Estimated cost of Sunkoshi-Third hydropower project is Rs 160 billion   

The construction cost of the Sunkoshi-Third hydroelectricity project is estimated to be Rs 160 billion, the Department of Electricity Development said.   

India spends record $55.7 bln on gold imports in 2021 - govt source

India splurged a record $55.7 billion on gold imports in 2021, buying more than double the previous year's tonnage as a price drop favoured retail buyers and pent up demand emerged for weddings that were delayed when the pandemic first hit.

Farmers worry over marketing of kiwifruit

The farmers here have been worried over marketing of kiwifruit. Although they had begun the kiwifruit farming expecting good sale, they are now selling the produce at low price.    

NOC is service oriented enterprise: Secretary

Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dinesh Bhattarai has said that the Nepal Oil Corporation, which is a government-owned enterprise, is not a for-profit organisation but a service-oriented one. Speaking at an interaction on 'Easy Supply of Petroleum Products and Automatic Pricing System' organised by Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal on Sunday, Bhattarai said that the Corporation was not profit-oriented so if the Corporation earned profit, it would go to the state's...

Tomato farmers happy after getting good price

Farmers of Sarlahi, known as the town of tomato, are happy to get good price for tomatoes this year. This is the main season of tomato production. Farmers are selling their produce by bringing it to the market. According to the Agriculture Wholesale Market Management Committee, Lalbandi, tomato is being sold at Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 1,250 per crate in Lalbandi Wholesale Vegetable Market. One crate contains 20 kgs of tomatoes. Farmers are now selling tomatoes at Rs. 48 per kg.

Paddy production drops by almost 500,000 tonnes

Paddy production has declined significantly in the country this year, mainly due to massive floods triggered by the unseasonal rains in October, last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), paddy production has decreased by 8.74 per cent to 5.13 million tonnes in the fiscal year 2021/22 compared to last year’s production. Paddy output totalled 5.13 million tonnes that is 491,000 tonnes lower than last year’s harvest. A total of 5.621 million tonnes...

NEA staff to get discount on NA flights

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) for cooperation between the two. The MoU was signed by NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising and Executive Chairman of NAC Yubaraj Adhikari on Monday in the presence of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale and Secretary Maheshwor Neupane.

Cargo transport can improve NAC financial situation: Minister Ale

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale, has argued the financial status of indebted Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) can be improved if its annual services comprise 50 per cent of cargo transport. 

Challenges continue in raising capital expenditure

According to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the capital expenditure remained Rs. 35.8 billion at the end of December 2021 out of the annual target of Rs. 439.6 billion.

Implementation of Act related to right to housing gets affected without regulations

Failure of bringing regulations related to the right to housing has made it difficult to implement its act, 2075 that was issued three years ago. Resultantly, people have been deprived of their right to housing. Legal hurdles without its regulations have made the matter worse, it has been said.   

Impact of offseason rains: rice production down by 8.74 %  

Rice production in the current fiscal has significantly shrunk and the fall is the lowest in the past five years.     According to the statistics unveiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Sunday, this year the rice production went down by 8.74 percent compared to the production of the last fiscal year (2020-21).    

Animal husbandry flourishes in Rapti Sonari

Animal husbandry is flourishing commercially in Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality of Banke, which is the largest local level in the country in terms of territory and population. According to the rural municipality, the number of people engaged in animal husbandry and so on has been increasing day by day after seeing the high income of those who are involved in animal farming. Chairman of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality Lahuram Tharu said that animal husbandry business has been growing in the municipality...

Steps afoot to lift Nepal Airlines from Europe blacklist: Minister Ale

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale has said that the government is sensitive to lift Nepal Airlines from the blacklist of the European Union. In a meeting with a delegation of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Sunday, Minister Ale said that bills have been tabled in the parliament for legal and regulatory reforms to bring it out of the EU's blacklist. He said that the bills would be passed soon.

Snowfall pulls people to Pattale in Solu

Pattale, located at the lower part of the district from where dozens of mountains ranges can be easily seen, is becoming a centre of attraction for domestic tourists in the wake of the recent snowfall. Due to its proximity to the district headquarters and prolonged snowfall, Pattale is preferred for sightseeing.

62% industries still rely on generators for energy: Report

The capacity utilisation of Nepali industries has increased as the impact of COVID-19 is declining. According to an Industrial Status Report made public by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), the capacity utilisation of the industry has significantly improved in the current fiscal year 2021/22 as compared to the last quarter of the last fiscal year 2020/21.

Mills start crushing without fixing price of sugarcane

The sugar mills in Sarlahi district have come into operation before the government announced the support price for sugarcane. Farmers are compelled to give sugarcane to the mills even though the price of sugarcane has not been fixed fearing the drying of produce in the field and delay in planting another crop. Of the three sugar mills in the district, Hariwan-based Indu Shankar Sugar Mill has come into operation first.

Guna Airlines to operate Kathmandu-Surkhet flight from Sunday

Guna Airlines is operating Kathmandu-Surkhet commercial flight from Sunday. The company is operating flight services for additional destinations at the onset of New Year 2022.

Farmers in the upper Bhojpur happy with snowfall

Daily life of the people has been affected due to heavy snowfall in the upper region of Bhojpur. Snow as high as one to two feet has fallen in places like Suntale, Baghkhor, Dhapkharka, Mayungdanda, Temke Danda and Chakheva Bhajyang, according to the locals.

Development projects must be need based: Minister Jhakri

Minister for Urban Development Ram Kumari Jhakri has said that she would work to bring the practice of selecting a plan from one's pocket to an end. While inspecting the under construction Resunga Airport on Friday, Minister Jhakri said that she was working to select the plans and projects in a transparent way by ending the practice of selecting projects based on the access to power and in wrong ways.

No power shortage, supply problem is technical : NEA

"Demand for electricity has increased due to the recent cold. People have been using heaters, air conditioners and other consumables in their homes. Our transformers have not been able to support this and there has been a problem with electricity coming and going.”