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The increase in the cost of doing business due to rising interest rates, hike in cost of raw materials, growing inflation along with the decline in market demand have badly affected the operational efficiency of industries in Lumbini Province. As industries grapple with multiple issues, their capacity utilization has declined in the first half of the current fiscal year. According to the latest report of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the average capacity utilization of industries in Lumbini Province stood at 42.33 percent in the first half of FY 2022/23 compared to 49.22 percent during the same period of the last fiscal. The report titled ‘Provincial Economic Activities Report-Lumbini Province’ states capacity utilization of the plastic industries was the highest at 89.64 percent while dry syrup industries had the lowest at 3.91 percent. The capacity utilization of industries such as paper, tablets, aluminum, rosin, and animal feed was above the average, the report said. The decline in the capacity utilization of dry syrup, electric wire, cable, concrete, rice, beverages, GI pipe, and pharmaceutical production industries led to a decline in the average capacity utilization of the industries in Lumbini Province. Except for the rosin and paper industries, all the other major industries’ production has declined in this fiscal year. Among the industries included in the study, the production of rosin increased by 30.66 percent compared to the same period last fiscal year. The easy availability of raw materials and high demand in other countries including India helped the increment of rosin production. Paper production surged by 30.59 percent in the first half of FY 2022/23, particularly due to the increased demand for Nepali paper. Lumbini Province has been at the center of Nepal’s cement production. However, cement production in the province declined by 54.09 percent in the current fiscal year. “Cement production decreased mainly due to a decline in demand, problems in electricity supply, and a surge in prices of coal and petroleum products in the international market,” reads the report. Out of the 60 cement industries operating in Nepal, 45 are in Lumbini province. According to NRB, while there is a demand for clinker and cement produced from Lumbini Province in the Indian market, there has been a decrease in the production of cement, clinker, and rods during the review period due to a lack of ease in exports, obstacles in limestone mining and lack of internal demand. The NRB study shows the production of aluminum decreased by 65.47 percent, rice production by 58.79 percent, concrete production by 52.09 percent, electric wires, and cables by 48.64 percent, wheat flour by 36.31 percent, tablet by 29.39 percent, noodle by 16.59 percent, dry syrup by 19.49 percent, liquor by 10.95 percent, and capsule by 10.33 percent. Meanwhile, the disbursement of loans by banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to the industrial sector increased marginally in the first half of FY 2022/23. The BFIs’ loan disbursement to industries increased by 6.09 percent to Rs 126.03bn in the first half of the current fiscal year compared to a growth of 4.43 percent during the corresponding period of FY 2021/22. According to NRB, of the total loans, Rupandehi district has the highest share of 58.92 percent while Rukum East district has the lowest share of 0.03 percent. In the review period, the BFIs’ loans to mining industries surged by 194.15 percent, the electricity sector by 191.10 percent, and the agriculture sector by 0.58 percent. The share of the industrial sector in total loans is 22.91 percent.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 2. 94 points to close at 2,091.39 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1. 82 points to close at 392. 38 points. A total of 12,975,168-unit shares of 276 companies were traded for Rs 4. 74 billion. Meanwhile, Central Finance Co. Ltd, Laxmi Equity Fund and Mountain Energy Nepal Limited were the top gainers today with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 06 trillion.

The Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives directed the government to collect detailed information about the people affected by floods and landslides and ensure that relief and compensation reach the affected families. A meeting of the Committee today expressed sorrow over the loss of valuable lives in the recent incidents of natural disasters that occurred in various parts of the country. The meeting has instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to undertake prompt rescue operations for the injured, and to address the immediate requirements of food and shelter for the affected people. The meeting headed by Committee President Laalbir Chaudhary directed the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to immediately repair the damaged structures meant for people's movement and transport such as roads and bridges. It is worth noting that Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, and Tehrathum districts in the Koshi Province have been severely affected by recent floods and landslides, resulting in both human and physical losses. The committee's directive came on the same backdrop.  

