September 6: The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19…
September 6: The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19…
September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program…
September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits.…
September 4: With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and…
September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August.…
September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding…
September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the…
September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period.…
September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic.…
September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of…
September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight.…
September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days.…
September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal.…
September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders to contain the spread of…
September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers.…
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Photo Courtesy: Seven Summit Treks</em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 6: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department issued permission to a six-member Nepali team for the first expedition of the season. The department confirmed that the team led by Dawa Steven Sherpa will be the first to scale the 7129 meters peak in the upcoming fall season.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With this decision, the department has opened the door for other expeditions to scale mountains in Nepal, said Meera Acharya, director of the Department of Tourism.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Bahrain’s prince Nasir Bin Hamad Al Khalifa will visit Nepal for an expedition after September 15. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The prince, who is also the commander of Bahrain Army, will lead an 18-member expedition team which also includes three Britishers. Prince Khalifa’s team will remain in Nepal for two 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Council of Ministers approved the team to visit Nepal on a chartered flight upon the recommendation of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai a few days ago.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The team from Bahrain will be accompanied by Seven Summit Treks. The team will first scale Lobuche (6119) and then Manaslu (8163). The team is planning to return next year to scale Everest.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, stakeholders say the visit of a VIP for expedition is a positive step for the tourism industry of Nepal which is badly affected by 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">This expedition is expected to draw the attention of the world and provide some relief to the industry, says General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association Kul Bahadur Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12173', 'image' => '20200906115928_0329255f8dbb13d28ed16e844b6efa3c.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:58:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12425', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Provides Additional Grant of US$10.85 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'The Fund will be Utilized to Support Learning and Build Resilient Education Sector in Nepal amid COVID-19 crisis', 'summary' => 'September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP)', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) to maintain access to basic education and continued learning for children amid the COVID-19 crisis. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the program aims to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education 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:Times"> The World Bank says that the additional grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) COVID-19 Accelerated Funds will contribute to the implementation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s COVID-19 contingency plan </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">to mitigate and respond to the potential impacts of the pandemic on the education sector</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Shree Krishna Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal and by the World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos amid a function on September 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “We are thankful to the World Bank and GPE for the additional grant that will help mitigate learning loss for children due to the impact of COVID-19,” the statement quoted Joint Secretary Nepal as saying. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">“</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant provides much needed support to the government to </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">respond to the impacts of the pandemic</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> to enable continuity of learning </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">during school closures, enable schools to safely resume and mitigate the impacts on students and teachers, including loss of learning time and psychosocial impacts.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The additional grant will finance activities to support remote learning programs through television, radio and the learning portal as well as printed learning packs for children who do not have access to media or internet, the statement further said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant will support communication campaigns and teacher professional development programs and help strengthen the Education Management Information Systems. The grant will also support provincial and local governments to support safe reopening of schools and continued learning of children.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “The education sector in Nepal and across the world has been one of the hardest hit owing to the pandemic which has deeply affected learning outcomes for children,” stated Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for the 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:Times"> “While supporting the immediate needs for safeguarding access and learning for children, especially girls, the additional grant will support the broader resilient recovery efforts of the government and help build back better the education sector 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:Times">The SSDP is a sector-wide program supported by IDA credit of US$185 million, together with support from Asian Development Bank, European Union, Finland, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency, Norway, USAID, UNICEF and REACH Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-06%20at%2011.27.56%20AM.png" style="height:408px; width:537px" /></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <em>Source: World Bank</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12172', 'image' => '20200906112737_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:25:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12424', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Paying Tens of Millions for Safeguarding Loans and Deposits', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. In the last fiscal year alone, 72 banks and finance companies paid around Rs 1.61 billion to the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund for the risk management of their deposits and loans. Banks had paid Rs 1,058,000,000 for the protection of their deposits and Rs. 552,500,000 for the protection of their loans. The fund has been investing the collected fees in government bonds and term deposits of commercial banks.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Deposits of banks and finance companies haven’t declined by much despite the coronavirus pandemic. This is also the reason for the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund to be able to collect Rs 286.4 million for the protection of deposits of banks and finance companies in the first month of the current fiscal year. Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Bishnu Babu Mishra, says that the Fund aims to raise the amount collected for the protection of deposits. According to him, the Fund has an estimated target of raising Rs 1,145,700,000 from the banks for the protection of their deposits in the current fiscal year 2077/78.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund collects the fee every 3 months (that is 4 times a year) for the insurance of all kinds of deposits made by the depositors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“As per the Deposit Protection Regulations 2075, the Fund charges an annual fee of 0.16 percent i.e. a monthly fee of 0.04 percent of the total deposits for the protecting the deposits,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund determines the fee for the protection of loans in accordance to the regulations. The regulations have a provision for banks to pay 1 percent of the remaining principal and the interest amount to the Fund as the loan protection fee. CEO Mishra informed that the banks are not permitted to collect this money from the customers by charging them with a separate heading of “deposits and loan protection”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Fund, a sum of Rs 713 billion has been protected from the 26,664,000 depositors of different banks and finance companies till date. In addition, loan of around Rs billion taken by 899,000 debtors has been protected by the Fund. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund invests the fees accumulated from the banks and finance companies in commercial banks. Even though the Fund is allowed to invest in government bonds, they have mostly been investing entirely in commercial banks. As per the Investment Regulation 2074, investment in only the term deposits or call deposits of banks that have been in profit for a consecutive 5 years is permitted. The single or multiple deposits made in a bank’s term deposit account should not exceed 20 percent of the bank’s paid-up capital or the Fund’s total investment. The Fund can not deposit an amount less than Rs 50,000,000 or more than Rs 1 billion , in the term account of a bank in one transaction. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12171', 'image' => '20200904034517_bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 15:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12423', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bound Goods From China Stuck at Border Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Devanagari Sangam MN"">September 4: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi. There is high demand for readymade garments during the Dashain festival, which falls in mid-October this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">According to the Customs Department, the Tatopani transit point is closed since the last two months due to landslides while the Rasuwagadhi border hasn’t come into operation after the workers involved in loading goods there were diagnosed with Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Director of the Customs Department, Sishir Ghimire, says that operating the customs points with China was always challenging due to the difficult topography. In addition to this, they are now facing the problems of natural calamity and Covid-19 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:"Bangla MN"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Customs Office Punya Bikram Khadka sys that they are unable to resume service from the customs point after detection of virus among the workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">“Other workers are currently placed in quarantine and their swab samples have been collected. It is not possible to reopen the border until we get the report,” said 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:"Bangla MN"">He says that his Chinese counterpart has decided to release the goods only after getting the PCR reports of the drivers, and other staffers involved in unloading goods at the customs points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">More that 30 containers are currently stranded at the customs points. Customs chief Khadka says they are making efforts to reopen the border as soon as possible because a large quantity of goods are imported during this season for the Dashain festival. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12170', 'image' => '20200904025150_1599171108.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:51:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12422', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collection of Insurance Premium Increased after Lockdown was Lifted ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. </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:"Times New Roman"">The average monthly premium collection of all 19 insurance companies of Nepal is Rs 7.75 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">The preliminary data of Insurance Board Nepal shows that the total premium collection in July/August was above average. The total amount collected by the insurance companies during the review month stood at Rs 10.14 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Life Insurance Company is ahead in terms of premium collection. The company collected Rs 3.97 billion premium in July/August. Likewise, National Life Insurance Company collected Rs 1.6 billion and NLIC collected Rs 1.5 billion premium during the same period. </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:"Times New Roman"">The four-month lockdown that was imposed in March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus affected life insurance businesses. Since the renewal of old insurance policy is done in April, May and June, the insurance business grows during this 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:"Times New Roman"">As the fiscal year ends in June/July, the premium collection in the month is higher than other months. However, due to the lockdown, it was not easy for the insurance businesses. </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:"Times New Roman"">After the lockdown was eased in June, the life insurance companies were back in business. The premium collection in June was Rs 24 billon, which is higher than average. The premium collection was higher as the companies and insurance agents were active after the lockdown was lifted. </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:"Times New Roman"">CEO of Union Life Insurance Company, Manoj Kumar Lal Karna informed that with the impact of June, the collection of insurance premiums has also increased in July. “There was no lockdown in July and so the agents could go to the field and work,” he said, adding, “As a result, the insurance premium increased in July.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12169', 'image' => '20200904021424_1599171150.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:13:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12421', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tender Evaluation of East-West Highway Faces Technical Glitch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.</span></span></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 concerned authorities are unable to evaluate the documents since the last three weeks.</span></span></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">Issuing a notice on August 26, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) said that the procurement process has been halted because of their failure to download the documents since last month.</span></span></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">Coincidently, Patan High Court had ordered the PPMO to move ahead with the tender process the same day.</span></span></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 Department of Railways was preparing to evaluate 120 proposals for the construction of the 106-kilometer long track-bed along the section. But the process has remained on hold ever since the problem surfaced.</span></span></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">Director General of the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra, informed that although they were preparing to evaluate the proposals after the high court’s ruling, they were unable to do so due to the problem in downloading the documents.</span></span></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">Spokesperson of PPMO Sushil Dhakal says they are making efforts to resolve the problem but did not specify the exact time they will be able to sort out 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">However, the inordinate delay has cast doubts about the intention of the concerned government bodies.</span></span></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 has been accused of trying to award the contract worth Rs 28 billion to selected contractors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12168', 'image' => '20200904124847_1599170858.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 12:48:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12420', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NCP Selects Vice Chairman Gautam over Finance Minister Khatiwada', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in favour of nominating Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada for another term but he was under mounting pressure to recommend Gautam for the post to maintain internal balance and cordial relation within the party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha confirmed that the secretariat meeting of the party held at PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Thursday (September 3) decided to recommend Gautam’s name.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada has to be re-appointed as member of the upper house of parliament to continue as finance minister after September 5. However, Khatiwada’s chances of continuing his office as the finance minister has been all but ended with the party’s decision to choose Gautam.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">However, Khatiwada still has slim chances of remaining in office provided that the party orders any one of the two nominated MPs to resign for re-appointing Khatiwada. However, the secretariat meeting on Thursday did not discuss this issue, informed party spokesperson Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The secretariat meeting had decided to recommend Gautam’s name six months ago. But the party had courted controversy for not implementing the decision. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada’s first term in office had ended on March 3 but he got nominated as upper house member by the president six months ago upon PM Oli’s recommendation. Without being a member of parliament, Khatiwada cannot continue as finance minister. He current holds the portfolio of Communication and Information Minister as well.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12167', 'image' => '20200904113647_20191022025030_20190927045330__MG_7700.