February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive…
February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive…
February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from…
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The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = (int) 450 $height = (int) 337 $ratio = (float) 1.3353115727003 $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) 209.69 $date = '2020-02-26 09:26:19' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582688479 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 396 $time_to_read = (float) 1.98 $time_to_read_min = (float) 1 $time_to_read_second = (float) 59getimagesize - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 35 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): Division by zero [APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36]Code Context<?phplist($width, $height) = getimagesize(WWW_ROOT.'img'.DS.'news'.DS.'thumbnails'.DS.$article['Article']['image']);$ratio = $width / $height;$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Articles/index.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' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = null $height = null $ratio = (float) 1.3353115727003 $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) 209.69 $date = '2020-02-26 09:26:19' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582688479 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 396 $time_to_read = (float) 1.98 $time_to_read_min = (float) 1 $time_to_read_second = (float) 59include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36 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
February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and…
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The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = null $height = null $ratio = (float) NAN $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) NAN $date = '2020-02-26 09:56:19' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582690279 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 371 $time_to_read = (float) 1.86 $time_to_read_min = (float) 1 $time_to_read_second = (float) 52getimagesize - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 35 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): Division by zero [APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36]Code Context<?phplist($width, $height) = getimagesize(WWW_ROOT.'img'.DS.'news'.DS.'thumbnails'.DS.$article['Article']['image']);$ratio = $width / $height;$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Articles/index.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' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = null $height = null $ratio = (float) NAN $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) NAN $date = '2020-02-26 09:56:19' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582690279 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 371 $time_to_read = (float) 1.86 $time_to_read_min = (float) 1 $time_to_read_second = (float) 52include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act…
Warning (2): getimagesize(/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/webroot/img/news/thumbnails/20200226102534_aaaa.jpg) [<a href='http://php.net/function.getimagesize'>function.getimagesize</a>]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory [APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 35]Code Context<?phplist($width, $height) = getimagesize(WWW_ROOT.'img'.DS.'news'.DS.'thumbnails'.DS.$article['Article']['image']);$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Articles/index.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' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = null $height = null $ratio = (float) NAN $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) NAN $date = '2020-02-26 11:56:32' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582697492 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 533 $time_to_read = (float) 2.67 $time_to_read_min = (float) 2 $time_to_read_second = (float) 40getimagesize - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 35 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): Division by zero [APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36]Code Context<?phplist($width, $height) = getimagesize(WWW_ROOT.'img'.DS.'news'.DS.'thumbnails'.DS.$article['Article']['image']);$ratio = $width / $height;$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Articles/index.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' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $article = array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) $width = null $height = null $ratio = (float) NAN $img_width = (int) 280 $img_height = (float) NAN $date = '2020-02-26 11:56:32' $dateFromDatabase = (int) 1582697492 $dateTwentyforHoursAgo = (int) 1750445403 $today = '2025-06-22 12:35:03am' $today2 = (int) 1750531803 $newDate = 'Feb 26, 2020' $commentCount = (int) 0 $word_count = (int) 533 $time_to_read = (float) 2.67 $time_to_read_min = (float) 2 $time_to_read_second = (float) 40include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 36 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. …
February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC…
February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa.…
February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s…
February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their…
February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal.…
February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April…
February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago.…
February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the…
February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day…
February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22,…
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The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $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' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $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
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 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11674', 'article_category_id' => '266', 'title' => 'Nissan Announces Winners of “Festive Drive Scheme"', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Pioneer Moto Corp, the authorized Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Nepal, has announced the winners of its Festive Drive scheme.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Under this offer, customers purchasing a new car were eligible for a lucky draw scheme. The lucky draw winners were announced at the company’s showroom at Thapathali on Tuesday (February 25).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Ten couples were selected through the lucky draw for Malaysia trip and five lucky winners were given gold coins of 10 grams.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pioneer Moto Corp currently imports Nissan Micra, Sunny, Kicks, Navara, X-Trail, Urvan and Patrol. The company is soon planning to launch Leaf, the Electric vehicle from Nissan.