Production of Food Industries Declining

Sep 11, 2020 0 2 minutes 8 seconds to read

September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order.…

Nepal’s Foreign Trade Declines due to Lockdown and Prohibitory Order

Sep 11, 2020 0 2 minutes 7 seconds to read

September 11: The volume of Nepal’s foreign trade has declined significantly due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread of…

4 Million Jobs Added to Nepal’s Economy in the Past Decade: WB

Sep 11, 2020 0 4 minutes 55 seconds to read

September 11: Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report.…

NAC Gets the Nod for Procurement of New Aircraft

Sep 10, 2020 0 2 minutes 19 seconds to read

September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan.…

We are not Doing Business: Army Chief

Sep 10, 2020 0 2 minutes 49 seconds to read

September 10: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army’s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable…

Industrialists Demand Alternative Measures to Operate Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor

Sep 10, 2020 0 2 minutes 2 seconds to read

September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector.…

Transport Entrepreneurs Warn of Defying Government Order from September 17

Sep 10, 2020 0 2 minutes 22 seconds to read

September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17.…

Government Authorities Ease Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley

Sep 10, 2020 0 2 minutes 35 seconds to read

September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any…

NRB Bars Banks to Raise Interest Rate of Term Loans

Sep 09, 2020 0 4 minutes 45 seconds to read

September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their…

Prime Minister Employment Programme yet to Kick Off this Year

Sep 09, 2020 0 2 minutes 14 seconds to read

September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus…

Bank Counters Opened for Tax Collection

Sep 09, 2020 0 2 minutes 2 seconds to read

September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid…

Controversial Contract of East-West Electric Railway Terminated

Sep 09, 2020 0 1 minutes 52 seconds to read

September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been…

Banks Start Axing Branchless Banking Units

Sep 09, 2020 0 1 minutes 56 seconds to read

September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn to their policy of promoting such service in the…

Tourism Ministry to Finalize Deal with Zurich Airport International within 3 Weeks

Sep 09, 2020 0 1 minutes 52 seconds to read

September 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September…

Time Period for Financial Closure of Energy Companies Extended to 5 Years

Sep 08, 2020 0 1 minutes 10 seconds to read

September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license.…

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The Sweet Rewards of Power

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NEPSE

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			'title' => 'Production of Food Industries Declining',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. ',
			'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;">September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. </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;">The government had allowed the food industries to operate even during the lockdown period, which was imposed on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus infection. However, the production capacity of the industries kept declining due to the lack of necessary environment for their operation. </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;">The food industry, which was operating at 30 percent capacity in mid-April, is now running at only 15 percent capacity. </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;">President of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">, Subodh Kumar Gupta, says that the main reason for the lack of improvement in production capacity is the problem of labor management and lack of market mobility. </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;">He believes that the government should create separate quarantine and isolation facilities for the industrial workers but the lack of interest shown by the government has posed further challenges in labor management. </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;">Only 20 percent of the workers in the food industries operating in Birgunj, Biratnagar and other cities are from the respective districts, while 20 percent are from outside the district and 60 percent are Indians. </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;">Currently, the workers from outside the district and India have not been able to return back to work due to the recent lockdown and prohibitory order. Industrialists say that the returned ones are also having problem staying at the workplace. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Foreign Trade Declines due to Lockdown and Prohibitory Order',
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			'summary' => 'September 11: The volume of Nepal’s foreign trade has declined significantly due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus.',
			'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;">September 11: The volume of Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread 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;">Domestic production as well as daily consumption market has shrunk because of the impact of Covid-19. As a result, import from third countries has declined greatly during the last five months.</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 Laxman Khadka, chief of the Kolkata-based Nepal Transshipment and Warehouse Management Company (NTWC), Nepal-bound shipments have decreased by 23 percent during the lockdown 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;">Altogether 31,851 containers (20 feet) have left for Nepal from Kolkata and Visakhapatman between April to August of the current fiscal year. The number of containers that left for Nepal during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was 41,486, according to NTWC.</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;">Almost 90 percent of Nepal&rsquo;s overseas trade take place through Indian ports. Importers say that Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has been growing every year by 10 to 15 percent. However, this year, statistics show that the country&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to Covid-19 crisis.</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;In an average, around 300 Nepal-bound containers had arrived at the ports of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam during the month of August last year. But the number has dropped to 224 at present,&rdquo; said NTWC chief Khadka.</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 lifted the lockdown imposed since March&nbsp; 24 on the third week of July. But the local authorities again imposed prohibitory orders a month later, bringing the business down again.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'id' => '12454',
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			'title' => '4 Million Jobs Added to Nepal’s Economy in the Past Decade: WB',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 11:</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"> Nepal&rsquo;s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank&rsquo;s recent&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal Jobs Diagnostic</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;report.&nbsp; But continued job creation, especially of wage jobs, is needed to absorb underutilized workers into better-quality, stable, and well-paid jobs. The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic &ndash; while not addressed in this report &ndash; highlights the importance of increasing stable and secure employment in the post-pandemic recovery period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal&rsquo;s economy has been gradually shifting from largely subsistence agriculture to more modern industry and services, and this structural transition is bringing&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">better work opportunities for the labor force. Despite great strides, not all job seekers are able to access quality jobs, especially women.&nbsp;In the last decade, large numbers of men have entered jobs in construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation, or have migrated abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Even though many of these are informal jobs or temporary wage jobs, they are nevertheless more productive and provide improved livelihoods compared to traditional low-productivity farm work. Women, on the other hand, have not transitioned in significant numbers.&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The share of wage work in Nepal jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent of total employment between 2008 and 2018, as nearly half of the jobs added since 2008 were wage jobs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;The shift toward wage employment signals a fundamental change in Nepal&rsquo;s economic development and is&nbsp;similar to patterns seen around the world. As economies diversify their production activities and increase scale economies, employment becomes more specialized and more productive, and jobs are increasingly based in firms rather than self-employment, and pay more,&rdquo; stated&nbsp;Dr Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, World Bank lead economist&nbsp;and main author of the report. &ldquo;Urbanization amplifies these effects by concentrating economic activities while increasing the variety of products and services.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Evidence from a combination of data sources &ndash; national labor force surveys from 1998, 2008 and 2018, the 2018 Economic Census, and a 2019 survey of 900 SMEs across 6 districts &ndash; points to a number of constraints to achieving better labor market outcomes in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">One key impediment is Nepal&rsquo;s dramatic topography, which makes access to wage jobs and to product markets costly. Most jobs are informal and concentrate in relatively low productivity sectors, while most firms are micro-sized with one or two employees, and target small local markets rather than exporting or connecting to regional or global value chains. In addition to credit constraints, many SMEs&nbsp;cite tax regulations, high taxes, scarce skills, and bureaucratic inefficiencies as obstacles to growth and therefore job creation.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Gendered social norms have limited female labor mobility and work opportunities, reflected by the fact that most women remain in unpaid work. Three-quarters of new jobs taken up by women between 2008 and 2018 were in non-wage self-employment or unpaid family work, much of which was farm work. Occupational segregation and social norms contribute to the large earnings gap between men and women, as per the report.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;In order to improve job outcomes in Nepal, the report recommends policies focusing on fostering SME productivity and growth; improving the business environment and labor market policies; increasing the individual, family, and economy-wide benefits of international migration; and preparing and connecting women and youth to better jobs, including entrepreneurship.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;While the report does not address the shocks from COVID-19 experienced by Nepal&rsquo;s economy and its people, it underscores the imminent priority for Nepal to save livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers, including those in subsistence agriculture and urban and rural informal day laborers or self-employed workers who lost their income sources,&rdquo; states&nbsp;Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The Government of Nepal has already initiated programs including the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Youth Employment Transformation Initiative</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Project to address the immediate labor market challenges, and it is hoped that this analysis will further guide policy interventions to improve job outcomes as part of Nepal&rsquo;s resilient recovery efforts from the crisis.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12453',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NAC Gets the Nod for Procurement of New Aircraft',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai gave such instruction to facilitate air service to the citizens of remote areas of the country including hill and mountain districts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister instructed NAC to submit a report for the purchase of domestic aircraft during a joint meeting with the executive chairman of the NAC Sushil Ghimire and the departmental heads of the ministry on Wednesday, September 8.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">NAC currently has only two twin-engine aircraft in operation for domestic flights to the mountain region basically known as short takeoff and landing routes (STOL) while three of its Harbin Y 12 Chinese aircraft are running out of manpower. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai said that the&nbsp;corporation has been instructed to move ahead with the procurement plan immediately as it needs new aircraft to expand its domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the NAC officials have been instructed to prepare a detailed report for this by discussing with the Citizens Investment Trust, Provident Fund, and the Tourism Ministry and Finance Ministry.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Nepal Airlines is the national flag carrier and it needs to work to preserve its legacy,&quot; he added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also instructed NAC to reduce the expenses as well as the meeting allowance, and to cut down the number of staffers abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister also directed NAC to reduce the facilities provided to staff members, board officials and retired employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12451',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'We are not Doing Business: Army Chief',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army’s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 10: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army&rsquo;s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.</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:Arial">Speaking on the occasion of his two years in office as the army chief, General Thapa on Wednesday said, &ldquo;We are not doing business. Please don&rsquo;t take it that way.&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:Arial">At a time when the national army is facing criticism for its involvement in business undertakings, CoAS Thapa clarified that the income generated from the Army&rsquo;s welfare fund, petrol station, and other activities is not pocketed by the generals but is utilized for charitable purpose.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Our country has not reached that state in which it is able to provide us all the required services,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;If we do not operate welfare fund, who is going to join the army?&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:Arial">Thapa compared the activities of army&rsquo;s welfare fund to the CSR activities of banks.</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:Arial">&ldquo;The only difference is that the banks spend 1 percent on CSR while the army&rsquo;s fund spends cent percent on CSR,&rdquo; he added.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Therefore, this is not a business.&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:Arial">CoAS Thapa said that he has seen many of the retired soldiers working on road-side stalls in Bhotahity or begging on the streets of Narayangadh.</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:Arial">&ldquo;It really saddens me. The need of the hour is to end such situation,&rdquo; he said.</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:Arial">He also clarified that the army has not invested in hydropower as it has been publicized but they have only discussed 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:Arial">Thapa reiterated the army&rsquo;s stance on zero tolerance towards corruption and added that the word &ldquo;professionalism&rdquo; better suits the army instead of &ldquo;democratization&rdquo; of army.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12452',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Industrialists Demand Alternative Measures to Operate Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. ',
			'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;">September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. </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;">The private sector has urged the government to look for alternatives after the administration tightened the precautionary measures due to increase in the number of coronavirus cases. </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;">After coronavirus infection was detected among the workers in the industrial corridor, the administration directed the industries to operate by creating quarantine facilities within the industry, or in the community if it is not possible within the industry. </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;">Stating that it is not possible to create separate quarantine for each industry, the entrepreneurs have suggested for group quarantine and isolation for industrial corridor. </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;">Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, says that, around 1000-bed quarantine centre and 200-bed isolation ward should be made in Birgunj in collaboration between the government and the private sector. He further said that the risk of infection will be decreased and easy operation of the industry can be done by keeping the workers from India and other districts in industrial quarantine for certain time. </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;">&ldquo;Most of the industries are running in low capacity now. Workers have to be brought in to run the industry in full capacity. Industrial quarantine and isolation is the easiest way for this,&rdquo; said Gupta, who is also a&nbsp; former &nbsp;president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12450',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Warn of Defying Government Order from September 17',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. </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:Arial">The Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) along with three trade unions on Wednesday decided to operate public vehicles along long and short routes from September 17.</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:Arial">The government had banned public transportation on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus. The government briefly lifted the ban on intra-district transportation on July 9, with the three districts of Kathmandu valley being the only exception. Although public transportation was allowed within other districts, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur were the only three districts where inter-district transportation was allowed briefly.</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:Arial">However, the district administration offices of Kathmandu Valley again imposed prohibitory order on August 19 along with various other districts, bringing transportation to a halt once again.</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:Arial">The irked transport entrepreneurs have now decided to operate their vehicles even if the government does not lift the restriction.</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:Arial">The transport entrepreneurs recently met with the Director General of the Department of Transport Management Gogal Bahadur Hamal and urged him to take the initiative for resuming transportation service.</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:Arial">&ldquo;We have requested the government to resume transportation service. If the government doesn&rsquo;t fulfill our demand, we will still operate our vehicles,&rdquo; says Yogendra Nath Karmacharya, president of FNNTE. </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:Arial">He warned that the transport entrepreneurs are ready to defy the prohibitory order. He is of the view that transport entrepreneurs should be allowed to operate their vehicles by following safety standards set by the government.</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:Arial">It is estimated that more than 1 million people associated with the transportation sector have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12449',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Authorities Ease Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley',
			'sub_title' => 'Odd-even rule to apply for vehicles from today',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A deserted road of Kathmandu Valley seen in this file photo.</em></p>

