Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter

Oct 21, 2020 0 3 minutes 8 seconds to read

October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a…

FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital

Oct 21, 2020 0 1 minutes 53 seconds to read

October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in…

Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees

Oct 20, 2020 0 3 minutes 29 seconds to read

October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private…

104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus

Oct 20, 2020 0 2 minutes 2 seconds to read

October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic.…

Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal

Oct 20, 2020 0 3 minutes 29 seconds to read

October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor…

Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund

Oct 20, 2020 0 3 minutes 8 seconds to read

October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing…

DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road

Oct 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 35 seconds to read

October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital…

Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging

Oct 19, 2020 0 3 minutes 11 seconds to read

October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.…

Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months

Oct 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 19 seconds to read

October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production.…

Import of Mobile Phones Increasing

Oct 19, 2020 0 2 minutes 52 seconds to read

October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.…

Production of Flowers for Tihar Decline this Year

Oct 18, 2020 0 2 minutes 37 seconds to read

October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year.…

Government Struggles to Spend 15 Percent of Budget in First Quarter

Oct 18, 2020 0 3 minutes 25 seconds to read

October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal…

Government Lifts Ban on Arrival of Int’l Tourists

Oct 18, 2020 0 3 minutes 29 seconds to read

October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic.…

BFIs Fix their Interest Rates on Term Loans

Oct 16, 2020 0 4 minutes 10 seconds to read

October 16: ßBanks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October…

Domestic Tourism an Alternative for Nepal’s Tourism Industry

Oct 16, 2020 0 2 minutes 29 seconds to read

October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal's tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus…

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The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

