur Paschim Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Although the signing of new MoUs have slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, SSF officials say they will now move forward at a faster pace. Lately, the Social Security Fund has been trying to remove various obstacles by revising the operation procedure brought in the first phase of the contribution-based social security fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The second amendment has clarified conflicting and ambiguous provisions regarding retirement benefits. Earlier, there was confusion that the contributors could not receive any amount before the retirement age of 60. The provision has been amended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the SSF officials, the previous provision of contributors not getting any benefit if they leave the work has also been revised.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13887', 'image' => '20211018031553_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 15:15:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14141', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Reliance on Foreign Shipping Firms Raising Transportation Cost of Foreign Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although transportation cost is a major factor in foreign trade, the private sector is worried that trade competitiveness is declining due to inability to reduce these shipping costs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, coordinator of FNCCI’s Transport and Transit Committee of Province 2, states that there is monopoly of foreign companies in shipping as the government has been unable to promote private sector in transit service.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Transit is not only the foundation of foreign trade, but also of the economy. However, the government has so far taken it lightly. Indifference to the expansion of infrastructure related to transit services has led to high transportation cost," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to entrepreneurs, India, which is Nepal's largest trading partner, has reduced its transportation cost to fifteen percent and plans to bring it down to 10 percent in the next few years. Compared to this, Nepal’s transportation cost for foreign trade is more than thirty percent. Entrepreneur Pradip Kumar Kedia says that the cost has not come down though the government has sought alternatives to Indian seaport, made procedural improvements, and expanded infrastructure at the border points.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers have been experiencing higher transportation costs despite the improvements in infrastructure and required procedures. “Infrastructure and procedural improvements alone are not enough. Domestic companies should be mobilized in its operation," opined Kedia who is also the former president of FNCCI Birgunj chapter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The volume of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing every year. However, foreign companies dominate the transportation and transit service. "Transit services that take place via third countries through sea, rail and land routes are all offered by international companies. Until now no domestic company has been established to offer cargo services. We are lagging behind in terms of policy," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani suggests the private sector of the country should be promoted to reduce the transportation cost by increasing competition in transit services. Entrepreneur Rajendra Gupta argues that the government has instead discouraged domestic companies through unstable policy. "Without a stable policy, infrastructure of transit services cannot be consolidated. Without any reasonable basis, the government sometimes imposes and removes VAT on transportation services. Such practice creates confusion in trade," shares Gupta. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Navneet Agrawal says that despite some infrastructural and procedural improvements related to transit services in the last few years, the domestic importers have not been able to experience any reform.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13886', 'image' => '20211018025403_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 14:53:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14155', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Finance Minister forms Task Force to Amend Public Procurement Act', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has formed a task force to prepare a draft to amend the Public Procurement Act- 2063.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 20: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has formed a task force to prepare a draft to amend the Public Procurement Act- 2063.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A meeting held at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Tuesday (October 19) decided to form the task force under the coordination of the secretary of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office. The task force will have representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministry, Law Ministry, Physical Infrastructure Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Energy Ministry, Forest Ministry, Land Management and other ministries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The task force will submit a draft within fifteen days after studying the Public Procurement Act, regulations, bidding documents, suggestions received from various organizations, bodies and experts including the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion held at MoF, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office presented a preliminary draft on the issues to be amended in the Act. As per the proposed provision, it has been recommended to reduce the timeframe for submission of bids for public construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The preliminary draft has proposed 35 days for submission of international bids and 21 days for national bids. Likewise, after the application are accepted it has been proposed to reduce the time period for issuing letter of intent as well. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new provision, it takes three days to issue LoI for national bids and seven days for international bids. Representatives of the Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal have submitted a 39-point recommendation letter seeking for further reforms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Sharma said timely amendment to the Public Procurement Act was necessary to speed up the development activities, ensure quality work and contribute to the national capital by increasing capital expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to prepare amendment drafts keeping in view the quality, transparency and competitiveness of development activities. He has also directed to make provisions to give priority to domestic human resources as much as possible while selecting consultants for construction. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion, Dr Bishwo Nath Poudel, vicecChairman of the National Planning Commission, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, secretaries of various ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, Public Procurement Monitoring Office, joint secretaries and experts expressed their views over the errors in the Public Procurement Act and regulations. They have asked to prepare a draft of the Public Procurement Act by addressing the concerns over the practice of providing multiple contracts to single contractor, project construction delays for years, delay over procurements due to lack of legal protection among other issues.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13900', 'image' => '20211020111235_AAEAAQA1062x598.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 11:11:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14154', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Active Monsoon Brings Heavy Rain; Sudurpaschim Mostly Affected ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Abrupt changes in the weather have adversely affected diverse sectors across the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal has recently witnessed the joint impacts of low pressure system active in the Bay of Bengal and Central India now moving to the north and the westerly wind system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist Raju Pradhananga told the state-owned RSS that the systems have caused heavy rainfall. It will have impact up to Thursday morning, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will gradually open from Thursday afternoon. The system was active since October 17. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The western Nepal, especially Sudur Paschim Province has been badly affected due to the impact of the two systems. The country has focused its attention to relief and rescue of flood and landslide survivors following the heavy rain. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though detail assessment of loss and damage is yet to be ascertained, natural disaster is reported to have affected over 12 districts. Six people have so far died in the disastrous events. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for the relief and rescue in the needed areas. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13899', 'image' => '20211020105431_20200511091310_Storm.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14152', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '31 Dead, 43 Missing in Floods and Landslides ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days.', 'content' => '<p><em><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A six-lane road in Bhimdutta Municipality of Kanchanpur district damaged by the swollen Mahakali river on Tuesday. Photo: RSS</span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest update provided by the Home Ministry, as many as 43 people have been reported missing in landslides and floods across the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">200 houses have been inundated in Bhimdatta municipality of Kanchanpur. The local administration in Kanchanpur district has said rescue efforts are on in the area. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Mahakali River in Sudurpaschim Province has recorded the highest water level in eight years. The flow of water in the River that divides Nepal and India was measured to be at 547,224 cusec on Tuesday afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Traffic movement across between Nepal and India through the far-western frontier has been completely shut following the alarming rise in the water level in the River. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13898', 'image' => '20211020080208_SBS_Kanchanpur-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:01:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14153', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Directs Concerned Bodies to Gear up Rescue and Relief Efforts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Following the PM's directive on Tuesday, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand instructed subordinate bodies of the Ministry to mitigate disaster risk and to protect peoples' life and property from disaster-related incidents. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The home minister has directed all the security bodies and the local administrations to work in coordination for rescue and relief. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel said cloudy weather has developed throughout the country since October 17 and the western region of the country has been affected the most due to flood. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Big rivers like Seti, Mahakali, Karnali, West Rapti, among others and their tributaries have been flooded. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13897', 'image' => '20211020080454_20210715115732_adsafd (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14151', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Mahakali Bridge and Dry Port to Enhance Nepal’s trade with India ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier. The dry port to be built in the western part of Nepal and the Mahakali Bridge currently under construction will connect parts of far-western Nepal to the national road network and is expected to boost Nepal-India trade. The construction of the motorable bridge over the Mahakali River that connects Dodhara-Chandani to the mainland of Nepal is almost 70 percent complete. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, a suspension bridge and roadway from India is used to reach the municipality located in Kanchanpur district of the far-western province. Once the construction of the bride is complete, Dodhara Chandni Municipality can be accessed directly from Mahendranagar. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The 800-meter-long Mahakali bridge will connect more than 50,000 population of Dodhara Chandani Municipality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the Department of Roads Shiva Prasad Nepal said that it will be easier to travel directly from Mahendranagar through a four-lane motorable bridge after the completion of the bridge. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the bridge from Mahendranagar to Chandni Dodhara is targeted to be completed within the next fiscal year. The cost for the construction of the bridge is Rs 3 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Along with the road network, a dry port will also be built,” Nepal said, adding, “The bridge is expected to act as a gateway to western Nepal's trade.” The bridge was inaugurated by the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2074 BS. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of the department said that although the bridge was supposed to be completed in three years, the construction has been delayed due to Covid-19 and technical reasons. Western Nepal is very close to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states of India. It is estimated that this will play a big role in the trade between Nepal and India and will also facilitate in bringing down the cost of export and import. At present, higher exports from Birgunj and Biratnagar are done and more imports from Bhairahawa customs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had also put forward the concept of constructing Dodhara Chandni dry port in 2068 BS to facilitate trade from the far western state. However, so far the government has not been able to acquire the land required for the port. A report was prepared in 2072 BS after a field study by a group including the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and other concerned agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13896', 'image' => '20211019020501_10453460_787458074651379_6365892886777233625_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 14:04:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14150', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2 Dozen Bills Stuck in Parliament due to Obstruction from CPN-UML', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. The law-making process, which was affected by the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the previous government twice, has not been able to move forward even months after it was reinstated by the Supreme Court. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the parliament proceedings resumed, the Railway Bill was withdrawn by the government and the replacement budget was introduced. Other than this, the house proceedings have remained obstructed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Parliament Secretariat, fifty bills related to economic and social issues are currently under consideration in both the houses of parliament. Among them, more than three dozen of the bills are in the House of Representatives, which has been stranded due to the obstruction by the opposition party.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bills related to construction and development of national priority projects, export-import regulation, public procurement, competition, promotion and market protection bill, drinking water and sanitation, customs bill, credit protection and other bills have been registered in the House of Representatives and the process of endorsing them has not gathered any momentum.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Insurance Bill, Information Technology Bill, Public Debt Management Bill were under discussion in various committees of the parliament. After the restoration of the parliament, the insurance bill was discussed in the Finance Committee only once, but it has not been finalized yet.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Dahal, President of the Finance Committee said that clause-wise discussions on the bills could not be held due to the dissolution of parliament, Covid-19, and festivals.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rojnath Pandey, Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, said there is no alternative to start house proceedings after reaching consensus among all parties. He informed that the parliamentary panels are prepared to speed up the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the Immigration Bill, two bills related to the Civil Aviation Authority, Statistics Bill, Prevention of Corruption Bill, Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Third Amendment) Bill, Social Security (First Amendment) Bill are gathering dust in the National Assembly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi argues that when the lawmaking process is affected, it will also affect the overall investment environment. If laws are not formed in time, the national goals put forward by the government will be affected and even private and foreign investors will be reluctant to invest due to lack of investment-friendly laws.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya says it is unfortunate that the lawmaking process is affected despite having the parliament. He believes that the former prime minister influenced the lawmaking process by dissolving parliament on grounds of inter-party conflicts while the current PM has failed to reach consensus among political parties to move ahead with the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had tried to end the stalemate in the parliament by calling all-party meetings separately before Dashain but the CPN UML boycotted the meetings. CPN-UML has been insisting that one-on-one talks should be held between UML Chairman KP Oli, the government and the Speaker of the parliament. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13895', 'image' => '20211019014936_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:48:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14149', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM to Resume Printing Drivers’ License Cards in One and a Half Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. The cards could not be printed for a long time since the card did not fit in the mass printer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said that the printing of driving license had been halted as the mass printer was purchased from one company and the card was purchased from another company. Director General Namaraj Ghimire said that they are ready to bring the card as it is now compatible with the mass printers. "We are in the process of bringing the card," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DoTM informed that 1.4 million cards will be brought in the first phase and the problem of distributing license will be solved immediately. Ghimire assured that care will be taken not to repeat the same mistakes in the coming days. He also said considering the technical problems faced now, all the aspects would be taken into consideration when signing contracts in the future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The “smart' driver's license”, which was introduced for the convenience of the service seekers, is not working as expected. Due to various problems, the service seekers are not able to get the license on time. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Previously, due to the limited capacity of the equipment, the service seekers could not get the license on time. Two years ago, the department had bought a mass printer with large capacity and one million cards from the same company. DoTM has only one or two thousand cards remaining. Due to the scarcity of cards, the department is printing licenses only for those who are in dire need. Transportation offices have started issuing temporary driver's licenses for one year because of the shortage of printing cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13894', 'image' => '20211019013649_Qualifications-for-Driving-License-Application-in-Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:36:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14148', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Loss of Nepal Oil Corporation Expected to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The price of petroleum product has skyrocketed worldwide due to the unnatural rise in the price of crude oil in the world market. The price of crude oil in the international market reached US$ 85.58 per barrel on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest price list sent by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on October 16, the NOC’s losses are expected to increase further. Spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya informed that the fortnightly loss of the corporation is projected to exceed Rs 2.22 billion as per the price list received from IOC on September 15.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new price list sent by the IOC, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.77 per liter and diesel and domestic and international aviation fuel by Rs 7.9 per liter.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has to purchase petrol for Rs 145 per liter, diesel for Rs 127.16 per liter, kerosene for Rs 93.41 per liter, domestic aviation fuel for Rs 90.56 per liter, international aviation fuel for Rs 82.13 per liter, and LP gas for Rs 1,961.88 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the retail price of petrol in Kathmandu has been fixed at Rs 130 per liter. Similarly, the price of diesel and kerosene has been fixed at Rs 113 per liter, domestic aviation fuel at Rs 86 per liter, and LP gas at Rs 1,450 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The corporation will have to bear a loss of Rs 15 per liter on sale of petrol, Rs 14.16 for diesel sales, Rs 4.56 per liter for the sale of domestic aviation fuel, and Rs 511.88 per cylinder of LP gas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has a modest profit only on kerosene and international aviation fuel. The corporation earns Rs 19.59 per liter from the sale of kerosene and Rs 10.37 per liter from the sale of international aviation fuel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rising fuel prices in the global market have hampered the corporation's efforts to reduce losses. The increase in purchase price has added a challenge to the corporation, which has been making a profit by reducing past losses. The corporation had gradually turned to a profitable organisation by repaying a loan of Rs 37 billion six or seven years ago. Last year, the corporation again incurred a loss of around Rs 3 billion. Spokesperson Upadhyaya said that the corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 6 billion in the last three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is feared that the supply of petroleum may be disrupted as the corporation is running at a huge loss. While the corporation is constantly running at a loss, it can also affect the supply system, said a corporation official.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13893', 'image' => '20211019125210_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14147', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba to lead Nepali Delegation during COP26 in Glasgow', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to leave for the UK in the first week of November to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change that is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">October 19: A meeting of the Council of Ministers has decided to form a delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to attend the 'world leaders' summit' on climate change to be held in Glasgow of the United Kingdom (UK). <br /> The 26th Conference of Party (COP-26) on climate change is taking place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki confirmed that the cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to form a delegation led by the Prime Minister to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change in Glasgow. PM Deuba will leave for Gasgow in the first week of November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">This conference would be the first foreign tour of Deuba after being appointed as the new Prime Minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Since PM Deuba is attending the conference under the UN in the UK, his visit will not be bilateral.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13892', 'image' => '20211019122646_cop.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:25:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14146', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels and Lodges in Myagdi Filled with Domestic Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The hotels and lodges here are full of tourists. Visitors in such big numbers have arrived after two years," said Baburam Acharya, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association, Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Acharya, the hotels and lodges in Beni, Galeshwor, Pokharebagar, Bhurung-Tatopani, Dana, Ghorepani and Singa are filled with domestic tourists. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Association's Mygadi chapter said that 50 hotels in Beni have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 tourists. The hoteliers have said they had to send some guests to Baglung and Kusma for lack of rooms in Beni. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Large number of visitors from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Biratnagar, Rupandehi, among other places arrived here after October 15, the main day of Bada Dashain festival. The tourists are reportedly on their way to Mustang via Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Indra Bahadur Nepali said the number of tourists travelling to and from Mustang in motorcycles and private cars has suddenly surged. According to him, more than 500 vehicles are travelling on the Beni-Jomsom road daily since the last two days. Before this, 100 to 150 vehicles used to ply on this road daily. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The surge in tourists has elated the hotel and restaurant operators here in the district. They are hopeful of their business picking up pace after suffering a blow for about two years due to COVID-19 pandemic. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13891', 'image' => '20211019091516_20190109011855_poon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 09:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14145', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Efforts to Bring Back Stolen, Sold Artifacts and Sculptures ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Damodar Gautam, Director General of the Department, told the state-owned national news agency RSS said that efforts are being made in coordination with Nepal's embassies abroad, Interpol and foreign museums to garner information regarding such stolen and sold Nepali artifacts so as to retrieve them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to RSS, the department is also coordinating with concerned authorities in the UK, the USA and France to reclaim such Nepali treasure trove that long have been in these countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Gautam shared that identification of the country of origin of idols of Lord Ganesh and Thanka painting abroad becomes harder since both are also found in India and Tibet respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Many museums abroad and many cultural and historical collectors were found to have kept idols, artifacts and religious materials under 'Nepalese Collection'. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government of Nepal came forward to bring back such cultural properties that were illegally exported or smuggled abroad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department, according to Gautam, faces human resource crunch which has also affected in bringing back such stolen heritages on time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He shared that there are currently 25 staffers at the department that is responsible for protecting and maintain archeological sites, ancient monuments including remains of national importance, museum and archive management. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13890', 'image' => '20211019084532_ynhtjrt0wfk61.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:44:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14144', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Auctions Treasury Bills ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has started selling the treasury bills through the tender process from October 18 in a bid to mobilize short-term loans for the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accordingly, NRB issued treasury bills worth Rs 200 million for a period of 91 days, treasury bills worth Rs 5 billion for a period of 182 days and treasury bills worth Rs 6 billion for a period of 364 days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The treasury bills of 91 days' period will mature on 18 January 2022 while the treasury bill of 182 days' period will be mature on 19 April 2022 and that of 365 days' period will be mature on 18 October 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Before this, NRB had issued treasury bills worth Rs 13.25 billion on October 11. The auctioning of the treasury bills opened online at 3 pm on October 18. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13889', 'image' => '20211019082504_20210420034241_20201106055408_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:24:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14143', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Hits Rs 91,300 per Tola ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to the Dashain festival, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 90,600 per tola. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the price of worked gold has been fixed at Rs 90,800 per tola against Rs 90,150 per tola before Dashain on October 11. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Federation of Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association is the authorised body for determining the prices of gold and silver in the Nepali market based on the price in the international market. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the Federation has set the price of silver at Rs 1,225 per tola yesterday, an increment of Rs 45 per tola compared to last Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13888', 'image' => '20211019081202_20170207035408_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:11:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14142', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'SSF Starts Providing Medical Treatment Facility to Contributors', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kapil Mani Gyawali, executive director of the fund, said that the facility could be availed from three hospitals at the initial stage even though the fund has signed MoUs with more than 100 hospitals to provide such facility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Contributors can avail the medical treatment from National Orthopedic Hospital in Jorpati, Kathmandu, Chitwan’s Old Medical College, and the Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa. The contributors do not have to come to SSF office and submit a bill to claim medical expenses incurred at the three hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gyawali said that the program is ready to be implemented in all the hospitals with whom they have signed MOU within a month and a half. "We are discussing with all the hospitals. Soon, there will be an arrangement to get treatment from more than 100 hospitals based on identity cards," he said. Officials of the fund claim that the contributors can easily get treatment from the hospitals within the prescribed limits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SSF spokesperson, Vivek Panthi, said that discussions are underway in the second phase to provide this facility to the contributors at TU Teaching Hospitals, Maharajgunj, Ganga Lal Hospital, and Bir Hospital. He said that this facility is being promoted with special priority in all the states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the latest statistics, the Social Security Fund has signed MoUs with 19 hospitals in Province 1, 16 in Province 2, 21 in Bagmati Province, 8 in Gandaki Province, 14 in Lumbini Province, 10 in Province 6, and 17 in Sudur Paschim Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Although the signing of new MoUs have slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, SSF officials say they will now move forward at a faster pace. Lately, the Social Security Fund has been trying to remove various obstacles by revising the operation procedure brought in the first phase of the contribution-based social security fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The second amendment has clarified conflicting and ambiguous provisions regarding retirement benefits. Earlier, there was confusion that the contributors could not receive any amount before the retirement age of 60. The provision has been amended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the SSF officials, the previous provision of contributors not getting any benefit if they leave the work has also been revised.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13887', 'image' => '20211018031553_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 15:15:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14141', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Reliance on Foreign Shipping Firms Raising Transportation Cost of Foreign Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although transportation cost is a major factor in foreign trade, the private sector is worried that trade competitiveness is declining due to inability to reduce these shipping costs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, coordinator of FNCCI’s Transport and Transit Committee of Province 2, states that there is monopoly of foreign companies in shipping as the government has been unable to promote private sector in transit service.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Transit is not only the foundation of foreign trade, but also of the economy. However, the government has so far taken it lightly. Indifference to the expansion of infrastructure related to transit services has led to high transportation cost," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to entrepreneurs, India, which is Nepal's largest trading partner, has reduced its transportation cost to fifteen percent and plans to bring it down to 10 percent in the next few years. Compared to this, Nepal’s transportation cost for foreign trade is more than thirty percent. Entrepreneur Pradip Kumar Kedia says that the cost has not come down though the government has sought alternatives to Indian seaport, made procedural improvements, and expanded infrastructure at the border points.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers have been experiencing higher transportation costs despite the improvements in infrastructure and required procedures. “Infrastructure and procedural improvements alone are not enough. Domestic companies should be mobilized in its operation," opined Kedia who is also the former president of FNCCI Birgunj chapter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The volume of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing every year. However, foreign companies dominate the transportation and transit service. "Transit services that take place via third countries through sea, rail and land routes are all offered by international companies. Until now no domestic company has been established to offer cargo services. We are lagging behind in terms of policy," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani suggests the private sector of the country should be promoted to reduce the transportation cost by increasing competition in transit services. Entrepreneur Rajendra Gupta argues that the government has instead discouraged domestic companies through unstable policy. "Without a stable policy, infrastructure of transit services cannot be consolidated. Without any reasonable basis, the government sometimes imposes and removes VAT on transportation services. Such practice creates confusion in trade," shares Gupta. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Navneet Agrawal says that despite some infrastructural and procedural improvements related to transit services in the last few years, the domestic importers have not been able to experience any reform.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13886', 'image' => '20211018025403_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 14:53:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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The task force will have representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministry, Law Ministry, Physical Infrastructure Ministry, Urban Development Ministry, Energy Ministry, Forest Ministry, Land Management and other ministries.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The task force will submit a draft within fifteen days after studying the Public Procurement Act, regulations, bidding documents, suggestions received from various organizations, bodies and experts including the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion held at MoF, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office presented a preliminary draft on the issues to be amended in the Act. As per the proposed provision, it has been recommended to reduce the timeframe for submission of bids for public construction.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The preliminary draft has proposed 35 days for submission of international bids and 21 days for national bids. Likewise, after the application are accepted it has been proposed to reduce the time period for issuing letter of intent as well. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new provision, it takes three days to issue LoI for national bids and seven days for international bids. Representatives of the Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal have submitted a 39-point recommendation letter seeking for further reforms.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Finance Minister Sharma said timely amendment to the Public Procurement Act was necessary to speed up the development activities, ensure quality work and contribute to the national capital by increasing capital expenditure.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He stressed on the need to prepare amendment drafts keeping in view the quality, transparency and competitiveness of development activities. He has also directed to make provisions to give priority to domestic human resources as much as possible while selecting consultants for construction. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During the discussion, Dr Bishwo Nath Poudel, vicecChairman of the National Planning Commission, Chief Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, secretaries of various ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Finance, Public Procurement Monitoring Office, joint secretaries and experts expressed their views over the errors in the Public Procurement Act and regulations. They have asked to prepare a draft of the Public Procurement Act by addressing the concerns over the practice of providing multiple contracts to single contractor, project construction delays for years, delay over procurements due to lack of legal protection among other issues.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13900', 'image' => '20211020111235_AAEAAQA1062x598.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 11:11:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14154', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Active Monsoon Brings Heavy Rain; Sudurpaschim Mostly Affected ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Heavy rainfall in the country in recent days has been caused due to the activation of two weather systems at once, according to meteorologists. </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Abrupt changes in the weather have adversely affected diverse sectors across the country. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepal has recently witnessed the joint impacts of low pressure system active in the Bay of Bengal and Central India now moving to the north and the westerly wind system. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Senior meteorologist Raju Pradhananga told the state-owned RSS that the systems have caused heavy rainfall. It will have impact up to Thursday morning, he said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The weather will gradually open from Thursday afternoon. The system was active since October 17. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The western Nepal, especially Sudur Paschim Province has been badly affected due to the impact of the two systems. The country has focused its attention to relief and rescue of flood and landslide survivors following the heavy rain. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Though detail assessment of loss and damage is yet to be ascertained, natural disaster is reported to have affected over 12 districts. Six people have so far died in the disastrous events. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for the relief and rescue in the needed areas. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13899', 'image' => '20211020105431_20200511091310_Storm.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:09:05', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14152', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '31 Dead, 43 Missing in Floods and Landslides ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days.', 'content' => '<p><em><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A six-lane road in Bhimdutta Municipality of Kanchanpur district damaged by the swollen Mahakali river on Tuesday. Photo: RSS</span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: At least 31 persons have died due to floods and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall in different parts of the country since the last few days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to the latest update provided by the Home Ministry, as many as 43 people have been reported missing in landslides and floods across the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">200 houses have been inundated in Bhimdatta municipality of Kanchanpur. The local administration in Kanchanpur district has said rescue efforts are on in the area. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Mahakali River in Sudurpaschim Province has recorded the highest water level in eight years. The flow of water in the River that divides Nepal and India was measured to be at 547,224 cusec on Tuesday afternoon. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Traffic movement across between Nepal and India through the far-western frontier has been completely shut following the alarming rise in the water level in the River. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13898', 'image' => '20211020080208_SBS_Kanchanpur-1.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:01:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14153', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Directs Concerned Bodies to Gear up Rescue and Relief Efforts', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 20: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed all concerned bodies to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by floods, landslides and inundation following heavy rainfall in various parts of the country. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Following the PM's directive on Tuesday, Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand instructed subordinate bodies of the Ministry to mitigate disaster risk and to protect peoples' life and property from disaster-related incidents. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The home minister has directed all the security bodies and the local administrations to work in coordination for rescue and relief. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel said cloudy weather has developed throughout the country since October 17 and the western region of the country has been affected the most due to flood. </span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Big rivers like Seti, Mahakali, Karnali, West Rapti, among others and their tributaries have been flooded. -- RSS</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-20', 'modified' => '2021-10-20', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13897', 'image' => '20211020080454_20210715115732_adsafd (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-20 08:04:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14151', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Construction of Mahakali Bridge and Dry Port to Enhance Nepal’s trade with India ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Export to India, which accounts for a large share of Nepal's foreign trade, has been increasing through the eastern checkpoint, while it has been declining from the western frontier. The dry port to be built in the western part of Nepal and the Mahakali Bridge currently under construction will connect parts of far-western Nepal to the national road network and is expected to boost Nepal-India trade. The construction of the motorable bridge over the Mahakali River that connects Dodhara-Chandani to the mainland of Nepal is almost 70 percent complete. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, a suspension bridge and roadway from India is used to reach the municipality located in Kanchanpur district of the far-western province. Once the construction of the bride is complete, Dodhara Chandni Municipality can be accessed directly from Mahendranagar. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The 800-meter-long Mahakali bridge will connect more than 50,000 population of Dodhara Chandani Municipality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Spokesperson of the Department of Roads Shiva Prasad Nepal said that it will be easier to travel directly from Mahendranagar through a four-lane motorable bridge after the completion of the bridge. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He said that the bridge from Mahendranagar to Chandni Dodhara is targeted to be completed within the next fiscal year. The cost for the construction of the bridge is Rs 3 billion. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“Along with the road network, a dry port will also be built,” Nepal said, adding, “The bridge is expected to act as a gateway to western Nepal's trade.” The bridge was inaugurated by the current Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2074 BS. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">An official of the department said that although the bridge was supposed to be completed in three years, the construction has been delayed due to Covid-19 and technical reasons. Western Nepal is very close to Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and other states of India. It is estimated that this will play a big role in the trade between Nepal and India and will also facilitate in bringing down the cost of export and import. At present, higher exports from Birgunj and Biratnagar are done and more imports from Bhairahawa customs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The government had also put forward the concept of constructing Dodhara Chandni dry port in 2068 BS to facilitate trade from the far western state. However, so far the government has not been able to acquire the land required for the port. A report was prepared in 2072 BS after a field study by a group including the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and other concerned agencies. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13896', 'image' => '20211019020501_10453460_787458074651379_6365892886777233625_n.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 14:04:14', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14150', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Over 2 Dozen Bills Stuck in Parliament due to Obstruction from CPN-UML', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Over two dozen bills related to investment and development have been stuck in the parliament due to the obstruction caused by the main opposition party CPN-UML. The law-making process, which was affected by the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the previous government twice, has not been able to move forward even months after it was reinstated by the Supreme Court. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">After the parliament proceedings resumed, the Railway Bill was withdrawn by the government and the replacement budget was introduced. Other than this, the house proceedings have remained obstructed. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the Parliament Secretariat, fifty bills related to economic and social issues are currently under consideration in both the houses of parliament. Among them, more than three dozen of the bills are in the House of Representatives, which has been stranded due to the obstruction by the opposition party.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bills related to construction and development of national priority projects, export-import regulation, public procurement, competition, promotion and market protection bill, drinking water and sanitation, customs bill, credit protection and other bills have been registered in the House of Representatives and the process of endorsing them has not gathered any momentum.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Insurance Bill, Information Technology Bill, Public Debt Management Bill were under discussion in various committees of the parliament. After the restoration of the parliament, the insurance bill was discussed in the Finance Committee only once, but it has not been finalized yet.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Krishna Prasad Dahal, President of the Finance Committee said that clause-wise discussions on the bills could not be held due to the dissolution of parliament, Covid-19, and festivals.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rojnath Pandey, Spokesperson of the Parliament Secretariat, said there is no alternative to start house proceedings after reaching consensus among all parties. He informed that the parliamentary panels are prepared to speed up the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At present, the Immigration Bill, two bills related to the Civil Aviation Authority, Statistics Bill, Prevention of Corruption Bill, Investigation of Abuse of Authority (Third Amendment) Bill, Social Security (First Amendment) Bill are gathering dust in the National Assembly.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Former Finance Secretary Shantaraj Subedi argues that when the lawmaking process is affected, it will also affect the overall investment environment. If laws are not formed in time, the national goals put forward by the government will be affected and even private and foreign investors will be reluctant to invest due to lack of investment-friendly laws.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Economist Keshav Acharya says it is unfortunate that the lawmaking process is affected despite having the parliament. He believes that the former prime minister influenced the lawmaking process by dissolving parliament on grounds of inter-party conflicts while the current PM has failed to reach consensus among political parties to move ahead with the lawmaking process. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota had tried to end the stalemate in the parliament by calling all-party meetings separately before Dashain but the CPN UML boycotted the meetings. CPN-UML has been insisting that one-on-one talks should be held between UML Chairman KP Oli, the government and the Speaker of the parliament. </span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13895', 'image' => '20211019014936_Parliament.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:48:44', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14149', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'DoTM to Resume Printing Drivers’ License Cards in One and a Half Months', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: Printing of driver's license card, which had been halted for a long time due to technical problem, is expected to resume within a month and a half. The cards could not be printed for a long time since the card did not fit in the mass printer.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said that the printing of driving license had been halted as the mass printer was purchased from one company and the card was purchased from another company. Director General Namaraj Ghimire said that they are ready to bring the card as it is now compatible with the mass printers. "We are in the process of bringing the card," he said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">DoTM informed that 1.4 million cards will be brought in the first phase and the problem of distributing license will be solved immediately. Ghimire assured that care will be taken not to repeat the same mistakes in the coming days. He also said considering the technical problems faced now, all the aspects would be taken into consideration when signing contracts in the future.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The “smart' driver's license”, which was introduced for the convenience of the service seekers, is not working as expected. Due to various problems, the service seekers are not able to get the license on time. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Previously, due to the limited capacity of the equipment, the service seekers could not get the license on time. Two years ago, the department had bought a mass printer with large capacity and one million cards from the same company. DoTM has only one or two thousand cards remaining. Due to the scarcity of cards, the department is printing licenses only for those who are in dire need. Transportation offices have started issuing temporary driver's licenses for one year because of the shortage of printing cards.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13894', 'image' => '20211019013649_Qualifications-for-Driving-License-Application-in-Nepal.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 13:36:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14148', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Loss of Nepal Oil Corporation Expected to Rise', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 19: The loss of the Nepal Oil Corporation has increased with the continuous rise in the price of petroleum products in the international market.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The price of petroleum product has skyrocketed worldwide due to the unnatural rise in the price of crude oil in the world market. The price of crude oil in the international market reached US$ 85.58 per barrel on Monday.