<p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-10%20at%2010.55.24%20AM%202.png" style="height:199px; width:800px" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur decided to ease the prohibitory order to some extent in the valley from today (September 10). The restrictions imposed on August 19 will remain in force till September 16, but in a changed modality.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A few days ago, automobile dealers of Nepal had threatened to defy the government order if the restrictions were extended beyond September 9. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of the three districts on Wednesday (September 9) decided to allow businesses to resume under certain conditions.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The authorities have decided to open various sectors by taking necessary safety measures. But educational institutions and cinema halls as well as other places likely to draw crowd will remain closed until further notice.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The local government has allocated separate days to run different businesses.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Starting from today, shops and other businesses can remain open on the days fixed by the authorities. As per the decision, shopping malls, fancy dress stores, shoe and cosmetic shops will remain open on&nbsp; Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Likewise, shops selling kitchen wares and utensils will remain open on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Similarly, automobiles and furniture shops can remain open on Mondays and Wednesdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">On the other hand, road-side vendors, footpath shops, stationary shops, electronics and departmental stores can remain open till 11 in the morning and from 4 to 7 in the evening.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">As per the new provision, vehicles will be allowed to operate on the basis of odd-even rule.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12448',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB Bars Banks to Raise Interest Rate of Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans. Previously, the rates would fluctuate when the banks adjusted their base rates every three months. Banks and financial institutions will now not be allowed to increase their interest rates on such loans.</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">Nepal Rastra Bank issued the Unified Directive 2077 on Tuesday, which states that banks and financial institutions will have to maintain a fixed interest rate for personal term loans with more than one year of maturity. Now, banks and financial institutions will not be able to change the interest rates on such loans midway through or before the maturity period. However, arrangements have been made that allow loans to be taken at a variable interest rate, which changes with the change in the base rate. Debtors have been given the facility to choose whether they want a variable or fixed interest rate while taking 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">&ldquo;This arrangement will be implemented for personal loans like home and auto loans along with any loans that requires monthly or periodic installments for payment, which have more than one year to maturity&rdquo; mentions the revised directive. </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">Nepal Rastra Bank has said that the banks will have to update the terms and conditions of the personal loans with periodic installment payments issued before the implementation of the directive, in order to provide the debtors with a fixed interest rate. The central bank has said that this change in the terms, payment schedule or installment amounts will not be considered as restructuring or rescheduling of the loans. Banks will have to decide and publish their fixed interest rate on a half-yearly basis.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Decrease in the Interest Rates of Call Deposits</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arrangements have been made to ensure that the interest rates on call deposits cannot be more than 50 percent of the minimum interest rate. Previously, the interest rate of a call deposit could be kept as low as the minimum interest rate on a savings account. If the minimum interest is 4 percent, the rate of interest on the call deposit cannot exceed 2 percent. Institutional investors used to increase the interest rate on call deposits through bargaining. It has been a relief for the banks after Nepal Rastra Bank banned such activities.</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 will not be allowed to issue cheques for such accounts either. A provision has been made to increase the published interest rate on all deposits except call deposits and institutional term deposit by up to 0.5 percentage points.</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 will no longer be allowed to deduct any amount from the account in case it is below the minimum balance. The directive has a provision that ensures interest payment even in the amount kept as the minimum balance in the account.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Interest to be paid in the Collateral Amount for Lockers</span></strong></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 and financial institutions will now have to pay a minimum interest rate on the amount taken from their customers as a collateral for receiving locker facility. Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that makes such interest rate equal to the interest rate on a general savings account. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Conditions on Dividends</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The directive issued on Tuesday has also added some conditions to dividend announcements. Banks and financial institutions will not be permitted to announce cash or stock dividends if they do not maintain the mandatory minimum capital ratio. Promoter shareholders holding 2 or more than 2 percent of the bank or financial institution&rsquo;s share will not be allowed to sell or pledge their stocks in another bank without getting a permission from the central bank.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">New Provision on Appointment of DCEO</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors of banks and financial institutions will no longer be able to directly appoint the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. A committee will have to be formed under the coordination of the CEO for this.</span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12447',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prime Minister Employment Programme yet to Kick Off this Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.',
			'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;">September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.</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;">More than 383,000 unemployed people have registered their names so far this year to benefit from the scheme that provides at least 100 days of employment or equivalent amount in a year. The programme is being implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.</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, the government has not released the budget for implementation of the programme in 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 at the Ministry of Labour say that they are currently preparing the list of beneficiaries while the homework for releasing the budget is underway.</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;">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Bharat Mani Pandey informed that they are preparing to release the first installment for the programme. </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;">Pandey said that they are trying to address the problem of unemployment created by coronavirus and therefore the programme must go through certain procedure for implementation.</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 Pandey, the government is preparing to provide employment to those who have returned from foreign countries after losing their jobs and it needs to coordinate with the local units for this purpose. </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;We are seeking the details for implementing the project. Once we get the details, we will release the budget,&rdquo; said Pandey.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12446',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Bank Counters Opened for Tax Collection',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction.',
			'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;">September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction. Nepal Rastra Bank had directed banks and financial institutions involved in revenue collection to open all the branches and counters for three days starting from Tuesday (September 8). </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;">With the directive from the central bank, the branches and counters of the banks across the country have been opened on Tuesday. </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 central bank, till now the banks had been providing their service by opening limited branches, but to make it easier for revenue collection, they have been instructed to open the bank even if it is a public holiday on the last day. </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;">Executive Director of NRB, Dev Kumar Dhakal, said that to avoid overcrowding, the branches are being opened till 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;">Although the counter was opened on Tuesday, there was less movement on the first day. Officials of Inland Revenue Department said that the revenue collection was also low compared to other days. According to them, not more than Rs 50 million was collected on Tuesday. </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;">Stating that the taxpayers will increase in the last hour, Director General of the department, Binod Bahadur Kunwar, said that it has been made easier to pay taxes by opening the branches that were closed. According to him, although the private sector has requested to extend the deadline, it will not be extended immediately as no decision has been taken the by Ministry of Finance. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12445',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Controversial Contract of East-West Electric Railway Terminated ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The Railway Department on Tuesday, September 8, canceled the contract for construction of 106 km track-bed. The department canceled the contract after facing mounting criticism for allegedly awarding the contract to benefit a handful of companies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">A contract worth Rs 28 billion was awarded for the construction of the track-bed of the&nbsp;Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section on June 28 and July 1. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the department did not give an official reason for the cancellation of the contract, it was canceled on the basis of suggestions given by the evaluation committee and its sub-committee formed under the department to study the contract, informed a source at the department.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The source added that the decision to cancel the contract was taken after the government faced severe criticism for not following the public procurement regulations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">However, Balram Mishra, director general of the Railway Department, informed that the contract was canceled using the special authority of the department and not for any other reason.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;The director-general of the&nbsp;department has the exclusive right to terminate the contract if it is not appropriate,&quot; Mishra informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12444',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Banks Start Axing Branchless Banking Units ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn to their policy of promoting such service in the past.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A Point-of-Sales machine used to provide branchless banking service. Photo Courtesy: RBB</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn from their policy to promote such service in the past.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Banks have stated difficulty in providing branchless service due to Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for reduction in number of branchless banking units.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Earlier, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) had been increasing the number branchless banking facilities to increase the access of people to the banking services. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">However, commercial banks have closed 12 branchless banking units in the last four months amid coronavirus crisis, informed Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The move to reduce the number of branchless banking units has been construed as a measure taken by banks to reduce their operating cost after the pandemic started taking toll on the banks&rsquo; profit.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">BFIs need to take permission from the central bank to open or close branches while there isn&rsquo;t any requirement for such formalities in case of branchless banking service. Therefore, banks had been focusing on branchless banking service to provide their services at comparatively less cost. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">According to Nepal Rastra Bank, there were 586 branchless banking units as of mid-June, which has now shrunk to 574.</span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12443',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Finalize Deal with Zurich Airport International within 3 Weeks',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 9: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">A meeting of the Nijgadh Airport High-level Facilitation Committee chaired by tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Tuesday decided to hand over the responsibilities of finalizing the deal with the Swiss company to the Investment Board.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to submit a report on relocating the Tangia settlement within 15 days after a field visit. For this, the committee has formed another committee headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, informed tourism ministry&rsquo;s spokesperson Kamal Prasad Bhattarai.&nbsp; </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;Bangla MN&quot;">Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to complete the remaining procurement process in line with the master plan of the airport within a week.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The Nijgadh International Airport is one of the national pride projects of Nepal. The airport covers 1900 hectares of land. So far, the authorities have completed counting 57,350 trees in the construction site. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to provide additional human resource to the Division Forest Office, Bara to complete the &ldquo;numbering&rdquo; of trees and poles in the area so that the work gets completed within the next three months. </span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12442',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Time Period for Financial Closure of Energy Companies Extended to 5 Years ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Prior to this, the energy companies had to complete their financial closure within three years of obtaining their license. However, the government decided to amend the law in order to promote private sector in power production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Electricity Development Department, the government&nbsp; recently amended the Directives related to Hydropower Project License 2075 to give more time to the promoters for financial closure.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the department Navin Raj Singh says that the law has been amended to promote private sector&rsquo;s investment in energy production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Financial closure, return of deposits and other rules have been amended in favour of the promoters,&rdquo; said Singh.</span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12456',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Food Industries Declining',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. ',
