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The government has appointed three economists as economic advisers to the Ministry of Finance. Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat has formed an expert group to prepare the federal budget for the next fiscal year. Economists Biswo Paudel, Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, and Dr. Gunakar Bhatt have been appointed as the economic advisors through the ministerial decision on Thursday. According to the Secretariat of Finance Minister, Paudel has been appointed as the Chief Advisor of the Ministry of Finance. Paudel is the former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC), while Pandey has also served as a member of the NPC in the past. Bhatt is the executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank. The advisors are expected to assist Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat in the drafting of the budget for the next fiscal year. The government is working to present the budget for the next fiscal year at the parliament on May 29 (Jestha 15), as per the constitutional mandate. After taking the helm of the Finance Ministry, Dr. Mahat has been putting his efforts to resolve the current economic downturn and introduce long-term reform measures.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 15. 73 points to close at 1,904.40 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 79 points to close at 363. 12 points. A total of 3,209,214-unit shares of 267 companies were traded for Rs 983 billion. Meanwhile, Kalinchown Darshan Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited and NMB Sulav Investment Fund were the top losers with their price dropping by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 77 trillion.

Police have arrested two persons in possession of illegal gold ornaments weighing around five kg from a hotel in Nepalgunj on Wednesday. Chief District Officer of Banke Bipin Acharya said that they were arrested with different types of gold ornaments weighing 4.924 kg. The duo were held acting on a tip-off, said police.  

Worried by the dramatic decline in revenue collection, the government has decided to lift restrictions on the plotting of lands after 10 months in a bid to improve the real estate business which has slumped massively over the past year. Introducing the Land Use Regulations 2022, the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation (MoLMCPA), halted the plotting of land. According to the regulations, the local governments across the country were required to classify lands on the basis of residential, commercial, agricultural and other purposes. However, of the 753 local levels, only a handful of local governments were able to conclude the classification of lands under their jurisdictions. According to businesspersons, this delay and other factors have hit the real estate sector hard. In a bid to improve real estate transactions, MoLMCPA put forward a proposal to amend the Regulations which was approved by a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Prior to the introduction of the Land Use Regulations, the plotting of land up to 855 square feet, equivalent to 2.5 aanas, was allowed in the Kathmandu Valley. With the new arrangement in place, it was increased to 1,403 square feet which is equivalent to 4.1 aanas. With the government reversing its earlier decision, lands in the capital valley can be partioned up to 2.5 aanas. The new provision is expected to ease real estate business and partition of property. Earlier, the government had classified land into 10 zones–agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, mines and mineral zone, forest zone, public use and open space zone, cultural and archaeological zone, importance, and others. As per the decision, MoLMCPA wrote to local governments to classify agricultural and non-agricultural lands. However, after locals in many areas across the country demanded their lands be classified as non-agricultural, local governments failed to classify lands as directed by the federal government. Of the 753 local units, only 160 were able to classify lands. Likewise, the government has also decided to extend the time for the local units to classify lands. According to people in the real estate and housing business, the lifting of restrictions related to classification on lands only cannot bring normalcy to the realty business. "The business directly depends upon financing and interest rates. As the economy is in the doldrums, we are not excited that the real estate business will see a sudden rise,” said Iccha Bahadur Wagle, President of Nepal Land and Housing Developers' Association. “Currently, the loan-to-value ratio for real estate is at 30 percent. Also, the interest rate is massive. In these difficult times, it is less likely that real estate business will see a rise." According to him, the banks previously used to offer loans of 50 percent of the real estate valuation which has now come down to 30 percent. "This means customers are now required to invest 70 percent of the money themselves which is difficult for many to bear in a single payment,” Wagle told the Annapurna Express. “This is the reason why the real estate sector is in a massive downfall.” Commenting on the loan-to-value ratio, Wagle further said that the ratio should be fixed at 50 to 60 percent as consumers are not able to invest a huge amount at once. “If the loan-to-value ratio is increased, the real estate sector would revive in just 10 days.” Similarly, realty sector businesspersons also demand loans at a single-digit interest rate from banks. “Lately, banks have reported increased liquidity. However, the interest rate on loans has not been reduced.” Recently, the Nepal Bankers’ Association decided to reduce the interest rate on deposits to single digits, but no decision has been made on the interest rate of loans. According to Wagle, real estate transactions declined by up to 85 percent after the introduction of the Land Use Regulations.