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NEPSE

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			'id' => '12621',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office that keeps the records of government&rsquo;s income and expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12619',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn&rsquo;t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks&rsquo; regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn&rsquo;t been affected.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12618',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn&rsquo;t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days&rsquo; interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12617',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal',
			'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Nepal&rsquo;s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in&nbsp; foreign loan.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in&nbsp; FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,&rdquo; says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government&rsquo;s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12616',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government&rsquo;s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return&nbsp; the amount.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into &ldquo;high dependency units&rdquo; within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal&rsquo;s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12614',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank&rsquo;s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal&nbsp; year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal year.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12615',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.&nbsp;Even though the Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans.&nbsp;However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public.&nbsp;However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent.&nbsp;But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future.&nbsp;He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&quot;As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates.&nbsp;This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days.&nbsp;&quot;The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent,&quot; he said.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future.&nbsp;However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take.&nbsp;This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year.&nbsp;In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period.&nbsp;There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12613',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.&rdquo; The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12612',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers&rsquo; Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of&nbsp; last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government&rsquo;s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12611',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Flowers for Tihar Decline this Year ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), the stakeholders are preparing to sell 1.5 million garlands this year, which is 300,000 less than last year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the production of flowers has decreased this year as the floriculture farmers have shifted to vegetable farming. Marigold and globe amaranth (makhamali) flowers worth Rs 2.2 million are normally consumed every year in Nepal during Tihar. According to FAN, this year the production may be 700,000 less than the demand. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the president of FAN Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, the demand for garlands is expected to decline this year. &ldquo;Around 1.5 million garlands are expected to be consumed, and we are preparing accordingly,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">While 10,000 to 15,000 garlands were sold every day in Nepal during the normal days, statistics of the association shows that only 3,000 to 5,000 garlands are sold in a day now. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Last year in Tihar, marigold garlands were sold at Rs 55 to Rs 70 per piece. The association said that if the demand is like that of last year, the price is likely to increase. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, Sushil Khadka, coordinator of the Cut Flower Grower Committee, said that there would be no shortage of flowers during the festival even if the production is low. According to him, about 25 kg of seeds were distributed to the farmers in June to prevent shortage of flowers during the festival and to replace the import of Indian flowers. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">As per the statistics of the association, floriculture is done in 43 districts of Nepal with a total investment of Rs 6 billion. This business has provided employment to more than 700 entrepreneurs and 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, due to the lockdown, 30 percent of the workers in the flower business have lost their jobs. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12610',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Struggles to Spend 15 Percent of Budget in First Quarter ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had announced to lift the restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus and revitalize the economy as well as carry on with the development works. But the budget spent so far shows that the government&rsquo;s effort has been ineffective.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office which keeps the record of government expenditures, the government has been able to spend only Rs 201 billion out of the annual budget of Rs 1474 billion, which is just 13.63 percent of the total budget.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The current expenditure of the government in the first three months of the current fiscal year is Rs 182 billion. The capital expenditure is just Rs 15.4 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 178 billion including Rs 156 billion in recurrent expenditure and Rs 18.36 in capital expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office says that the recurrent expenditure is high because the expenses for controlling coronavirus pandemic has increased this year. Meanwhile, the capital expenditure has been low because there isn&rsquo;t any construction works going around.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has allocated Rs 352 billion for development works this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the first quarter, the government has spent Rs 3.41 billion to repay the loan and interest to donor agencies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang says that the low expenditure of budget in the first quarter is due to the coronavirus pandemic and the delay in legal procedures. Minister Nembang says that the government is preparing to remove the bureaucratic red tape to speed up the budget expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contracts of small and petty projects have already have already signed in the first quarter while the contracts of big projects are yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, the development works have been obstructed by coronavirus and secondly, the procurement process is lengthy and complicated. Therefore, the results are not that impressive in the first quarter,&rdquo; said Minister Nembang.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Minister Nambang, the process of initiating big projects will be started soon and the results will be &nbsp;seen in the second quarter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12609',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Lifts Ban on Arrival of Int’l Tourists ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the country has been recording high number of daily infections, the government has decided to welcome international tourists in Nepal for trekking and mountaineering effective from October 17.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government had earlier decided to allow foreign tourists on condition that they produce PCR test report while entering the country. But it will take at least a month for the arrival of all kinds of tourists.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">For the time being, special attention has been given to tourists opting for trekking and mountaineering but they have to remain in hotel quarantine for seven days. They have to undergo PCR test again after completing the seven-day quarantine before they can visit different places of the country. This is likely to affect the arrival of tourists, argue tourism entrepreneurs. Tourism entrepreneurs however have demanded that tourists should only be quarantined for three days and then retested before they begin their tour. &nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government has also decided to resume the on-arrival visa service, which was closed since March 18.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Citizens from all other countries except Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Somalia, Cameroon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria can obtain on-arrival visa upon landing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The tourism industry of Nepal has remained closed since the lockdown was first announced on March 24 this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists, President of Hotel Association of Nepal Shreejana Rana says they are not expecting the anticipated numbers of tourists right now.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">She stated that the hotels are ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists but argues that the visitors are not likely to arrive anytime soon because their health security is of greater concern at the moment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Rana, seven-day quarantine for tourists is quite lengthy. She added that they have urged the government to reconsider its decision regarding this issue. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nevertheless, she said that the government&rsquo;s decision to welcome tourists by adopting safety measures was a welcome move.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Although the government has decided to allow the entry of tourists, we are skeptical that the foreigners will visit Nepal in the same numbers as before because the rate of infection is rising here,&rdquo; said Rana, adding, &ldquo;Right now, we have to focus more on domestic tourists rather than international tourists.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">\</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'BFIs Fix their Interest Rates on Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => 'The rates have been determined within the range of 10-13 percent',
			'summary' => 'October 16: ßBanks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 16: &szlig;Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.</span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As per the direction given by the central bank to the BFIs to publish their stable interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), Mega Bank, Himalayan Bank and Machhapuchhre Bank have published their fixed interest rates on personal loans for up to 15 years.&nbsp;These banks have fixed the interest rates for term loans within the range of 10 percent and 13 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In addition, other banks and financial institutions have also started their final homework to make the fixed interest rate public by October 16. Mega Bank has maintained a fixed interest rate by adding 5 percent premium to their base rate (8.30 percent) on all types of personal loans with more than one year to maturity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Machhapuchhre Bank has fixed the interest rate at 9.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of up to 5 years, 10.89 percent for home loans for maturity period from 5 to 10 years and 11.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of more than 10 years.&nbsp;Interest for auto and hire-purchase loans has been fixed at 9.99 percent for the maturity period up to 5 years and 10.99 percent for maturity period ranging from 5 to 10 years.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">For five-year maturity period, Himalayan Bank has fixed the interest rate of personal home loan at 9.89 percent, convenience loan and education loan at 9.99 percent and other collateral loan at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Similarly, for loans with a maturity period ranging from 5-10 years, the bank has fixed the interest rates of home loans at 10.99 percent and convenience loans and education loans also at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Likewise, for a maturity period of 10-15 years, interest rates for home loans has been fixed at 12.14 percent. Sushil Joshi, Chief Information Officer of the bank says that different interest rates have been fixed for different periods of hire-purchase loans. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Joshi, who is also the general manager of Himalayan Bank, said that the bank fixed their interest rates by observing the interest rate on deposits and loans in the past.&nbsp;&quot;Mismatches can happen in Nepal as you do not get long-term deposits.&nbsp;Most of the ten-year institutional deposits have been kept by only by insurance companies. Long-term personal deposits don&#39;t really come in,&quot; he told New Business Age, adding, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we compared the deposits and fixed the interest rates by adding a little margin to the loan rates.