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 11:36:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12419', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Industries Struggling due to Prohibitory Order', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. Soon after imposing lockdown on March 24, the government had pledged to facilitate in reopening factories that produce essential goods. However, the production and supply of such essential goods have become problematic after the district administration offices in various districts issued prohibitory orders 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Industrialists complain that operating their factories has become uncertain because of the strict measures adopted by government authorities. Even the production of food and medicines has been badly affected by the prohibitory orders issued by more than 50 districts. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Pharmaceutical companies in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have been closed since one week after the local administration ordered quarantine facility for workers within the industry. Factories producing food are also operating with minimum work force.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Low production is likely to disrupt the supply chain, warns Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang says that they believe the industrial sector as the source of community transmission of coronavirus in the region.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Soon after the lockdown was lifted about a month ago, Indian workers employed in the industries tested positive for coronavirus, says Tamang. Therefore, they took precautionary measures to stop the disease from spreading.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12166', 'image' => '20200903060551_20200830020949_1598735616.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 18:04:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12418', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'More than 10 Thousand Added in the Blacklist of BFIs', 'sub_title' => '65% in the blacklist because of bounced cheques', 'summary' => 'September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. People who have written cheques with insufficient balance in their accounts have been listed in the blacklist more than the debtors.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Data from the Credit Information Centre shows that 10,732 people have been added to the blacklist from mid-March to mid-August. There are 13,024 people in the blacklist. A total of 9,626 people were added in the month of Ashad (mid-June to mid-July) alone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, the number of people blacklisted in the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May) was 26 followed by 89 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 137 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) and 168 in Bhadra (August end).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Anil Adhikari, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Information Centre, said that international organizations like the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation have also inquired about the increase in the number of blacklisted people. He said that confusions were created because the data published by the Centre contained the names of not just debtors but also the people with bounced cheques.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made an arrangement through the integrated directive issued in Bhadra 2076 to blacklist a person, firm, company or an organization if they sign their cheque incorrectly or have insufficient balance in their account and do not make the payment within a week. Previously, only the people with repetitive bounced cheques were blacklisted. The Centre says that while the number of debtors with non-performing loans has gone down, the number of people with bounced cheques has increased in the blacklist. According to the Centre, 65% i.e. 6,500 people have been enlisted in the blacklist because of bounced cheques. The Chief Executive Officer Adhikari says that the remaining 35% are debtors being monitored because of bad debts or non-performing loans.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“All of the people listed in the blacklist have signed bounced cheques. Most of them have bounced cheques ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000,” Adhikari told New Business Age, adding, “After many failed attempts of trying to get their money from the cheques, people submit an application to the bank, requesting to add their creditor to the blacklist. On this basis, the banks submit the names of their customers with bounced cheques and we add them to the blacklist.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that we will be able to observe the rate of increment of people in the blacklist after the end of the exemptions provided by Nepal Rastra Bank. CEO Adhikari estimates that the number of people in the blacklist due to bad debts will increase after about 4 months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank has arranged discounts to severely affected, medium affected and less affected businesses as they were affected by the lockdown enforced because of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers' Association Bhuwan Dahal said that many debtors have been saved from being added to the blacklist because of the extension in the loan payment period by the central bank. According to him, the reason for the lesser number of debtors in the blacklist is also the exemption given by the central bank to the banks and finance companies to classify the loans given after the end of Poush 2076 (mid-January 2020) till the end of Ashad 2077 (mid-July 2020) as good loans. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“According to this arrangement, the debtors who had non-performing loans or bad debts before the end of Poush, 2076 have been added to the blacklist. If the economy improves after the exemption period finishes, we can expect the number of blacklisted debtors to decrease,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BFIs are not allowed to provide loans to blacklisted debtors. In case a loan is given to them, there is a policy that automatically considers this loan a bad debt. In addition, a blacklisted person may also not to be able to get various benefits provided by the state.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12165', 'image' => '20200903031423_1596058689.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 15:13:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12417', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Multinational Company Nielsen Nepal in Liquidation Process', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation. Multinational company Nielsen Holdings, which has 100 percent stake on Nielsen Nepal, had decided to close its office in Nepal on June 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The company is likely to complete the liquidation process within September 30. A source at the company informed New Business Age that they have completed all internal the paper works for liquidation and is only awaiting the formal process to complete within this month. The liquidation process has been pushed back by the prohibitory order issued by the District Administration Office of the Kathmandu Valley, the source further 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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been involved in market research in Nepal since 1993. However, the company was unable to carry its business as expected during recent months. The coronavirus pandemic further aggravated the problems of the company after which it decided to go for liquidation.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Besides Nepal, Nielsen Holdings has decided to close its offices in four other countries as well.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">New York-based Nielsen Holdings is an internationally renowned data analysis company.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been conducting market research, social research and retail measurement services. However, due to bleak prospects in these areas, the company decided to close its office in Nepal, it has been learnt.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The company found that its expenses in Nepal were more than the income it has been making, the source said. Nielsen Holdings is reportedly investing in only those countries where there is high return.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Other multinational companies like Surya Nepal, Unilever Nepal among others used to hire Nielsen Nepal for market research. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the decision to close the company in Nepal, more than 60 full-time workers and over 200 independent researchers associated with the company have lost their jobs.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Four of the staffers of the company have set up a new company named Mark Data Nepal, which is similar in nature to Nielsen Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12164', 'image' => '20200903022731_508672712_1517483463.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 14:26:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12416', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Directs Air Arabia to Refund Passengers', 'sub_title' => 'Commercial Flights Resume from September 2', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. </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 Unicode MS"">The government issued such directive during a regular meeting at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday (September 2) following complaints of excessive charge by the airline company during a recent flight.</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 Unicode MS"">The airline company has been accused of charging extra amount to 142 out of 161 passengers who travelled to Nepal from Sharjah of the UAE in an Air Arabia flight on August 25. </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 Unicode MS"">The airliner had carried 142 passengers who underwent Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, 18 who had done Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and one without any test to Nepal and kept them in hotel quarantine. The airline company allegedly charged the amount for their stay in hotel while selling the tickets but the passengers later had to pay the hotel bill themselves. Following complaints that the passengers were duped by the company and had to pay twice for the service, the ministry directed the airline company to foot the bill. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the concerned authorities to take action against the airline company if it refuses to refund the amount. Likewise, the ministry has also requested international airline companies not to charge any additional amount to the passengers during the current crisis.</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 Unicode MS"">Travel agencies have been blamed for taking advantage of the current situation while selling tickets due to the unavailability of regular flights. Minister Bhattarai opined that the airline companies must regulate the black marketing. He added that the ministry will coordinate with Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad and the non-residential Nepalis to control the black market of air tickets.</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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, international commercial flights resumed in Nepal from Wednesday (September 2) after a gap of almost five months. The government had earlier decided to resume regular flights from September 2 by following the required safety protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12163', 'image' => '20200903010406_1599085733.Clipboard14.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 13:03:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12415', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley Extended by One Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the latest decision taken by the chief district officers Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the prohibitory order will remain in effect till midnight of September 9. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">However, the district administration offices of the three districts in the valley have eased the restrictions to some extent this time.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">From now onwards, groceries and other shops selling fruits, vegetables and milk can remain open till 11 am in the morning. Meanwhile, shops selling drinking water can open throughout the day. There are no restrictions for pharmaceutical shops. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, any person entering Kathmandu for emergency purpose needs to mandatorily present a PCR report with negative result.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">It is also mandatory for the people to wear mask in public places.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Likewise, staffers providing essential services will be allowed to commute between 9 to 10.30 in the morning and 3 to 5 pm in the evening.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) can operate by maintaining safety protocols and deploying minimum staffers.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Hotels and restaurants will remain completely shut during the extended period of the prohibitory order. Road-side vendors have also not been permitted to resume their 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 Unicode MS"">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur had imposed the prohibitory order on August 19 after a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the valley. The prohibitory order has been extended twice and this is the third week of 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 Unicode MS"">The District Administration Office, Kathmandu informed New Business Age that they decided to slightly change the modality of the prohibitory order after consulting with the concerned stakeholders, including the business community, health experts and the local representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12162', 'image' => '20200903113103_1599056781.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 11:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12414', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daraz Offers Discount to Visa Card Holders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Daraz </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">and Visa are offering Visa card holders a 15 percent discount on prepayments till September 30, reads a joint statement issued by the two companies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Customers can choose anything amongst 450,000 products ranging from electronics, groceries, lifestyle to fashion sold by more than 5,000 sellers on Daraz,” the statement further said, adding that Visa and Daraz users can enjoy a maximum discount of Rs 500 by pre-paying only via a Visa card that they have saved on the Daraz app. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The discount offer can be used only once and includes all current Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“A collective effort is necessary in order to drive the development of the online card payment ecosystem in Nepal, and so, we are thrilled to collaborate with Visa. And with this initial offer, we want to provide our customers an added benefit for choosing the already more convenient and safe method of making online payments,” said Lino Ahlering, MD of Daraz Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shailesh Paul, head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring of Visa, said, “Digital payments and online shopping have become crucial in recent times, given the need for social distancing. We are delighted to partner with a leading ecommerce player like Daraz to provide their shoppers the convenience of paying online through a safe, secure medium. Our relationship with Daraz in multiple South Asian markets is proof of how established players can and should come together to enable and enhance shopping experiences for consumers.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12161', 'image' => '20200902070009_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 18:53:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12413', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Starts Issuing Labour Permit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">The Council of Ministers recently decided to issue new labour permits upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Tahachal-based Labour Office has started issuing new labour permits from September 2, following the cabinet decision. This has opened door for Nepali citizens to go overseas for foreign employment by fulfilling all the safety standards to prevent 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:"Bangla MN"">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Kumar Prasad Dahal told New Business Age that they have started issuing labour permits as per the agreement with the respective labour destinations and their demand for labour.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The government had stopped issuing labour permits since February/March due to the 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:"Bangla MN"">The new labour permits will be issued only through the Labour Office based in Tahachal. However, Dahal says those aspiring to go abroad to foreign countries for work are facing difficulty in arriving in Kathmandu to obtain the permit.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12160', 'image' => '20200902043527_1598998058.Clipboard07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 16:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12412', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bangladesh Ready to Supply 50,000 Tons of Urea to Nepal: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. </span></span></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">PM Oli sought help from Bangladesh during a telephone conversation with PM Hasina on Tuesday (September 1).</span></span></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">Oli said in a tweet that he held talks with Bangladesh regarding the relation between the two countries. He added that Bangladeshi PM Hasina was positive toward his request to supply urea.</span></span></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 telephone conversation tool place at a time when Nepal had initiated the process to procure fertilizers from Bangladesh. Farmers are also in need of urea right now after completing plantation.</span></span></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 is preparing to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh at the moment.</span></span></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">Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Hari Bahadur KC confirmed that that the government has initiated the process to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh.</span></span></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">According to the ministry, the government will receive 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh and instead paying for the fertilizer, the government will return the same amount next year. This agreement has been finalized after the telephone conversation between the two prime ministers, said a high-ranking government official.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12159', 'image' => '20200902034558_1598998127.