			'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;">September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. </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;">The government had allowed the food industries to operate even during the lockdown period, which was imposed on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus infection. However, the production capacity of the industries kept declining due to the lack of necessary environment for their operation. </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;">The food industry, which was operating at 30 percent capacity in mid-April, is now running at only 15 percent capacity. </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;">President of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">, Subodh Kumar Gupta, says that the main reason for the lack of improvement in production capacity is the problem of labor management and lack of market mobility. </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;">He believes that the government should create separate quarantine and isolation facilities for the industrial workers but the lack of interest shown by the government has posed further challenges in labor management. </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;">Only 20 percent of the workers in the food industries operating in Birgunj, Biratnagar and other cities are from the respective districts, while 20 percent are from outside the district and 60 percent are Indians. </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;">Currently, the workers from outside the district and India have not been able to return back to work due to the recent lockdown and prohibitory order. Industrialists say that the returned ones are also having problem staying at the workplace. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Foreign Trade Declines due to Lockdown and Prohibitory Order',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The volume of Nepal’s foreign trade has declined significantly due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus.',
			'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;">September 11: The volume of Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread 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;">Domestic production as well as daily consumption market has shrunk because of the impact of Covid-19. As a result, import from third countries has declined greatly during the last five months.</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 Laxman Khadka, chief of the Kolkata-based Nepal Transshipment and Warehouse Management Company (NTWC), Nepal-bound shipments have decreased by 23 percent during the lockdown 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;">Altogether 31,851 containers (20 feet) have left for Nepal from Kolkata and Visakhapatman between April to August of the current fiscal year. The number of containers that left for Nepal during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was 41,486, according to NTWC.</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;">Almost 90 percent of Nepal&rsquo;s overseas trade take place through Indian ports. Importers say that Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has been growing every year by 10 to 15 percent. However, this year, statistics show that the country&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to Covid-19 crisis.</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;In an average, around 300 Nepal-bound containers had arrived at the ports of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam during the month of August last year. But the number has dropped to 224 at present,&rdquo; said NTWC chief Khadka.</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 lifted the lockdown imposed since March&nbsp; 24 on the third week of July. But the local authorities again imposed prohibitory orders a month later, bringing the business down again.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12454',
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			'title' => '4 Million Jobs Added to Nepal’s Economy in the Past Decade: WB',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 11:</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"> Nepal&rsquo;s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank&rsquo;s recent&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal Jobs Diagnostic</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;report.&nbsp; But continued job creation, especially of wage jobs, is needed to absorb underutilized workers into better-quality, stable, and well-paid jobs. The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic &ndash; while not addressed in this report &ndash; highlights the importance of increasing stable and secure employment in the post-pandemic recovery period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal&rsquo;s economy has been gradually shifting from largely subsistence agriculture to more modern industry and services, and this structural transition is bringing&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">better work opportunities for the labor force. Despite great strides, not all job seekers are able to access quality jobs, especially women.&nbsp;In the last decade, large numbers of men have entered jobs in construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation, or have migrated abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Even though many of these are informal jobs or temporary wage jobs, they are nevertheless more productive and provide improved livelihoods compared to traditional low-productivity farm work. Women, on the other hand, have not transitioned in significant numbers.&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The share of wage work in Nepal jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent of total employment between 2008 and 2018, as nearly half of the jobs added since 2008 were wage jobs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;The shift toward wage employment signals a fundamental change in Nepal&rsquo;s economic development and is&nbsp;similar to patterns seen around the world. As economies diversify their production activities and increase scale economies, employment becomes more specialized and more productive, and jobs are increasingly based in firms rather than self-employment, and pay more,&rdquo; stated&nbsp;Dr Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, World Bank lead economist&nbsp;and main author of the report. &ldquo;Urbanization amplifies these effects by concentrating economic activities while increasing the variety of products and services.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Evidence from a combination of data sources &ndash; national labor force surveys from 1998, 2008 and 2018, the 2018 Economic Census, and a 2019 survey of 900 SMEs across 6 districts &ndash; points to a number of constraints to achieving better labor market outcomes in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">One key impediment is Nepal&rsquo;s dramatic topography, which makes access to wage jobs and to product markets costly. Most jobs are informal and concentrate in relatively low productivity sectors, while most firms are micro-sized with one or two employees, and target small local markets rather than exporting or connecting to regional or global value chains. In addition to credit constraints, many SMEs&nbsp;cite tax regulations, high taxes, scarce skills, and bureaucratic inefficiencies as obstacles to growth and therefore job creation.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Gendered social norms have limited female labor mobility and work opportunities, reflected by the fact that most women remain in unpaid work. Three-quarters of new jobs taken up by women between 2008 and 2018 were in non-wage self-employment or unpaid family work, much of which was farm work. Occupational segregation and social norms contribute to the large earnings gap between men and women, as per the report.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;In order to improve job outcomes in Nepal, the report recommends policies focusing on fostering SME productivity and growth; improving the business environment and labor market policies; increasing the individual, family, and economy-wide benefits of international migration; and preparing and connecting women and youth to better jobs, including entrepreneurship.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;While the report does not address the shocks from COVID-19 experienced by Nepal&rsquo;s economy and its people, it underscores the imminent priority for Nepal to save livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers, including those in subsistence agriculture and urban and rural informal day laborers or self-employed workers who lost their income sources,&rdquo; states&nbsp;Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The Government of Nepal has already initiated programs including the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Youth Employment Transformation Initiative</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Project to address the immediate labor market challenges, and it is hoped that this analysis will further guide policy interventions to improve job outcomes as part of Nepal&rsquo;s resilient recovery efforts from the crisis.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12453',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NAC Gets the Nod for Procurement of New Aircraft',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai gave such instruction to facilitate air service to the citizens of remote areas of the country including hill and mountain districts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister instructed NAC to submit a report for the purchase of domestic aircraft during a joint meeting with the executive chairman of the NAC Sushil Ghimire and the departmental heads of the ministry on Wednesday, September 8.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">NAC currently has only two twin-engine aircraft in operation for domestic flights to the mountain region basically known as short takeoff and landing routes (STOL) while three of its Harbin Y 12 Chinese aircraft are running out of manpower. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai said that the&nbsp;corporation has been instructed to move ahead with the procurement plan immediately as it needs new aircraft to expand its domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the NAC officials have been instructed to prepare a detailed report for this by discussing with the Citizens Investment Trust, Provident Fund, and the Tourism Ministry and Finance Ministry.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Nepal Airlines is the national flag carrier and it needs to work to preserve its legacy,&quot; he added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also instructed NAC to reduce the expenses as well as the meeting allowance, and to cut down the number of staffers abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister also directed NAC to reduce the facilities provided to staff members, board officials and retired employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12451',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'We are not Doing Business: Army Chief',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army’s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 10: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army&rsquo;s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.</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:Arial">Speaking on the occasion of his two years in office as the army chief, General Thapa on Wednesday said, &ldquo;We are not doing business. Please don&rsquo;t take it that way.&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:Arial">At a time when the national army is facing criticism for its involvement in business undertakings, CoAS Thapa clarified that the income generated from the Army&rsquo;s welfare fund, petrol station, and other activities is not pocketed by the generals but is utilized for charitable purpose.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Our country has not reached that state in which it is able to provide us all the required services,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;If we do not operate welfare fund, who is going to join the army?&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:Arial">Thapa compared the activities of army&rsquo;s welfare fund to the CSR activities of banks.</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:Arial">&ldquo;The only difference is that the banks spend 1 percent on CSR while the army&rsquo;s fund spends cent percent on CSR,&rdquo; he added.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Therefore, this is not a business.&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:Arial">CoAS Thapa said that he has seen many of the retired soldiers working on road-side stalls in Bhotahity or begging on the streets of Narayangadh.</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:Arial">&ldquo;It really saddens me. The need of the hour is to end such situation,&rdquo; he said.</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:Arial">He also clarified that the army has not invested in hydropower as it has been publicized but they have only discussed 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:Arial">Thapa reiterated the army&rsquo;s stance on zero tolerance towards corruption and added that the word &ldquo;professionalism&rdquo; better suits the army instead of &ldquo;democratization&rdquo; of army.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12452',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Industrialists Demand Alternative Measures to Operate Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. ',
			'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;">September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. </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;">The private sector has urged the government to look for alternatives after the administration tightened the precautionary measures due to increase in the number of coronavirus cases. </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;">After coronavirus infection was detected among the workers in the industrial corridor, the administration directed the industries to operate by creating quarantine facilities within the industry, or in the community if it is not possible within the industry. </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;">Stating that it is not possible to create separate quarantine for each industry, the entrepreneurs have suggested for group quarantine and isolation for industrial corridor. </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;">Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, says that, around 1000-bed quarantine centre and 200-bed isolation ward should be made in Birgunj in collaboration between the government and the private sector. He further said that the risk of infection will be decreased and easy operation of the industry can be done by keeping the workers from India and other districts in industrial quarantine for certain time. </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;">&ldquo;Most of the industries are running in low capacity now. Workers have to be brought in to run the industry in full capacity. Industrial quarantine and isolation is the easiest way for this,&rdquo; said Gupta, who is also a&nbsp; former &nbsp;president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12450',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Warn of Defying Government Order from September 17',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. </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:Arial">The Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) along with three trade unions on Wednesday decided to operate public vehicles along long and short routes from September 17.</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:Arial">The government had banned public transportation on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus. The government briefly lifted the ban on intra-district transportation on July 9, with the three districts of Kathmandu valley being the only exception. Although public transportation was allowed within other districts, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur were the only three districts where inter-district transportation was allowed briefly.</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:Arial">However, the district administration offices of Kathmandu Valley again imposed prohibitory order on August 19 along with various other districts, bringing transportation to a halt once again.</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:Arial">The irked transport entrepreneurs have now decided to operate their vehicles even if the government does not lift the restriction.</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:Arial">The transport entrepreneurs recently met with the Director General of the Department of Transport Management Gogal Bahadur Hamal and urged him to take the initiative for resuming transportation service.</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:Arial">&ldquo;We have requested the government to resume transportation service. If the government doesn&rsquo;t fulfill our demand, we will still operate our vehicles,&rdquo; says Yogendra Nath Karmacharya, president of FNNTE. </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:Arial">He warned that the transport entrepreneurs are ready to defy the prohibitory order. He is of the view that transport entrepreneurs should be allowed to operate their vehicles by following safety standards set by the government.</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:Arial">It is estimated that more than 1 million people associated with the transportation sector have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12449',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Authorities Ease Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley',
			'sub_title' => 'Odd-even rule to apply for vehicles from today',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A deserted road of Kathmandu Valley seen in this file photo.</em></p>