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Other banks are also likely to set their fixed interest rates in a similar pattern.&nbsp;At present, it seems that the fixed rates will be expensive for the customers.&nbsp;As there is no demand for loans in the market right now, the banks are giving home and auto loans at or below their base rate, which comes around 7.7 to 9 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Since the fixed interest rate, which was initially high, will not go higher in the future, the borrower does not need to worry about the increment on rates.&nbsp;However, NRB has also made an arrangement that allows the customers to not opt for the fixed interest rate.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Banks have been announcing their fixed interest rates to comply with the directive given by the central bank, but the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association has said that it is not practical and has suggested to fix a fixed interest rate only for a maximum of five years. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, says that they are busy in determining their fixed interest rate even though the suggestion by the association is under consideration.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuwan Kumar Dahal says that Sanima Bank is also in final stage of fixing their interest rates.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12607',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Domestic Tourism an Alternative for Nepal’s Tourism Industry',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal's tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal&#39;s tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic. They said so at a tourism dialogue program on &#39;Sustainable Internal Tourism: First Step for Tourism Revival&#39; organized by Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF) Nepal on Thursday. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">They believe that the emphasis should be on domestic tourism for the time being as the coronavirus&rsquo; impact is unlikely to decline and international tourists are eager to know about health care. They further say that everyone should give special attention to compliance with the health standards set by the government as the infection has been rising. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Speaking at the program, Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), said that although the hotels are prepared for any kind of situation, the focus should be given on promoting domestic tourism at the national level as the international tourists are still in &lsquo;wait and watch&rsquo; situation.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">She further said an integrated approach should be taken for the promotion of domestic tourism by coordinating among all the stakeholders. Captain Rameshwor Thapa, president of Airline Operators Association of Nepalsaid that although the airlines sector was more affected due to coronavirus, there has been some relief after the domestic flights were resumed. He said that they had been requesting the government to start the operation of flights by applying health and safety standards. He further said that the public was able to travel comfortably and no one has been infected. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Deepak Raj Joshi, coordinator of the Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF), pointed out to the need for coordination among the three levels of government for the promotion of domestic tourism. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the HAN Pokhara Chapter, Bikal Tulachan, said that there was no alternative but to focus on domestic tourism to keep the economic activities going on. He opined that along with Pokhara, Lumbini and Chitwan other connected destinations should be promoted.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office that keeps the records of government&rsquo;s income and expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12619',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn&rsquo;t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks&rsquo; regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn&rsquo;t been affected.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12618',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn&rsquo;t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days&rsquo; interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12617',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal',
			'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Nepal&rsquo;s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in&nbsp; foreign loan.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in&nbsp; FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,&rdquo; says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government&rsquo;s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12616',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government&rsquo;s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return&nbsp; the amount.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into &ldquo;high dependency units&rdquo; within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal&rsquo;s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12614',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank&rsquo;s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal&nbsp; year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal year.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12615',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.&nbsp;Even though the Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans.&nbsp;However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public.&nbsp;However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent.&nbsp;But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future.&nbsp;He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&quot;As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates.&nbsp;This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days.&nbsp;&quot;The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent,&quot; he said.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future.&nbsp;However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take.&nbsp;This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year.&nbsp;In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period.&nbsp;There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12613',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.&rdquo; The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12612',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers&rsquo; Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of&nbsp; last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government&rsquo;s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12611',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Flowers for Tihar Decline this Year ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), the stakeholders are preparing to sell 1.5 million garlands this year, which is 300,000 less than last year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the production of flowers has decreased this year as the floriculture farmers have shifted to vegetable farming. Marigold and globe amaranth (makhamali) flowers worth Rs 2.2 million are normally consumed every year in Nepal during Tihar. According to FAN, this year the production may be 700,000 less than the demand. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the president of FAN Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, the demand for garlands is expected to decline this year. &ldquo;Around 1.5 million garlands are expected to be consumed, and we are preparing accordingly,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">While 10,000 to 15,000 garlands were sold every day in Nepal during the normal days, statistics of the association shows that only 3,000 to 5,000 garlands are sold in a day now. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Last year in Tihar, marigold garlands were sold at Rs 55 to Rs 70 per piece. The association said that if the demand is like that of last year, the price is likely to increase. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, Sushil Khadka, coordinator of the Cut Flower Grower Committee, said that there would be no shortage of flowers during the festival even if the production is low. According to him, about 25 kg of seeds were distributed to the farmers in June to prevent shortage of flowers during the festival and to replace the import of Indian flowers. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">As per the statistics of the association, floriculture is done in 43 districts of Nepal with a total investment of Rs 6 billion. This business has provided employment to more than 700 entrepreneurs and 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, due to the lockdown, 30 percent of the workers in the flower business have lost their jobs. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12610',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Struggles to Spend 15 Percent of Budget in First Quarter ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had announced to lift the restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus and revitalize the economy as well as carry on with the development works. But the budget spent so far shows that the government&rsquo;s effort has been ineffective.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office which keeps the record of government expenditures, the government has been able to spend only Rs 201 billion out of the annual budget of Rs 1474 billion, which is just 13.63 percent of the total budget.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The current expenditure of the government in the first three months of the current fiscal year is Rs 182 billion. The capital expenditure is just Rs 15.4 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 178 billion including Rs 156 billion in recurrent expenditure and Rs 18.36 in capital expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office says that the recurrent expenditure is high because the expenses for controlling coronavirus pandemic has increased this year. Meanwhile, the capital expenditure has been low because there isn&rsquo;t any construction works going around.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has allocated Rs 352 billion for development works this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the first quarter, the government has spent Rs 3.41 billion to repay the loan and interest to donor agencies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang says that the low expenditure of budget in the first quarter is due to the coronavirus pandemic and the delay in legal procedures. Minister Nembang says that the government is preparing to remove the bureaucratic red tape to speed up the budget expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contracts of small and petty projects have already have already signed in the first quarter while the contracts of big projects are yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, the development works have been obstructed by coronavirus and secondly, the procurement process is lengthy and complicated. Therefore, the results are not that impressive in the first quarter,&rdquo; said Minister Nembang.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Minister Nambang, the process of initiating big projects will be started soon and the results will be &nbsp;seen in the second quarter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12609',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Lifts Ban on Arrival of Int’l Tourists ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the country has been recording high number of daily infections, the government has decided to welcome international tourists in Nepal for trekking and mountaineering effective from October 17.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government had earlier decided to allow foreign tourists on condition that they produce PCR test report while entering the country. But it will take at least a month for the arrival of all kinds of tourists.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">For the time being, special attention has been given to tourists opting for trekking and mountaineering but they have to remain in hotel quarantine for seven days. They have to undergo PCR test again after completing the seven-day quarantine before they can visit different places of the country. This is likely to affect the arrival of tourists, argue tourism entrepreneurs. Tourism entrepreneurs however have demanded that tourists should only be quarantined for three days and then retested before they begin their tour. &nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government has also decided to resume the on-arrival visa service, which was closed since March 18.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Citizens from all other countries except Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Somalia, Cameroon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria can obtain on-arrival visa upon landing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The tourism industry of Nepal has remained closed since the lockdown was first announced on March 24 this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists, President of Hotel Association of Nepal Shreejana Rana says they are not expecting the anticipated numbers of tourists right now.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">She stated that the hotels are ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists but argues that the visitors are not likely to arrive anytime soon because their health security is of greater concern at the moment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Rana, seven-day quarantine for tourists is quite lengthy. She added that they have urged the government to reconsider its decision regarding this issue. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nevertheless, she said that the government&rsquo;s decision to welcome tourists by adopting safety measures was a welcome move.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Although the government has decided to allow the entry of tourists, we are skeptical that the foreigners will visit Nepal in the same numbers as before because the rate of infection is rising here,&rdquo; said Rana, adding, &ldquo;Right now, we have to focus more on domestic tourists rather than international tourists.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">\</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12608',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'BFIs Fix their Interest Rates on Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => 'The rates have been determined within the range of 10-13 percent',
