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Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who is currently on a China visit, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday.

A CPN (Maoist Center) leader said that he has been admitted to a Beijing-based hospital after experiencing heart-related complications.

“He suffered a sudden heart attack on Wednesday. He was rushed to a hospital. Now his condition is normal,” the leader said.

According to a source, Minister Shrestha suffered a mild heart attack.

He reached Beijing on Monday evening to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the invitation of Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment, Wang Xiaohong.

China had organized the Belt and Road Forum for the first time in 2017 and second time in 2019.

With Capital Rohit Paudel’s half century, hosts Nepal defeated the UAE by seven wickets in the inaugural match of the T20 International Triangular Series at the Mulpani Ground on Wednesday.

The UAE, who were invited to bat first after losing the toss, scored 140 runs at the loss of seven wickets.

Nepal reached the target of 141 runs in 18.5 overs losing three wickets.

Captain Paudel scored unbeaten 51 runs off 40 balls hitting five fours while Dipendra Singh Airee made unbeaten 34 runs off 23 balls with three fours and one six.

Similarly, Kushal Bhurtel contributed 14 runs and Kushal Malla returned to the pavilion by scoring 11 runs.

Karan KC took three wickets for Nepal. Likewise, Gulshan Jha claimed two wickets and Sompal Kami and Abhinas Jha took one wicket each.

Koshi Province Chief Minister Kedar Karki won a vote of confidence from the provincial Parliament on Wednesday.

In the 92 Province Assembly, Karki garnered 86 votes while five lawmakers cast their votes against Karki.

A lawmaker of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party was not present in the Province Assembly.

Karki was appointed as the chief minister with the support of the eight Province Assembly members of the Nepali Congress (Shekhar Koirala faction) and 39 of the CPN-UML on Saturday.

CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center), Janata Samajbadi Party and CPN (Unified Socialist) cast a vote of confidence to Chief Minister Karki. Rastriya Prajatantra Party remained neutral or cast ‘no’ vote.

CPN-UML has 40 lawmakers, Nepali Congress 29, CPN (Maoist Center) 12, Rastriya Prajatantra Party six, CPN (Unified Socialist) four and Janata Samajbadi Party one in the Koshi Province Assembly.

Karki took the oath of office and secrecy on Sunday.

Chief Minister Karki has appointed Ram Bahadur Rana of UML and Shumsher Rai of Congress as ministers.

Karki was appointed as the chief minister as per Article 168 (5) of the Constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka today said that sensitivity of citizens worldwide has increased along with the emergence of new challenges.

In his address to the special ceremony organized by the Nepal Army on the occasion of the United Nations Day, 2023 with the slogan 'peace starts with me’ in the Capital on Wednesday, the deputy prime minister said Nepal is committed to the vision, goals and objectives of the United Nations Charter.

He expressed the view that it is necessary to reconsider how to ensure peace amid new and complex challenges in order to maintain the trust and legitimacy of the UN peacekeeping.

Minister Khadka reminded about Nepal's commitment to the ideals of the United Nations Charter and the goal of world peace.

"The United Nations Charter is a guiding principle of Nepal's foreign policy," said the minister, "Nepal has always stressed for peace and equality in the international arena. Nepal is always committed to world peace and harmony."

Mentioning that our commitment is expressed in international treaties and agreements that promote disarmament and world peace and call for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, he said our peacekeepers are continuously contributing to the establishment of peace in the United Nations.

DPM Khadka said Nepal has always accepted the tireless efforts of the United Nations for world peace, progress and prosperity. "It has been 65 years since Nepal participated in the work of establishing world peace under the United Nations. We want to thank the UN for its trust in us."

At present, Nepal ranks second among the countries that send troops to the United Nations peacekeeping missions. There is a commitment that up to 10,000 trained peacekeepers can be mobilized for peacekeeping at the call of the United Nations, he said.

Nepal is making every possible effort to send capable women to the peacekeeping by meeting the set standards as per the United Nations-wide Gender Parity Strategy, he said.

In a clear indication of liquidity surplus in the banking system, most commercial banks have reduced interest rates on deposits for the month of Kartik, which begins on Wednesday.

As banks are flush with loanable funds, interbank lending rates have fallen below two percent. Taking advantage of these low rates and to absorb liquidity in the banking system, the government has increased domestic borrowing. It has already raised the debt it had targeted to raise in the second quarter.

The government has set a target of raising Rs 240bn internal domestic debt in the current fiscal year. Out of this amount, the central bank has already secured Rs 87.31bn. This includes Rs 35bn that the central bank had initially planned to raise in the second quarter, according to the Monetary Management Department of the NRB.

Out of the 20 commercial banks in operation, 13 have reduced interest rates on individual fixed deposits, while four have maintained the same interest rates as the previous month. Meanwhile, three have increased their interest rates.

Nepal SBI Bank, NMB Bank, and NIC Asia have raised interest rates on deposits due to pressure on their credit-deposit ratios.

