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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 0. 79 points to close at 2, 560 . 29 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 61 points to close at 440. 65 points.

A total of 10,449,296-unit shares of 328 companies were traded for Rs 4. 68 billion.

Meanwhile, Dhaulagiri Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (DLBS), Bandipur Cablecar and Tourism Limited (BANDIPUR) and Jhapa Energy Limited (JHAPA) were the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Bungal Hydro Limited (BUNGAL) was the top loser as its price fell by 9. 05 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 1. 45 trillion.

The Bagmati province government has raised revenue over Rs 11.59 billion or 17.18 percent of its annual target for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.

The land and house registration and vehicle tax are considered the major sources of revenue of the province government.

As it was estimated to collect revenue of Rs 30.891 billion in the fiscal year 2082/83 BS, around 22.45 percent of the target or 6.936 billion has been raised during the period from Shrawan (mid-August) to Kartik (mid-November), said Public Information Officer at the Internal Affairs and Planning Ministry of the Bagmati Province, Suraj Paudel.

Under the land and house registration category, Rs 1.237 billion or 16.7 percent of the annual target was collected.

Likewise, the provincial government has collected revenue of Rs 2.411 billion or 28.2 percent of the target under the vehicle tax heading during the reporting period, it is stated.

Other sources of revenue of the provincial government during the period included Rs 2.495 billion from Value Added Tax and Rs 843.6 million from the excise duty, the ministry shared.

Information Officer Paudel further said that the province government received Rs 3.463 billion or 23.37 percent of the estimated revenue from the equalization grant of the federal government.

The province government has collected Rs 1.132 billion or 23.70 percent of the target under the internal sources during the reporting period of the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 700 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 243, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 242, 300 per tola on  Wednesday.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 3, 185 per tola today.

The government has introduced a more flexible fee structure for foreign visitors entering the restricted area of Upper Mustang. Under the revised rule, foreigners visiting Upper Mustang, an area bordering China’s Korala crossing, will now be charged $50 per day, instead of paying a mandatory $500 lump-sum fee for a 10-day permit. The new provision allows trekkers to pay only for the number of days they actually spend inside the restricted zone. 

According to Government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, the permit fee was revised by amending Schedule 12 of the Immigration Regulation, 1994. The previous rule required every foreign visitor to buy a minimum 10-day permit at $500, after which an additional $50 per day was charged if they stayed longer. Other requirements like traveling in groups of a minimum of two and through government authorized companies, however, still remain.

Local governments and communities in the region had long been demanding a complete removal of Upper Mustang from the restricted-area list. Upper Mustang falls within the Annapurna Conservation Area and remains listed as a restricted and controlled zone. High permit costs have long discouraged trekkers, resulting in only a small fraction of the roughly 150,000 foreign tourists who enter Mustang each year traveling beyond Kagbeni and Muktinath into the restricted northern area. Nepal first declared its northern villages as restricted areas in the 1970s following security concerns after Chinese takeover of Tibet and the Khampa uprising. 

However, officials say restricted areas were declared due to cultural sensitivity, environmental fragility, and security concerns. After multiparty democracy was established in 1990, the government gradually opened many of these areas to foreign trekkers through a special-permit system administered by the Department of Immigration. 

Restrictions in Mustang currently apply to Lomanthang Rural Municipality (wards 1–5), Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality (wards 1–5), and Baragung Muktichetra Rural Municipality (ward 3 and Satang village of ward 5). Similar rules also remain in place in Upper Dolpa, Manaslu and Tsum Valley of Gorkha, Upper Humla, parts of northern Taplejung, Lower Dolpa, Lamabagar and Tso Rolpa areas of Dolakha, the Kimathanka area of Sankhuwasabha, Nar and Phu of Manang, sections of Solukhumbu and northern Rasuwa, Upper Mugu, Bajhang, and Darchula. 

Debate continues over whether restrictions should be fully lifted. Advocates for removal argue that the rules, which date back to the Khampa insurgency era in Mustang and were reinforced following China’s annexation of Tibet, are no longer relevant. Others, however, caution that unrestricted tourist inflow could affect the region’s carrying capacity and disrupt its distinct cultural and geographical landscape.