Twelve people, who were trapped in a landslide at Yangwarak Yangwarak Rural Municipality-1 in Panchthar, have been successfully rescued by a Nepal Army Helicopter. They have been relocated at the local Bishnu Secondary School. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police, Hari Khatiwada, they had been trapped in the disaster since Saturday night. They are Naramaya Gurung (60) Sandeep Gurung (16), Hima Gurung (9) Krishna Bahadur Gurung (80), Dikmaya Gurung (60), Kajuhang Gurung (35), Sunita Gurung ()30, Man Bahadur Gurung (43), Man Kumari Gurung (44) and Sushma Gurung (16).  

A father and his son were killed in a landslide at Mehele in Sidingwa Rural Municipality of Taplejung district on Monday. Suresh Rai (36) died in the landslide while his 67-year-old father Keshav Bahadur Rai, who had gone missing since the disaster occurred this morning, was found dead later, according to the District Police Office, Taplejung. Kusaram Karki, Information Officer and Police Inspector at the District Police Office, Taplejung, confirmed the death of the father-son duo in the landslide at Muku Bhangyanj of Mehele. Similarly, preparations are underway to airlift Raj Kumar Rai (45) who was seriously hurt in the disaster, said Karki. Various districts in the eastern part of the country have been hit hard by monsoon-induced natural disasters such as flood and landslide due to incessant rain since the arrival of this year's monsoon on June 15. Meanwhile, three people have been out of contact in Sidingwa in the district. The trio were learned to have been stranded and sheltering in a cave following the flood. They are Denish Gurung (23) and his spouse Anita Rai and their two-and- a-half-year-old daughter of Surumkhim of Sidingwa Rural Municipality. A Nepal Army helicopter was flown for the rescue operation of the missing ones on last Sunday but to no avail due to adverse weather, informed Laxman Tamang, ward chairperson of ward no 7 in Sidingwa rural municipality. Rescue operation continues today as well, according to Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, a parliamentarian from Taplejung.  

Real estate transactions have increased noticeably in the month of Jestha (mid-May to mid-June). After a year in a slump, the real estate transactions increased in Chaitra (mid-March to mid-April) before declining again in Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May). The latest data published by the Department of Land Management and Archive (DoLMA) show the number of real estate transactions in Jestha reached the highest in the current fiscal year 2022/23. According to DoLMA, a total of 55,0069 real estate transactions were recorded in Jestha which is 12,608 more than 42,461 in Baisakh. The real estate business spiraled into a downturn after the central bank and the government took measures to cool down the overheated real estate market over a year ago. The Nepal Rastra Bank made it harder for banks and financial institutions to disburse housing and real estate loans to their clients, while the government came up with the Land Use Regulations which halted the plotting of lands in the country directly affecting the real estate market which had peaked in late 2021. In Ashad (mid-June to mid-July), 33,834 real estate transactions were recorded which decreased to 25,789 in Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October), the lowest in the current fiscal year. Revenue collection According to DoLMA, a total of Rs 3.75bn was raised from real estate transactions in Jestha which was Rs 3.10bn in Baisakh. Despite the increase in transactions, the amount of revenue collection is low as Rs 4.51 billion was collected from 49,000 transactions in Chaitra. The data shows the government has collected Rs 36.88bn in revenue from real estate transactions in the 11 months of the current fiscal year.  

The Koshi provincial government has announced an immediate relief of Rs 100,000 to the families of people killed in the flood and landslide in various districts of the province. A meeting of the Koshi Province Disaster Management Committee convened on Sunday evening decided to provide Rs 100,000 to the families of those killed in the disaster, Minister for Drinking Water, Irrigation, Energy and Health Til Kumar Menyagbo said. Minister Menyagbo made an on-site observation of the disaster-hit some districts in the province on Sunday. He said the meeting decided to step up work for the medical treatment of those injured in the disaster, for the reconstruction of the physical infrastructures (houses), for repair and construction of the bridges, roads and highways damaged due to the floods and landslide at the earliest so as to resume traffic.