<p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-10%20at%2010.55.24%20AM%202.png" style="height:199px; width:800px" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur decided to ease the prohibitory order to some extent in the valley from today (September 10). The restrictions imposed on August 19 will remain in force till September 16, but in a changed modality.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A few days ago, automobile dealers of Nepal had threatened to defy the government order if the restrictions were extended beyond September 9. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of the three districts on Wednesday (September 9) decided to allow businesses to resume under certain conditions.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The authorities have decided to open various sectors by taking necessary safety measures. But educational institutions and cinema halls as well as other places likely to draw crowd will remain closed until further notice.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The local government has allocated separate days to run different businesses.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Starting from today, shops and other businesses can remain open on the days fixed by the authorities. As per the decision, shopping malls, fancy dress stores, shoe and cosmetic shops will remain open on&nbsp; Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Likewise, shops selling kitchen wares and utensils will remain open on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Similarly, automobiles and furniture shops can remain open on Mondays and Wednesdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">On the other hand, road-side vendors, footpath shops, stationary shops, electronics and departmental stores can remain open till 11 in the morning and from 4 to 7 in the evening.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">As per the new provision, vehicles will be allowed to operate on the basis of odd-even rule.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12448',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB Bars Banks to Raise Interest Rate of Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans. Previously, the rates would fluctuate when the banks adjusted their base rates every three months. Banks and financial institutions will now not be allowed to increase their interest rates on such loans.</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">Nepal Rastra Bank issued the Unified Directive 2077 on Tuesday, which states that banks and financial institutions will have to maintain a fixed interest rate for personal term loans with more than one year of maturity. Now, banks and financial institutions will not be able to change the interest rates on such loans midway through or before the maturity period. However, arrangements have been made that allow loans to be taken at a variable interest rate, which changes with the change in the base rate. Debtors have been given the facility to choose whether they want a variable or fixed interest rate while taking 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">&ldquo;This arrangement will be implemented for personal loans like home and auto loans along with any loans that requires monthly or periodic installments for payment, which have more than one year to maturity&rdquo; mentions the revised directive. </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">Nepal Rastra Bank has said that the banks will have to update the terms and conditions of the personal loans with periodic installment payments issued before the implementation of the directive, in order to provide the debtors with a fixed interest rate. The central bank has said that this change in the terms, payment schedule or installment amounts will not be considered as restructuring or rescheduling of the loans. Banks will have to decide and publish their fixed interest rate on a half-yearly basis.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Decrease in the Interest Rates of Call Deposits</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arrangements have been made to ensure that the interest rates on call deposits cannot be more than 50 percent of the minimum interest rate. Previously, the interest rate of a call deposit could be kept as low as the minimum interest rate on a savings account. If the minimum interest is 4 percent, the rate of interest on the call deposit cannot exceed 2 percent. Institutional investors used to increase the interest rate on call deposits through bargaining. It has been a relief for the banks after Nepal Rastra Bank banned such activities.</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 will not be allowed to issue cheques for such accounts either. A provision has been made to increase the published interest rate on all deposits except call deposits and institutional term deposit by up to 0.5 percentage points.</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 will no longer be allowed to deduct any amount from the account in case it is below the minimum balance. The directive has a provision that ensures interest payment even in the amount kept as the minimum balance in the account.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Interest to be paid in the Collateral Amount for Lockers</span></strong></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 and financial institutions will now have to pay a minimum interest rate on the amount taken from their customers as a collateral for receiving locker facility. Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that makes such interest rate equal to the interest rate on a general savings account. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Conditions on Dividends</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The directive issued on Tuesday has also added some conditions to dividend announcements. Banks and financial institutions will not be permitted to announce cash or stock dividends if they do not maintain the mandatory minimum capital ratio. Promoter shareholders holding 2 or more than 2 percent of the bank or financial institution&rsquo;s share will not be allowed to sell or pledge their stocks in another bank without getting a permission from the central bank.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">New Provision on Appointment of DCEO</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors of banks and financial institutions will no longer be able to directly appoint the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. A committee will have to be formed under the coordination of the CEO for this.</span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12447',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prime Minister Employment Programme yet to Kick Off this Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.',
			'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;">September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.</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;">More than 383,000 unemployed people have registered their names so far this year to benefit from the scheme that provides at least 100 days of employment or equivalent amount in a year. The programme is being implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.</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, the government has not released the budget for implementation of the programme in 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 at the Ministry of Labour say that they are currently preparing the list of beneficiaries while the homework for releasing the budget is underway.</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;">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Bharat Mani Pandey informed that they are preparing to release the first installment for the programme. </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;">Pandey said that they are trying to address the problem of unemployment created by coronavirus and therefore the programme must go through certain procedure for implementation.</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 Pandey, the government is preparing to provide employment to those who have returned from foreign countries after losing their jobs and it needs to coordinate with the local units for this purpose. </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;We are seeking the details for implementing the project. Once we get the details, we will release the budget,&rdquo; said Pandey.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12446',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Bank Counters Opened for Tax Collection',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction.',
			'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;">September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction. Nepal Rastra Bank had directed banks and financial institutions involved in revenue collection to open all the branches and counters for three days starting from Tuesday (September 8). </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;">With the directive from the central bank, the branches and counters of the banks across the country have been opened on Tuesday. </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 central bank, till now the banks had been providing their service by opening limited branches, but to make it easier for revenue collection, they have been instructed to open the bank even if it is a public holiday on the last day. </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;">Executive Director of NRB, Dev Kumar Dhakal, said that to avoid overcrowding, the branches are being opened till 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;">Although the counter was opened on Tuesday, there was less movement on the first day. Officials of Inland Revenue Department said that the revenue collection was also low compared to other days. According to them, not more than Rs 50 million was collected on Tuesday. </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;">Stating that the taxpayers will increase in the last hour, Director General of the department, Binod Bahadur Kunwar, said that it has been made easier to pay taxes by opening the branches that were closed. According to him, although the private sector has requested to extend the deadline, it will not be extended immediately as no decision has been taken the by Ministry of Finance. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12445',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Controversial Contract of East-West Electric Railway Terminated ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The Railway Department on Tuesday, September 8, canceled the contract for construction of 106 km track-bed. The department canceled the contract after facing mounting criticism for allegedly awarding the contract to benefit a handful of companies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">A contract worth Rs 28 billion was awarded for the construction of the track-bed of the&nbsp;Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section on June 28 and July 1. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the department did not give an official reason for the cancellation of the contract, it was canceled on the basis of suggestions given by the evaluation committee and its sub-committee formed under the department to study the contract, informed a source at the department.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The source added that the decision to cancel the contract was taken after the government faced severe criticism for not following the public procurement regulations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">However, Balram Mishra, director general of the Railway Department, informed that the contract was canceled using the special authority of the department and not for any other reason.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;The director-general of the&nbsp;department has the exclusive right to terminate the contract if it is not appropriate,&quot; Mishra informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12444',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Banks Start Axing Branchless Banking Units ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn to their policy of promoting such service in the past.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A Point-of-Sales machine used to provide branchless banking service. Photo Courtesy: RBB</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn from their policy to promote such service in the past.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Banks have stated difficulty in providing branchless service due to Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for reduction in number of branchless banking units.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Earlier, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) had been increasing the number branchless banking facilities to increase the access of people to the banking services. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">However, commercial banks have closed 12 branchless banking units in the last four months amid coronavirus crisis, informed Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The move to reduce the number of branchless banking units has been construed as a measure taken by banks to reduce their operating cost after the pandemic started taking toll on the banks&rsquo; profit.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">BFIs need to take permission from the central bank to open or close branches while there isn&rsquo;t any requirement for such formalities in case of branchless banking service. Therefore, banks had been focusing on branchless banking service to provide their services at comparatively less cost. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">According to Nepal Rastra Bank, there were 586 branchless banking units as of mid-June, which has now shrunk to 574.</span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12443',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Finalize Deal with Zurich Airport International within 3 Weeks',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 9: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">A meeting of the Nijgadh Airport High-level Facilitation Committee chaired by tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Tuesday decided to hand over the responsibilities of finalizing the deal with the Swiss company to the Investment Board.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to submit a report on relocating the Tangia settlement within 15 days after a field visit. For this, the committee has formed another committee headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, informed tourism ministry&rsquo;s spokesperson Kamal Prasad Bhattarai.&nbsp; </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;Bangla MN&quot;">Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to complete the remaining procurement process in line with the master plan of the airport within a week.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The Nijgadh International Airport is one of the national pride projects of Nepal. The airport covers 1900 hectares of land. So far, the authorities have completed counting 57,350 trees in the construction site. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to provide additional human resource to the Division Forest Office, Bara to complete the &ldquo;numbering&rdquo; of trees and poles in the area so that the work gets completed within the next three months. </span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12442',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Time Period for Financial Closure of Energy Companies Extended to 5 Years ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Prior to this, the energy companies had to complete their financial closure within three years of obtaining their license. However, the government decided to amend the law in order to promote private sector in power production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Electricity Development Department, the government&nbsp; recently amended the Directives related to Hydropower Project License 2075 to give more time to the promoters for financial closure.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the department Navin Raj Singh says that the law has been amended to promote private sector&rsquo;s investment in energy production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Financial closure, return of deposits and other rules have been amended in favour of the promoters,&rdquo; said Singh.</span></span></span></p>
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			'id' => '12456',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Production of Food Industries Declining',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. ',