			'summary' => 'October 16: ßBanks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 16: &szlig;Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.</span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As per the direction given by the central bank to the BFIs to publish their stable interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), Mega Bank, Himalayan Bank and Machhapuchhre Bank have published their fixed interest rates on personal loans for up to 15 years.&nbsp;These banks have fixed the interest rates for term loans within the range of 10 percent and 13 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In addition, other banks and financial institutions have also started their final homework to make the fixed interest rate public by October 16. Mega Bank has maintained a fixed interest rate by adding 5 percent premium to their base rate (8.30 percent) on all types of personal loans with more than one year to maturity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Machhapuchhre Bank has fixed the interest rate at 9.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of up to 5 years, 10.89 percent for home loans for maturity period from 5 to 10 years and 11.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of more than 10 years.&nbsp;Interest for auto and hire-purchase loans has been fixed at 9.99 percent for the maturity period up to 5 years and 10.99 percent for maturity period ranging from 5 to 10 years.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">For five-year maturity period, Himalayan Bank has fixed the interest rate of personal home loan at 9.89 percent, convenience loan and education loan at 9.99 percent and other collateral loan at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Similarly, for loans with a maturity period ranging from 5-10 years, the bank has fixed the interest rates of home loans at 10.99 percent and convenience loans and education loans also at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Likewise, for a maturity period of 10-15 years, interest rates for home loans has been fixed at 12.14 percent. Sushil Joshi, Chief Information Officer of the bank says that different interest rates have been fixed for different periods of hire-purchase loans. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Joshi, who is also the general manager of Himalayan Bank, said that the bank fixed their interest rates by observing the interest rate on deposits and loans in the past.&nbsp;&quot;Mismatches can happen in Nepal as you do not get long-term deposits.&nbsp;Most of the ten-year institutional deposits have been kept by only by insurance companies. Long-term personal deposits don&#39;t really come in,&quot; he told New Business Age, adding, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we compared the deposits and fixed the interest rates by adding a little margin to the loan rates.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Other banks are also likely to set their fixed interest rates in a similar pattern.&nbsp;At present, it seems that the fixed rates will be expensive for the customers.&nbsp;As there is no demand for loans in the market right now, the banks are giving home and auto loans at or below their base rate, which comes around 7.7 to 9 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Since the fixed interest rate, which was initially high, will not go higher in the future, the borrower does not need to worry about the increment on rates.&nbsp;However, NRB has also made an arrangement that allows the customers to not opt for the fixed interest rate.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Banks have been announcing their fixed interest rates to comply with the directive given by the central bank, but the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association has said that it is not practical and has suggested to fix a fixed interest rate only for a maximum of five years. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, says that they are busy in determining their fixed interest rate even though the suggestion by the association is under consideration.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuwan Kumar Dahal says that Sanima Bank is also in final stage of fixing their interest rates.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Domestic Tourism an Alternative for Nepal’s Tourism Industry',
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			'summary' => 'October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal's tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal&#39;s tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic. They said so at a tourism dialogue program on &#39;Sustainable Internal Tourism: First Step for Tourism Revival&#39; organized by Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF) Nepal on Thursday. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">They believe that the emphasis should be on domestic tourism for the time being as the coronavirus&rsquo; impact is unlikely to decline and international tourists are eager to know about health care. They further say that everyone should give special attention to compliance with the health standards set by the government as the infection has been rising. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Speaking at the program, Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), said that although the hotels are prepared for any kind of situation, the focus should be given on promoting domestic tourism at the national level as the international tourists are still in &lsquo;wait and watch&rsquo; situation.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">She further said an integrated approach should be taken for the promotion of domestic tourism by coordinating among all the stakeholders. Captain Rameshwor Thapa, president of Airline Operators Association of Nepalsaid that although the airlines sector was more affected due to coronavirus, there has been some relief after the domestic flights were resumed. He said that they had been requesting the government to start the operation of flights by applying health and safety standards. He further said that the public was able to travel comfortably and no one has been infected. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Deepak Raj Joshi, coordinator of the Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF), pointed out to the need for coordination among the three levels of government for the promotion of domestic tourism. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the HAN Pokhara Chapter, Bikal Tulachan, said that there was no alternative but to focus on domestic tourism to keep the economic activities going on. He opined that along with Pokhara, Lumbini and Chitwan other connected destinations should be promoted.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12621',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office that keeps the records of government&rsquo;s income and expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12620',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12619',
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			'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn&rsquo;t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks&rsquo; regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn&rsquo;t been affected.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12618',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn&rsquo;t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days&rsquo; interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12617',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal',
			'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Nepal&rsquo;s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in&nbsp; foreign loan.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in&nbsp; FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,&rdquo; says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government&rsquo;s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12616',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government&rsquo;s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return&nbsp; the amount.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into &ldquo;high dependency units&rdquo; within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal&rsquo;s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12614',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank&rsquo;s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal&nbsp; year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal year.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12615',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.&nbsp;Even though the Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans.&nbsp;However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public.&nbsp;However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent.&nbsp;But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future.&nbsp;He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&quot;As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates.&nbsp;This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days.&nbsp;&quot;The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent,&quot; he said.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future.&nbsp;However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take.&nbsp;This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year.&nbsp;In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period.&nbsp;There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12613',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.&rdquo; The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12612',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers&rsquo; Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of&nbsp; last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government&rsquo;s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12611',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Flowers for Tihar Decline this Year ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), the stakeholders are preparing to sell 1.5 million garlands this year, which is 300,000 less than last year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the production of flowers has decreased this year as the floriculture farmers have shifted to vegetable farming. Marigold and globe amaranth (makhamali) flowers worth Rs 2.2 million are normally consumed every year in Nepal during Tihar. According to FAN, this year the production may be 700,000 less than the demand. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the president of FAN Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, the demand for garlands is expected to decline this year. &ldquo;Around 1.5 million garlands are expected to be consumed, and we are preparing accordingly,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">While 10,000 to 15,000 garlands were sold every day in Nepal during the normal days, statistics of the association shows that only 3,000 to 5,000 garlands are sold in a day now. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Last year in Tihar, marigold garlands were sold at Rs 55 to Rs 70 per piece. The association said that if the demand is like that of last year, the price is likely to increase. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, Sushil Khadka, coordinator of the Cut Flower Grower Committee, said that there would be no shortage of flowers during the festival even if the production is low. According to him, about 25 kg of seeds were distributed to the farmers in June to prevent shortage of flowers during the festival and to replace the import of Indian flowers. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">As per the statistics of the association, floriculture is done in 43 districts of Nepal with a total investment of Rs 6 billion. This business has provided employment to more than 700 entrepreneurs and 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, due to the lockdown, 30 percent of the workers in the flower business have lost their jobs. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12610',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Struggles to Spend 15 Percent of Budget in First Quarter ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had announced to lift the restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus and revitalize the economy as well as carry on with the development works. But the budget spent so far shows that the government&rsquo;s effort has been ineffective.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office which keeps the record of government expenditures, the government has been able to spend only Rs 201 billion out of the annual budget of Rs 1474 billion, which is just 13.63 percent of the total budget.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The current expenditure of the government in the first three months of the current fiscal year is Rs 182 billion. The capital expenditure is just Rs 15.4 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 178 billion including Rs 156 billion in recurrent expenditure and Rs 18.36 in capital expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office says that the recurrent expenditure is high because the expenses for controlling coronavirus pandemic has increased this year. Meanwhile, the capital expenditure has been low because there isn&rsquo;t any construction works going around.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has allocated Rs 352 billion for development works this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the first quarter, the government has spent Rs 3.41 billion to repay the loan and interest to donor agencies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang says that the low expenditure of budget in the first quarter is due to the coronavirus pandemic and the delay in legal procedures. Minister Nembang says that the government is preparing to remove the bureaucratic red tape to speed up the budget expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contracts of small and petty projects have already have already signed in the first quarter while the contracts of big projects are yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, the development works have been obstructed by coronavirus and secondly, the procurement process is lengthy and complicated. Therefore, the results are not that impressive in the first quarter,&rdquo; said Minister Nembang.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Minister Nambang, the process of initiating big projects will be started soon and the results will be &nbsp;seen in the second quarter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12609',