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11425', 'image' => '20200303055905_Nissan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:38:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11671', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => '500 kg Gold Gathering Dust in Banks', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 25: The skyrocketing price of gold has forced gold dealers to reduce the purchase of the precious yellow metal from banks. The slump in purchase of gold by the dealers has resulted in piling up of a stock of 500 kg of gold in banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Nepal Bankers’ Association, the purchase of gold by the dealers has taken a nosedive since mid-February. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The sales of gold usually remain high especially during the marriage and festive seasons including mid-September to mid-October, mid-November to mid-December, and mid-January to mid-March. However, this time, the dealers have not purchased adequate amount of gold as of mid-February.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of gold, which was around Rs 60,000 per tola (11.6 grams approx), has now soared to Rs 80,000 per tola. Due to the sharp rise in the price of gold, the daily demand for gold has dropped from 50 kg to 10-15 kg per day, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association. They say that the slump in business of gold has resulted in the low sales of gold from the banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The banks have also stopped importing additional gold after the dealers stopped purchasing it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Gold dealers have stopped purchasing gold from banks due to the sharp rise in price of gold,” said Anil Sharma, executive director of Nepal Bankers Association, adding, “Currently, we have a stock of 500 kg gold. We will not bring in any additional gold unless the stock gets cleared.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The trade war between the US and China since last year triggered the growth of gold price in the global market as well as in Nepal followed by the Iran-US tensions in January. Recently, the price of gold has reached a record high in Nepal which has been attributed to the coronavirus outbreak in China.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-03-03', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11424', 'image' => '20200303060420_gold.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:26:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11672', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'White Paper of Nepal Trust Points out to Dahal, Deuba of Striking deals with Yeti Holdings', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: At a time when the government is facing widespread criticism for providing the land of Nepal Trust on lease to Yeti Holdings to fulfill the interests of the business group, the trust has issued a white paper with details of all its properties including land and assets.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is the chairman of the trust, on Tuesday reveals the fact that former governments led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba had also leased other lands of the trust to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The white paper states that Dahal and Deuba were the respective prime minister of Nepal when the trust decided to lease its land in Durbarmarg and Tahachal to Yeti Holdings.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had courted controversy after extending the lease of Nepal Trust’s land in Gokarna to Gokarna Forest Resort owned by Yeti Holdings, especially because the lease was extended six years before the expiry of the existing lease. In order to dispel its critics, the government issued the white paper. While unveiling the white paper, DPM Pokharel declined to elaborate on the issue saying that everything has been mentioned in the white paper.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything has been mentioned in details. Please read it carefully,” said Pokharel, responding to the queries of reporters.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“Everything is clear about the deals made by previous governments,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pokharel admitted that 172 ropanis of land belonging to the trust have been transferred to the names of individuals. That happened when Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister and Bijay Kuamar Gachchhadar was the then chairman of the trust, the white paper states.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11423', 'image' => '20200226095711_1582670581.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 09:56:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11679', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Govt Decision to Set Age Limit for Bank Directors Draws Flak', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 26: Lawmakers of the main opposition Nepali Congress have raised objection to the provision of setting an age limit and qualification requirement for directors of banks as proposed in the first amendment to the Bank and Financial Institution Act (BAFIA).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, members of parliament from the main opposition party criticized the government for making an attempt to exert undue pressure and control the private sector by amending the BAFIA.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Presenting the BAFIA (first amendment) in parliament, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the government has proposed strict criteria in meeting the qualification requirement and age limit for the directors of BFIs in order to ensure the safety of Rs 3.5 trillion deposited by the public.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He argued that the age limit and qualification requirement were proposed to set a clear demarcation between bankers and businessmen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As soon as Khatiwada presented the act for amendment, Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Kumar KC objected to the provision of age bar for directors arguing that the shareholders do not require age limit while those representing the general shareholders will be barred from joining the board of directors of BFIs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The private sector will be discouraged if the government exerts too much pressure,” he said.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We want a balanced and disciplined banking system. It is surprising that there is no age limit to become a shareholder of private banks but there will be restrictions to represent those shareholders in the board,” he added.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He said that the strict criteria set by the government is likely to allow employees of the central bank joining board of directors of private banks.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Another NC lawmaker Dibya Mani Rajbhandari asked if the constitution has not set an age limit for elected people’s representatives why is the government proposing age limit for directors of banks?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“It is not morally correct to snatch away the rights of shareholders. If there is not qualification requirement for lawmakers then why should we have such criteria for shareholders?” he questioned.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, another NC lawmaker Umesh Shrestha said that the flow of capital is taking place due to private banks. In such scenario, the government’s attempt to tighten the screws on the private sector might backfire.