			'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;">September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. </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;">The government had allowed the food industries to operate even during the lockdown period, which was imposed on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus infection. However, the production capacity of the industries kept declining due to the lack of necessary environment for their operation. </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;">The food industry, which was operating at 30 percent capacity in mid-April, is now running at only 15 percent capacity. </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;">President of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">, Subodh Kumar Gupta, says that the main reason for the lack of improvement in production capacity is the problem of labor management and lack of market mobility. </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;">He believes that the government should create separate quarantine and isolation facilities for the industrial workers but the lack of interest shown by the government has posed further challenges in labor management. </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;">Only 20 percent of the workers in the food industries operating in Birgunj, Biratnagar and other cities are from the respective districts, while 20 percent are from outside the district and 60 percent are Indians. </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;">Currently, the workers from outside the district and India have not been able to return back to work due to the recent lockdown and prohibitory order. Industrialists say that the returned ones are also having problem staying at the workplace. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12455',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Nepal’s Foreign Trade Declines due to Lockdown and Prohibitory Order',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The volume of Nepal’s foreign trade has declined significantly due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus.',
			'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;">September 11: The volume of Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread 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;">Domestic production as well as daily consumption market has shrunk because of the impact of Covid-19. As a result, import from third countries has declined greatly during the last five months.</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 Laxman Khadka, chief of the Kolkata-based Nepal Transshipment and Warehouse Management Company (NTWC), Nepal-bound shipments have decreased by 23 percent during the lockdown 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;">Altogether 31,851 containers (20 feet) have left for Nepal from Kolkata and Visakhapatman between April to August of the current fiscal year. The number of containers that left for Nepal during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was 41,486, according to NTWC.</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;">Almost 90 percent of Nepal&rsquo;s overseas trade take place through Indian ports. Importers say that Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has been growing every year by 10 to 15 percent. However, this year, statistics show that the country&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to Covid-19 crisis.</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;In an average, around 300 Nepal-bound containers had arrived at the ports of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam during the month of August last year. But the number has dropped to 224 at present,&rdquo; said NTWC chief Khadka.</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 lifted the lockdown imposed since March&nbsp; 24 on the third week of July. But the local authorities again imposed prohibitory orders a month later, bringing the business down again.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12454',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => '4 Million Jobs Added to Nepal’s Economy in the Past Decade: WB',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 11:</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"> Nepal&rsquo;s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank&rsquo;s recent&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal Jobs Diagnostic</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;report.&nbsp; But continued job creation, especially of wage jobs, is needed to absorb underutilized workers into better-quality, stable, and well-paid jobs. The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic &ndash; while not addressed in this report &ndash; highlights the importance of increasing stable and secure employment in the post-pandemic recovery period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal&rsquo;s economy has been gradually shifting from largely subsistence agriculture to more modern industry and services, and this structural transition is bringing&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">better work opportunities for the labor force. Despite great strides, not all job seekers are able to access quality jobs, especially women.&nbsp;In the last decade, large numbers of men have entered jobs in construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation, or have migrated abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Even though many of these are informal jobs or temporary wage jobs, they are nevertheless more productive and provide improved livelihoods compared to traditional low-productivity farm work. Women, on the other hand, have not transitioned in significant numbers.&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The share of wage work in Nepal jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent of total employment between 2008 and 2018, as nearly half of the jobs added since 2008 were wage jobs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;The shift toward wage employment signals a fundamental change in Nepal&rsquo;s economic development and is&nbsp;similar to patterns seen around the world. As economies diversify their production activities and increase scale economies, employment becomes more specialized and more productive, and jobs are increasingly based in firms rather than self-employment, and pay more,&rdquo; stated&nbsp;Dr Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, World Bank lead economist&nbsp;and main author of the report. &ldquo;Urbanization amplifies these effects by concentrating economic activities while increasing the variety of products and services.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Evidence from a combination of data sources &ndash; national labor force surveys from 1998, 2008 and 2018, the 2018 Economic Census, and a 2019 survey of 900 SMEs across 6 districts &ndash; points to a number of constraints to achieving better labor market outcomes in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">One key impediment is Nepal&rsquo;s dramatic topography, which makes access to wage jobs and to product markets costly. Most jobs are informal and concentrate in relatively low productivity sectors, while most firms are micro-sized with one or two employees, and target small local markets rather than exporting or connecting to regional or global value chains. In addition to credit constraints, many SMEs&nbsp;cite tax regulations, high taxes, scarce skills, and bureaucratic inefficiencies as obstacles to growth and therefore job creation.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Gendered social norms have limited female labor mobility and work opportunities, reflected by the fact that most women remain in unpaid work. Three-quarters of new jobs taken up by women between 2008 and 2018 were in non-wage self-employment or unpaid family work, much of which was farm work. Occupational segregation and social norms contribute to the large earnings gap between men and women, as per the report.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;In order to improve job outcomes in Nepal, the report recommends policies focusing on fostering SME productivity and growth; improving the business environment and labor market policies; increasing the individual, family, and economy-wide benefits of international migration; and preparing and connecting women and youth to better jobs, including entrepreneurship.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;While the report does not address the shocks from COVID-19 experienced by Nepal&rsquo;s economy and its people, it underscores the imminent priority for Nepal to save livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers, including those in subsistence agriculture and urban and rural informal day laborers or self-employed workers who lost their income sources,&rdquo; states&nbsp;Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The Government of Nepal has already initiated programs including the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Youth Employment Transformation Initiative</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Project to address the immediate labor market challenges, and it is hoped that this analysis will further guide policy interventions to improve job outcomes as part of Nepal&rsquo;s resilient recovery efforts from the crisis.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12453',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NAC Gets the Nod for Procurement of New Aircraft',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai gave such instruction to facilitate air service to the citizens of remote areas of the country including hill and mountain districts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister instructed NAC to submit a report for the purchase of domestic aircraft during a joint meeting with the executive chairman of the NAC Sushil Ghimire and the departmental heads of the ministry on Wednesday, September 8.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">NAC currently has only two twin-engine aircraft in operation for domestic flights to the mountain region basically known as short takeoff and landing routes (STOL) while three of its Harbin Y 12 Chinese aircraft are running out of manpower. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai said that the&nbsp;corporation has been instructed to move ahead with the procurement plan immediately as it needs new aircraft to expand its domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the NAC officials have been instructed to prepare a detailed report for this by discussing with the Citizens Investment Trust, Provident Fund, and the Tourism Ministry and Finance Ministry.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Nepal Airlines is the national flag carrier and it needs to work to preserve its legacy,&quot; he added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also instructed NAC to reduce the expenses as well as the meeting allowance, and to cut down the number of staffers abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister also directed NAC to reduce the facilities provided to staff members, board officials and retired employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'created' => '2020-09-10',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12451',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'We are not Doing Business: Army Chief',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army’s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 10: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army&rsquo;s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.</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:Arial">Speaking on the occasion of his two years in office as the army chief, General Thapa on Wednesday said, &ldquo;We are not doing business. Please don&rsquo;t take it that way.&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:Arial">At a time when the national army is facing criticism for its involvement in business undertakings, CoAS Thapa clarified that the income generated from the Army&rsquo;s welfare fund, petrol station, and other activities is not pocketed by the generals but is utilized for charitable purpose.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Our country has not reached that state in which it is able to provide us all the required services,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;If we do not operate welfare fund, who is going to join the army?&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:Arial">Thapa compared the activities of army&rsquo;s welfare fund to the CSR activities of banks.</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:Arial">&ldquo;The only difference is that the banks spend 1 percent on CSR while the army&rsquo;s fund spends cent percent on CSR,&rdquo; he added.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Therefore, this is not a business.&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:Arial">CoAS Thapa said that he has seen many of the retired soldiers working on road-side stalls in Bhotahity or begging on the streets of Narayangadh.</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:Arial">&ldquo;It really saddens me. The need of the hour is to end such situation,&rdquo; he said.</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:Arial">He also clarified that the army has not invested in hydropower as it has been publicized but they have only discussed 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:Arial">Thapa reiterated the army&rsquo;s stance on zero tolerance towards corruption and added that the word &ldquo;professionalism&rdquo; better suits the army instead of &ldquo;democratization&rdquo; of army.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12452',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Industrialists Demand Alternative Measures to Operate Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. ',
			'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;">September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. </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;">The private sector has urged the government to look for alternatives after the administration tightened the precautionary measures due to increase in the number of coronavirus cases. </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;">After coronavirus infection was detected among the workers in the industrial corridor, the administration directed the industries to operate by creating quarantine facilities within the industry, or in the community if it is not possible within the industry. </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;">Stating that it is not possible to create separate quarantine for each industry, the entrepreneurs have suggested for group quarantine and isolation for industrial corridor. </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;">Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, says that, around 1000-bed quarantine centre and 200-bed isolation ward should be made in Birgunj in collaboration between the government and the private sector. He further said that the risk of infection will be decreased and easy operation of the industry can be done by keeping the workers from India and other districts in industrial quarantine for certain time. </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;">&ldquo;Most of the industries are running in low capacity now. Workers have to be brought in to run the industry in full capacity. Industrial quarantine and isolation is the easiest way for this,&rdquo; said Gupta, who is also a&nbsp; former &nbsp;president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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			'created' => '2020-09-10',
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			'description' => '',
			'sortorder' => '12198',
			'image' => '20200910030746_1599687943.Clipboard05.jpg',
			'article_date' => '2020-09-10 15:07:13',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12450',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Warn of Defying Government Order from September 17',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. </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:Arial">The Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) along with three trade unions on Wednesday decided to operate public vehicles along long and short routes from September 17.</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:Arial">The government had banned public transportation on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus. The government briefly lifted the ban on intra-district transportation on July 9, with the three districts of Kathmandu valley being the only exception. Although public transportation was allowed within other districts, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur were the only three districts where inter-district transportation was allowed briefly.</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:Arial">However, the district administration offices of Kathmandu Valley again imposed prohibitory order on August 19 along with various other districts, bringing transportation to a halt once again.</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:Arial">The irked transport entrepreneurs have now decided to operate their vehicles even if the government does not lift the restriction.</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:Arial">The transport entrepreneurs recently met with the Director General of the Department of Transport Management Gogal Bahadur Hamal and urged him to take the initiative for resuming transportation service.</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:Arial">&ldquo;We have requested the government to resume transportation service. If the government doesn&rsquo;t fulfill our demand, we will still operate our vehicles,&rdquo; says Yogendra Nath Karmacharya, president of FNNTE. </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:Arial">He warned that the transport entrepreneurs are ready to defy the prohibitory order. He is of the view that transport entrepreneurs should be allowed to operate their vehicles by following safety standards set by the government.</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:Arial">It is estimated that more than 1 million people associated with the transportation sector have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12449',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Authorities Ease Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley',
			'sub_title' => 'Odd-even rule to apply for vehicles from today',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A deserted road of Kathmandu Valley seen in this file photo.</em></p>