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			'title' => 'Government Lifts Ban on Arrival of Int’l Tourists ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the country has been recording high number of daily infections, the government has decided to welcome international tourists in Nepal for trekking and mountaineering effective from October 17.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government had earlier decided to allow foreign tourists on condition that they produce PCR test report while entering the country. But it will take at least a month for the arrival of all kinds of tourists.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">For the time being, special attention has been given to tourists opting for trekking and mountaineering but they have to remain in hotel quarantine for seven days. They have to undergo PCR test again after completing the seven-day quarantine before they can visit different places of the country. This is likely to affect the arrival of tourists, argue tourism entrepreneurs. Tourism entrepreneurs however have demanded that tourists should only be quarantined for three days and then retested before they begin their tour. &nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government has also decided to resume the on-arrival visa service, which was closed since March 18.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Citizens from all other countries except Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Somalia, Cameroon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria can obtain on-arrival visa upon landing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The tourism industry of Nepal has remained closed since the lockdown was first announced on March 24 this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists, President of Hotel Association of Nepal Shreejana Rana says they are not expecting the anticipated numbers of tourists right now.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">She stated that the hotels are ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists but argues that the visitors are not likely to arrive anytime soon because their health security is of greater concern at the moment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Rana, seven-day quarantine for tourists is quite lengthy. She added that they have urged the government to reconsider its decision regarding this issue. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nevertheless, she said that the government&rsquo;s decision to welcome tourists by adopting safety measures was a welcome move.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Although the government has decided to allow the entry of tourists, we are skeptical that the foreigners will visit Nepal in the same numbers as before because the rate of infection is rising here,&rdquo; said Rana, adding, &ldquo;Right now, we have to focus more on domestic tourists rather than international tourists.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">\</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12608',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'BFIs Fix their Interest Rates on Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => 'The rates have been determined within the range of 10-13 percent',
			'summary' => 'October 16: ßBanks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 16: &szlig;Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.</span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As per the direction given by the central bank to the BFIs to publish their stable interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), Mega Bank, Himalayan Bank and Machhapuchhre Bank have published their fixed interest rates on personal loans for up to 15 years.&nbsp;These banks have fixed the interest rates for term loans within the range of 10 percent and 13 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In addition, other banks and financial institutions have also started their final homework to make the fixed interest rate public by October 16. Mega Bank has maintained a fixed interest rate by adding 5 percent premium to their base rate (8.30 percent) on all types of personal loans with more than one year to maturity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Machhapuchhre Bank has fixed the interest rate at 9.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of up to 5 years, 10.89 percent for home loans for maturity period from 5 to 10 years and 11.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of more than 10 years.&nbsp;Interest for auto and hire-purchase loans has been fixed at 9.99 percent for the maturity period up to 5 years and 10.99 percent for maturity period ranging from 5 to 10 years.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">For five-year maturity period, Himalayan Bank has fixed the interest rate of personal home loan at 9.89 percent, convenience loan and education loan at 9.99 percent and other collateral loan at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Similarly, for loans with a maturity period ranging from 5-10 years, the bank has fixed the interest rates of home loans at 10.99 percent and convenience loans and education loans also at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Likewise, for a maturity period of 10-15 years, interest rates for home loans has been fixed at 12.14 percent. Sushil Joshi, Chief Information Officer of the bank says that different interest rates have been fixed for different periods of hire-purchase loans. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Joshi, who is also the general manager of Himalayan Bank, said that the bank fixed their interest rates by observing the interest rate on deposits and loans in the past.&nbsp;&quot;Mismatches can happen in Nepal as you do not get long-term deposits.&nbsp;Most of the ten-year institutional deposits have been kept by only by insurance companies. Long-term personal deposits don&#39;t really come in,&quot; he told New Business Age, adding, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we compared the deposits and fixed the interest rates by adding a little margin to the loan rates.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Other banks are also likely to set their fixed interest rates in a similar pattern.&nbsp;At present, it seems that the fixed rates will be expensive for the customers.&nbsp;As there is no demand for loans in the market right now, the banks are giving home and auto loans at or below their base rate, which comes around 7.7 to 9 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Since the fixed interest rate, which was initially high, will not go higher in the future, the borrower does not need to worry about the increment on rates.&nbsp;However, NRB has also made an arrangement that allows the customers to not opt for the fixed interest rate.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Banks have been announcing their fixed interest rates to comply with the directive given by the central bank, but the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association has said that it is not practical and has suggested to fix a fixed interest rate only for a maximum of five years. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, says that they are busy in determining their fixed interest rate even though the suggestion by the association is under consideration.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuwan Kumar Dahal says that Sanima Bank is also in final stage of fixing their interest rates.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12607',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Domestic Tourism an Alternative for Nepal’s Tourism Industry',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal's tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal&#39;s tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic. They said so at a tourism dialogue program on &#39;Sustainable Internal Tourism: First Step for Tourism Revival&#39; organized by Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF) Nepal on Thursday. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">They believe that the emphasis should be on domestic tourism for the time being as the coronavirus&rsquo; impact is unlikely to decline and international tourists are eager to know about health care. They further say that everyone should give special attention to compliance with the health standards set by the government as the infection has been rising. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Speaking at the program, Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), said that although the hotels are prepared for any kind of situation, the focus should be given on promoting domestic tourism at the national level as the international tourists are still in &lsquo;wait and watch&rsquo; situation.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">She further said an integrated approach should be taken for the promotion of domestic tourism by coordinating among all the stakeholders. Captain Rameshwor Thapa, president of Airline Operators Association of Nepalsaid that although the airlines sector was more affected due to coronavirus, there has been some relief after the domestic flights were resumed. He said that they had been requesting the government to start the operation of flights by applying health and safety standards. He further said that the public was able to travel comfortably and no one has been infected. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Deepak Raj Joshi, coordinator of the Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF), pointed out to the need for coordination among the three levels of government for the promotion of domestic tourism. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the HAN Pokhara Chapter, Bikal Tulachan, said that there was no alternative but to focus on domestic tourism to keep the economic activities going on. He opined that along with Pokhara, Lumbini and Chitwan other connected destinations should be promoted.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12621',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Faces Uphill Battle to meet Revenue Collection Target in First Quarter',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The government faces an uphill battle to meet the target of revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year because it has announced an ambitious budget while the economic activities across the country have come to a standstill.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The lockdown and other restrictions were eased to some extent in mid-July, which led to some improvement in revenue collection in the first quarter. However, the government is unlikely to meet its target. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has been able to collect only 17 percent revenue of the annual target it had set. According to government estimate, it collected Rs 1.46 billion less revenue than the target in the first month of the current fiscal year between mid-July to mid-August. The revenue collection was lagging behind by Rs 11.53 billion in the second month of the current FY (mid-August to mid-September) while the collection was less by Rs 11.97 billion in the third month (mid-September to mid-October).</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 1011 billion in the current fiscal year. In the first quarter, the government was able to collect only Rs 172 billion, according to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office that keeps the records of government&rsquo;s income and expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">It is said that the government is facing difficulty in meeting the revenue collection target because it had set a high target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had estimated to collect Rs 912 billion through taxes but has only collected Rs 163 billion in the first quarter. Similarly, the government has set a target of collecting non-tax revenue worth Rs 98.8 billion out of which it has collected only Rs 8.93 billion so far in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Officials of the Inland Revenue Department believe that the revenue collection will gradually improve as the government has eased the restrictions.