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11422', 'image' => '20200226115759_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 11:56:32', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11673', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Payment to Suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project yet to be Finalised ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' February 26: The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 26:<em> </em>The due payment to sub-contractors and suppliers of Melamchi Water Supply Project by the Italian company, CMC di Ravenna, has not yet been fixed. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS",sans-serif; font-size:20px">CMC was the main contractor of the project before it abandoned the it with just 5 percent works remaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation has stated that although the wages remaining to be paid to the local labours has been finalized, the payment to the sub-contractors and suppliers has not been ascertained yet</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The ministry has formed a technical committee to study about the dues the Italian company owes to the sub contractors and suppliers on the basis of the claims made by them. </span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Spokesperson of the ministry, Ritesh Kumar Shakya, said it will take some more time to pay the sub-contractor companies for the materials they have supplied for the project. "Verification is being done to check whether the claims made by the companies for payment of their dues are correct or not. The payment process will be forwarded once the verification is concluded," he said. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The Italian company had not paid the workers and the sub-contractors when it left the project all of a sudden in December 2018. Since then the sub-contractors and suppliers had been demanding that either the government should make CMC pay them or it itself pay their dues. They had also obstructed the project's work demanding the payment. </span><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The government signed an agreement with Sino Hydro Corporation, a Chinese construction company, for the construction of the remaining works of the project after the Italian company deserted it. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">As per the agreement, the Chinese company is required to complete the construction within 15 months since the signing of the agreement. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The technical committee formed for resolving the problem related to the payment of the dues owed by the Italian company has said the problem would be sorted out within this week. It has also been learnt that the Ministry is preparing to issue a 'white paper' declaring that Melamchi Water Supply Project would be completed within July this year. (RSS) </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-26', 'modified' => '2020-02-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11421', 'image' => '20200226102534_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-26 10:24:20', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11670', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepal has Good Prospects of Selling Onions to Bangladesh', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">February 23: Bangladesh imported onions worth US$ 57.3 million (Rs 6.53 billion) in 2018, according to ITC Trademap.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Bangladesh mainly imports onion from India. Nepal can supply onions to Bangladesh to meet its demand worth Rs 6.53 billion if the eastern plains of the country are developed into onion farms with assurance of export facility. For this, the government needs to encourage the farmers, provide them with grant and waive tax for a certain period. The government must also give quality assurance and then sign B2B and G2G agreements with Bangladesh. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/2%2864%29.jpg" style="height:226px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif""><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/Clipboard01%2841%29.jpg" style="height:481px; width:700px" /></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11420', 'image' => '20200224010756_original.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 13:06:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11669', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Citizens Bank Lends Support to Saraswoti School of Dolpa', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Citizens Bank International Ltd has provided financial support to Dunai-based Shree Saraswati Secondary School of Thuli Bheri Municipality in Dolpa. The bank provided Rs 50,000 to the school amid a function on Sunday, February 23.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The school said that the amount will be utilised for buying necessary foodstuff and other materials for its students.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Likewise, the bank also committed that it will be continuing such programmes in coming days too.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11419', 'image' => '20200224125046_aaadafdf.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:50:00', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11668', 'article_category_id' => '218', 'title' => 'Customers of Citizens Bank to Get Discount at Siddhartha Group', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Siddhartha Group and Hospitality has signed an agreement with Citizens Bank International to provide discount to the bank’s customers. According to the agreement, the customers having debit/credit/privilege card of the bank can get special discount on the hospitality service of the Group’s hotel, cafe and resorts. </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11418', 'image' => '20200224124222_Clipboard01.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:41:37', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11667', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Customers Opt for Low-Cost vehicles after Government Clampdown on Luxurious Goods', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Ever since the government adopted a policy to discourage the import of vehicles by imposing various measures, customers have started opting for low-cost vehicles for their use.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">This is clearly evident from data on import of vehicles in the first seven months of the current fiscal year from Birgunj Customs Point. Although the import of vehicles from the main customs point has increased quantitatively, the money spent on these vehicles has reduced to some extent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The government has adopted a policy to discourage the import of luxurious goods. Meanwhile, Nepal Rastra Bank last year instructed Banks and Financial Institutions not to provide more than 50 percent loan for the procurement of vehicles. The central bank recently made it mandatory for those interested in obtaining loan for purchase of vehicles to submit tax clearance certificate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">All these measures have significantly reduced the demand for expensive vehicles, according to automobile dealers. They claim that the slump in demand is clearly reflected in import of vehicles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a total of 10,285 four-wheelers including jeeps, cars and vans were imported from Birgunj Customs Point. The total cost of these vehicles is said to be around Rs 4.78 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, a total of 6374 such vehicles worth Rs 5.37 billion were imported from the same customs point in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The price of motorbikes imported from the customs point for personal use has also gone down. During the review period of last fiscal year, a total of 73,788 two-wheelers worth Rs 6.68 billion were imported from Birgunj. In the corresponding period of this year, around 112,000 two-wheelers were brought in but the total cost of such a large number of vehicles stood at Rs 4.26 billion.