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the latest price list sent by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on October 16, the NOC’s losses are expected to increase further. Spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya informed that the fortnightly loss of the corporation is projected to exceed Rs 2.22 billion as per the price list received from IOC on September 15.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the new price list sent by the IOC, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.77 per liter and diesel and domestic and international aviation fuel by Rs 7.9 per liter.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has to purchase petrol for Rs 145 per liter, diesel for Rs 127.16 per liter, kerosene for Rs 93.41 per liter, domestic aviation fuel for Rs 90.56 per liter, international aviation fuel for Rs 82.13 per liter, and LP gas for Rs 1,961.88 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">However, the retail price of petrol in Kathmandu has been fixed at Rs 130 per liter. Similarly, the price of diesel and kerosene has been fixed at Rs 113 per liter, domestic aviation fuel at Rs 86 per liter, and LP gas at Rs 1,450 per cylinder.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The corporation will have to bear a loss of Rs 15 per liter on sale of petrol, Rs 14.16 for diesel sales, Rs 4.56 per liter for the sale of domestic aviation fuel, and Rs 511.88 per cylinder of LP gas.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NOC has a modest profit only on kerosene and international aviation fuel. The corporation earns Rs 19.59 per liter from the sale of kerosene and Rs 10.37 per liter from the sale of international aviation fuel.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Rising fuel prices in the global market have hampered the corporation's efforts to reduce losses. The increase in purchase price has added a challenge to the corporation, which has been making a profit by reducing past losses. The corporation had gradually turned to a profitable organisation by repaying a loan of Rs 37 billion six or seven years ago. Last year, the corporation again incurred a loss of around Rs 3 billion. Spokesperson Upadhyaya said that the corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 6 billion in the last three months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">It is feared that the supply of petroleum may be disrupted as the corporation is running at a huge loss. While the corporation is constantly running at a loss, it can also affect the supply system, said a corporation official.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> <br /> <br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13893', 'image' => '20211019125210_20210707102647_20190503125003_Petrol-Price-Increase (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:50:52', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14147', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'PM Deuba to lead Nepali Delegation during COP26 in Glasgow', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to leave for the UK in the first week of November to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change that is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">October 19: A meeting of the Council of Ministers has decided to form a delegation led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to attend the 'world leaders' summit' on climate change to be held in Glasgow of the United Kingdom (UK). <br /> The 26th Conference of Party (COP-26) on climate change is taking place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki confirmed that the cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to form a delegation led by the Prime Minister to attend the World Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change in Glasgow. PM Deuba will leave for Gasgow in the first week of November.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">This conference would be the first foreign tour of Deuba after being appointed as the new Prime Minister.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Since PM Deuba is attending the conference under the UN in the UK, his visit will not be bilateral.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13892', 'image' => '20211019122646_cop.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 12:25:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14146', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Hotels and Lodges in Myagdi Filled with Domestic Tourists ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">October 19: <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The hotels and lodges in Myagdi district are full of domestic tourists who have arrived for visiting various tourism destinations in Myagdi as well as Mustang districts. The arrival of tourists has surged immediately after the Dashain festival. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"The hotels and lodges here are full of tourists. Visitors in such big numbers have arrived after two years," said Baburam Acharya, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Entrepreneurs Association, Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to Acharya, the hotels and lodges in Beni, Galeshwor, Pokharebagar, Bhurung-Tatopani, Dana, Ghorepani and Singa are filled with domestic tourists. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Association's Mygadi chapter said that 50 hotels in Beni have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 tourists. The hoteliers have said they had to send some guests to Baglung and Kusma for lack of rooms in Beni. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Large number of visitors from Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Biratnagar, Rupandehi, among other places arrived here after October 15, the main day of Bada Dashain festival. The tourists are reportedly on their way to Mustang via Myagdi. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Indra Bahadur Nepali said the number of tourists travelling to and from Mustang in motorcycles and private cars has suddenly surged. According to him, more than 500 vehicles are travelling on the Beni-Jomsom road daily since the last two days. Before this, 100 to 150 vehicles used to ply on this road daily. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The surge in tourists has elated the hotel and restaurant operators here in the district. They are hopeful of their business picking up pace after suffering a blow for about two years due to COVID-19 pandemic. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13891', 'image' => '20211019091516_20190109011855_poon.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 09:14:49', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14145', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Efforts to Bring Back Stolen, Sold Artifacts and Sculptures ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The Department of Archeology is effortful to bring back idols, sculptures and artifacts that were stolen and illegally sold from Nepal over a period of time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Damodar Gautam, Director General of the Department, told the state-owned national news agency RSS said that efforts are being made in coordination with Nepal's embassies abroad, Interpol and foreign museums to garner information regarding such stolen and sold Nepali artifacts so as to retrieve them. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">According to RSS, the department is also coordinating with concerned authorities in the UK, the USA and France to reclaim such Nepali treasure trove that long have been in these countries. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Gautam shared that identification of the country of origin of idols of Lord Ganesh and Thanka painting abroad becomes harder since both are also found in India and Tibet respectively. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Many museums abroad and many cultural and historical collectors were found to have kept idols, artifacts and religious materials under 'Nepalese Collection'. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government of Nepal came forward to bring back such cultural properties that were illegally exported or smuggled abroad. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The department, according to Gautam, faces human resource crunch which has also affected in bringing back such stolen heritages on time. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He shared that there are currently 25 staffers at the department that is responsible for protecting and maintain archeological sites, ancient monuments including remains of national importance, museum and archive management. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13890', 'image' => '20211019084532_ynhtjrt0wfk61.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:44:57', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14144', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NRB Auctions Treasury Bills ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has initiated the process to auction treasury bills worth Rs 11.20 billion. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The central bank has started selling the treasury bills through the tender process from October 18 in a bid to mobilize short-term loans for the government. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Accordingly, NRB issued treasury bills worth Rs 200 million for a period of 91 days, treasury bills worth Rs 5 billion for a period of 182 days and treasury bills worth Rs 6 billion for a period of 364 days. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The treasury bills of 91 days' period will mature on 18 January 2022 while the treasury bill of 182 days' period will be mature on 19 April 2022 and that of 365 days' period will be mature on 18 October 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Before this, NRB had issued treasury bills worth Rs 13.25 billion on October 11. The auctioning of the treasury bills opened online at 3 pm on October 18. -- RSS </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13889', 'image' => '20211019082504_20210420034241_20201106055408_Nepal_Rastra_Bank2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:24:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14143', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Gold Price Hits Rs 91,300 per Tola ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">October 19: The price of hallmark gold has been fixed at Rs 91,300 per tola (equivalent to 11.66 grams) in the domestic market, as of Monday (October 18).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Prior to the Dashain festival, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 90,600 per tola. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the price of worked gold has been fixed at Rs 90,800 per tola against Rs 90,150 per tola before Dashain on October 11. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Federation of Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association is the authorised body for determining the prices of gold and silver in the Nepali market based on the price in the international market. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Likewise, the Federation has set the price of silver at Rs 1,225 per tola yesterday, an increment of Rs 45 per tola compared to last Monday. -- RSS </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-19', 'modified' => '2021-10-19', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13888', 'image' => '20211019081202_20170207035408_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-19 08:11:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14142', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'SSF Starts Providing Medical Treatment Facility to Contributors', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">October 18: The Social Security Fund (SSF) has started providing medical treatment facility to the contributors upon showing their identity cards at few select hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Kapil Mani Gyawali, executive director of the fund, said that the facility could be availed from three hospitals at the initial stage even though the fund has signed MoUs with more than 100 hospitals to provide such facility.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Contributors can avail the medical treatment from National Orthopedic Hospital in Jorpati, Kathmandu, Chitwan’s Old Medical College, and the Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa. The contributors do not have to come to SSF office and submit a bill to claim medical expenses incurred at the three hospitals.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Gyawali said that the program is ready to be implemented in all the hospitals with whom they have signed MOU within a month and a half. "We are discussing with all the hospitals. Soon, there will be an arrangement to get treatment from more than 100 hospitals based on identity cards," he said. Officials of the fund claim that the contributors can easily get treatment from the hospitals within the prescribed limits.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SSF spokesperson, Vivek Panthi, said that discussions are underway in the second phase to provide this facility to the contributors at TU Teaching Hospitals, Maharajgunj, Ganga Lal Hospital, and Bir Hospital. He said that this facility is being promoted with special priority in all the states.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the latest statistics, the Social Security Fund has signed MoUs with 19 hospitals in Province 1, 16 in Province 2, 21 in Bagmati Province, 8 in Gandaki Province, 14 in Lumbini Province, 10 in Province 6, and 17 in Sudur Paschim Province.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Although the signing of new MoUs have slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, SSF officials say they will now move forward at a faster pace. Lately, the Social Security Fund has been trying to remove various obstacles by revising the operation procedure brought in the first phase of the contribution-based social security fund.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The second amendment has clarified conflicting and ambiguous provisions regarding retirement benefits. Earlier, there was confusion that the contributors could not receive any amount before the retirement age of 60. The provision has been amended.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">According to the SSF officials, the previous provision of contributors not getting any benefit if they leave the work has also been revised.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13887', 'image' => '20211018031553_SSF (1).jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 15:15:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '14141', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Heavy Reliance on Foreign Shipping Firms Raising Transportation Cost of Foreign Trade', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">October 18: Stakeholders have expressed concerns that the transportation cost of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing significantly due to high dependence on foreign shipping firms. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Although transportation cost is a major factor in foreign trade, the private sector is worried that trade competitiveness is declining due to inability to reduce these shipping costs. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Ashok Kumar Temani, coordinator of FNCCI’s Transport and Transit Committee of Province 2, states that there is monopoly of foreign companies in shipping as the government has been unable to promote private sector in transit service.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Transit is not only the foundation of foreign trade, but also of the economy. However, the government has so far taken it lightly. Indifference to the expansion of infrastructure related to transit services has led to high transportation cost," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to entrepreneurs, India, which is Nepal's largest trading partner, has reduced its transportation cost to fifteen percent and plans to bring it down to 10 percent in the next few years. Compared to this, Nepal’s transportation cost for foreign trade is more than thirty percent. Entrepreneur Pradip Kumar Kedia says that the cost has not come down though the government has sought alternatives to Indian seaport, made procedural improvements, and expanded infrastructure at the border points.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importers have been experiencing higher transportation costs despite the improvements in infrastructure and required procedures. “Infrastructure and procedural improvements alone are not enough. Domestic companies should be mobilized in its operation," opined Kedia who is also the former president of FNCCI Birgunj chapter. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The volume of Nepal's foreign trade is increasing every year. However, foreign companies dominate the transportation and transit service. "Transit services that take place via third countries through sea, rail and land routes are all offered by international companies. Until now no domestic company has been established to offer cargo services. We are lagging behind in terms of policy," said Temani.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Temani suggests the private sector of the country should be promoted to reduce the transportation cost by increasing competition in transit services. Entrepreneur Rajendra Gupta argues that the government has instead discouraged domestic companies through unstable policy. "Without a stable policy, infrastructure of transit services cannot be consolidated. Without any reasonable basis, the government sometimes imposes and removes VAT on transportation services. Such practice creates confusion in trade," shares Gupta. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Importer Navneet Agrawal says that despite some infrastructural and procedural improvements related to transit services in the last few years, the domestic importers have not been able to experience any reform.</span></span></span></p> <p><br /> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2021-10-18', 'modified' => '2021-10-18', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '13886', 'image' => '20211018025403_20200421011816_1587419377.jpg', 'article_date' => '2021-10-18 14:53:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