<p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-10%20at%2010.55.24%20AM%202.png" style="height:199px; width:800px" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur decided to ease the prohibitory order to some extent in the valley from today (September 10). The restrictions imposed on August 19 will remain in force till September 16, but in a changed modality.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A few days ago, automobile dealers of Nepal had threatened to defy the government order if the restrictions were extended beyond September 9. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of the three districts on Wednesday (September 9) decided to allow businesses to resume under certain conditions.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The authorities have decided to open various sectors by taking necessary safety measures. But educational institutions and cinema halls as well as other places likely to draw crowd will remain closed until further notice.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The local government has allocated separate days to run different businesses.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Starting from today, shops and other businesses can remain open on the days fixed by the authorities. As per the decision, shopping malls, fancy dress stores, shoe and cosmetic shops will remain open on&nbsp; Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Likewise, shops selling kitchen wares and utensils will remain open on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Similarly, automobiles and furniture shops can remain open on Mondays and Wednesdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">On the other hand, road-side vendors, footpath shops, stationary shops, electronics and departmental stores can remain open till 11 in the morning and from 4 to 7 in the evening.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">As per the new provision, vehicles will be allowed to operate on the basis of odd-even rule.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12448',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB Bars Banks to Raise Interest Rate of Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans. Previously, the rates would fluctuate when the banks adjusted their base rates every three months. Banks and financial institutions will now not be allowed to increase their interest rates on such loans.</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">Nepal Rastra Bank issued the Unified Directive 2077 on Tuesday, which states that banks and financial institutions will have to maintain a fixed interest rate for personal term loans with more than one year of maturity. Now, banks and financial institutions will not be able to change the interest rates on such loans midway through or before the maturity period. However, arrangements have been made that allow loans to be taken at a variable interest rate, which changes with the change in the base rate. Debtors have been given the facility to choose whether they want a variable or fixed interest rate while taking 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">&ldquo;This arrangement will be implemented for personal loans like home and auto loans along with any loans that requires monthly or periodic installments for payment, which have more than one year to maturity&rdquo; mentions the revised directive. </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">Nepal Rastra Bank has said that the banks will have to update the terms and conditions of the personal loans with periodic installment payments issued before the implementation of the directive, in order to provide the debtors with a fixed interest rate. The central bank has said that this change in the terms, payment schedule or installment amounts will not be considered as restructuring or rescheduling of the loans. Banks will have to decide and publish their fixed interest rate on a half-yearly basis.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Decrease in the Interest Rates of Call Deposits</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arrangements have been made to ensure that the interest rates on call deposits cannot be more than 50 percent of the minimum interest rate. Previously, the interest rate of a call deposit could be kept as low as the minimum interest rate on a savings account. If the minimum interest is 4 percent, the rate of interest on the call deposit cannot exceed 2 percent. Institutional investors used to increase the interest rate on call deposits through bargaining. It has been a relief for the banks after Nepal Rastra Bank banned such activities.</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 will not be allowed to issue cheques for such accounts either. A provision has been made to increase the published interest rate on all deposits except call deposits and institutional term deposit by up to 0.5 percentage points.</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 will no longer be allowed to deduct any amount from the account in case it is below the minimum balance. The directive has a provision that ensures interest payment even in the amount kept as the minimum balance in the account.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Interest to be paid in the Collateral Amount for Lockers</span></strong></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 and financial institutions will now have to pay a minimum interest rate on the amount taken from their customers as a collateral for receiving locker facility. Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that makes such interest rate equal to the interest rate on a general savings account. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Conditions on Dividends</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The directive issued on Tuesday has also added some conditions to dividend announcements. Banks and financial institutions will not be permitted to announce cash or stock dividends if they do not maintain the mandatory minimum capital ratio. Promoter shareholders holding 2 or more than 2 percent of the bank or financial institution&rsquo;s share will not be allowed to sell or pledge their stocks in another bank without getting a permission from the central bank.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">New Provision on Appointment of DCEO</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors of banks and financial institutions will no longer be able to directly appoint the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. A committee will have to be formed under the coordination of the CEO for this.</span></span></span></p>
',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12447',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prime Minister Employment Programme yet to Kick Off this Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.',
			'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;">September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.</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;">More than 383,000 unemployed people have registered their names so far this year to benefit from the scheme that provides at least 100 days of employment or equivalent amount in a year. The programme is being implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.</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, the government has not released the budget for implementation of the programme in 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 at the Ministry of Labour say that they are currently preparing the list of beneficiaries while the homework for releasing the budget is underway.</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;">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Bharat Mani Pandey informed that they are preparing to release the first installment for the programme. </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;">Pandey said that they are trying to address the problem of unemployment created by coronavirus and therefore the programme must go through certain procedure for implementation.</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 Pandey, the government is preparing to provide employment to those who have returned from foreign countries after losing their jobs and it needs to coordinate with the local units for this purpose. </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;We are seeking the details for implementing the project. Once we get the details, we will release the budget,&rdquo; said Pandey.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12446',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Bank Counters Opened for Tax Collection',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction.',
			'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;">September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction. Nepal Rastra Bank had directed banks and financial institutions involved in revenue collection to open all the branches and counters for three days starting from Tuesday (September 8). </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;">With the directive from the central bank, the branches and counters of the banks across the country have been opened on Tuesday. </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 central bank, till now the banks had been providing their service by opening limited branches, but to make it easier for revenue collection, they have been instructed to open the bank even if it is a public holiday on the last day. </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;">Executive Director of NRB, Dev Kumar Dhakal, said that to avoid overcrowding, the branches are being opened till 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;">Although the counter was opened on Tuesday, there was less movement on the first day. Officials of Inland Revenue Department said that the revenue collection was also low compared to other days. According to them, not more than Rs 50 million was collected on Tuesday. </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;">Stating that the taxpayers will increase in the last hour, Director General of the department, Binod Bahadur Kunwar, said that it has been made easier to pay taxes by opening the branches that were closed. According to him, although the private sector has requested to extend the deadline, it will not be extended immediately as no decision has been taken the by Ministry of Finance. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12445',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Controversial Contract of East-West Electric Railway Terminated ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The Railway Department on Tuesday, September 8, canceled the contract for construction of 106 km track-bed. The department canceled the contract after facing mounting criticism for allegedly awarding the contract to benefit a handful of companies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">A contract worth Rs 28 billion was awarded for the construction of the track-bed of the&nbsp;Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section on June 28 and July 1. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the department did not give an official reason for the cancellation of the contract, it was canceled on the basis of suggestions given by the evaluation committee and its sub-committee formed under the department to study the contract, informed a source at the department.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The source added that the decision to cancel the contract was taken after the government faced severe criticism for not following the public procurement regulations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">However, Balram Mishra, director general of the Railway Department, informed that the contract was canceled using the special authority of the department and not for any other reason.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;The director-general of the&nbsp;department has the exclusive right to terminate the contract if it is not appropriate,&quot; Mishra informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12444',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Banks Start Axing Branchless Banking Units ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn to their policy of promoting such service in the past.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A Point-of-Sales machine used to provide branchless banking service. Photo Courtesy: RBB</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn from their policy to promote such service in the past.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Banks have stated difficulty in providing branchless service due to Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for reduction in number of branchless banking units.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Earlier, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) had been increasing the number branchless banking facilities to increase the access of people to the banking services. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">However, commercial banks have closed 12 branchless banking units in the last four months amid coronavirus crisis, informed Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The move to reduce the number of branchless banking units has been construed as a measure taken by banks to reduce their operating cost after the pandemic started taking toll on the banks&rsquo; profit.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">BFIs need to take permission from the central bank to open or close branches while there isn&rsquo;t any requirement for such formalities in case of branchless banking service. Therefore, banks had been focusing on branchless banking service to provide their services at comparatively less cost. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">According to Nepal Rastra Bank, there were 586 branchless banking units as of mid-June, which has now shrunk to 574.</span></span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12443',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Finalize Deal with Zurich Airport International within 3 Weeks',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 9: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">A meeting of the Nijgadh Airport High-level Facilitation Committee chaired by tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Tuesday decided to hand over the responsibilities of finalizing the deal with the Swiss company to the Investment Board.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to submit a report on relocating the Tangia settlement within 15 days after a field visit. For this, the committee has formed another committee headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, informed tourism ministry&rsquo;s spokesperson Kamal Prasad Bhattarai.&nbsp; </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;Bangla MN&quot;">Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to complete the remaining procurement process in line with the master plan of the airport within a week.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The Nijgadh International Airport is one of the national pride projects of Nepal. The airport covers 1900 hectares of land. So far, the authorities have completed counting 57,350 trees in the construction site. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to provide additional human resource to the Division Forest Office, Bara to complete the &ldquo;numbering&rdquo; of trees and poles in the area so that the work gets completed within the next three months. </span></span></span></span></p>
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			'id' => '12442',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Time Period for Financial Closure of Energy Companies Extended to 5 Years ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Prior to this, the energy companies had to complete their financial closure within three years of obtaining their license. However, the government decided to amend the law in order to promote private sector in power production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Electricity Development Department, the government&nbsp; recently amended the Directives related to Hydropower Project License 2075 to give more time to the promoters for financial closure.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the department Navin Raj Singh says that the law has been amended to promote private sector&rsquo;s investment in energy production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Financial closure, return of deposits and other rules have been amended in favour of the promoters,&rdquo; said Singh.</span></span></span></p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12456',
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			'title' => 'Production of Food Industries Declining',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. ',
			'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;">September 11: The production capacity of food industries producing essential commodities has not improved due to the extended lockdown and prohibitory order. </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;">The government had allowed the food industries to operate even during the lockdown period, which was imposed on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus infection. However, the production capacity of the industries kept declining due to the lack of necessary environment for their operation. </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;">The food industry, which was operating at 30 percent capacity in mid-April, is now running at only 15 percent capacity. </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;">President of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;">, Subodh Kumar Gupta, says that the main reason for the lack of improvement in production capacity is the problem of labor management and lack of market mobility. </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;">He believes that the government should create separate quarantine and isolation facilities for the industrial workers but the lack of interest shown by the government has posed further challenges in labor management. </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;">Only 20 percent of the workers in the food industries operating in Birgunj, Biratnagar and other cities are from the respective districts, while 20 percent are from outside the district and 60 percent are Indians. </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;">Currently, the workers from outside the district and India have not been able to return back to work due to the recent lockdown and prohibitory order. Industrialists say that the returned ones are also having problem staying at the workplace. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Foreign Trade Declines due to Lockdown and Prohibitory Order',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: The volume of Nepal’s foreign trade has declined significantly due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus.',