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The import of expensive vehicles has reduced significantly this year.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" src="/app/webroot/userfiles/images/222.jpg" style="height:600px; width:800px" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11417', 'image' => '20200224123052_111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 12:30:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11663', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Prices of Raw Materials for Medicines up due to Short Supply from China', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The effect of COVID-19 virus that originated in China’s Wuhan nearly two months ago has been felt in the pharmaceutical industry of Nepal. Nepal imports raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical products from India, which has reportedly increased the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by 50 percent due to the short supply from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Drug manufacturers in Nepal are worried that they may not be able to import the raw materials in the near future if the situation persists any longer.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">They claimed that the price of raw materials for drugs has increased drastically due to the short supply from China, although a recent news published by Reuters stated that the Indian drug makers have sufficient stock of APIs at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Shortages and potential price hike of generic drugs in India are likely if the supply gets disrupted past April, Reuters said last week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">However, President of Nepal Drug Manufacturers Association, Narayan Bahadur Chhetri, says India has already increased the price of raw materials due to the shortage after China stopped supplying the products in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepali drug manufacturers are chiefly dependent on APIs from India, which also supplies a third of medicines sold in the United States. Any fluctuation in the price of medicines and raw materials is certain to affect the price in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to Reuters, Indian companies procure almost 70 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for their medicines from China.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although Indian media have reported increase in price of raw materials for medicines due to the short supply, Reuters said India’s generic drugmakers currently have enough API supplies to cover their operations for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” Reuters quoted Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, as saying in a recent interview.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Chhetri also maintained that although the price of raw materials has increased by 50 percent, the price of medicines have not increased for the time being as the Indian drug manufacturers have stock which can last for up to three months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> According to Reuters, the outbreak and severe travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread has taken a toll on the world’s second largest economy and disrupted international businesses dependant on Chinese supplies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd said it has sufficient inventory of API and raw materials for the short term and has not seen any major disruption in supplies at the moment.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increase, Reuters reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According to the news agency, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Daara Patel, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11416', 'image' => '20200224094248_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 09:41:56', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11666', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Dhakal, Pradhan in the fray for FNCCI Senior Vice President', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is gearing up to hold election to choose its new leadership on April 11. An executive committee meeting of FNCCI on Sunday (February 23) decided to hold the general assembly and election of the federation at National Academy Hall in Kamaladi on April 10-11.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As per the statute of FNCCI, the senior vice president of the federation will be automatically elected as the president. Therefore, Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha is almost certain to lead the federation for the next term.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Now the battle has intensified for the post of senior vice president and three posts of vice presidents. Incumbent vice president duo Chandra Dhakal and Kishor Pradhan are in the fray for the post of senior vice president. Dhakal and Pradhan both have claimed their candidacy for the post. None of them are willing to backtrack despite efforts for consensus.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Pradhan is backed by the next president Golchha, and former presidents Kush Kumar Joshi and Pashupati Murarka.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Meanwhile, former president Chandi Raj Dhakal and vice president Umesh Lal Shrestha have pledged their allegiance to vice president hopeful Chandra Dhakal.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11415', 'image' => '20200224115153_pradhan.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:51:19', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11664', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Nepse in Bullish Trend with Record Transaction on Sunday', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 24: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) on Sunday (February 23) surpassed its previous record of biggest-ever transaction in a single day achieved only a few days ago. At the close of the day, Nepse witnessed a new record of share transactions worth Rs 3.60 billion, almost Rs 82 million more than the previous mark of 2.78 billion set last Thursday (February 20).</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The last time Nepse achieved such feat was on July 26, 2016, when it traded shares worth Rs 2.75 billion in a single day.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The latest figure is the 20 th time that the daily transaction of Nepse crossed the mark of Rs 2 billion in a single day. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">On Sunday, Nepse index rose by 69.56 points to close at 1,504 points, the highest in the last 26 months.