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 15:45:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12426', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Grants Permission for First Expedition this Season to Scale Mt Baruntse ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 6: The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19 pandemic.', 'content' => '<p><em>Mt Baruntse. Photo Courtesy: Seven Summit Treks</em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 6: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department issued permission to a six-member Nepali team for the first expedition of the season. The department confirmed that the team led by Dawa Steven Sherpa will be the first to scale the 7129 meters peak in the upcoming fall season.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With this decision, the department has opened the door for other expeditions to scale mountains in Nepal, said Meera Acharya, director of the Department of Tourism.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Bahrain’s prince Nasir Bin Hamad Al Khalifa will visit Nepal for an expedition after September 15. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The prince, who is also the commander of Bahrain Army, will lead an 18-member expedition team which also includes three Britishers. Prince Khalifa’s team will remain in Nepal for two 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Council of Ministers approved the team to visit Nepal on a chartered flight upon the recommendation of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai a few days ago.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The team from Bahrain will be accompanied by Seven Summit Treks. The team will first scale Lobuche (6119) and then Manaslu (8163). The team is planning to return next year to scale Everest.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, stakeholders say the visit of a VIP for expedition is a positive step for the tourism industry of Nepal which is badly affected by 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">This expedition is expected to draw the attention of the world and provide some relief to the industry, says General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association Kul Bahadur Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12173', 'image' => '20200906115928_0329255f8dbb13d28ed16e844b6efa3c.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:58:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12425', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Provides Additional Grant of US$10.85 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'The Fund will be Utilized to Support Learning and Build Resilient Education Sector in Nepal amid COVID-19 crisis', 'summary' => 'September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP)', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) to maintain access to basic education and continued learning for children amid the COVID-19 crisis. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the program aims to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education 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:Times"> The World Bank says that the additional grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) COVID-19 Accelerated Funds will contribute to the implementation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s COVID-19 contingency plan </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">to mitigate and respond to the potential impacts of the pandemic on the education sector</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Shree Krishna Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal and by the World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos amid a function on September 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “We are thankful to the World Bank and GPE for the additional grant that will help mitigate learning loss for children due to the impact of COVID-19,” the statement quoted Joint Secretary Nepal as saying. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">“</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant provides much needed support to the government to </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">respond to the impacts of the pandemic</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> to enable continuity of learning </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">during school closures, enable schools to safely resume and mitigate the impacts on students and teachers, including loss of learning time and psychosocial impacts.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The additional grant will finance activities to support remote learning programs through television, radio and the learning portal as well as printed learning packs for children who do not have access to media or internet, the statement further said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant will support communication campaigns and teacher professional development programs and help strengthen the Education Management Information Systems. The grant will also support provincial and local governments to support safe reopening of schools and continued learning of children.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “The education sector in Nepal and across the world has been one of the hardest hit owing to the pandemic which has deeply affected learning outcomes for children,” stated Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for the 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:Times"> “While supporting the immediate needs for safeguarding access and learning for children, especially girls, the additional grant will support the broader resilient recovery efforts of the government and help build back better the education sector 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:Times">The SSDP is a sector-wide program supported by IDA credit of US$185 million, together with support from Asian Development Bank, European Union, Finland, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency, Norway, USAID, UNICEF and REACH Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-06%20at%2011.27.56%20AM.png" style="height:408px; width:537px" /></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <em>Source: World Bank</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12172', 'image' => '20200906112737_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:25:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12424', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Paying Tens of Millions for Safeguarding Loans and Deposits', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. In the last fiscal year alone, 72 banks and finance companies paid around Rs 1.61 billion to the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund for the risk management of their deposits and loans. Banks had paid Rs 1,058,000,000 for the protection of their deposits and Rs. 552,500,000 for the protection of their loans. The fund has been investing the collected fees in government bonds and term deposits of commercial banks.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Deposits of banks and finance companies haven’t declined by much despite the coronavirus pandemic. This is also the reason for the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund to be able to collect Rs 286.4 million for the protection of deposits of banks and finance companies in the first month of the current fiscal year. Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Bishnu Babu Mishra, says that the Fund aims to raise the amount collected for the protection of deposits. According to him, the Fund has an estimated target of raising Rs 1,145,700,000 from the banks for the protection of their deposits in the current fiscal year 2077/78.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund collects the fee every 3 months (that is 4 times a year) for the insurance of all kinds of deposits made by the depositors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“As per the Deposit Protection Regulations 2075, the Fund charges an annual fee of 0.16 percent i.e. a monthly fee of 0.04 percent of the total deposits for the protecting the deposits,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund determines the fee for the protection of loans in accordance to the regulations. The regulations have a provision for banks to pay 1 percent of the remaining principal and the interest amount to the Fund as the loan protection fee. CEO Mishra informed that the banks are not permitted to collect this money from the customers by charging them with a separate heading of “deposits and loan protection”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Fund, a sum of Rs 713 billion has been protected from the 26,664,000 depositors of different banks and finance companies till date. In addition, loan of around Rs billion taken by 899,000 debtors has been protected by the Fund. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund invests the fees accumulated from the banks and finance companies in commercial banks. Even though the Fund is allowed to invest in government bonds, they have mostly been investing entirely in commercial banks. As per the Investment Regulation 2074, investment in only the term deposits or call deposits of banks that have been in profit for a consecutive 5 years is permitted. The single or multiple deposits made in a bank’s term deposit account should not exceed 20 percent of the bank’s paid-up capital or the Fund’s total investment. The Fund can not deposit an amount less than Rs 50,000,000 or more than Rs 1 billion , in the term account of a bank in one transaction. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12171', 'image' => '20200904034517_bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 15:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12423', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bound Goods From China Stuck at Border Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Devanagari Sangam MN"">September 4: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi. There is high demand for readymade garments during the Dashain festival, which falls in mid-October this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">According to the Customs Department, the Tatopani transit point is closed since the last two months due to landslides while the Rasuwagadhi border hasn’t come into operation after the workers involved in loading goods there were diagnosed with Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Director of the Customs Department, Sishir Ghimire, says that operating the customs points with China was always challenging due to the difficult topography. In addition to this, they are now facing the problems of natural calamity and Covid-19 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:"Bangla MN"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Customs Office Punya Bikram Khadka sys that they are unable to resume service from the customs point after detection of virus among the workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">“Other workers are currently placed in quarantine and their swab samples have been collected. It is not possible to reopen the border until we get the report,” said 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:"Bangla MN"">He says that his Chinese counterpart has decided to release the goods only after getting the PCR reports of the drivers, and other staffers involved in unloading goods at the customs points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">More that 30 containers are currently stranded at the customs points. Customs chief Khadka says they are making efforts to reopen the border as soon as possible because a large quantity of goods are imported during this season for the Dashain festival. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12170', 'image' => '20200904025150_1599171108.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:51:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12422', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collection of Insurance Premium Increased after Lockdown was Lifted ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. </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:"Times New Roman"">The average monthly premium collection of all 19 insurance companies of Nepal is Rs 7.75 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">The preliminary data of Insurance Board Nepal shows that the total premium collection in July/August was above average. The total amount collected by the insurance companies during the review month stood at Rs 10.14 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Life Insurance Company is ahead in terms of premium collection. The company collected Rs 3.97 billion premium in July/August. Likewise, National Life Insurance Company collected Rs 1.6 billion and NLIC collected Rs 1.5 billion premium during the same period. </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:"Times New Roman"">The four-month lockdown that was imposed in March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus affected life insurance businesses. Since the renewal of old insurance policy is done in April, May and June, the insurance business grows during this 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:"Times New Roman"">As the fiscal year ends in June/July, the premium collection in the month is higher than other months. However, due to the lockdown, it was not easy for the insurance businesses. </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:"Times New Roman"">After the lockdown was eased in June, the life insurance companies were back in business. The premium collection in June was Rs 24 billon, which is higher than average. The premium collection was higher as the companies and insurance agents were active after the lockdown was lifted. </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:"Times New Roman"">CEO of Union Life Insurance Company, Manoj Kumar Lal Karna informed that with the impact of June, the collection of insurance premiums has also increased in July. “There was no lockdown in July and so the agents could go to the field and work,” he said, adding, “As a result, the insurance premium increased in July.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12169', 'image' => '20200904021424_1599171150.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:13:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12421', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tender Evaluation of East-West Highway Faces Technical Glitch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.</span></span></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 concerned authorities are unable to evaluate the documents since the last three weeks.</span></span></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">Issuing a notice on August 26, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) said that the procurement process has been halted because of their failure to download the documents since last month.</span></span></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">Coincidently, Patan High Court had ordered the PPMO to move ahead with the tender process the same day.</span></span></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 Department of Railways was preparing to evaluate 120 proposals for the construction of the 106-kilometer long track-bed along the section. But the process has remained on hold ever since the problem surfaced.</span></span></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">Director General of the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra, informed that although they were preparing to evaluate the proposals after the high court’s ruling, they were unable to do so due to the problem in downloading the documents.</span></span></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">Spokesperson of PPMO Sushil Dhakal says they are making efforts to resolve the problem but did not specify the exact time they will be able to sort out 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">However, the inordinate delay has cast doubts about the intention of the concerned government bodies.</span></span></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 has been accused of trying to award the contract worth Rs 28 billion to selected contractors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12168', 'image' => '20200904124847_1599170858.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 12:48:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12420', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NCP Selects Vice Chairman Gautam over Finance Minister Khatiwada', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in favour of nominating Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada for another term but he was under mounting pressure to recommend Gautam for the post to maintain internal balance and cordial relation within the party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha confirmed that the secretariat meeting of the party held at PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Thursday (September 3) decided to recommend Gautam’s name.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada has to be re-appointed as member of the upper house of parliament to continue as finance minister after September 5. However, Khatiwada’s chances of continuing his office as the finance minister has been all but ended with the party’s decision to choose Gautam.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">However, Khatiwada still has slim chances of remaining in office provided that the party orders any one of the two nominated MPs to resign for re-appointing Khatiwada. However, the secretariat meeting on Thursday did not discuss this issue, informed party spokesperson Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The secretariat meeting had decided to recommend Gautam’s name six months ago. But the party had courted controversy for not implementing the decision. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada’s first term in office had ended on March 3 but he got nominated as upper house member by the president six months ago upon PM Oli’s recommendation. Without being a member of parliament, Khatiwada cannot continue as finance minister. He current holds the portfolio of Communication and Information Minister as well.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12167', 'image' => '20200904113647_20191022025030_20190927045330__MG_7700.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 11:36:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12419', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Industries Struggling due to Prohibitory Order', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. Soon after imposing lockdown on March 24, the government had pledged to facilitate in reopening factories that produce essential goods. However, the production and supply of such essential goods have become problematic after the district administration offices in various districts issued prohibitory orders 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Industrialists complain that operating their factories has become uncertain because of the strict measures adopted by government authorities. Even the production of food and medicines has been badly affected by the prohibitory orders issued by more than 50 districts. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Pharmaceutical companies in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have been closed since one week after the local administration ordered quarantine facility for workers within the industry. Factories producing food are also operating with minimum work force.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Low production is likely to disrupt the supply chain, warns Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang says that they believe the industrial sector as the source of community transmission of coronavirus in the region.