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Nepal has taken a significant leap toward financial sovereignty with the launch of the second phase of national payment switch and domestic card scheme—NepalPay. 

The initiative, led by Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL), will end the existing reliance on international networks such as Visa and Mastercard for card payments.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari officially inaugurated the Nepal Pay card by making a point-of-sale (POS) payment using a new NepalPay card. 

NCHL had signed an agreement with ACI Worldwide for the establishment and operation of National Payment Switch (NPS) that includes interoperability of card-based transactions (NPS National Card Switch or NPS-NCS) and the rollout of NepalPay domestic card scheme.

The introduction of the domestic card scheme is a milestone in Nepal’s financial journey as it ensures that transaction data remains within the country while enhancing security, affordability and efficiency.

So far, banks and financial institutions in Nepal have been dependent on international payment gateways for processing debit and credit card transactions. Such transactions incurred significant costs to banks in foreign currency which is ultimately passed on to consumers. With the introduction of NepalPay, the country can retain more of its financial resources, leading to a more self-sufficient and cost-effective banking environment.

One of the primary advantages of Nepal Pay is its ability to store customer transaction data within Nepal. This reduces the risk of external data breaches, providing enhanced security and greater control over financial transactions. Additionally, as the national payment switch charges lower routing fees, banks and financial institutions can pass on cost savings to customers.

“Payments processed through international providers used to incur additional fees, but with a domestically operated card, those expenses will be saved,” Governor Adhikari said during the inauguration ceremony.
NepalPay cards will function like the existing debit and credit cards issued by banks and financial institutions, allowing users to make transactions at ATMs and POS terminals. Banks and financial institutions interested in issuing NepalPay cards can do so by entering into agreements with NCHL.

Since November 2021,NCHL has been implementing the first phase of the national payment switch, enabling transactions through bank accounts, e-wallets, and quick response (QR) codes. The launch of Nepal Pay further strengthens this digital infrastructure, paving the way for a more streamlined financial system.

Several banks and financial institutions have already partnered with NCHL to issue NepalPay cards. These include Citizens Bank, Goodwill Finance Limited, Himalayan Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, Muktinath Bikas Bank, NMB Bank, Prabhu Bank, Shangrila Development Bank, and Siddhartha Bank.

NCHL plans to introduce credit, prepaid and virtual cards in phases. The long-term vision includes integrating NepalPay with bank switches and exploring international expansion.

As US President Donald Trump has been imposing tariffs on its trading partners worldwide, Nepal could not remain immune to it.

The Trump administration has slapped a 10 percent tariff on Nepal, a developing country in the Asia Pacific region.

Nepal exports mainly readymade garments, woolen carpets, pashmina products, leather products, pulses, handicrafts, spices and floricultural products to the United States.

In 2024, the trade between Nepal and the US was around USD 241. 4 million with Nepal exporting the goods worth around USD 120. 5 million.

Nepal's total exports to the US in November 2024 were USD 8.987 million, compared to USD 14.865 million in October 2024.

In 2023, Nepal exported goods a total of USD 1.21 million becoming 156 exporters in the world.

India ($811M), United States (USD 140 million), Germany (USD 38.8 million), China (USD 28.2 million), and United Kingdom (USD 26.4 million) are the most common destinations for exports of Nepal.

Nepal’s southern neighbor, India, was slapped with a 26 percent reciprocal tariff, which will come into effect from April 9, the White House said in a statement.

The announcement made by Trump to slap a 26 percent tariff on India was his wider plan to impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports from April 5.

Similarly, the Trump administration has also decided to add 34 percent reciprocal tariffs to existing 20% duties on all the goods imported from China, the northern neighbor of Nepal, to the US.

After he assumed the office as the President of the US, Trump had already levied two tranches of 10 percent additional tariffs on all Chinese imports.

Meanwhile, world leaders have criticized Trump’s move to impose tariffs as “major blow”.

The criticism comes a day after Trump announced a universal 10% tariff on all imports into the US from  April 5.

Around 60 countries will be hit hard with the tariffs slapped by the US. The decision will come into effect from April 9.