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Prior to this, the Nepse index was as high as 1508 points on December 19, 2017. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Experts say the increase in the number of buyers and the rise in demand have resulted in the encouraging trend of the share market. Analysts also believe that the entry of new investors in the market has resulted in the increase of Nepse Index.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Nepse seems to be in a bullish trend due to the constant rise in index within a week.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Share analyst Dilip Munakarmi says the share market has started catching up after a long and sluggish period of bearish trend. According to him, the investors have become hopeful of good return which has resulted in increased transactions of shares.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The encouragement in investment is also believed to be associated with the likely exit of Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Khatiwada’s term as a member of the National Assembly expires in eight days. The ruling Nepal Communist Party has not yet decided to appoint him for a second term with another strong contender Bam Dev Gautam joining the fray.</span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11414', 'image' => '20200224104313_aaaaaaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 10:42:40', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11662', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Non-Life Insurance Companies Struggling to Expand their Business', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">February 23: The business of non-life insurance companies seem to be struggling in Nepal as compared to life insurance companies . Life insurance companies on the other hand are thriving in recent days in the country.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Officials of non-life insurance companies admit that they have not been able to expand their business as expected.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The business of life insurance companies has increased in size by 38.8 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. However, the business of non-life insurance companies has increased by only 17.27 percent.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Altogether 19 non-life insurance companies of Nepal collected a total of Rs 14.9 billion amount as insurance, which is more than the figures of last fiscal year by Rs 2.7 billion. There are a total of 20 non life insurance companies in Nepal. The number non-life insurance companies is more than life insurance companies. However, their business is no so lucrative like that of life insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is said that the business of life insurance companies has increased all of a sudden in the last two years. But the non-life insurance companies have failed to keep the pace with life-insurance companies.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Sunil Ballav Pant, CEO of NLG Insurance, admits this fact.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“The business of non-life insurance companies has not been able to expand. We also lack adequate insurance policies as per the need of the time,” he said. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11413', 'image' => '20200223013317_aaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:32:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11661', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Misuse of Electricity Rampant in Janakpur ', 'sub_title' => 'Street lights in Janakpur are Carelessly Switched on Even During the Dayttime', 'summary' => 'February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">February 23: Street lights in Janakpur Sub-Metropolitan City are switched on round the clock. The authorities are least concerned about the use of street lights throughout the day time.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The street lamps of the main streets of Janakpur including Janaki Temple, railway station, Bhanu Chowk and Ramchandra Chowk are turned on carelessly all day long and throughout the night but the concerned authorities are not bothered at all. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Such negligence has been increasing the unwarranted use of electricity and adding financial burden to the sub-metropolitan city office.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Surya Narayan Mandal, deputy manager of Janakpur-based office of Nepal Electricity Office (NEA) informed that even though NEA is concerned about the misuse of electricity but the ownership of the street lights belong to the local government and yet they are not bothered.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“We do not know who set up the lights in the poles. However, we had requested the people to install switches in most of the places but to no avail. No one is bothered at all. That is why the lights are turned on all day and night,” he informed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">It has been learnt that the sub-metropolitan city office in Janakpur had installed the bulbs without coordinating with the NEA office. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-23', 'modified' => '2020-02-23', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11412', 'image' => '20200223011349_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-23 13:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '11665', 'article_category_id' => '1', 'title' => 'Birat Expo 2076 Concludes', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">February 24: Birat Expo 2076 organised for the exhibition of agro and industrial products concluded on February 22, Saturday. The nine-day event had kicked off from February 2. Information regarding commercial agriculture, tourism promotion, industrial areas and products were shared in the event. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A total of 350 stalls were displayed at the expo where around 350,000 visitors witnessed the event, according to the organizers. Transactions of more than Rs 1 billion took place during the expo. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The business entrepreneurs of Biratnagar have demanded for the fully facilitated exhibition center for organizing such events in the future. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The expo was inaugurated by Finance Minister Yub Raj Khatiwada while the closing ceremony was graced by Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal. Both Khatiwada and Dhakal expressed their commitment to establish such exhibition center. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:20px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Bhim Raj Parajuli stated that the expo this year was held in a grand manner compared to previous years. He informed that they are ready to provide land for exhibition venue. Moreover, he also said that they have already allocated Rs 5 million for the purpose. </span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2020-02-24', 'modified' => '2020-02-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '11411', 'image' => '20200224110452_1111.jpg', 'article_date' => '2020-02-24 11:04:22', 'homepage' => true, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => false, 'in_scroller' => null, 'user_id' => '20' ) ) ) $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