			'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;">September 11: The volume of Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government to contain the spread 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;">Domestic production as well as daily consumption market has shrunk because of the impact of Covid-19. As a result, import from third countries has declined greatly during the last five months.</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 Laxman Khadka, chief of the Kolkata-based Nepal Transshipment and Warehouse Management Company (NTWC), Nepal-bound shipments have decreased by 23 percent during the lockdown 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;">Altogether 31,851 containers (20 feet) have left for Nepal from Kolkata and Visakhapatman between April to August of the current fiscal year. The number of containers that left for Nepal during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was 41,486, according to NTWC.</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;">Almost 90 percent of Nepal&rsquo;s overseas trade take place through Indian ports. Importers say that Nepal&rsquo;s foreign trade has been growing every year by 10 to 15 percent. However, this year, statistics show that the country&rsquo;s foreign trade has declined due to Covid-19 crisis.</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;In an average, around 300 Nepal-bound containers had arrived at the ports of Kolkata and Visakhapatnam during the month of August last year. But the number has dropped to 224 at present,&rdquo; said NTWC chief Khadka.</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 lifted the lockdown imposed since March&nbsp; 24 on the third week of July. But the local authorities again imposed prohibitory orders a month later, bringing the business down again.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12454',
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			'title' => '4 Million Jobs Added to Nepal’s Economy in the Past Decade: WB',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 11: Nepal’s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank’s recent Nepal Jobs Diagnostic report. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 11:</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"> Nepal&rsquo;s economy added nearly four million jobs over the past decade, and average job quality increased significantly, according to the World Bank&rsquo;s recent&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal Jobs Diagnostic</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;report.&nbsp; But continued job creation, especially of wage jobs, is needed to absorb underutilized workers into better-quality, stable, and well-paid jobs. The economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic &ndash; while not addressed in this report &ndash; highlights the importance of increasing stable and secure employment in the post-pandemic recovery period.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Nepal&rsquo;s economy has been gradually shifting from largely subsistence agriculture to more modern industry and services, and this structural transition is bringing&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">better work opportunities for the labor force. Despite great strides, not all job seekers are able to access quality jobs, especially women.&nbsp;In the last decade, large numbers of men have entered jobs in construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation, or have migrated abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Even though many of these are informal jobs or temporary wage jobs, they are nevertheless more productive and provide improved livelihoods compared to traditional low-productivity farm work. Women, on the other hand, have not transitioned in significant numbers.&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">The share of wage work in Nepal jumped from 17 percent to 24 percent of total employment between 2008 and 2018, as nearly half of the jobs added since 2008 were wage jobs.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;The shift toward wage employment signals a fundamental change in Nepal&rsquo;s economic development and is&nbsp;similar to patterns seen around the world. As economies diversify their production activities and increase scale economies, employment becomes more specialized and more productive, and jobs are increasingly based in firms rather than self-employment, and pay more,&rdquo; stated&nbsp;Dr Elizabeth Ruppert Bulmer, World Bank lead economist&nbsp;and main author of the report. &ldquo;Urbanization amplifies these effects by concentrating economic activities while increasing the variety of products and services.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Evidence from a combination of data sources &ndash; national labor force surveys from 1998, 2008 and 2018, the 2018 Economic Census, and a 2019 survey of 900 SMEs across 6 districts &ndash; points to a number of constraints to achieving better labor market outcomes in Nepal. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">One key impediment is Nepal&rsquo;s dramatic topography, which makes access to wage jobs and to product markets costly. Most jobs are informal and concentrate in relatively low productivity sectors, while most firms are micro-sized with one or two employees, and target small local markets rather than exporting or connecting to regional or global value chains. In addition to credit constraints, many SMEs&nbsp;cite tax regulations, high taxes, scarce skills, and bureaucratic inefficiencies as obstacles to growth and therefore job creation.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Gendered social norms have limited female labor mobility and work opportunities, reflected by the fact that most women remain in unpaid work. Three-quarters of new jobs taken up by women between 2008 and 2018 were in non-wage self-employment or unpaid family work, much of which was farm work. Occupational segregation and social norms contribute to the large earnings gap between men and women, as per the report.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;In order to improve job outcomes in Nepal, the report recommends policies focusing on fostering SME productivity and growth; improving the business environment and labor market policies; increasing the individual, family, and economy-wide benefits of international migration; and preparing and connecting women and youth to better jobs, including entrepreneurship.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;&ldquo;While the report does not address the shocks from COVID-19 experienced by Nepal&rsquo;s economy and its people, it underscores the imminent priority for Nepal to save livelihoods of the most vulnerable workers, including those in subsistence agriculture and urban and rural informal day laborers or self-employed workers who lost their income sources,&rdquo; states&nbsp;Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&ldquo;The Government of Nepal has already initiated programs including the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:Arial">Youth Employment Transformation Initiative</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">&nbsp;Project to address the immediate labor market challenges, and it is hoped that this analysis will further guide policy interventions to improve job outcomes as part of Nepal&rsquo;s resilient recovery efforts from the crisis.&rdquo;</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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			'title' => 'NAC Gets the Nod for Procurement of New Aircraft',
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			'summary' => 'September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 10: The Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattrai has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to immediately move ahead with the aircraft procurement plan. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai gave such instruction to facilitate air service to the citizens of remote areas of the country including hill and mountain districts.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister instructed NAC to submit a report for the purchase of domestic aircraft during a joint meeting with the executive chairman of the NAC Sushil Ghimire and the departmental heads of the ministry on Wednesday, September 8.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">NAC currently has only two twin-engine aircraft in operation for domestic flights to the mountain region basically known as short takeoff and landing routes (STOL) while three of its Harbin Y 12 Chinese aircraft are running out of manpower. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Minister Bhattarai said that the&nbsp;corporation has been instructed to move ahead with the procurement plan immediately as it needs new aircraft to expand its domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also informed that the NAC officials have been instructed to prepare a detailed report for this by discussing with the Citizens Investment Trust, Provident Fund, and the Tourism Ministry and Finance Ministry.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;Nepal Airlines is the national flag carrier and it needs to work to preserve its legacy,&quot; he added. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">He also instructed NAC to reduce the expenses as well as the meeting allowance, and to cut down the number of staffers abroad. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The minister also directed NAC to reduce the facilities provided to staff members, board officials and retired employees.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12451',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'We are not Doing Business: Army Chief',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army’s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 10: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa has urged the public not to consider the Army&rsquo;s undertakings such as the welfare fund, petrol station, road construction and other activities as profitable business.</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:Arial">Speaking on the occasion of his two years in office as the army chief, General Thapa on Wednesday said, &ldquo;We are not doing business. Please don&rsquo;t take it that way.&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:Arial">At a time when the national army is facing criticism for its involvement in business undertakings, CoAS Thapa clarified that the income generated from the Army&rsquo;s welfare fund, petrol station, and other activities is not pocketed by the generals but is utilized for charitable purpose.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Our country has not reached that state in which it is able to provide us all the required services,&rdquo; said Thapa, adding, &ldquo;If we do not operate welfare fund, who is going to join the army?&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:Arial">Thapa compared the activities of army&rsquo;s welfare fund to the CSR activities of banks.</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:Arial">&ldquo;The only difference is that the banks spend 1 percent on CSR while the army&rsquo;s fund spends cent percent on CSR,&rdquo; he added.</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:Arial">&ldquo;Therefore, this is not a business.&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:Arial">CoAS Thapa said that he has seen many of the retired soldiers working on road-side stalls in Bhotahity or begging on the streets of Narayangadh.</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:Arial">&ldquo;It really saddens me. The need of the hour is to end such situation,&rdquo; he said.</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:Arial">He also clarified that the army has not invested in hydropower as it has been publicized but they have only discussed 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:Arial">Thapa reiterated the army&rsquo;s stance on zero tolerance towards corruption and added that the word &ldquo;professionalism&rdquo; better suits the army instead of &ldquo;democratization&rdquo; of army.</span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12452',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Industrialists Demand Alternative Measures to Operate Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. ',
			'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;">September 10: Troubled by the six-month long lockdown and prohibitory order, entrepreneurs of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have requested the government to adopt alternative measures to operate the industrial sector. </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;">The private sector has urged the government to look for alternatives after the administration tightened the precautionary measures due to increase in the number of coronavirus cases. </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;">After coronavirus infection was detected among the workers in the industrial corridor, the administration directed the industries to operate by creating quarantine facilities within the industry, or in the community if it is not possible within the industry. </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;">Stating that it is not possible to create separate quarantine for each industry, the entrepreneurs have suggested for group quarantine and isolation for industrial corridor. </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;">Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce, says that, around 1000-bed quarantine centre and 200-bed isolation ward should be made in Birgunj in collaboration between the government and the private sector. He further said that the risk of infection will be decreased and easy operation of the industry can be done by keeping the workers from India and other districts in industrial quarantine for certain time. </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;">&ldquo;Most of the industries are running in low capacity now. Workers have to be brought in to run the industry in full capacity. Industrial quarantine and isolation is the easiest way for this,&rdquo; said Gupta, who is also a&nbsp; former &nbsp;president of the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil and Pulses Industry. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12450',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Transport Entrepreneurs Warn of Defying Government Order from September 17',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 10: Transport entrepreneurs have announced to resume all kinds of public transportation services from September 17. </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:Arial">The Federation of Nepal National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE) along with three trade unions on Wednesday decided to operate public vehicles along long and short routes from September 17.</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:Arial">The government had banned public transportation on March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus. The government briefly lifted the ban on intra-district transportation on July 9, with the three districts of Kathmandu valley being the only exception. Although public transportation was allowed within other districts, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur were the only three districts where inter-district transportation was allowed briefly.</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:Arial">However, the district administration offices of Kathmandu Valley again imposed prohibitory order on August 19 along with various other districts, bringing transportation to a halt once again.</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:Arial">The irked transport entrepreneurs have now decided to operate their vehicles even if the government does not lift the restriction.</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:Arial">The transport entrepreneurs recently met with the Director General of the Department of Transport Management Gogal Bahadur Hamal and urged him to take the initiative for resuming transportation service.</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:Arial">&ldquo;We have requested the government to resume transportation service. If the government doesn&rsquo;t fulfill our demand, we will still operate our vehicles,&rdquo; says Yogendra Nath Karmacharya, president of FNNTE. </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:Arial">He warned that the transport entrepreneurs are ready to defy the prohibitory order. He is of the view that transport entrepreneurs should be allowed to operate their vehicles by following safety standards set by the government.</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:Arial">It is estimated that more than 1 million people associated with the transportation sector have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown and prohibitory order imposed by the government.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12449',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Government Authorities Ease Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley',
			'sub_title' => 'Odd-even rule to apply for vehicles from today',
			'summary' => 'September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A deserted road of Kathmandu Valley seen in this file photo.</em></p>