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Soon after the lockdown was lifted about a month ago, Indian workers employed in the industries tested positive for coronavirus, says Tamang. Therefore, they took precautionary measures to stop the disease from spreading.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12166', 'image' => '20200903060551_20200830020949_1598735616.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 18:04:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12418', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'More than 10 Thousand Added in the Blacklist of BFIs', 'sub_title' => '65% in the blacklist because of bounced cheques', 'summary' => 'September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. People who have written cheques with insufficient balance in their accounts have been listed in the blacklist more than the debtors.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Data from the Credit Information Centre shows that 10,732 people have been added to the blacklist from mid-March to mid-August. There are 13,024 people in the blacklist. A total of 9,626 people were added in the month of Ashad (mid-June to mid-July) alone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, the number of people blacklisted in the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May) was 26 followed by 89 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 137 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) and 168 in Bhadra (August end).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Anil Adhikari, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Information Centre, said that international organizations like the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation have also inquired about the increase in the number of blacklisted people. He said that confusions were created because the data published by the Centre contained the names of not just debtors but also the people with bounced cheques.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made an arrangement through the integrated directive issued in Bhadra 2076 to blacklist a person, firm, company or an organization if they sign their cheque incorrectly or have insufficient balance in their account and do not make the payment within a week. Previously, only the people with repetitive bounced cheques were blacklisted. The Centre says that while the number of debtors with non-performing loans has gone down, the number of people with bounced cheques has increased in the blacklist. According to the Centre, 65% i.e. 6,500 people have been enlisted in the blacklist because of bounced cheques. The Chief Executive Officer Adhikari says that the remaining 35% are debtors being monitored because of bad debts or non-performing loans.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“All of the people listed in the blacklist have signed bounced cheques. Most of them have bounced cheques ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000,” Adhikari told New Business Age, adding, “After many failed attempts of trying to get their money from the cheques, people submit an application to the bank, requesting to add their creditor to the blacklist. On this basis, the banks submit the names of their customers with bounced cheques and we add them to the blacklist.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that we will be able to observe the rate of increment of people in the blacklist after the end of the exemptions provided by Nepal Rastra Bank. CEO Adhikari estimates that the number of people in the blacklist due to bad debts will increase after about 4 months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank has arranged discounts to severely affected, medium affected and less affected businesses as they were affected by the lockdown enforced because of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers' Association Bhuwan Dahal said that many debtors have been saved from being added to the blacklist because of the extension in the loan payment period by the central bank. According to him, the reason for the lesser number of debtors in the blacklist is also the exemption given by the central bank to the banks and finance companies to classify the loans given after the end of Poush 2076 (mid-January 2020) till the end of Ashad 2077 (mid-July 2020) as good loans. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“According to this arrangement, the debtors who had non-performing loans or bad debts before the end of Poush, 2076 have been added to the blacklist. If the economy improves after the exemption period finishes, we can expect the number of blacklisted debtors to decrease,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BFIs are not allowed to provide loans to blacklisted debtors. In case a loan is given to them, there is a policy that automatically considers this loan a bad debt. In addition, a blacklisted person may also not to be able to get various benefits provided by the state.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12165', 'image' => '20200903031423_1596058689.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 15:13:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12417', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Multinational Company Nielsen Nepal in Liquidation Process', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation. Multinational company Nielsen Holdings, which has 100 percent stake on Nielsen Nepal, had decided to close its office in Nepal on June 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The company is likely to complete the liquidation process within September 30. A source at the company informed New Business Age that they have completed all internal the paper works for liquidation and is only awaiting the formal process to complete within this month. The liquidation process has been pushed back by the prohibitory order issued by the District Administration Office of the Kathmandu Valley, the source further 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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been involved in market research in Nepal since 1993. However, the company was unable to carry its business as expected during recent months. The coronavirus pandemic further aggravated the problems of the company after which it decided to go for liquidation.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Besides Nepal, Nielsen Holdings has decided to close its offices in four other countries as well.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">New York-based Nielsen Holdings is an internationally renowned data analysis company.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been conducting market research, social research and retail measurement services. However, due to bleak prospects in these areas, the company decided to close its office in Nepal, it has been learnt.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The company found that its expenses in Nepal were more than the income it has been making, the source said. Nielsen Holdings is reportedly investing in only those countries where there is high return.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Other multinational companies like Surya Nepal, Unilever Nepal among others used to hire Nielsen Nepal for market research. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the decision to close the company in Nepal, more than 60 full-time workers and over 200 independent researchers associated with the company have lost their jobs.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Four of the staffers of the company have set up a new company named Mark Data Nepal, which is similar in nature to Nielsen Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12164', 'image' => '20200903022731_508672712_1517483463.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 14:26:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12416', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Directs Air Arabia to Refund Passengers', 'sub_title' => 'Commercial Flights Resume from September 2', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. </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 Unicode MS"">The government issued such directive during a regular meeting at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday (September 2) following complaints of excessive charge by the airline company during a recent flight.</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 Unicode MS"">The airline company has been accused of charging extra amount to 142 out of 161 passengers who travelled to Nepal from Sharjah of the UAE in an Air Arabia flight on August 25. </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 Unicode MS"">The airliner had carried 142 passengers who underwent Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, 18 who had done Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and one without any test to Nepal and kept them in hotel quarantine. The airline company allegedly charged the amount for their stay in hotel while selling the tickets but the passengers later had to pay the hotel bill themselves. Following complaints that the passengers were duped by the company and had to pay twice for the service, the ministry directed the airline company to foot the bill. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the concerned authorities to take action against the airline company if it refuses to refund the amount. Likewise, the ministry has also requested international airline companies not to charge any additional amount to the passengers during the current crisis.</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 Unicode MS"">Travel agencies have been blamed for taking advantage of the current situation while selling tickets due to the unavailability of regular flights. Minister Bhattarai opined that the airline companies must regulate the black marketing. He added that the ministry will coordinate with Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad and the non-residential Nepalis to control the black market of air tickets.</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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, international commercial flights resumed in Nepal from Wednesday (September 2) after a gap of almost five months. The government had earlier decided to resume regular flights from September 2 by following the required safety protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12163', 'image' => '20200903010406_1599085733.Clipboard14.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 13:03:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12415', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley Extended by One Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the latest decision taken by the chief district officers Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the prohibitory order will remain in effect till midnight of September 9. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">However, the district administration offices of the three districts in the valley have eased the restrictions to some extent this time.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">From now onwards, groceries and other shops selling fruits, vegetables and milk can remain open till 11 am in the morning. Meanwhile, shops selling drinking water can open throughout the day. There are no restrictions for pharmaceutical shops. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, any person entering Kathmandu for emergency purpose needs to mandatorily present a PCR report with negative result.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">It is also mandatory for the people to wear mask in public places.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Likewise, staffers providing essential services will be allowed to commute between 9 to 10.30 in the morning and 3 to 5 pm in the evening.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) can operate by maintaining safety protocols and deploying minimum staffers.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Hotels and restaurants will remain completely shut during the extended period of the prohibitory order. Road-side vendors have also not been permitted to resume their 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 Unicode MS"">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur had imposed the prohibitory order on August 19 after a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the valley. The prohibitory order has been extended twice and this is the third week of 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 Unicode MS"">The District Administration Office, Kathmandu informed New Business Age that they decided to slightly change the modality of the prohibitory order after consulting with the concerned stakeholders, including the business community, health experts and the local representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12162', 'image' => '20200903113103_1599056781.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 11:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12414', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daraz Offers Discount to Visa Card Holders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Daraz </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">and Visa are offering Visa card holders a 15 percent discount on prepayments till September 30, reads a joint statement issued by the two companies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Customers can choose anything amongst 450,000 products ranging from electronics, groceries, lifestyle to fashion sold by more than 5,000 sellers on Daraz,” the statement further said, adding that Visa and Daraz users can enjoy a maximum discount of Rs 500 by pre-paying only via a Visa card that they have saved on the Daraz app. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The discount offer can be used only once and includes all current Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“A collective effort is necessary in order to drive the development of the online card payment ecosystem in Nepal, and so, we are thrilled to collaborate with Visa. And with this initial offer, we want to provide our customers an added benefit for choosing the already more convenient and safe method of making online payments,” said Lino Ahlering, MD of Daraz Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shailesh Paul, head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring of Visa, said, “Digital payments and online shopping have become crucial in recent times, given the need for social distancing. We are delighted to partner with a leading ecommerce player like Daraz to provide their shoppers the convenience of paying online through a safe, secure medium. Our relationship with Daraz in multiple South Asian markets is proof of how established players can and should come together to enable and enhance shopping experiences for consumers.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12161', 'image' => '20200902070009_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 18:53:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12413', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Starts Issuing Labour Permit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">The Council of Ministers recently decided to issue new labour permits upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Tahachal-based Labour Office has started issuing new labour permits from September 2, following the cabinet decision. This has opened door for Nepali citizens to go overseas for foreign employment by fulfilling all the safety standards to prevent 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:"Bangla MN"">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Kumar Prasad Dahal told New Business Age that they have started issuing labour permits as per the agreement with the respective labour destinations and their demand for labour.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The government had stopped issuing labour permits since February/March due to the 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:"Bangla MN"">The new labour permits will be issued only through the Labour Office based in Tahachal. However, Dahal says those aspiring to go abroad to foreign countries for work are facing difficulty in arriving in Kathmandu to obtain the permit.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12160', 'image' => '20200902043527_1598998058.Clipboard07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 16:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12412', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bangladesh Ready to Supply 50,000 Tons of Urea to Nepal: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. </span></span></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">PM Oli sought help from Bangladesh during a telephone conversation with PM Hasina on Tuesday (September 1).</span></span></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">Oli said in a tweet that he held talks with Bangladesh regarding the relation between the two countries. He added that Bangladeshi PM Hasina was positive toward his request to supply urea.</span></span></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 telephone conversation tool place at a time when Nepal had initiated the process to procure fertilizers from Bangladesh. Farmers are also in need of urea right now after completing plantation.</span></span></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 is preparing to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh at the moment.</span></span></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">Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Hari Bahadur KC confirmed that that the government has initiated the process to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh.</span></span></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">According to the ministry, the government will receive 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh and instead paying for the fertilizer, the government will return the same amount next year. This agreement has been finalized after the telephone conversation between the two prime ministers, said a high-ranking government official.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12159', 'image' => '20200902034558_1598998127.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 15:45:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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Photo Courtesy: Seven Summit Treks</em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 6: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department issued permission to a six-member Nepali team for the first expedition of the season. The department confirmed that the team led by Dawa Steven Sherpa will be the first to scale the 7129 meters peak in the upcoming fall season.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With this decision, the department has opened the door for other expeditions to scale mountains in Nepal, said Meera Acharya, director of the Department of Tourism.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Bahrain’s prince Nasir Bin Hamad Al Khalifa will visit Nepal for an expedition after September 15. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The prince, who is also the commander of Bahrain Army, will lead an 18-member expedition team which also includes three Britishers. Prince Khalifa’s team will remain in Nepal for two 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Council of Ministers approved the team to visit Nepal on a chartered flight upon the recommendation of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai a few days ago.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The team from Bahrain will be accompanied by Seven Summit Treks. The team will first scale Lobuche (6119) and then Manaslu (8163). The team is planning to return next year to scale Everest.