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Ministry of Finance has instructed all the departments to work accordingly to meet the target. According to the officials of the IRD, although it seems difficult to meet the target they are working in full fledge to meet the target.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of IRD Durga Dutta Bhandari admits that the tax payers are facing difficulties to pay the taxes but they are still hopeful of meeting the target of revenue collection. Customs officials have also reported an improvement in revenue collection in the recent days.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12620',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'FNCCI to Hold Election in 3 Different Places in the Capital',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54th Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 21: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) is all set to hold its 54<sup>th</sup> Annual General Meeting at three different places in Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has already announced its AGM for November 26-27 and the election for November 28.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the schedule unveiled by FNCCI on Wednesday, the election will be held simultaneously at its head office in Teku, the National Academy Hall in Kamaladi and Karki Banquet in Babarmahal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI said in a statement that the election has been scheduled in three different places by adopting all safety measures prescribed by the government considering the risk of coronavirus.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">FNCCI has appointed Upendra Keshari Neupane as its chief election officer and will be leading a team of three members of the election committee. Other members of the committee are Raman Kumar Karna and Lilamani Poudel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to FNCCI, registration of names of the candidates for the election has been opened from Wednesday (October 21). The first list of candidates will be published on November 19 while the final list will be made public on November 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The voting will begin at 8 am on November 28 and end at 4 pm.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12619',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Public Service Affected due to Infection among Government Employees ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Public service has been partly affected due to the increasing rate of infection among government employees as well as staffers of the private sector. Employees of some government offices have already started working in different shifts to avoid overcrowding at the workplace. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Even private offices have been reporting rise in infection among workers and have opted for alternative means for providing their services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, which have emerged as hotspots within the Kathmandu Valley, have already stopped providing services except emergency services by issuing public notices. However, there isn&rsquo;t any detail regarding the exact number government employees infected with the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Employees of Banks and Financial Institutions have been more affected by the virus than workers of other sector. Even the officials of the banks&rsquo; regulatory body have been infected by the disease. A total of 104 employees of Nepal Rastra Bank have been reportedly infected with the disease, although most of them have already recovered.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Although such a large number of employees of the central bank have been infected, Nepal Rastra Bank has been providing its services in shift system. Some of the works nevertheless have been affected, informed Dr Gunakar Bhatta, spokesperson of NRB. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Altogether 84 staffers of the central bank including Deputy Governor Shiva Shrestha have already recovered from the disease.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and other offices under the department have been providing services without any interruption despite reporting infection among the staffers.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Durga Dutta Bhandari, chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the IRD, around 10 employees of the department have tested positive for coronavirus. The department has instructed the office heads to make arrangement for work schedule in such a way that the overall work is not affected. According to him, most of the works related to revenue collection are done online and therefore the work hasn&rsquo;t been affected.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office has reported five cases if infection among its workers so far. Deputy Finance Comptroller General Gyanendra Poudel informed that they have kept the service uninterrupted by adopting alternative means.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the National Planning Commission has also reported positive cases among some of its employees. However, the NPC has also not halted its services.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">But the works of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Roads have been reportedly affected due to infection among the workers. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Nembang tested positive for coronavirus on Monday (October 19).</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12618',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '104 Employees of NRB Infected with Coronavirus ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn’t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 20: Nepal Rastra Bank, the regulatory body of banks and financial institutions, couldn&rsquo;t remain untouched by coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">A total of 104 employees of the central bank have been infected with coronavirus as of October 19, including Deputy Governor Shiva Raj Shrestha. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Almost all of the employees of the central office have been reportedly infected with coronavirus. NRB spokesperson Dr Gunakar Bhatta said that the pace of work has slowed down even though there has not been any disruption in the regular work due as the staff working in different shifts. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the Department of Property and Services Management of NRB, 84 employees, including Deputy Governor Shrestha, have already recovered by staying in isolation after they tested positive. NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari has also taken extra precautions after he came into contact tracing twice.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Suman Adhikari, executive director of the Department of Property and Services Management, said that there are 62 active cases and among the total infected, the families of 94 infected staffers have also tested positive for coronavirus. However, families of 42 infected people have now recovered from the virus. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;&ldquo;The authorised departmental head has been given the right to run the office regularly after the staffs are infected. According to the department, some staff come to office in alternative days, some after three days gap and those of the Department of Banking Supervision come to office in seven days&rsquo; interval. Also arrangements have been made to work from home,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12617',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Foreign Loan Overshadows Grant Assistance Received by Nepal',
			'sub_title' => 'Expert Says Distributive Loan will not Yield Good Return',
			'summary' => 'October 20: Nepal’s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: Nepal&rsquo;s foreign loan has surpassed foreign grant assistance in recent days due to the poor bargaining power of the government with donor agencies. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The donor agencies consult with the government while adopting policy for providing foreign aid. However, the government authorities of Nepal have been signing agreements with donor agencies haphazardly without being able to present the ground reality to them. This has reportedly led to an increase in&nbsp; foreign loan.&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Ministry of Finance, donor agencies had committed loan of Rs 105 billion to Nepal in fiscal year 2075/76 and Rs 189 billion in FY 2976/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Likewise, the grants pledged by donor agencies in FY 2075/76 was Rs 33 billion and Rs 30 billion for FY 2076/77.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the finance ministry, foreign assistance for loan has increased by 80 percent in&nbsp; FY 2076/77 compared to FY 2075/76 while the foreign grant has declined by 10 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has set a target to receive loan assistance of Rs 299 billion and grant assistance of Rs 60.52 billion from various donor agencies to implement the budget of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economists believe that the loan assistance that the government is seeking from donors is quite ambitious.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Economist Keshav Acharya says that the reason for donor agencies not willing to provide more grant assistance is the lack of bargaining power of the government as well as its failure to take the donor agencies into confidence.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Acharya says foreign grants have more preconditions than foreign loan and therefore the authorities prefer to take loan instead of grants. He says that the loan taken by Nepal is not much till date but stresses that the loan must be properly utilized.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Former Chairman of the National Planning Commission Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri says it is not appropriate for the government to take unproductive loans from donor agencies to fulfill their political interests.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;We should take loan for the sector where there is good return. But God knows where we are heading by taking loan for fulfilling vested political interests. It is something unimaginable,&rdquo; says Chhetri.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He argues that the loan taken for the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Employment Programme is distributive in nature and will not give anything in return. It has only added the burden of loan for the future generation, says Chhetri. He says that the government&rsquo;s decision to take loan for distribution will not bear good results.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12616',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Dashain Bonus of Ministers and MPs to go to Relief Fund',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 20: The government has decided to transfer the Dashain bonus of ministers and lawmakers to the Covid-19 Relief Fund after widespread criticism that the ministers took the bonus during the ongoing crisis.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung, who is also the government&rsquo;s spokesperson, informed that the government took such decision upon the directive of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Following sever backlash, some of the MPs of the ruling Nepal Communist Party have decided to return the Dashain bonus while Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has instructed all the lawmakers of the main opposition party to return&nbsp; the amount.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Making the decisions of the cabinet public, Minister Gurung confirmed that the bonus taken by the ministers and MPs would be transferred to the fund.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Due to the rapid increase in the rate of coronavirus infection, the government has decided to convert quarantine facilities into isolation centres within 15 days. The Ministry of Health and Population will initiate the process in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has decided to transform the isolation centres into specialized hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in districts with high rate of infection. All the government-owned hospitals across the country and that in the capital will be converted into &ldquo;high dependency units&rdquo; within 15 days, informed Minister Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting on Monday decided to extend the closure of Nepal&rsquo;s international borders for cross-border movement of people. The borders will remain closed till November 15. However, certain border check-points will remain open for people to enter or exit the country for emergency purpose while the transportation of goods will remain unaffected by the border closure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The cabinet meeting has also approved the Advertisement Regulation 2067. With the approval of the regulation, the country will implement clean feed from October 23.