Himalayan Bank, NIC Asia Bank, and NMB Bank will offer the highest interest rate of 11.003 percent on individual fixed deposits. In Ashwin, from mid-September to mid-October, Himalayan offered an interest rate of 11.054 percent, while NIC Asia and NMB Bank offered 10.896 percent and 9.99 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Standard Chartered Bank will offer the lowest interest rate at 9.22 percent on individual fixed deposits. Likewise, Everest Bank, Prabhu Bank, Sanima Bank, and Nepal Bank Ltd will offer an interest rate of 9.224 percent, while Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd will offer 9.5 percent, Agricultural Development Bank will offer 9.76 percent, and Citizens Bank Ltd will offer 9.95 percent interest on individual fixed deposits.

Similarly, Siddhartha Bank Ltd and Machhapuchchhre are maintaining the same interest rates as last month, which is 9.99 percent.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) allows banks and financial institutions to adjust their interest rates by a maximum of 10 percent each month.

Similarly, interest rate on institutional fixed deposits should be two percentage points lower than interest rate on individual fixed deposits.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 43.27 points to close at 1,907.89 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 8.14 points to close at 366. 97 points.

A total of 3,772,023-unit shares of 286 companies were traded for Rs 934 billion.

Meanwhile, Asha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Similarly, BPW Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 4.62 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 92 trillion.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to ensure regular power supply during the festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Nepal Sambat, Chhath and others.

The Minister called the NEA executive director Kulman Ghising, deputy executive director Manoj Silwal and Chief of the NEA's load-dispatch center Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai to his office in Singha Durbar, and directed them as well as the chiefs of the NEA's distribution centers within the Kathmandu Valley to make arrangements for regular power supply.

He directed NEA to distribute maximum power to the industries and enterprises during the festival time, and also suggested that the excess power is also not wasted.

The energy minister urged NEA to make its no-light centers more responsible, to make arrangements for receiving the phone calls from customers promptly and to manage a rapid team for reaching the consumer's house within minutes in case of any problem.

Minister Basnet is also the Chairperson of the NEA Board of Directors.

On the occasion, Ministry Secretary Gopal Sigdel directed the NEA executive director and other officials to provide services keeping the consumers in the center.

Executive director Ghising informed that human resources have been managed and will be mobilized in the Valley and urban areas round-the-clock.

He said that he will be monitoring and inspecting the distribution centers during the festival time, so that there will be no complaints from consumers.

"We have made efforts as far as possible to prevent wastage of power. Preparations have also been made to supply the excess power to the Indian market, but the final consent has not been received yet (from the Indian side)," he said.

The government has started granting Nepali citizenship to non-resident Nepalis (NRNs). As part of this initiative, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal provided NRN citizenship certificates to President of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Kul Acharya and Executive President Badri KC amidst a function organized at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday.

The District Administration Office (DAO), Kathmandu had issued an NRN citizenship certificate in KC’s name on Monday, while DAO, Parbat had issued the certificate in Acharya’s name on Sunday. 

The issuance of citizenship papers to NRNs is in line with Article 14 of the Constitution of Nepal which states, “The non-residential citizenship of Nepal may be so granted to a person who has acquired the citizenship of a foreign country, has resided in a country other than a member-state of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and who or whose father or mother, grandfather or grandmother was previously a citizen of Nepal by descent or birth but subsequently acquired the citizenship of the foreign country that such person may enjoy economic, social and cultural rights in accordance with the Federal law.”

The government had amended the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2063, to provide Nepali citizenship to NRNs for the protection of their economic, social and cultural rights.

Per the amended Act, those who have NRN citizenship cannot participate in politics, hold government positions and vote. But they can do business and also own property in Nepal.

The NRN citizenship can be revoked if the person acquiring the citizenship is found to have acted against the independence, sovereignty, geographical integrity and national interest.

Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Dinesh Bhattarai, informed that the government has made arrangements to distribute NRN citizenship certificates from all 77 districts. This means NRNs can apply for such certificates from today itself. NRNA had been demanding citizenship certificates for NRNs for a long time.

After receiving the citizenship, KC thanked the government and lauded the initiative themed “Once a Nepali, forever a Nepali”.

“Citizenship is not just a paper. It’s a responsibility. The Nepalis living abroad should also contribute to the motherland’s prosperity,” KC stressed.

Stating that the Nepali diasporas have played significant roles in the development of several countries, Acharya mentioned that citizenship has connected people residing abroad with the motherland.

Prime Minister Dahal said that granting citizenship to non-resident Nepalis is a great achievement, reminding that it had become possible after much struggle and effort.

Dahal recalled that he had tried quite hard to include provisions on granting citizenship to NRNs with economic and cultural rights in the Constitution of Nepal, adding that the President, as requested by his government, had authenticated the Citizenship Bill. “I believe that millions of non-resident Nepalis now well understand as to whose struggle and initiative has made all this (granting of NRN citizenship) possible,” he said, asking the Nepali community living abroad to spread the word.

Meanwhile, President Ramchandra Paudel has expressed confidence that the provision on granting citizenship to Non-Resident Nepalis will bring them closer to Nepal.