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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 149, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 149, 800 per tola on Wednesday.

Similarly, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 148, 800 per tola. It was traded at Rs 149, 100 per tola.

Meanwhile, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,860 per tola today.

Nepal’s economic situation is still in a  bad shape. According to the International Monetary Fund, the GDP growth is expected to recover modestly to 3.1 percent in the fiscal year 2023/24 from a weak two percent growth in the previous fiscal year. This achievement was made mainly  due to strong performance of export-oriented sectors and supported by increased agricultural production. 

IMF says capital spending is still weak, however, and imports are recovering only gradually, with year-on-year growth still negative. Political uncertainty continues to act as a headwind to growth. But the bright side is Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have come together to ensure political stability which is likely to contribute to the recovery. 

Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index hit a 26-month high and breached the psychological 2,300-point mark on Tuesday. The stock market rally coincided with CPN-UML Vice-chairperson Bishnu Prasad Paudel’s return to the finance ministry for his third stint as the finance minister. The stock market rally bodes well for Paudel who has inherited a troubled economy. The government has struggled to increase capital expenditure, stimulate loan demand, boost private sector confidence and make the market dynamic. 

Paudel needs to restore investor confidence and stimulate economic growth. He has signaled his intent to focus on production and employment which is necessary given the current state of Nepal’s economy.  The banking sector has seen only a five percent increase in credit growth which is far below the government’s target of 11 percent. The sluggish credit growth is indicative of a broader economic malaise that Paudel must address.

The new finance minister also needs to tackle the issue of idle capital in the banking sector. With banks sitting on approximately Rs 700bn of loanable funds, Paudel needs to create an environment conducive to investment. This will be possible only through policy reforms and by bringing different initiatives to boost investor confidence and create opportunities for investments.

Effective implementation of the new fiscal budget will be another significant challenge for the new finance minister. Paudel must navigate the complexities of implementing a budget prepared by his predecessor. The fact that Paudel’s party, UML, publicly expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the budget will make things further complicated for Paudel.

Minister Paudel also faces the challenge of improving public expenditure management and revenue collection. With capital expenditure falling short and revenue collection missing targets once again in the fiscal year 2023/24, Paudel must find ways to enhance government spending capacity and boost revenue streams for the government. 

Infrastructure development will be another challenging issue for Paudel. The Federation of Contractors Associations of Nepal (FCAN), the industry lobby of construction entrepreneurs, has claimed that the government owes contractors around Rs 40bn billion for completed works. It remains to be seen how Paudel resolves this issue and kick-starts new infrastructure projects which are crucial for economic growth and job creation.

Paudel must also address the challenges in the financial markets. The process of appointing a new chairperson for the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has seen legal complexities. Many are saying that this contributed to the failure of the ruling coalition of UML and CPN (Maoist Center). The new finance minister will need to handle this issue carefully to ensure stability in the stock market which is often described as a mirror of the economy.

The new finance minister will also need to tackle inflation and maintain price stability. This will require careful management of monetary policy in coordination with the central bank. The finance minister enjoys a good rapport with Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who was appointed by the government led by his party.  

The finance minister will need to demonstrate strong leadership and implement effective policies to regain public and investor confidence. For this, he will have to introduce investor-friendly policies, streamline bureaucratic processes, combat corruption and improve the overall business environment. Additionally, he will need to work closely with other government agencies, the private sector, and international development partners to implement comprehensive economic reforms.

Paudel’s previous experience as finance minister in 2015 and 2021-2022 may prove valuable in navigating these challenges. However, overcoming these obstacles will require not only experience but also innovation, determination, and the ability to build consensus among various stakeholders.

The weather is generally cloudy across the country with light to moderate rain occurring at one or two places in all the provinces.

This is due to the effect of the Monsoon winds currently active in the country, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said.

This afternoon, the weather will be partly to mostly cloudy in the country with a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning at some places in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali Provinces and one or two places in the remaining provinces. Heavy rain is likely at one or two places in Koshi, Bagmati and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

Similarly, tonight the weather will be partly to mostly cloudy across the country and there is a possibility of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning at some places of Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces. Furthermore, there is a possibility of heavy rain at one or two places in Koshi, Madhes, Gandaki and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

The weather in the next 24 hours will be partly to mostly cloudy across the country, states the weather bulletin released by the Department this morning.