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Meanwhile, the government has instructed chief district officers and security chiefs of all 77 districts not to travel anywhere else from their designated areas. The home ministry said that it took such decision to control coronavirus, which is spreading at an alarming rate across the country, especially the capital.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12614',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'DoR Preparing to Call for Tender Bids to Upgrade Nagdhunga-Malekhu Road',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The Department of Roads (DoR) is preparing to call tender bids for upgrading the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section of Prithvi Highway, which is the major entry route to the capital Kathmandu.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The tender for the project worth Rs 16 billion will be issued between the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, according to DoR officials.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The department decided to call for national and international tenders to upgrade the 96-kilometer road section after World Bank approved financial assistance for the project more than four months ago.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The same section of Prithvi Highway was earlier expanded with the financial assistance from the World Bank around three decades ago. This time, the World Bank&rsquo;s support will be utilized to construct 22 new bridges, for which the department has decided to call for tender bids.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The World Bank has already approved a loan assistance of USD 450 million (Rs 54.28 billion) for upgrading roads and adopting road safety measures in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to government officials, the Nagdhunga-Malekhu section will be upgraded in the first phase of the support programme. The Detailed Project Report of this road section has already been prepared.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">However, Deputy Director of the Development Assistance Implementation Division of the DoR Arjun Jung Thapa informed that the upgrading works and construction of bridges will not be initiated in the current fiscal&nbsp; year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;This year, we will call for tender bids, sign agreements with the contractors, clear the sites and complete other works,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;The upgrading work will start from the winter of next fiscal year.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">He informed that upgrading the road section will take a lot of time because of the delay in international tender bidding process.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12615',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Implementation of the Fixed Interest Rates Becoming Challenging',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17. ',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: As per the directive given by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) to fix their interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), almost all commercial banks have fixed their interest rates on personal term loans effective from October 17.&nbsp;Even though the Nepal Bankers&rsquo; Association has expressed its dissatisfaction in this regard, the banks have already announced interest rates on the personal term loans.&nbsp;However, there are doubts about the effective implementation of the fixed interest rate.</span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Since Nepal Rastra Bank had directed the BFIs to implement fixed interest rates from October 17, the banks have already made their fixed interest rates public.&nbsp;However, bankers believe that loans are already flowing at a lower rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus the implementation of the fixed interest rates may not be very effective. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The chief of public relations of NIC Asia, Arjun Raj Khaniya fears that the customers will not be attracted to the expensive fixed interest rates as the normal interest rate is now around 8-9 percent.&nbsp;But the long-term debt can be riskier in the future.&nbsp;He adds that the borrowers will probably be drawn towards the cheaper loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&quot;As the market has the option of getting cheaper loans, it seems that customers might not opt to go for long-term fixed interest rates.&nbsp;This is the psychology of our society. Therefore, the implementation of the fixed interest rates may be challenging,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;However, he thinks that the customers who take fixed interest rate will benefit in the future in case of a higher interest rate on loans due to lack of investable capital or tightening of CCD.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Bodharaj Devkota, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, says that even if a fixed interest rate is implemented, its effectiveness will depend on the will of the borrowers.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">He says that they are also waiting to observe the demand such loans will generate in the upcoming days.&nbsp;&quot;The effectiveness of the fixed interest rate implementation depends on the mentality of the borrower as the banks are currently lending at their base rates or 8 percent,&quot; he said.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The fixed interest rate, which may seem high at the beginning can give the borrowers a sense of relief as it will not increase in the future.&nbsp;However, Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that lets the borrowers choose the kind of interest rates they want to take.&nbsp;This has given the borrowers two options to choose from.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Nepal Rastra Bank had issued the Unified Directive, 2077 on September 8, 2020 to maintain fixed interest rates on personal term loans with a repayment period of more than one year.&nbsp;In addition, the interest rate should be determined and published on half-yearly basis for new loans so that it cannot be changed throughout the loan period.&nbsp;There is also a provision to determine and publish the fixed interest rates one month prior to its implementation.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12613',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Samrat Cement Starting Production in Two Months ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 19: Two big cement industries, whose investments worth billions of rupees were approved during the lockdown period, are preparing legal grounds and paper works to start their production. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd and Samrat Cement Company Pvt Ltd have invested around Rs 47.55 billion to set up plants. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Samrat Cement Company will start production of clinker within two months while Dang cement is working to complete legal processes. Dang Cement Industries will be starting its production within three years. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Investment Board Nepal had approved their investment on June 21. The total investment of Dang Cement Industries is Rs 32.50 billion. Samrat Cement Company is preparing to produce 4,500 metric tons of clinker on a daily basis as soon as the company makes an additional investment to increase its total investment to Rs 15.5 billion. The company is preparing to produce 3,600 metric tons of cement per day. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the Samrat Cement Company Mukunda Prasad Timilsina informed that clinker will be produced within two months as all the necessary infrastructure for production of clinker is already prepared. He further said that Samrat Cement that has been producing cement with an investment of Rs 7 billion since 2070 is preparing to produce clinker as a result of expansion of investment. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&ldquo;We have brought modern machineries with German technology and skilled manpower is coming from India for this purpose,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;We are bringing them for some time for the operation of machines.&rdquo; The company claims that the use of this technology will reduce costs and improve quality. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">The main market of the company, which is preparing to operate the plant in full capacity, will be in the west and far west as well as Pokhara, Narayanghat and Dhaulagiri areas. The company says that 500 people will get direct employment after the operation of the company and more than 1,000 people will get indirect employment. </span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12612',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Import of Mobile Phones Increasing',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 19: The import of mobile phones has increased by Rs 2 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to data of Mobile Phone Importers&rsquo; Association, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 9.18 billion in the first three months of the current fiscal year. Around 2 million sets of phones were imported during the review period. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">On the other hand, Nepal imported mobile phones worth Rs 7.19 billion during the corresponding period of&nbsp; last year. The number of sets imported during the review period of last year was around 1.3 million. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government&rsquo;s decision taken two years ago to remove the facility of Value Added Tax waiver on mobile phones have had a direct impact on import of phones into the country. Two years ago, the import had dropped significantly than the preceding year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">There was some improvement in import last year after the government made some policy-level decision to resolve the issue.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Currently, the overall import of the country has been declining but the import of mobile phones has been increasing.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the chairman of the association Deepak Malhotra, who is also the executive director of IME Group that is authorised to sell Samsung mobiles in Nepal, the demand for smartphones has increased due to the increase in virtual discussions owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Also, the illegal import of smartphones has been checked due to strict restrictions, resulting in an increase in import of phones through the formal channel.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Malhotra further said that the demand for smartphones has increased twice compared to the same period of last year. He added that the demand has been rising sine the lockdown was imposed on March 24 but they were not able to import the phones. But the supply has resumed after the lockdown was lifted, says Malhotra.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the secretary of Tamrakar Mobile Association Guru Sharma, the demand for smartphone brands like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Huawei among others has increased this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12611',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Flowers for Tihar Decline this Year ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 18: The production of flowers and garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival is expected to decline compared to the last year. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), the stakeholders are preparing to sell 1.5 million garlands this year, which is 300,000 less than last year. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">&nbsp;Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the production of flowers has decreased this year as the floriculture farmers have shifted to vegetable farming. Marigold and globe amaranth (makhamali) flowers worth Rs 2.2 million are normally consumed every year in Nepal during Tihar. According to FAN, this year the production may be 700,000 less than the demand. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">According to the president of FAN Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, the demand for garlands is expected to decline this year. &ldquo;Around 1.5 million garlands are expected to be consumed, and we are preparing accordingly,&rdquo; he said. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">While 10,000 to 15,000 garlands were sold every day in Nepal during the normal days, statistics of the association shows that only 3,000 to 5,000 garlands are sold in a day now. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Last year in Tihar, marigold garlands were sold at Rs 55 to Rs 70 per piece. The association said that if the demand is like that of last year, the price is likely to increase. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Similarly, Sushil Khadka, coordinator of the Cut Flower Grower Committee, said that there would be no shortage of flowers during the festival even if the production is low. According to him, about 25 kg of seeds were distributed to the farmers in June to prevent shortage of flowers during the festival and to replace the import of Indian flowers. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">As per the statistics of the association, floriculture is done in 43 districts of Nepal with a total investment of Rs 6 billion. This business has provided employment to more than 700 entrepreneurs and 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in this business. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">However, due to the lockdown, 30 percent of the workers in the flower business have lost their jobs. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12610',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Struggles to Spend 15 Percent of Budget in First Quarter ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">October 18: The government has not been able to spend even 15 percent of the allocated budget in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government had announced to lift the restrictions imposed to curb coronavirus and revitalize the economy as well as carry on with the development works. But the budget spent so far shows that the government&rsquo;s effort has been ineffective.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office which keeps the record of government expenditures, the government has been able to spend only Rs 201 billion out of the annual budget of Rs 1474 billion, which is just 13.63 percent of the total budget.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The current expenditure of the government in the first three months of the current fiscal year is Rs 182 billion. The capital expenditure is just Rs 15.4 billion.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 178 billion including Rs 156 billion in recurrent expenditure and Rs 18.36 in capital expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The Financial Comptroller General&rsquo;s Office says that the recurrent expenditure is high because the expenses for controlling coronavirus pandemic has increased this year. Meanwhile, the capital expenditure has been low because there isn&rsquo;t any construction works going around.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The government has allocated Rs 352 billion for development works this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">During the first quarter, the government has spent Rs 3.41 billion to repay the loan and interest to donor agencies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang says that the low expenditure of budget in the first quarter is due to the coronavirus pandemic and the delay in legal procedures. Minister Nembang says that the government is preparing to remove the bureaucratic red tape to speed up the budget expenditure.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">The contracts of small and petty projects have already have already signed in the first quarter while the contracts of big projects are yet to be finalized.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Firstly, the development works have been obstructed by coronavirus and secondly, the procurement process is lengthy and complicated. Therefore, the results are not that impressive in the first quarter,&rdquo; said Minister Nembang.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to Minister Nambang, the process of initiating big projects will be started soon and the results will be &nbsp;seen in the second quarter.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12609',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Lifts Ban on Arrival of Int’l Tourists ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">October 18: The government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists which was in place since the last seven months due to coronavirus pandemic. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the country has been recording high number of daily infections, the government has decided to welcome international tourists in Nepal for trekking and mountaineering effective from October 17.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government had earlier decided to allow foreign tourists on condition that they produce PCR test report while entering the country. But it will take at least a month for the arrival of all kinds of tourists.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">For the time being, special attention has been given to tourists opting for trekking and mountaineering but they have to remain in hotel quarantine for seven days. They have to undergo PCR test again after completing the seven-day quarantine before they can visit different places of the country. This is likely to affect the arrival of tourists, argue tourism entrepreneurs. Tourism entrepreneurs however have demanded that tourists should only be quarantined for three days and then retested before they begin their tour. &nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The government has also decided to resume the on-arrival visa service, which was closed since March 18.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Citizens from all other countries except Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Somalia, Cameroon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria can obtain on-arrival visa upon landing in Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The tourism industry of Nepal has remained closed since the lockdown was first announced on March 24 this year.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Although the government has lifted a ban on arrival of tourists, President of Hotel Association of Nepal Shreejana Rana says they are not expecting the anticipated numbers of tourists right now.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">She stated that the hotels are ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists but argues that the visitors are not likely to arrive anytime soon because their health security is of greater concern at the moment. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">According to Rana, seven-day quarantine for tourists is quite lengthy. She added that they have urged the government to reconsider its decision regarding this issue. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nevertheless, she said that the government&rsquo;s decision to welcome tourists by adopting safety measures was a welcome move.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;Although the government has decided to allow the entry of tourists, we are skeptical that the foreigners will visit Nepal in the same numbers as before because the rate of infection is rising here,&rdquo; said Rana, adding, &ldquo;Right now, we have to focus more on domestic tourists rather than international tourists.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">\</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12608',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'BFIs Fix their Interest Rates on Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => 'The rates have been determined within the range of 10-13 percent',
			'summary' => 'October 16: ßBanks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">October 16: &szlig;Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) will be setting fixed interest rates on personal term loans, including home and automobile loans from October 17.</span></span></span></h1>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">As per the direction given by the central bank to the BFIs to publish their stable interest rates by the end of Ashoj (mid-October), Mega Bank, Himalayan Bank and Machhapuchhre Bank have published their fixed interest rates on personal loans for up to 15 years.&nbsp;These banks have fixed the interest rates for term loans within the range of 10 percent and 13 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In addition, other banks and financial institutions have also started their final homework to make the fixed interest rate public by October 16. Mega Bank has maintained a fixed interest rate by adding 5 percent premium to their base rate (8.30 percent) on all types of personal loans with more than one year to maturity.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, Machhapuchhre Bank has fixed the interest rate at 9.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of up to 5 years, 10.89 percent for home loans for maturity period from 5 to 10 years and 11.89 percent for home loans with the maturity period of more than 10 years.&nbsp;Interest for auto and hire-purchase loans has been fixed at 9.99 percent for the maturity period up to 5 years and 10.99 percent for maturity period ranging from 5 to 10 years.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">For five-year maturity period, Himalayan Bank has fixed the interest rate of personal home loan at 9.89 percent, convenience loan and education loan at 9.99 percent and other collateral loan at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Similarly, for loans with a maturity period ranging from 5-10 years, the bank has fixed the interest rates of home loans at 10.99 percent and convenience loans and education loans also at 10.99 percent.&nbsp;Likewise, for a maturity period of 10-15 years, interest rates for home loans has been fixed at 12.14 percent. Sushil Joshi, Chief Information Officer of the bank says that different interest rates have been fixed for different periods of hire-purchase loans. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Joshi, who is also the general manager of Himalayan Bank, said that the bank fixed their interest rates by observing the interest rate on deposits and loans in the past.&nbsp;&quot;Mismatches can happen in Nepal as you do not get long-term deposits.&nbsp;Most of the ten-year institutional deposits have been kept by only by insurance companies. Long-term personal deposits don&#39;t really come in,&quot; he told New Business Age, adding, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we compared the deposits and fixed the interest rates by adding a little margin to the loan rates.&rdquo;</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Other banks are also likely to set their fixed interest rates in a similar pattern.&nbsp;At present, it seems that the fixed rates will be expensive for the customers.&nbsp;As there is no demand for loans in the market right now, the banks are giving home and auto loans at or below their base rate, which comes around 7.7 to 9 percent.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Since the fixed interest rate, which was initially high, will not go higher in the future, the borrower does not need to worry about the increment on rates.&nbsp;However, NRB has also made an arrangement that allows the customers to not opt for the fixed interest rate.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Banks have been announcing their fixed interest rates to comply with the directive given by the central bank, but the Nepal Bankers&#39; Association has said that it is not practical and has suggested to fix a fixed interest rate only for a maximum of five years. Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank, Bodhraj Devkota, says that they are busy in determining their fixed interest rate even though the suggestion by the association is under consideration.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers Association, Bhuwan Kumar Dahal says that Sanima Bank is also in final stage of fixing their interest rates.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12607',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Domestic Tourism an Alternative for Nepal’s Tourism Industry',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal's tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">October 16: Stakeholders view that domestic tourism is now the alternative for Nepal&#39;s tourism development as there is no possibility of arrival of international tourists at present due to the coronavirus pandemic. They said so at a tourism dialogue program on &#39;Sustainable Internal Tourism: First Step for Tourism Revival&#39; organized by Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF) Nepal on Thursday. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">They believe that the emphasis should be on domestic tourism for the time being as the coronavirus&rsquo; impact is unlikely to decline and international tourists are eager to know about health care. They further say that everyone should give special attention to compliance with the health standards set by the government as the infection has been rising. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Speaking at the program, Shreejana Rana, president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), said that although the hotels are prepared for any kind of situation, the focus should be given on promoting domestic tourism at the national level as the international tourists are still in &lsquo;wait and watch&rsquo; situation.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">She further said an integrated approach should be taken for the promotion of domestic tourism by coordinating among all the stakeholders. Captain Rameshwor Thapa, president of Airline Operators Association of Nepalsaid that although the airlines sector was more affected due to coronavirus, there has been some relief after the domestic flights were resumed. He said that they had been requesting the government to start the operation of flights by applying health and safety standards. He further said that the public was able to travel comfortably and no one has been infected. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Deepak Raj Joshi, coordinator of the Tourism Recovery Task Force (TRTF), pointed out to the need for coordination among the three levels of government for the promotion of domestic tourism. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">Chairman of the HAN Pokhara Chapter, Bikal Tulachan, said that there was no alternative but to focus on domestic tourism to keep the economic activities going on. He opined that along with Pokhara, Lumbini and Chitwan other connected destinations should be promoted.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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FOREX

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)

Bullion

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

Petroleum

Petrol	1 Liter	106.00
Diesel	1 Liter	95.00
Kerosene	1 Liter	95.00
LP Gas	1 Cylinder	1375.00