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Director Bimal Subedi’s play ‘The Departed Dawn’ has been selected for the prestigious Mahindra Excellency Theatre Award-2023 (META), India in four categories: Best direction, best choreography, best music and best light.  The award will be conferred on 29 March in Delhi.  META had announced the top 10 plays nomination across 13 categories which will be staged from 25-29 March. Subedi's play was selected from among the 395 entries.  ‘The Departed Dawn’is about Bhutanese refugees who are forcefully displaced and compelled to be scattered in many countries. The play begins with a journey that seeks a place called home and slowly delves into the process of building a conducive environment through hardship and struggle. At life’s crossroads, when memories are overwhelming, the idea of returning home becomes impossible as everything has been burned to ashes. The play is a collaborative production between Theatre Village Nepal and Akhoka Theatre, India. Instituted by the Mahindra Group with the objective of becoming a significant platform for theater across regions, states and dialects in India, META is Indian theater's most definitive award that recognizes all aspects of the stage, including playwriting, set, costume and light design, direction and performance.  Subedi is a prominent theater personality and has worked with many national and international veteran artists and renowned art centers. He has already received the ON theater award-2016 from India. He was the youngest one who received it. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 18. 15 points to close at 1,915.14 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 90 points to close at 361. 01 points. A total of 4,340,270 unit shares of 259 companies were traded for Rs 1. 41 billion. Meanwhile, Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 7. 46 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 77 trillion.

Nepali Congress Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song held a meeting at the former’s residence on Thursday. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and mutual cooperation, the Khadka’s Secretariat said. Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador Chen paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel.

Two months after the government lifted the import restrictions, the country's imports have again started to surge. The latest foreign trade statistics released by the Department of Customs show Nepal imported goods worth Rs 139.22 billion in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March), an increase of 10 percent compared to Magh (mid-January to mid-February). The country's import bill in Falgun is the second highest on a month-to-month basis in FY 2022/23. Nepal had imported goods worth Rs 142.31 billion in Bhadra (mid-August-mid-September). However, the country's total imports in the first eight months of the current fiscal year are lower than the last fiscal year. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 1,058.38 billion in the current fiscal year compared to Rs 1,308.73 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year. The imports during the first eight months of this fiscal have declined by 19.13 percent. After lifting eight months-long import restrictions on automobiles, alcohol, and high-end mobiles in mid-December last year, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also removed the provision of cash margin in imports in January this year. The country's overall imports were on the lower side from the start of the current fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year. The country's import bill in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) stood at Rs 131.30 billion. It increased to Rs 142.30 billion in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) before going down to Rs 127.40 billion in Ashoj (mid-September to mid-October). The imports increased to Rs 131.70 billion in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and Rs 132.10 billion in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December) before declining to Rs 127.90 billion in Poush (mid-December to mid-January). While the imports have started to surge, the country's exports are yet to grow like in the last fiscal year. Nepal's exports reached an all-time high of Rs 200 billion in FY 2021/22. According to DoC, the country's exports crossed the Rs 100 billion mark in the eighth month of the current fiscal year. The department’s data shows Nepal exported goods worth Rs 104.79 billion till Falgun compared to Rs 147.74 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year.

The Surat District Court sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him for his alleged “Modi surname” remarks. Moments later, the court granted him bail, and stayed its order for a period of 30 days so the Congress leader can appeal in a higher court, The Indian Express reported.