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, stakeholders say the visit of a VIP for expedition is a positive step for the tourism industry of Nepal which is badly affected by 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">This expedition is expected to draw the attention of the world and provide some relief to the industry, says General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association Kul Bahadur Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12173', 'image' => '20200906115928_0329255f8dbb13d28ed16e844b6efa3c.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:58:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12425', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Provides Additional Grant of US$10.85 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'The Fund will be Utilized to Support Learning and Build Resilient Education Sector in Nepal amid COVID-19 crisis', 'summary' => 'September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP)', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) to maintain access to basic education and continued learning for children amid the COVID-19 crisis. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the program aims to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education 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:Times"> The World Bank says that the additional grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) COVID-19 Accelerated Funds will contribute to the implementation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s COVID-19 contingency plan </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">to mitigate and respond to the potential impacts of the pandemic on the education sector</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Shree Krishna Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal and by the World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos amid a function on September 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “We are thankful to the World Bank and GPE for the additional grant that will help mitigate learning loss for children due to the impact of COVID-19,” the statement quoted Joint Secretary Nepal as saying. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">“</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant provides much needed support to the government to </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">respond to the impacts of the pandemic</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> to enable continuity of learning </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">during school closures, enable schools to safely resume and mitigate the impacts on students and teachers, including loss of learning time and psychosocial impacts.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The additional grant will finance activities to support remote learning programs through television, radio and the learning portal as well as printed learning packs for children who do not have access to media or internet, the statement further said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant will support communication campaigns and teacher professional development programs and help strengthen the Education Management Information Systems. The grant will also support provincial and local governments to support safe reopening of schools and continued learning of children.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “The education sector in Nepal and across the world has been one of the hardest hit owing to the pandemic which has deeply affected learning outcomes for children,” stated Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for the 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:Times"> “While supporting the immediate needs for safeguarding access and learning for children, especially girls, the additional grant will support the broader resilient recovery efforts of the government and help build back better the education sector 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:Times">The SSDP is a sector-wide program supported by IDA credit of US$185 million, together with support from Asian Development Bank, European Union, Finland, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency, Norway, USAID, UNICEF and REACH Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-06%20at%2011.27.56%20AM.png" style="height:408px; width:537px" /></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <em>Source: World Bank</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12172', 'image' => '20200906112737_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:25:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12424', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Paying Tens of Millions for Safeguarding Loans and Deposits', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. In the last fiscal year alone, 72 banks and finance companies paid around Rs 1.61 billion to the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund for the risk management of their deposits and loans. Banks had paid Rs 1,058,000,000 for the protection of their deposits and Rs. 552,500,000 for the protection of their loans. The fund has been investing the collected fees in government bonds and term deposits of commercial banks.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Deposits of banks and finance companies haven’t declined by much despite the coronavirus pandemic. This is also the reason for the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund to be able to collect Rs 286.4 million for the protection of deposits of banks and finance companies in the first month of the current fiscal year. Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Bishnu Babu Mishra, says that the Fund aims to raise the amount collected for the protection of deposits. According to him, the Fund has an estimated target of raising Rs 1,145,700,000 from the banks for the protection of their deposits in the current fiscal year 2077/78.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund collects the fee every 3 months (that is 4 times a year) for the insurance of all kinds of deposits made by the depositors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“As per the Deposit Protection Regulations 2075, the Fund charges an annual fee of 0.16 percent i.e. a monthly fee of 0.04 percent of the total deposits for the protecting the deposits,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund determines the fee for the protection of loans in accordance to the regulations. The regulations have a provision for banks to pay 1 percent of the remaining principal and the interest amount to the Fund as the loan protection fee. CEO Mishra informed that the banks are not permitted to collect this money from the customers by charging them with a separate heading of “deposits and loan protection”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Fund, a sum of Rs 713 billion has been protected from the 26,664,000 depositors of different banks and finance companies till date. In addition, loan of around Rs billion taken by 899,000 debtors has been protected by the Fund. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund invests the fees accumulated from the banks and finance companies in commercial banks. Even though the Fund is allowed to invest in government bonds, they have mostly been investing entirely in commercial banks. As per the Investment Regulation 2074, investment in only the term deposits or call deposits of banks that have been in profit for a consecutive 5 years is permitted. The single or multiple deposits made in a bank’s term deposit account should not exceed 20 percent of the bank’s paid-up capital or the Fund’s total investment. The Fund can not deposit an amount less than Rs 50,000,000 or more than Rs 1 billion , in the term account of a bank in one transaction. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12171', 'image' => '20200904034517_bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 15:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12423', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bound Goods From China Stuck at Border Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Devanagari Sangam MN"">September 4: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi. There is high demand for readymade garments during the Dashain festival, which falls in mid-October this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">According to the Customs Department, the Tatopani transit point is closed since the last two months due to landslides while the Rasuwagadhi border hasn’t come into operation after the workers involved in loading goods there were diagnosed with Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Director of the Customs Department, Sishir Ghimire, says that operating the customs points with China was always challenging due to the difficult topography. In addition to this, they are now facing the problems of natural calamity and Covid-19 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:"Bangla MN"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Customs Office Punya Bikram Khadka sys that they are unable to resume service from the customs point after detection of virus among the workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">“Other workers are currently placed in quarantine and their swab samples have been collected. It is not possible to reopen the border until we get the report,” said 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:"Bangla MN"">He says that his Chinese counterpart has decided to release the goods only after getting the PCR reports of the drivers, and other staffers involved in unloading goods at the customs points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">More that 30 containers are currently stranded at the customs points. Customs chief Khadka says they are making efforts to reopen the border as soon as possible because a large quantity of goods are imported during this season for the Dashain festival. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12170', 'image' => '20200904025150_1599171108.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:51:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12422', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collection of Insurance Premium Increased after Lockdown was Lifted ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. </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:"Times New Roman"">The average monthly premium collection of all 19 insurance companies of Nepal is Rs 7.75 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">The preliminary data of Insurance Board Nepal shows that the total premium collection in July/August was above average. The total amount collected by the insurance companies during the review month stood at Rs 10.14 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Life Insurance Company is ahead in terms of premium collection. The company collected Rs 3.97 billion premium in July/August. Likewise, National Life Insurance Company collected Rs 1.6 billion and NLIC collected Rs 1.5 billion premium during the same period. </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:"Times New Roman"">The four-month lockdown that was imposed in March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus affected life insurance businesses. Since the renewal of old insurance policy is done in April, May and June, the insurance business grows during this 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:"Times New Roman"">As the fiscal year ends in June/July, the premium collection in the month is higher than other months. However, due to the lockdown, it was not easy for the insurance businesses. </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:"Times New Roman"">After the lockdown was eased in June, the life insurance companies were back in business. The premium collection in June was Rs 24 billon, which is higher than average. The premium collection was higher as the companies and insurance agents were active after the lockdown was lifted. </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:"Times New Roman"">CEO of Union Life Insurance Company, Manoj Kumar Lal Karna informed that with the impact of June, the collection of insurance premiums has also increased in July. “There was no lockdown in July and so the agents could go to the field and work,” he said, adding, “As a result, the insurance premium increased in July.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12169', 'image' => '20200904021424_1599171150.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:13:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12421', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tender Evaluation of East-West Highway Faces Technical Glitch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.</span></span></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 concerned authorities are unable to evaluate the documents since the last three weeks.</span></span></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">Issuing a notice on August 26, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) said that the procurement process has been halted because of their failure to download the documents since last month.</span></span></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">Coincidently, Patan High Court had ordered the PPMO to move ahead with the tender process the same day.</span></span></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 Department of Railways was preparing to evaluate 120 proposals for the construction of the 106-kilometer long track-bed along the section. But the process has remained on hold ever since the problem surfaced.</span></span></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">Director General of the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra, informed that although they were preparing to evaluate the proposals after the high court’s ruling, they were unable to do so due to the problem in downloading the documents.</span></span></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">Spokesperson of PPMO Sushil Dhakal says they are making efforts to resolve the problem but did not specify the exact time they will be able to sort out 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">However, the inordinate delay has cast doubts about the intention of the concerned government bodies.</span></span></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 has been accused of trying to award the contract worth Rs 28 billion to selected contractors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12168', 'image' => '20200904124847_1599170858.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 12:48:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12420', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NCP Selects Vice Chairman Gautam over Finance Minister Khatiwada', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in favour of nominating Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada for another term but he was under mounting pressure to recommend Gautam for the post to maintain internal balance and cordial relation within the party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha confirmed that the secretariat meeting of the party held at PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Thursday (September 3) decided to recommend Gautam’s name.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada has to be re-appointed as member of the upper house of parliament to continue as finance minister after September 5. However, Khatiwada’s chances of continuing his office as the finance minister has been all but ended with the party’s decision to choose Gautam.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">However, Khatiwada still has slim chances of remaining in office provided that the party orders any one of the two nominated MPs to resign for re-appointing Khatiwada. However, the secretariat meeting on Thursday did not discuss this issue, informed party spokesperson Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The secretariat meeting had decided to recommend Gautam’s name six months ago. But the party had courted controversy for not implementing the decision. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada’s first term in office had ended on March 3 but he got nominated as upper house member by the president six months ago upon PM Oli’s recommendation. Without being a member of parliament, Khatiwada cannot continue as finance minister. He current holds the portfolio of Communication and Information Minister as well.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12167', 'image' => '20200904113647_20191022025030_20190927045330__MG_7700.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 11:36:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12419', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Industries Struggling due to Prohibitory Order', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. Soon after imposing lockdown on March 24, the government had pledged to facilitate in reopening factories that produce essential goods. However, the production and supply of such essential goods have become problematic after the district administration offices in various districts issued prohibitory orders 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Industrialists complain that operating their factories has become uncertain because of the strict measures adopted by government authorities. Even the production of food and medicines has been badly affected by the prohibitory orders issued by more than 50 districts. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Pharmaceutical companies in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have been closed since one week after the local administration ordered quarantine facility for workers within the industry. Factories producing food are also operating with minimum work force.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Low production is likely to disrupt the supply chain, warns Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang says that they believe the industrial sector as the source of community transmission of coronavirus in the region.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Soon after the lockdown was lifted about a month ago, Indian workers employed in the industries tested positive for coronavirus, says Tamang. Therefore, they took precautionary measures to stop the disease from spreading.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12166', 'image' => '20200903060551_20200830020949_1598735616.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 18:04:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12418', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'More than 10 Thousand Added in the Blacklist of BFIs', 'sub_title' => '65% in the blacklist because of bounced cheques', 'summary' => 'September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. People who have written cheques with insufficient balance in their accounts have been listed in the blacklist more than the debtors.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Data from the Credit Information Centre shows that 10,732 people have been added to the blacklist from mid-March to mid-August. There are 13,024 people in the blacklist. A total of 9,626 people were added in the month of Ashad (mid-June to mid-July) alone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, the number of people blacklisted in the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May) was 26 followed by 89 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 137 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) and 168 in Bhadra (August end).