Nepal has established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Kiribati today.

With this, the number of countries with which Nepal has diplomatic relations has reached 183.

Kiribati (pronounced Kiribas), which is located in the central Pacific Ocean, gained independence on 12 July 1979 from Britain. It has a total land area of 811 square kilometers with a population of over 120,000 people.

Kiribati became a member of the United Nations on 14 September 1999. Both Nepal and Kiribati are members of G77 and China and the Least Developed Countries.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Lok Bahadur Thapa and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kiribati to the United Nations Teburoro Tito signed a Joint Communiqué to this effect in a brief ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Nepal in New York, today.

They also signed a joint letter informing the Secretary-General of the United Nations about the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the occasion, both the Ambassadors exchanged views on various matters of common interest to strengthen bilateral cooperation in national and international forums, especially at the UN forums for the mutual benefit of the two countries, including the issues of least developed countries, according to a statement issued today by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations based in New York, USA.

The government has issued a 73-point guideline for the enforcement of the budget. The guideline is for the directive to all ministries, province and local governments.

The Finance Ministry made public the circular that has aimed at frugality in budget spending and effectiveness.

Authority of budget spending, approval of project and allocation, project handover and enforcement, budget transfer, amendment and reporting, fiscal transparency, accountability, monitoring are the agenda included in the guidelines.

As per the circular, the government bodies which have been allocated the budget for its implementation in partnership, should inform the Finance Ministry and related Comptroller's Office on the share of the budget and expected results.

Similarly, work procedures for budget implementation should be prepared within this month. The work procedure should be updated on the website within a week after its endorsement.

In case of the work procedure requiring long-term liability, approval from the Finance Ministry is made mandatory.

Adoption of two shift work has been recommended for the projects of national priority.

Chief of the project should be elected based on internal competition for the effective enforcement of the project. Criteria should be made to discourage the transfer of employees assigned as chief of the project during the project term. But those failing to score adequate marks in performance evaluation would not be spared.

Any works that are not included in the budget must not be entertained.

Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini informed that the guideline would be useful to meet the liability incurred at the end of the fiscal year.

President Ram Chandra Paudel has appointed senior advocate Ramesh Badal as the Attorney General of Nepal.

President Paudel appointed Badal as the Attorney General upon the recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in accordance with Article 157 (2) of the Constitution, according to the Office of the President.

It is the second time that Badal has become Attorney General.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has awarded various personalities with the Chinnalata Puraskar (Award) for their notable contributions in Nepali language, literature and art sectors.

On the occasion of 102th birth anniversary of lyricist Ramola Devi Shah 'Chinnalata' here today, PM Oli awarded lyrist Bhusan Kharel, musician Manaraja Nakarmi, singer Shiva Pariyar and youth singer Menuka Poudel. 

These awards were for the year Chinnalata Puraskar-2079 BS.

Similarly, Chinnalata Puraskar-2080 BS was given to lyrist Birendra Pathak, musician Chandi Prasad Kafle, singer Manila Sotang and youth singer Bhupu Pandey.

The award carries a purse of Rs 100,000 each for lyrics, music and singing category while youth singing category has Rs 50,000 as a cash prize, it was shared.

The Nepali Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh has urged all Nepali students studying there to stay safe and not to go out from their hostel or residence except for essential works.

Issuing a press statement today, the Nepali Embassy also requested the Nepali students there to comply with the instructions of their college administration due to security concerns.

The Embassy's appeal came at the time when the Ministry of Education of Bangladesh decided to shut down all government and private education institutions (universities, colleges and schools) until further notice after the ongoing demonstration/protests waged by university students against the 'quota' system.

The Embassy has requested the Nepali students there to contact Second Secretary Yojana Bamjam and Riya Chettri at +880180691013 and + 8801745407958 in case if the college administrations ask the student to shift to safer and places or if the places they are residing has unfavorable situation.

The Embassy further said that it had been closely monitoring the latest developments in Bangladesh and had been continuously coordinating efforts with the government of Bangladesh and concerned college administrations to ensure peace and security for all Nepali students in Bangladesh.