With the country’s economy in a downturn, provincial governments are also facing heat in terms of fiscal management which has been reflected in their budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023/24. Except for the Karnali Province, the budgets unveiled by all other six provinces for the next fiscal year are smaller in size than that of the current fiscal year. The constitution has mandated provincial governments to bring their annual budget on Ashad 1 every year. While Koshi Province brought the budget a day earlier i.e., on Jestha 32 through ordinance, the finance ministers of other provinces of the country presented their budget to their respective provincial assemblies on Ashad 1. With grants and revenue from the federal government declining, the total budget size of all provincial governments got squeezed by Rs 26bn from the current fiscal year’s budget. The provincial governments have announced cost-cutting measures for the next fiscal year. However, like the federal government, the provinces have failed to demonstrate seriousness about the efficient allocation of resources as they have scattered funds to smaller programs. Presenting the budget, Bagmati Province Minister for Economic Affairs Bahadur Singh Lama said that the budget for the next fiscal year is the starting point for reforming public finances and maintaining financial discipline in the province. According to Lama, the construction of buildings other than the administrative buildings of the provincial government offices will be discouraged. Similarly, the budget has announced that programs such as foreign visits, study, and observation visits will not be conducted at the expense of the provincial government. Additional allowances, incentive allowances, and special allowances have been scrapped. After the federal government introduced the constituency infrastructure development program in the FY 2023/24 federal budget, the provincial government has also followed suit. Except for Lumbini Province, all the other six provinces have allocated a budget for Provincial Parliamentary Constituency Infrastructure Development Program. The federal government has earmarked a budget of Rs 50m for each parliamentary constituency. The government has allocated Rs 8.25bn in total for the program. On the other hand, six provincial governments have allocated a budget of Rs 8.52bn for Provincial Parliamentary Constituency Infrastructure Development Program. The Koshi provincial government has allocated Rs 1.5bn to the members of the Koshi Provincial Assembly for the infrastructure development program. According to the budget of Koshi province announced through the ordinance, the directly elected provincial lawmakers will be able to choose a project worth Rs 20m while lawmakers elected through the proportional representation (PR) system will be able to choose a scheme worth Rs 10m. The Madhesh government has allocated a total of 2.35bn for the parliamentary development fund. The Bagmati Province budget has allocated Rs 25m to the directly elected provincial assembly members and Rs 5m to lawmakers elected through the PR system. For this purpose, Rs 1.87bn has been allocated in the budget. The Gandaki Provincial government has allocated Rs 720m for Parliamentary Constituency Infrastructure Development Program. The Karnali government has earmarked Rs 50m each to provincial assembly members for a parliamentary development fund. The budget has allocated a total of Rs 1.12bn for this program. Similarly, the Sudurpaschim government has allocated Rs 960m for a parliamentary development fund. Bagmati brings the largest budget Bagmati Province has brought a Rs 62.7bn budget, the largest among the provinces. In his budget speech, Minister Lama announced allocated Rs 26.7bn (42.58 percent of the budget) for recurrent expenditure and Rs 35.5bn (56.62 percent) for capital expenditure. Koshi Province Chief Minister Hikmat Karki, who is also holding a finance portfolio presented a Rs 36.24bn budget through an ordinance. The province has earmarked Rs 14.39bn for recurrent expenditure, Rs 18.23bn for capital spending, and Rs 3.61bn for financial management. The provincial government has allocated Rs 2.7bn for the agricultural sector, Rs 430m for industry, Rs 11.41bn for physical infrastructure, and Rs 5.43bn for water supply, irrigation, and energy. Madhes Province has unveiled a budget of Rs 44.41bn for the next fiscal year. The provincial government has earmarked Rs 18.21bn for recurrent expenditure and Rs 25.69bn for capital expenditure. Gandaki Province’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning brought a budget of Rs 33.42bn for the next fiscal year. The provincial government has allocated Rs 20.19bn for capital expenditure and Rs 12.13bn for recurrent expenditure. Sudurpaschim Province has unveiled a Rs 29.26bn budget for FY 2023/24. The provincial government has earmarked Rs 9.59bn for recurrent expenditure and Rs 17.02bn for capital expenditure. Lumbini Province brought a Rs 40.47bn budget for the next fiscal year. The province has earmarked Rs 13.63bn for recurrent expenditure, Rs 23.25bn for capital expenditure, and Rs 3.58bn for financial management. Karnali Province is the only one that has brought a budget higher than the current fiscal year. Bed Raj Singh, Minister for Economic Affairs presented a budget of Rs 33.37bn for the next fiscal year, which is 2.33 percent higher than the current fiscal year’s budget. The province has earmarked Rs 9.59bn for recurrent expenditure, Rs 19.97bon for capital expenditure, and Rs 4.80bn for fiscal transfer.