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Anil Adhikari, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Information Centre, said that international organizations like the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation have also inquired about the increase in the number of blacklisted people. He said that confusions were created because the data published by the Centre contained the names of not just debtors but also the people with bounced cheques.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made an arrangement through the integrated directive issued in Bhadra 2076 to blacklist a person, firm, company or an organization if they sign their cheque incorrectly or have insufficient balance in their account and do not make the payment within a week. Previously, only the people with repetitive bounced cheques were blacklisted. The Centre says that while the number of debtors with non-performing loans has gone down, the number of people with bounced cheques has increased in the blacklist. According to the Centre, 65% i.e. 6,500 people have been enlisted in the blacklist because of bounced cheques. The Chief Executive Officer Adhikari says that the remaining 35% are debtors being monitored because of bad debts or non-performing loans.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“All of the people listed in the blacklist have signed bounced cheques. Most of them have bounced cheques ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000,” Adhikari told New Business Age, adding, “After many failed attempts of trying to get their money from the cheques, people submit an application to the bank, requesting to add their creditor to the blacklist. On this basis, the banks submit the names of their customers with bounced cheques and we add them to the blacklist.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that we will be able to observe the rate of increment of people in the blacklist after the end of the exemptions provided by Nepal Rastra Bank. CEO Adhikari estimates that the number of people in the blacklist due to bad debts will increase after about 4 months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank has arranged discounts to severely affected, medium affected and less affected businesses as they were affected by the lockdown enforced because of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers' Association Bhuwan Dahal said that many debtors have been saved from being added to the blacklist because of the extension in the loan payment period by the central bank. According to him, the reason for the lesser number of debtors in the blacklist is also the exemption given by the central bank to the banks and finance companies to classify the loans given after the end of Poush 2076 (mid-January 2020) till the end of Ashad 2077 (mid-July 2020) as good loans. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“According to this arrangement, the debtors who had non-performing loans or bad debts before the end of Poush, 2076 have been added to the blacklist. If the economy improves after the exemption period finishes, we can expect the number of blacklisted debtors to decrease,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BFIs are not allowed to provide loans to blacklisted debtors. In case a loan is given to them, there is a policy that automatically considers this loan a bad debt. In addition, a blacklisted person may also not to be able to get various benefits provided by the state.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12165', 'image' => '20200903031423_1596058689.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 15:13:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12417', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Multinational Company Nielsen Nepal in Liquidation Process', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation. Multinational company Nielsen Holdings, which has 100 percent stake on Nielsen Nepal, had decided to close its office in Nepal on June 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The company is likely to complete the liquidation process within September 30. A source at the company informed New Business Age that they have completed all internal the paper works for liquidation and is only awaiting the formal process to complete within this month. The liquidation process has been pushed back by the prohibitory order issued by the District Administration Office of the Kathmandu Valley, the source further 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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been involved in market research in Nepal since 1993. However, the company was unable to carry its business as expected during recent months. The coronavirus pandemic further aggravated the problems of the company after which it decided to go for liquidation.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Besides Nepal, Nielsen Holdings has decided to close its offices in four other countries as well.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">New York-based Nielsen Holdings is an internationally renowned data analysis company.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been conducting market research, social research and retail measurement services. However, due to bleak prospects in these areas, the company decided to close its office in Nepal, it has been learnt.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The company found that its expenses in Nepal were more than the income it has been making, the source said. Nielsen Holdings is reportedly investing in only those countries where there is high return.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Other multinational companies like Surya Nepal, Unilever Nepal among others used to hire Nielsen Nepal for market research. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the decision to close the company in Nepal, more than 60 full-time workers and over 200 independent researchers associated with the company have lost their jobs.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Four of the staffers of the company have set up a new company named Mark Data Nepal, which is similar in nature to Nielsen Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12164', 'image' => '20200903022731_508672712_1517483463.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 14:26:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12416', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Directs Air Arabia to Refund Passengers', 'sub_title' => 'Commercial Flights Resume from September 2', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. </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 Unicode MS"">The government issued such directive during a regular meeting at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday (September 2) following complaints of excessive charge by the airline company during a recent flight.</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 Unicode MS"">The airline company has been accused of charging extra amount to 142 out of 161 passengers who travelled to Nepal from Sharjah of the UAE in an Air Arabia flight on August 25. </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 Unicode MS"">The airliner had carried 142 passengers who underwent Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, 18 who had done Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and one without any test to Nepal and kept them in hotel quarantine. The airline company allegedly charged the amount for their stay in hotel while selling the tickets but the passengers later had to pay the hotel bill themselves. Following complaints that the passengers were duped by the company and had to pay twice for the service, the ministry directed the airline company to foot the bill. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the concerned authorities to take action against the airline company if it refuses to refund the amount. Likewise, the ministry has also requested international airline companies not to charge any additional amount to the passengers during the current crisis.</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 Unicode MS"">Travel agencies have been blamed for taking advantage of the current situation while selling tickets due to the unavailability of regular flights. Minister Bhattarai opined that the airline companies must regulate the black marketing. He added that the ministry will coordinate with Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad and the non-residential Nepalis to control the black market of air tickets.</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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, international commercial flights resumed in Nepal from Wednesday (September 2) after a gap of almost five months. The government had earlier decided to resume regular flights from September 2 by following the required safety protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12163', 'image' => '20200903010406_1599085733.Clipboard14.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 13:03:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12415', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley Extended by One Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the latest decision taken by the chief district officers Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the prohibitory order will remain in effect till midnight of September 9. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">However, the district administration offices of the three districts in the valley have eased the restrictions to some extent this time.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">From now onwards, groceries and other shops selling fruits, vegetables and milk can remain open till 11 am in the morning. Meanwhile, shops selling drinking water can open throughout the day. There are no restrictions for pharmaceutical shops. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, any person entering Kathmandu for emergency purpose needs to mandatorily present a PCR report with negative result.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">It is also mandatory for the people to wear mask in public places.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Likewise, staffers providing essential services will be allowed to commute between 9 to 10.30 in the morning and 3 to 5 pm in the evening.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) can operate by maintaining safety protocols and deploying minimum staffers.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Hotels and restaurants will remain completely shut during the extended period of the prohibitory order. Road-side vendors have also not been permitted to resume their 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 Unicode MS"">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur had imposed the prohibitory order on August 19 after a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the valley. The prohibitory order has been extended twice and this is the third week of 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 Unicode MS"">The District Administration Office, Kathmandu informed New Business Age that they decided to slightly change the modality of the prohibitory order after consulting with the concerned stakeholders, including the business community, health experts and the local representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12162', 'image' => '20200903113103_1599056781.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 11:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12414', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daraz Offers Discount to Visa Card Holders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Daraz </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">and Visa are offering Visa card holders a 15 percent discount on prepayments till September 30, reads a joint statement issued by the two companies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Customers can choose anything amongst 450,000 products ranging from electronics, groceries, lifestyle to fashion sold by more than 5,000 sellers on Daraz,” the statement further said, adding that Visa and Daraz users can enjoy a maximum discount of Rs 500 by pre-paying only via a Visa card that they have saved on the Daraz app. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The discount offer can be used only once and includes all current Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“A collective effort is necessary in order to drive the development of the online card payment ecosystem in Nepal, and so, we are thrilled to collaborate with Visa. And with this initial offer, we want to provide our customers an added benefit for choosing the already more convenient and safe method of making online payments,” said Lino Ahlering, MD of Daraz Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shailesh Paul, head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring of Visa, said, “Digital payments and online shopping have become crucial in recent times, given the need for social distancing. We are delighted to partner with a leading ecommerce player like Daraz to provide their shoppers the convenience of paying online through a safe, secure medium. Our relationship with Daraz in multiple South Asian markets is proof of how established players can and should come together to enable and enhance shopping experiences for consumers.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12161', 'image' => '20200902070009_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 18:53:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12413', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Starts Issuing Labour Permit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">The Council of Ministers recently decided to issue new labour permits upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Tahachal-based Labour Office has started issuing new labour permits from September 2, following the cabinet decision. This has opened door for Nepali citizens to go overseas for foreign employment by fulfilling all the safety standards to prevent 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:"Bangla MN"">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Kumar Prasad Dahal told New Business Age that they have started issuing labour permits as per the agreement with the respective labour destinations and their demand for labour.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The government had stopped issuing labour permits since February/March due to the 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:"Bangla MN"">The new labour permits will be issued only through the Labour Office based in Tahachal. However, Dahal says those aspiring to go abroad to foreign countries for work are facing difficulty in arriving in Kathmandu to obtain the permit.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12160', 'image' => '20200902043527_1598998058.Clipboard07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 16:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12412', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bangladesh Ready to Supply 50,000 Tons of Urea to Nepal: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. </span></span></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">PM Oli sought help from Bangladesh during a telephone conversation with PM Hasina on Tuesday (September 1).</span></span></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">Oli said in a tweet that he held talks with Bangladesh regarding the relation between the two countries. He added that Bangladeshi PM Hasina was positive toward his request to supply urea.</span></span></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 telephone conversation tool place at a time when Nepal had initiated the process to procure fertilizers from Bangladesh. Farmers are also in need of urea right now after completing plantation.</span></span></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 is preparing to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh at the moment.</span></span></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">Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Hari Bahadur KC confirmed that that the government has initiated the process to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh.</span></span></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">According to the ministry, the government will receive 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh and instead paying for the fertilizer, the government will return the same amount next year. This agreement has been finalized after the telephone conversation between the two prime ministers, said a high-ranking government official.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12159', 'image' => '20200902034558_1598998127.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 15:45:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