Signing a bilateral power trade agreement (PTA), attracting investments from Bangladesh in the energy sector, and developing dedicated transmission infrastructure will be Nepal's agenda when energy secretaries from Nepal and Bangladesh meet in May. The fifth meeting of the Nepal Bangladesh Energy Secretary Level Joint Steering Committee (JSC) will be held in the second week of May in Dhaka. The fourth meeting was held in Kathmandu on August 8-9, 2022. After seven months, the fifth meeting is taking place on May 10-11, 2023 in Bangladesh. A senior official of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that the fifth JSC meeting will focus on three agendas. The meeting will be centered around the bilateral power trade agreement (PTA), investments, and dedicated transmission infrastructures. In August 2018, Nepal and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement also facilitated the creation of a Joint Working Group (JWG) and a Joint Steering Committee (JSC). It's been one year since talks for electricity exports from Nepal to Bangladesh gained momentum. Nepal's quest for finding a market for its electricity beyond India was further emboldened after Bangladesh expressed readiness to import 40-50 MW of power from Nepal during the energy secretary-level JSC meeting of the two countries held in Kathmandu in the last week of August. With India giving its nod for power exports from Nepal to Bangladesh in the recently concluded Nepal-India Energy Secretary Talk, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has initiated the process. NEA has planned to export electricity from the Likhu-4 Hydropower Project to Bangladesh and sent the proposal to India for approval. With no bilateral agreement for power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, the energy ministry officials said the proposal of PTA will be proposed in the upcoming meeting. "We are planning to export 40-50 MW of electricity to Bangladesh in the upcoming season but both countries are yet to sign a PTA," said the official, "That's why we will propose signing PTA in the next meeting." Once the PTA is signed, there will be a power purchase and sales agreement between NEA and the Bangladesh Power Development Board which will enable Nepal to export power to Bangladesh. With Bangladesh keen on importing electricity from Nepal as well as developing hydropower projects in Nepal on a joint-venture model, Nepali officials will also discuss the potential Bangladeshi investments in the energy sector in Nepal. Bangladesh has already said that it would invest in the 683MW Sunkosi-3 Hydropower Project. Both sides had agreed to form a joint-venture company to develop the hydroelectric project. Energy ministry officials said the construction of a dedicated cross-border transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh will also feature in the meeting. They said while Nepal will use the Indian transmission infrastructure to export power to Bangladesh for now, a dedicated transmission line will be required for the longer run. After the last JSC meeting in August 2022, Nepal and Bangladesh also agreed to take initiatives to reach a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Bangladesh and India to set up a dedicated transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh using the Indian territory.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 109, 000 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 107, 800 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 108, 500 per tola. It was traded at Rs 107, 300 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1,260 per tola today.

The Social Security Fund (SSF) has launched a contribution-based social security scheme for migrant workers. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal unveiled the program which will now enable Nepalis in foreign employment and self-employed Nepalis abroad to be part of SSF. SSF introduced the 'Contribution-based Social Security Scheme Operation Procedure for Foreign Employed Workers and Self-Employed Persons Abroad-079' in the third week of December 2022. According to Labor Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal, who is also the chairman of SSF, the procedure has already been brought into implementation. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has claimed that the social security of 2.2m workers employed abroad has now been ensured. "Arrangements have been made to provide social security coverage to those working as housemaids in foreign lands," said Aryal. According to SSF, Nepali migrant workers now can apply to join the fund. They can enroll in the fund while obtaining or renewing their labor permits. Similarly, those who are yet to renew their permits can join through the websites of the Department of Foreign Employment and the Social Security Fund. As per the procedural guideline, migrant workers have to contribute monthly Rs 2,002 to SSF. Migrant workers or self-employed individuals living abroad could participate in the facility by depositing at least 21.33 percent of basic remuneration or a minimum of Rs 2,000 monthly, and it's three-fold in maximum. After joining the SSF, migrant workers will get annual accident treatment expenses up to Rs 100,000, disability pension, lifetime pension, and scholarships for their children. SSF Executive Director Kapil Mani Gyawali said that 400,000 workers from the formal sectors have been enrolled in the fund so far. According to him, the fund has collected Rs 30.87bn from its contributors and made payments of Rs 3.81bn to the contributors. The contribution-based social security scheme was launched by the then KP Sharma Oli-led government in November 2018 with the objective to provide social security coverage to private sector employees. Though formal sector workers have been receiving benefits from the social security plan for three years back, migrant workers and self-employed persons living abroad have been included for the first time. The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has also long been advocating for including migrant workers in the social security scheme.