<p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-10%20at%2010.55.24%20AM%202.png" style="height:199px; width:800px" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">September 10: Government authorities have eased the prohibitory order in Kathmandu Valley amid threats from the business community that they would defy the government order if the restrictions are extended any longer.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur decided to ease the prohibitory order to some extent in the valley from today (September 10). The restrictions imposed on August 19 will remain in force till September 16, but in a changed modality.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A few days ago, automobile dealers of Nepal had threatened to defy the government order if the restrictions were extended beyond September 9. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">A meeting of the chief district officers of the three districts on Wednesday (September 9) decided to allow businesses to resume under certain conditions.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The authorities have decided to open various sectors by taking necessary safety measures. But educational institutions and cinema halls as well as other places likely to draw crowd will remain closed until further notice.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">The local government has allocated separate days to run different businesses.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Starting from today, shops and other businesses can remain open on the days fixed by the authorities. As per the decision, shopping malls, fancy dress stores, shoe and cosmetic shops will remain open on&nbsp; Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Likewise, shops selling kitchen wares and utensils will remain open on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Similarly, automobiles and furniture shops can remain open on Mondays and Wednesdays. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">On the other hand, road-side vendors, footpath shops, stationary shops, electronics and departmental stores can remain open till 11 in the morning and from 4 to 7 in the evening.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:16.0pt">As per the new provision, vehicles will be allowed to operate on the basis of odd-even rule.</span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12448',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'NRB Bars Banks to Raise Interest Rate of Term Loans',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans.',
			'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 9: Debtors with personal loans, such as home and auto loans, do not have to worry about the repetitive increase in interest rates on their loans. Previously, the rates would fluctuate when the banks adjusted their base rates every three months. Banks and financial institutions will now not be allowed to increase their interest rates on such loans.</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">Nepal Rastra Bank issued the Unified Directive 2077 on Tuesday, which states that banks and financial institutions will have to maintain a fixed interest rate for personal term loans with more than one year of maturity. Now, banks and financial institutions will not be able to change the interest rates on such loans midway through or before the maturity period. However, arrangements have been made that allow loans to be taken at a variable interest rate, which changes with the change in the base rate. Debtors have been given the facility to choose whether they want a variable or fixed interest rate while taking 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">&ldquo;This arrangement will be implemented for personal loans like home and auto loans along with any loans that requires monthly or periodic installments for payment, which have more than one year to maturity&rdquo; mentions the revised directive. </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">Nepal Rastra Bank has said that the banks will have to update the terms and conditions of the personal loans with periodic installment payments issued before the implementation of the directive, in order to provide the debtors with a fixed interest rate. The central bank has said that this change in the terms, payment schedule or installment amounts will not be considered as restructuring or rescheduling of the loans. Banks will have to decide and publish their fixed interest rate on a half-yearly basis.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Decrease in the Interest Rates of Call Deposits</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Arrangements have been made to ensure that the interest rates on call deposits cannot be more than 50 percent of the minimum interest rate. Previously, the interest rate of a call deposit could be kept as low as the minimum interest rate on a savings account. If the minimum interest is 4 percent, the rate of interest on the call deposit cannot exceed 2 percent. Institutional investors used to increase the interest rate on call deposits through bargaining. It has been a relief for the banks after Nepal Rastra Bank banned such activities.</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 will not be allowed to issue cheques for such accounts either. A provision has been made to increase the published interest rate on all deposits except call deposits and institutional term deposit by up to 0.5 percentage points.</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 will no longer be allowed to deduct any amount from the account in case it is below the minimum balance. The directive has a provision that ensures interest payment even in the amount kept as the minimum balance in the account.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Interest to be paid in the Collateral Amount for Lockers</span></strong></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 and financial institutions will now have to pay a minimum interest rate on the amount taken from their customers as a collateral for receiving locker facility. Nepal Rastra Bank has made a provision that makes such interest rate equal to the interest rate on a general savings account. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Conditions on Dividends</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The directive issued on Tuesday has also added some conditions to dividend announcements. Banks and financial institutions will not be permitted to announce cash or stock dividends if they do not maintain the mandatory minimum capital ratio. Promoter shareholders holding 2 or more than 2 percent of the bank or financial institution&rsquo;s share will not be allowed to sell or pledge their stocks in another bank without getting a permission from the central bank.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">New Provision on Appointment of DCEO</span></strong></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Chief Executive Officer or the board of directors of banks and financial institutions will no longer be able to directly appoint the Deputy Chief Executive Officer. A committee will have to be formed under the coordination of the CEO for this.</span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12447',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Prime Minister Employment Programme yet to Kick Off this Year',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.',
			'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;">September 9: The Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) is yet to commence during the current fiscal year although countless people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.</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;">More than 383,000 unemployed people have registered their names so far this year to benefit from the scheme that provides at least 100 days of employment or equivalent amount in a year. The programme is being implemented with financial assistance from the World Bank.</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, the government has not released the budget for implementation of the programme in 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 at the Ministry of Labour say that they are currently preparing the list of beneficiaries while the homework for releasing the budget is underway.</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;">Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Bharat Mani Pandey informed that they are preparing to release the first installment for the programme. </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;">Pandey said that they are trying to address the problem of unemployment created by coronavirus and therefore the programme must go through certain procedure for implementation.</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 Pandey, the government is preparing to provide employment to those who have returned from foreign countries after losing their jobs and it needs to coordinate with the local units for this purpose. </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;We are seeking the details for implementing the project. Once we get the details, we will release the budget,&rdquo; said Pandey.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times">&nbsp;</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12446',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Bank Counters Opened for Tax Collection',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction.',
			'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;">September 9: Banks have opened all their counters upon the instruction of the government so that the private sectors can pay taxes even amid restriction. Nepal Rastra Bank had directed banks and financial institutions involved in revenue collection to open all the branches and counters for three days starting from Tuesday (September 8). </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;">With the directive from the central bank, the branches and counters of the banks across the country have been opened on Tuesday. </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 central bank, till now the banks had been providing their service by opening limited branches, but to make it easier for revenue collection, they have been instructed to open the bank even if it is a public holiday on the last day. </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;">Executive Director of NRB, Dev Kumar Dhakal, said that to avoid overcrowding, the branches are being opened till 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;">Although the counter was opened on Tuesday, there was less movement on the first day. Officials of Inland Revenue Department said that the revenue collection was also low compared to other days. According to them, not more than Rs 50 million was collected on Tuesday. </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;">Stating that the taxpayers will increase in the last hour, Director General of the department, Binod Bahadur Kunwar, said that it has been made easier to pay taxes by opening the branches that were closed. According to him, although the private sector has requested to extend the deadline, it will not be extended immediately as no decision has been taken the by Ministry of Finance. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12445',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Controversial Contract of East-West Electric Railway Terminated ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">September 9: The contract of the Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section of the East-West Electric Railway, which was signed by the Railway Department without completing the basic aspects like land acquisition, distribution of compensation, and site clearance, has finally been canceled.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The Railway Department on Tuesday, September 8, canceled the contract for construction of 106 km track-bed. The department canceled the contract after facing mounting criticism for allegedly awarding the contract to benefit a handful of companies.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">A contract worth Rs 28 billion was awarded for the construction of the track-bed of the&nbsp;Kakadvitta-Inaruwa section on June 28 and July 1. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">Although the department did not give an official reason for the cancellation of the contract, it was canceled on the basis of suggestions given by the evaluation committee and its sub-committee formed under the department to study the contract, informed a source at the department.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">The source added that the decision to cancel the contract was taken after the government faced severe criticism for not following the public procurement regulations.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">However, Balram Mishra, director general of the Railway Department, informed that the contract was canceled using the special authority of the department and not for any other reason.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri">&quot;The director-general of the&nbsp;department has the exclusive right to terminate the contract if it is not appropriate,&quot; Mishra informed.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12444',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Banks Start Axing Branchless Banking Units ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn to their policy of promoting such service in the past.',
			'content' => '<p><em>A Point-of-Sales machine used to provide branchless banking service. Photo Courtesy: RBB</em></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">September 9: Banks have started reducing the number of branchless banking facilities in the recent days taking a U-turn from their policy to promote such service in the past.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Banks have stated difficulty in providing branchless service due to Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for reduction in number of branchless banking units.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">Earlier, banks and financial institutions (BFIs) had been increasing the number branchless banking facilities to increase the access of people to the banking services. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">However, commercial banks have closed 12 branchless banking units in the last four months amid coronavirus crisis, informed Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The move to reduce the number of branchless banking units has been construed as a measure taken by banks to reduce their operating cost after the pandemic started taking toll on the banks&rsquo; profit.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">BFIs need to take permission from the central bank to open or close branches while there isn&rsquo;t any requirement for such formalities in case of branchless banking service. Therefore, banks had been focusing on branchless banking service to provide their services at comparatively less cost. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">According to Nepal Rastra Bank, there were 586 branchless banking units as of mid-June, which has now shrunk to 574.</span></span></span></span></p>
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			'sortorder' => '12191',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12443',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Tourism Ministry to Finalize Deal with Zurich Airport International within 3 Weeks',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 9: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Devanagari Sangam MN&quot;">September 9: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Bangla MN&quot;">The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has decided to finalize the investment deal with Zurich Airport International within September 30.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">A meeting of the Nijgadh Airport High-level Facilitation Committee chaired by tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai on Tuesday decided to hand over the responsibilities of finalizing the deal with the Swiss company to the Investment Board.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to submit a report on relocating the Tangia settlement within 15 days after a field visit. For this, the committee has formed another committee headed by a joint secretary of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, informed tourism ministry&rsquo;s spokesperson Kamal Prasad Bhattarai.&nbsp; </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;Bangla MN&quot;">Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to complete the remaining procurement process in line with the master plan of the airport within a week.</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;Bangla MN&quot;">The Nijgadh International Airport is one of the national pride projects of Nepal. The airport covers 1900 hectares of land. So far, the authorities have completed counting 57,350 trees in the construction site. </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;Bangla MN&quot;">The meeting also decided to provide additional human resource to the Division Forest Office, Bara to complete the &ldquo;numbering&rdquo; of trees and poles in the area so that the work gets completed within the next three months. </span></span></span></span></p>
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '12442',
			'article_category_id' => '1',
			'title' => 'Time Period for Financial Closure of Energy Companies Extended to 5 Years ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => 'September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. ',
			'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">September 8: Promoters of energy companies have been granted permission for financial closure five years after obtaining the license. </span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Prior to this, the energy companies had to complete their financial closure within three years of obtaining their license. However, the government decided to amend the law in order to promote private sector in power production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">According to the Electricity Development Department, the government&nbsp; recently amended the Directives related to Hydropower Project License 2075 to give more time to the promoters for financial closure.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">Director General of the department Navin Raj Singh says that the law has been amended to promote private sector&rsquo;s investment in energy production.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial Unicode MS&quot;">&ldquo;Financial closure, return of deposits and other rules have been amended in favour of the promoters,&rdquo; said Singh.</span></span></span></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