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Photo Courtesy: Seven Summit Treks</em></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 6: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Department of Tourism has granted permission for an expedition team to scale Mount Baruntse at a time when tourism activities in the country have come to a complete halt due to Covid-19 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The department issued permission to a six-member Nepali team for the first expedition of the season. The department confirmed that the team led by Dawa Steven Sherpa will be the first to scale the 7129 meters peak in the upcoming fall season.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With this decision, the department has opened the door for other expeditions to scale mountains in Nepal, said Meera Acharya, director of the Department of Tourism.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Bahrain’s prince Nasir Bin Hamad Al Khalifa will visit Nepal for an expedition after September 15. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The prince, who is also the commander of Bahrain Army, will lead an 18-member expedition team which also includes three Britishers. Prince Khalifa’s team will remain in Nepal for two 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The Council of Ministers approved the team to visit Nepal on a chartered flight upon the recommendation of Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai a few days ago.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">The team from Bahrain will be accompanied by Seven Summit Treks. The team will first scale Lobuche (6119) and then Manaslu (8163). The team is planning to return next year to scale Everest.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, stakeholders say the visit of a VIP for expedition is a positive step for the tourism industry of Nepal which is badly affected by 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">This expedition is expected to draw the attention of the world and provide some relief to the industry, says General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association Kul Bahadur Gurung.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12173', 'image' => '20200906115928_0329255f8dbb13d28ed16e844b6efa3c.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:58:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12425', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'World Bank Provides Additional Grant of US$10.85 Million to Nepal', 'sub_title' => 'The Fund will be Utilized to Support Learning and Build Resilient Education Sector in Nepal amid COVID-19 crisis', 'summary' => 'September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP)', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">September 6: The Government of Nepal and the World Bank recently signed a financing agreement for an additional grant of US$10.85 million to the School Sector Development Program (SSDP) to maintain access to basic education and continued learning for children amid the COVID-19 crisis. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">According to a statement issued by the World Bank, the program aims to improve the quality, equitable access, and efficiency of basic and secondary education 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:Times"> The World Bank says that the additional grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) COVID-19 Accelerated Funds will contribute to the implementation of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s COVID-19 contingency plan </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">to mitigate and respond to the potential impacts of the pandemic on the education sector</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> The agreement was signed by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Shree Krishna Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal and by the World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos amid a function on September 4.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “We are thankful to the World Bank and GPE for the additional grant that will help mitigate learning loss for children due to the impact of COVID-19,” the statement quoted Joint Secretary Nepal as saying. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">“</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant provides much needed support to the government to </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">respond to the impacts of the pandemic</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> to enable continuity of learning </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">during school closures, enable schools to safely resume and mitigate the impacts on students and teachers, including loss of learning time and psychosocial impacts.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The additional grant will finance activities to support remote learning programs through television, radio and the learning portal as well as printed learning packs for children who do not have access to media or internet, the statement further said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times">The grant will support communication campaigns and teacher professional development programs and help strengthen the Education Management Information Systems. The grant will also support provincial and local governments to support safe reopening of schools and continued learning of children.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> “The education sector in Nepal and across the world has been one of the hardest hit owing to the pandemic which has deeply affected learning outcomes for children,” stated Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for the 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:Times"> “While supporting the immediate needs for safeguarding access and learning for children, especially girls, the additional grant will support the broader resilient recovery efforts of the government and help build back better the education sector 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:Times">The SSDP is a sector-wide program supported by IDA credit of US$185 million, together with support from Asian Development Bank, European Union, Finland, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Japan International Cooperation Agency, Norway, USAID, UNICEF and REACH Multi-Donor Trust Fund administered by the World Bank. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-09-06%20at%2011.27.56%20AM.png" style="height:408px; width:537px" /></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"> <em>Source: World Bank</em></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-06', 'modified' => '2020-09-06', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12172', 'image' => '20200906112737_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-06 11:25:59', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12424', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Banks Paying Tens of Millions for Safeguarding Loans and Deposits', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 4: Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) have been paying tens of millions of rupees every year for the insurance of their loans and deposits. In the last fiscal year alone, 72 banks and finance companies paid around Rs 1.61 billion to the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund for the risk management of their deposits and loans. Banks had paid Rs 1,058,000,000 for the protection of their deposits and Rs. 552,500,000 for the protection of their loans. The fund has been investing the collected fees in government bonds and term deposits of commercial banks.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Deposits of banks and finance companies haven’t declined by much despite the coronavirus pandemic. This is also the reason for the Deposits and Credit Guarantee Fund to be able to collect Rs 286.4 million for the protection of deposits of banks and finance companies in the first month of the current fiscal year. Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Bishnu Babu Mishra, says that the Fund aims to raise the amount collected for the protection of deposits. According to him, the Fund has an estimated target of raising Rs 1,145,700,000 from the banks for the protection of their deposits in the current fiscal year 2077/78.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund collects the fee every 3 months (that is 4 times a year) for the insurance of all kinds of deposits made by the depositors. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“As per the Deposit Protection Regulations 2075, the Fund charges an annual fee of 0.16 percent i.e. a monthly fee of 0.04 percent of the total deposits for the protecting the deposits,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund determines the fee for the protection of loans in accordance to the regulations. The regulations have a provision for banks to pay 1 percent of the remaining principal and the interest amount to the Fund as the loan protection fee. CEO Mishra informed that the banks are not permitted to collect this money from the customers by charging them with a separate heading of “deposits and loan protection”.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">According to the Fund, a sum of Rs 713 billion has been protected from the 26,664,000 depositors of different banks and finance companies till date. In addition, loan of around Rs billion taken by 899,000 debtors has been protected by the Fund. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The Fund invests the fees accumulated from the banks and finance companies in commercial banks. Even though the Fund is allowed to invest in government bonds, they have mostly been investing entirely in commercial banks. As per the Investment Regulation 2074, investment in only the term deposits or call deposits of banks that have been in profit for a consecutive 5 years is permitted. The single or multiple deposits made in a bank’s term deposit account should not exceed 20 percent of the bank’s paid-up capital or the Fund’s total investment. The Fund can not deposit an amount less than Rs 50,000,000 or more than Rs 1 billion , in the term account of a bank in one transaction. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12171', 'image' => '20200904034517_bank.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 15:44:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12423', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal-Bound Goods From China Stuck at Border Points', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Devanagari Sangam MN"">September 4: </span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">With the festive season just around the corner, Nepal-bound goods have been stranded in the northern border points of Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi. There is high demand for readymade garments during the Dashain festival, which falls in mid-October this year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">According to the Customs Department, the Tatopani transit point is closed since the last two months due to landslides while the Rasuwagadhi border hasn’t come into operation after the workers involved in loading goods there were diagnosed with Covid-19. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Director of the Customs Department, Sishir Ghimire, says that operating the customs points with China was always challenging due to the difficult topography. In addition to this, they are now facing the problems of natural calamity and Covid-19 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:"Bangla MN"">Chief of the Rasuwagadhi Customs Office Punya Bikram Khadka sys that they are unable to resume service from the customs point after detection of virus among the workers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">“Other workers are currently placed in quarantine and their swab samples have been collected. It is not possible to reopen the border until we get the report,” said 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:"Bangla MN"">He says that his Chinese counterpart has decided to release the goods only after getting the PCR reports of the drivers, and other staffers involved in unloading goods at the customs points.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">More that 30 containers are currently stranded at the customs points. Customs chief Khadka says they are making efforts to reopen the border as soon as possible because a large quantity of goods are imported during this season for the Dashain festival. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12170', 'image' => '20200904025150_1599171108.Clipboard04.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:51:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12422', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Collection of Insurance Premium Increased after Lockdown was Lifted ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">September 4: Despite the coronavirus pandemic, life insurance companies have collected above average premium in July/August. </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:"Times New Roman"">The average monthly premium collection of all 19 insurance companies of Nepal is Rs 7.75 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">The preliminary data of Insurance Board Nepal shows that the total premium collection in July/August was above average. The total amount collected by the insurance companies during the review month stood at Rs 10.14 billion. </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:"Times New Roman"">Nepal Life Insurance Company is ahead in terms of premium collection. The company collected Rs 3.97 billion premium in July/August. Likewise, National Life Insurance Company collected Rs 1.6 billion and NLIC collected Rs 1.5 billion premium during the same period. </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:"Times New Roman"">The four-month lockdown that was imposed in March 24 to control the spread of coronavirus affected life insurance businesses. Since the renewal of old insurance policy is done in April, May and June, the insurance business grows during this 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:"Times New Roman"">As the fiscal year ends in June/July, the premium collection in the month is higher than other months. However, due to the lockdown, it was not easy for the insurance businesses. </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:"Times New Roman"">After the lockdown was eased in June, the life insurance companies were back in business. The premium collection in June was Rs 24 billon, which is higher than average. The premium collection was higher as the companies and insurance agents were active after the lockdown was lifted. </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:"Times New Roman"">CEO of Union Life Insurance Company, Manoj Kumar Lal Karna informed that with the impact of June, the collection of insurance premiums has also increased in July. “There was no lockdown in July and so the agents could go to the field and work,” he said, adding, “As a result, the insurance premium increased in July.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12169', 'image' => '20200904021424_1599171150.Clipboard05.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 14:13:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12421', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Tender Evaluation of East-West Highway Faces Technical Glitch', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 4: The tender evaluation process of Kakarbhitta-Inaruwa section of the contentious East-West Railway has been halted due to technical problems in downloading the documents registered through electronic bidding method.</span></span></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 concerned authorities are unable to evaluate the documents since the last three weeks.</span></span></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">Issuing a notice on August 26, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) said that the procurement process has been halted because of their failure to download the documents since last month.</span></span></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">Coincidently, Patan High Court had ordered the PPMO to move ahead with the tender process the same day.</span></span></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 Department of Railways was preparing to evaluate 120 proposals for the construction of the 106-kilometer long track-bed along the section. But the process has remained on hold ever since the problem surfaced.</span></span></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">Director General of the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra, informed that although they were preparing to evaluate the proposals after the high court’s ruling, they were unable to do so due to the problem in downloading the documents.</span></span></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">Spokesperson of PPMO Sushil Dhakal says they are making efforts to resolve the problem but did not specify the exact time they will be able to sort out 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">However, the inordinate delay has cast doubts about the intention of the concerned government bodies.</span></span></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 has been accused of trying to award the contract worth Rs 28 billion to selected contractors. </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12168', 'image' => '20200904124847_1599170858.Clipboard03.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 12:48:17', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12420', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'NCP Selects Vice Chairman Gautam over Finance Minister Khatiwada', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">September 4: The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has decided to recommend the party’s vice chairman Bamdev Gautam for the vacant position of National Assembly member to be nominated by the president.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in favour of nominating Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada for another term but he was under mounting pressure to recommend Gautam for the post to maintain internal balance and cordial relation within the party.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">NCP Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha confirmed that the secretariat meeting of the party held at PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Thursday (September 3) decided to recommend Gautam’s name.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada has to be re-appointed as member of the upper house of parliament to continue as finance minister after September 5. However, Khatiwada’s chances of continuing his office as the finance minister has been all but ended with the party’s decision to choose Gautam.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">However, Khatiwada still has slim chances of remaining in office provided that the party orders any one of the two nominated MPs to resign for re-appointing Khatiwada. However, the secretariat meeting on Thursday did not discuss this issue, informed party spokesperson Shrestha.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The secretariat meeting had decided to recommend Gautam’s name six months ago. But the party had courted controversy for not implementing the decision. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Khatiwada’s first term in office had ended on March 3 but he got nominated as upper house member by the president six months ago upon PM Oli’s recommendation. Without being a member of parliament, Khatiwada cannot continue as finance minister. He current holds the portfolio of Communication and Information Minister as well.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-04', 'modified' => '2020-09-04', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12167', 'image' => '20200904113647_20191022025030_20190927045330__MG_7700.JPG', 'article_date' => '2020-09-04 11:36:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12419', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Industries Struggling due to Prohibitory Order', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has given high priority to essential goods and services during the prohibitory period as well as lockdown period. Soon after imposing lockdown on March 24, the government had pledged to facilitate in reopening factories that produce essential goods. However, the production and supply of such essential goods have become problematic after the district administration offices in various districts issued prohibitory orders 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">Industrialists complain that operating their factories has become uncertain because of the strict measures adopted by government authorities. Even the production of food and medicines has been badly affected by the prohibitory orders issued by more than 50 districts. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Pharmaceutical companies in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have been closed since one week after the local administration ordered quarantine facility for workers within the industry. Factories producing food are also operating with minimum work force.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Low production is likely to disrupt the supply chain, warns Subodh Gupta, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, Chief District Officer of Parsa Asman Tamang says that they believe the industrial sector as the source of community transmission of coronavirus in the region.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Soon after the lockdown was lifted about a month ago, Indian workers employed in the industries tested positive for coronavirus, says Tamang. Therefore, they took precautionary measures to stop the disease from spreading.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12166', 'image' => '20200903060551_20200830020949_1598735616.2.