Hungary’s government has announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), just before Prime Minister Viktor Orban was to receive his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the subject of an ICC arrest warrant, BBC reported.

The announcement comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Budapest early Thursday morning for his first trip to Europe since 2023, defying the ICC's arrest warrant against him.

Last November, one day after the ICC issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban extended an invitation to him, according to BBC.

Despite being an ICC member, Orban swore that the EU member would not execute the warrant, seeing the court's decision as "intervening in an ongoing conflict for political purposes."

The tourism industry is struggling to reach the pre-covid numbers, with tourist arrivals via air dropping by 2.01 percent in the first quarter of 2025. 

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a total of 298,558 international visitors arrived between January and March 2025, down from 304,693 in the same period of 2024. The decline, particularly pronounced in March, has been attributed to multiple factors, including a nighttime shutdown of Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal’s primary gateway, from November to March. The airport’s reduced operations to facilitate runway upgrades limited flight schedules during peak travel months, resulting in shortage of flights, lengthy transits and exorbitant ticket prices. Industry people say this forced tourists to divert to other destinations. 

While January 2025 showed a slight improvement in arrivals compared to January 2024, the momentum faltered in February and March. The most significant decline occurred in March when international arrivals fell to 121,687—a 5.05 percent drop from the 128,167 recorded in March 2024. This figure also fell short of the pre-pandemic benchmark of 127,351 visitors in March 2019.

March marks the beginning of the spring tourism season which is considered the best for trekking and mountaineering. The spring season sees a lion’s share of mountaineering expeditions coming to Nepal. Most of the expeditions on Mt Everest, the tallest peak on earth, are organized in this season.

According to tourism entrepreneurs, tourist numbers will continue to increase till May which marks the end of the climbing season and the beginning of monsoon rains. While tourist numbers dip during the three months of June, July, and August, it starts picking up once the autumn season begins in September. The autumn season continues through December. 

Tourist arrival figures released by NTB show March witnessed declines across most regions compared to the previous year. While arrivals from China fell by 5.4 percent, the number of visitors from South Asian (SAARC) countries fell by 13.4 percent and those from Europe decreased by 10.5 percent. India remained the top source country in the review month with 21,412 visitors, followed by China (11,443) and the United States (11,092). Other notable contributors included Sri Lanka (8,886), the United Kingdom (5,995), Thailand (4,986), Germany (4,709), Australia (4,228), Myanmar (3,754) and Bangladesh (3,576).

In terms of region, SAARC countries accounted for 35,287 tourists (29 percent), followed by Asian nations (except SAARC nations) 31,353 (25.8 percent), Europe 25,742 visitors (21.2 percent), the Americas 13,907 (11.4 percent), Oceania 4,643 (3.8 percent) and the Middle East 2,732 (2.2 percent).

The Ministry of Health and Population has urged all to adopt precautions in view of rising air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley.

Issuing a press release today, the Ministry requested everyone to take precautions as Nepal has been ranked in the list of most polluted countries in the world for the past few days as per the Air Quality Index.

An AQI level of 0-50 is considered 'good', from 51-100 'moderate', from 101-150 'unhealthy for sensitive group', from 151-200 to be 'unhealthy', from 201-300 'very unhealthy' and above 301 to be 'hazardous'.

According to the Ministry, AQI level in Kathmandu is now recorded at 348 and enlisted in the 'hazardous' category.

Ministry Spokesperson Dr Prakash Budhathoki suggested children, elderly persons, pregnant women and people with respiratory illness to adopt special precautions as they are considered more vulnerable to the impact of air pollution.

The Ministry also urged general people not to step out of house except for essential work, to wear a compulsory mask while travelling and not to visit most polluted areas.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has asked one and all to take initiatives from their areas to control air pollution and stay vigilant about health.

Air pollution level is increasing due to forest fire, road construction and industrial activities, added the Authority.

Similarly, industries, factories and bodies operating construction related activities have been urged to take necessary precautions in order to reduce air pollution.

The Authority through the government directed the bodies concerned to measure air pollution and adopt immediate measures to improve air quality.  