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 18:04:43', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12418', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'More than 10 Thousand Added in the Blacklist of BFIs', 'sub_title' => '65% in the blacklist because of bounced cheques', 'summary' => 'September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. ', 'content' => '<h1><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 3: The number of people blacklisted by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has increased during the period of coronavirus pandemic. People who have written cheques with insufficient balance in their accounts have been listed in the blacklist more than the debtors.</span></span></span></h1> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Data from the Credit Information Centre shows that 10,732 people have been added to the blacklist from mid-March to mid-August. There are 13,024 people in the blacklist. A total of 9,626 people were added in the month of Ashad (mid-June to mid-July) alone. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Similarly, the number of people blacklisted in the month of Baishakh (mid-April to mid-May) was 26 followed by 89 in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June), 137 in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) and 168 in Bhadra (August end).</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Anil Adhikari, the Chief Executive Officer of Credit Information Centre, said that international organizations like the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation have also inquired about the increase in the number of blacklisted people. He said that confusions were created because the data published by the Centre contained the names of not just debtors but also the people with bounced cheques.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made an arrangement through the integrated directive issued in Bhadra 2076 to blacklist a person, firm, company or an organization if they sign their cheque incorrectly or have insufficient balance in their account and do not make the payment within a week. Previously, only the people with repetitive bounced cheques were blacklisted. The Centre says that while the number of debtors with non-performing loans has gone down, the number of people with bounced cheques has increased in the blacklist. According to the Centre, 65% i.e. 6,500 people have been enlisted in the blacklist because of bounced cheques. The Chief Executive Officer Adhikari says that the remaining 35% are debtors being monitored because of bad debts or non-performing loans.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“All of the people listed in the blacklist have signed bounced cheques. Most of them have bounced cheques ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000,” Adhikari told New Business Age, adding, “After many failed attempts of trying to get their money from the cheques, people submit an application to the bank, requesting to add their creditor to the blacklist. On this basis, the banks submit the names of their customers with bounced cheques and we add them to the blacklist.”</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">He added that we will be able to observe the rate of increment of people in the blacklist after the end of the exemptions provided by Nepal Rastra Bank. CEO Adhikari estimates that the number of people in the blacklist due to bad debts will increase after about 4 months.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Nepal Rastra Bank has arranged discounts to severely affected, medium affected and less affected businesses as they were affected by the lockdown enforced because of the coronavirus pandemic.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Chairman of the Nepal Bankers' Association Bhuwan Dahal said that many debtors have been saved from being added to the blacklist because of the extension in the loan payment period by the central bank. According to him, the reason for the lesser number of debtors in the blacklist is also the exemption given by the central bank to the banks and finance companies to classify the loans given after the end of Poush 2076 (mid-January 2020) till the end of Ashad 2077 (mid-July 2020) as good loans. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“According to this arrangement, the debtors who had non-performing loans or bad debts before the end of Poush, 2076 have been added to the blacklist. If the economy improves after the exemption period finishes, we can expect the number of blacklisted debtors to decrease,” he said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BFIs are not allowed to provide loans to blacklisted debtors. In case a loan is given to them, there is a policy that automatically considers this loan a bad debt. In addition, a blacklisted person may also not to be able to get various benefits provided by the state.</span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12165', 'image' => '20200903031423_1596058689.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 15:13:42', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12417', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Multinational Company Nielsen Nepal in Liquidation Process', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Nielsen Nepal Private Limited, a leading multinational market research company in Nepal, is in the process of liquidation. Multinational company Nielsen Holdings, which has 100 percent stake on Nielsen Nepal, had decided to close its office in Nepal on June 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:"Arial Unicode MS"">The company is likely to complete the liquidation process within September 30. A source at the company informed New Business Age that they have completed all internal the paper works for liquidation and is only awaiting the formal process to complete within this month. The liquidation process has been pushed back by the prohibitory order issued by the District Administration Office of the Kathmandu Valley, the source further 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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been involved in market research in Nepal since 1993. However, the company was unable to carry its business as expected during recent months. The coronavirus pandemic further aggravated the problems of the company after which it decided to go for liquidation.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Besides Nepal, Nielsen Holdings has decided to close its offices in four other countries as well.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">New York-based Nielsen Holdings is an internationally renowned data analysis company.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Nielsen Nepal had been conducting market research, social research and retail measurement services. However, due to bleak prospects in these areas, the company decided to close its office in Nepal, it has been learnt.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">The company found that its expenses in Nepal were more than the income it has been making, the source said. Nielsen Holdings is reportedly investing in only those countries where there is high return.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Other multinational companies like Surya Nepal, Unilever Nepal among others used to hire Nielsen Nepal for market research. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the decision to close the company in Nepal, more than 60 full-time workers and over 200 independent researchers associated with the company have lost their jobs.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Four of the staffers of the company have set up a new company named Mark Data Nepal, which is similar in nature to Nielsen Nepal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12164', 'image' => '20200903022731_508672712_1517483463.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 14:26:53', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12416', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Directs Air Arabia to Refund Passengers', 'sub_title' => 'Commercial Flights Resume from September 2', 'summary' => 'September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: The government has directed Air Arabia to refund the additional charges it collected from passengers during a recent flight. </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 Unicode MS"">The government issued such directive during a regular meeting at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday (September 2) following complaints of excessive charge by the airline company during a recent flight.</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 Unicode MS"">The airline company has been accused of charging extra amount to 142 out of 161 passengers who travelled to Nepal from Sharjah of the UAE in an Air Arabia flight on August 25. </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 Unicode MS"">The airliner had carried 142 passengers who underwent Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, 18 who had done Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and one without any test to Nepal and kept them in hotel quarantine. The airline company allegedly charged the amount for their stay in hotel while selling the tickets but the passengers later had to pay the hotel bill themselves. Following complaints that the passengers were duped by the company and had to pay twice for the service, the ministry directed the airline company to foot the bill. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has instructed the concerned authorities to take action against the airline company if it refuses to refund the amount. Likewise, the ministry has also requested international airline companies not to charge any additional amount to the passengers during the current crisis.</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 Unicode MS"">Travel agencies have been blamed for taking advantage of the current situation while selling tickets due to the unavailability of regular flights. Minister Bhattarai opined that the airline companies must regulate the black marketing. He added that the ministry will coordinate with Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad and the non-residential Nepalis to control the black market of air tickets.</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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, international commercial flights resumed in Nepal from Wednesday (September 2) after a gap of almost five months. The government had earlier decided to resume regular flights from September 2 by following the required safety protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12163', 'image' => '20200903010406_1599085733.Clipboard14.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 13:03:30', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12415', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => ' Prohibitory Order in Kathmandu Valley Extended by One Week', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"">September 3: Government authorities have extended the prohibitory order in the Kathmandu valley by another seven days. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">With the latest decision taken by the chief district officers Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the prohibitory order will remain in effect till midnight of September 9. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">However, the district administration offices of the three districts in the valley have eased the restrictions to some extent this time.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">From now onwards, groceries and other shops selling fruits, vegetables and milk can remain open till 11 am in the morning. Meanwhile, shops selling drinking water can open throughout the day. There are no restrictions for pharmaceutical shops. </span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Meanwhile, any person entering Kathmandu for emergency purpose needs to mandatorily present a PCR report with negative result.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">It is also mandatory for the people to wear mask in public places.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Likewise, staffers providing essential services will be allowed to commute between 9 to 10.30 in the morning and 3 to 5 pm in the evening.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) can operate by maintaining safety protocols and deploying minimum staffers.</span></span></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 Unicode MS"">Hotels and restaurants will remain completely shut during the extended period of the prohibitory order. Road-side vendors have also not been permitted to resume their 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 Unicode MS"">The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur had imposed the prohibitory order on August 19 after a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the valley. The prohibitory order has been extended twice and this is the third week of 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 Unicode MS"">The District Administration Office, Kathmandu informed New Business Age that they decided to slightly change the modality of the prohibitory order after consulting with the concerned stakeholders, including the business community, health experts and the local representatives.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-03', 'modified' => '2020-09-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12162', 'image' => '20200903113103_1599056781.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-03 11:30:02', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12414', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Daraz Offers Discount to Visa Card Holders', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">September 2: Daraz, an online shopping marketplace of Nepal, has entered into a partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments technology, to drive forward online card payments in Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Daraz </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">and Visa are offering Visa card holders a 15 percent discount on prepayments till September 30, reads a joint statement issued by the two companies. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“Customers can choose anything amongst 450,000 products ranging from electronics, groceries, lifestyle to fashion sold by more than 5,000 sellers on Daraz,” the statement further said, adding that Visa and Daraz users can enjoy a maximum discount of Rs 500 by pre-paying only via a Visa card that they have saved on the Daraz app. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The discount offer can be used only once and includes all current Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in Nepal.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">“A collective effort is necessary in order to drive the development of the online card payment ecosystem in Nepal, and so, we are thrilled to collaborate with Visa. And with this initial offer, we want to provide our customers an added benefit for choosing the already more convenient and safe method of making online payments,” said Lino Ahlering, MD of Daraz Nepal. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Shailesh Paul, head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring of Visa, said, “Digital payments and online shopping have become crucial in recent times, given the need for social distancing. We are delighted to partner with a leading ecommerce player like Daraz to provide their shoppers the convenience of paying online through a safe, secure medium. Our relationship with Daraz in multiple South Asian markets is proof of how established players can and should come together to enable and enhance shopping experiences for consumers.”</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12161', 'image' => '20200902070009_My Effect.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 18:53:21', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12413', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Government Starts Issuing Labour Permit ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">September 2: The government has started issuing labour permits to aspiring Nepali migrant workers at a time when the local administrations in different districts have imposed prohibitory orders 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:"Bangla MN"">The Council of Ministers recently decided to issue new labour permits upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">Tahachal-based Labour Office has started issuing new labour permits from September 2, following the cabinet decision. This has opened door for Nepali citizens to go overseas for foreign employment by fulfilling all the safety standards to prevent 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:"Bangla MN"">Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Kumar Prasad Dahal told New Business Age that they have started issuing labour permits as per the agreement with the respective labour destinations and their demand for labour.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Bangla MN"">The government had stopped issuing labour permits since February/March due to the 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:"Bangla MN"">The new labour permits will be issued only through the Labour Office based in Tahachal. However, Dahal says those aspiring to go abroad to foreign countries for work are facing difficulty in arriving in Kathmandu to obtain the permit.</span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12160', 'image' => '20200902043527_1598998058.Clipboard07.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 16:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '12412', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Bangladesh Ready to Supply 50,000 Tons of Urea to Nepal: PM Oli', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><span style="font-family:Arial">September 2: Prime Minister KP Oli has requested for help from his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina to supply urea at a time when the farmers across the country are facing acute shortage of chemical fertilizers. </span></span></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">PM Oli sought help from Bangladesh during a telephone conversation with PM Hasina on Tuesday (September 1).</span></span></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">Oli said in a tweet that he held talks with Bangladesh regarding the relation between the two countries. He added that Bangladeshi PM Hasina was positive toward his request to supply urea.</span></span></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 telephone conversation tool place at a time when Nepal had initiated the process to procure fertilizers from Bangladesh. Farmers are also in need of urea right now after completing plantation.</span></span></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 is preparing to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh at the moment.</span></span></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">Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development Hari Bahadur KC confirmed that that the government has initiated the process to borrow 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh.</span></span></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">According to the ministry, the government will receive 50,000 tons of urea from Bangladesh and instead paying for the fertilizer, the government will return the same amount next year. This agreement has been finalized after the telephone conversation between the two prime ministers, said a high-ranking government official.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-09-02', 'modified' => '2020-09-02', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '12159', 'image' => '20200902034558_1598998127.Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-09-02 15:45:25', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