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City employees have staged a protest on Thursday.

They staged the protest demanding that KMC Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain be allowed to enter the office.

A large number of city police has been deployed to stop Chief Administrative Guragain from entering the office.

Guragain is under suspension. The metropolis relieved Guragain of his duty after he was found proceeding with the process of approving the map of Kathmandu Tower in the Old Bus Park in an illegal way.

The metropolis has been demanding the federal government to appoint a new chief administrative officer after Guragain was removed from his position.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah has been writing statuses on social media demanding that a new chief administrative officer be appointed at the earliest.

The agitated employees have warned that the metropolis will not function just by the statuses of Mayor Shah.

Metropolis employee Nara Bahadur Saud accused Mayor Shah of writing on social media instead of taking initiatives to resolve the problems of employees.

The employees have claimed that the ward chairpersons, members and Deputy Mayor are on their side.

They said that the salaries will be released if the chief administrative officer is allowed to enter the office today itself.

The employees are of the opinion that they are compelled to stage the protest after not receiving the salaries for a long time.

The work at the metropolis has come to a standstill after the suspension of the chief administrative officer.

Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has stressed the need for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to uphold the spirit of regional unity and collective cooperation.

Addressing the 20th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting held today as part of the sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, she called for unity and collective cooperation to strengthen BIMSTEC as a platform that represents the shared aspirations of the citizens of the Bay of Bengal region.

"BIMSTEC symbolizes a dazzling rainbow representing two dynamic regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia- each of its seven colors illuminating rich civilizations, cultures, histories, and ecological diversity. It should make efforts to unlock the potential for economic prosperity of the citizens of this region,” the Minister said.

Minister Rana reiterated Nepal's commitment to regionalism and multilateralism in a peaceful, equitable, and inclusive manner under the leadership of the United Nations. "We are actively engaged in all regional and global forums to strengthen peace, security, and sustainable development. We are also proud to be the largest peacekeeping troop contributor to the United Nations."

She also reaffirmed Nepal's commitment to the charter, principles and objectives of BIMSTEC since becoming a member in 2004. Highlighting challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, environmental degradation and the devastating effects of pollution, she urged immediate efforts for infrastructure enhancement, disaster early warning systems implementation and involvement of local communities in environmental protection.

She welcomed India’s proposal to initiate establishing BIMSTEC Center of Excellence in Disaster Management, expressing confidence that it would complement regional efforts in controlling and combating natural disasters while leveraging AI to address all these challenges.

Minister Rana further highlighted BIMSTEC's leading role in promoting regional peace, unity and environmental sustainability in the Bay of Bengal region and beyond. Calling for transformation into a strong partnership platform and a strong regional organization, she underscored the need for cooperation, regional unity and political will to align BIMSTEC with current global trends. 

Similarly, she suggested many key initiatives, like expediting the establishment of BIMSTEC Free Trade Area, implementing EPG Report and projects identified in BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, advancing BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection, and fully operationalizing regional centers and entities.  

Additionally, she called for focusing on leveraging synergies and complementarities among Member States through collaborative strategies for resource utilization, workforce mobilization, policy alignment, trade and transit facilitation, energy cooperation, investment promotion, technology transfer, regional infrastructure development and integrated Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for e-governance services.

She also suggested cooperation between educational institutions in the region, public awareness and treatment of maternal and child, and mental health issues, and capacity building to combat diseases caused by climate-related complications.

Prioritizing gender equality and women's empowerment, she urged member states to share successful strategies for mainstreaming women in governance, development and conflict management to address historical injustice and deliver on promises of a better world. Dr Rana called for collaboration among development partners, and regional and international organizations to promote culture and tourism, alleviate poverty, and seek solutions to climate-related complications through people-to-people ties.

The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of BIMSTEC member states.

The price of gold has continued to rise, reaching an all-time high in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the price of precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 180, 300 per tola. It was traded at Rs 179, 100 per tola on Wednesday.

The price of silver, however, has been dropped by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 1995. It was traded at Rs 2, 020 per tola yesterday.