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With no winter rainfall for the last five months and water levels decreasing in rivers, the power generation in the country has fallen by more than 40 percent. While around 400 MW of electricity has been added to the national grid in the last one year, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been struggling to supply adequate electricity this winter. The installed capacity of electricity in the country last winter was 2053 MW which increased to 2424 MW by mid-January this year. "However, due to the prolonged dry season and decrease in water level in the rivers, electricity generation has plunged more than last winter," said Suresh Bhattarai, a spokesperson of NEA. According to NEA, the power production during this winter has dropped to around 900 MW, that too during the evening peak time. NEA data shows domestic electricity generation was 926 MW during the peak hours on Sunday. As hydropower projects such as Kulekhani, Upper Tamakoshi, and Kaligandaki are put into operation during peak hours, the electricity generation is higher during those times. The average generation currently stands at around 700 MW, according to NEA. "The installed capacity has increased this year but the water flow in the river has decreased as the dry season has extended," said Bhattarai. "As a result, power generation has decreased compared to last year." According to the NEA, power generation, this winter has decreased more compared to the last winter because of the drought situation. The power generation during the last winter was around 1,200 MW, which has further dropped to around 900 MW this winter during the peak time. Nepal's largest power project- the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project (456 MW), is currently producing around 77MW of electricity while the average production of the Middle Marsyangdi Hydropower Project (70 MW) is above 30 MW. According to Bhattarai, NEA is balancing the power supply by importing more electricity from India. Despite that, NEA is forced to cut power in the industrial areas during peak hours in the morning and evening. NEA has been enforcing load shedding of three hours each in the peak hours of morning and evening in the industrial areas across the country. According to industrialists, such power cuts have been happening now from 6-9 am in the morning and 5-8 pm in the evening. Industries in major industrial hubs such as Biratnagar, Birgunj, Hetauda, and Bhairahawa have been hard hit by the latest power cuts. Although Nepal has started exporting surplus electricity to India during the wet season, the country has to import electricity in the dry season to meet the power demand. It is because almost all of the power production in the country is based on run-of-the-river hydropower plants. The dry season runs from December to April while the wet season lasts from May to November. According to NEA, the run-of-the-river type hydropower projects usually produce less than 40 percent of their installed capacity as water levels in the rivers decrease significantly during the dry season. With power generation not enough to cater to the domestic demand, the NEA has increased the volume of electricity imports from India. A total of 505 MW of electricity was imported from India during peak hours last Sunday evening.  

Farmers in rural areas of Kaski are struggling to sell their tomato crop this year as the wholesale market has refused to purchase them. Wholesalers have refused to buy from local farmers saying that tomatoes imported from India are much cheaper. With market prices significantly lower than in previous years, farmers are concerned about recovering their farming expenses. As a result, they are forced to frequently lower their prices to compete with imported tomatoes, leading to further financial strain. The price of local tomatoes has dropped, thanks to unchecked import and sale of  tomatoes at much lower rates, causing distress for farmers like Chitra Nath Poudel of Hemja, Pokhara-25. Despite about 20 years of experience in the trade and an annual average income of Rs 5 million from 90 tomato tunnels, Poudel is facing a new challenge this year—selling his crop at an unprecedentedly low rate. Poudel's income has almost halved this year. In particular, the plummeting prices have the new farmers discouraged. It’s not only the farmers getting hit, though. Collection centers have also suffered from falling tomato prices. A few days ago, Bhumikot Agriculture Cooperative of Rupa Rural Municipality-7 canceled the supply agreement with two wholesale markets of Pokhara, which used to buy almost six tons of tomato from the cooperative annually. “This year, they purchased from other sources at half the price,” Nawaraj Poudel, a farmer from Rupa-7  and chairperson of the cooperative, said. In an attempt to recoup the expenses, Poudel has found an individual, Chudamani Baral of Khudi in Pokhara-30, who has agreed to sell all the collected tomatoes door-to-door. Baral is using a cart to sell the tomatoes locally. Gita Kumari Sapkota of Madi Rural Municipality in Kaski, who has been farming tomatoes for almost a decade, is also facing difficulties in selling her produce due to reduced market prices. A local collector, who used to buy 500 kg of tomatoes from her daily, has stopped coming, leaving her unsure of how and when to sell huge quantities of tomatoes. Sapkota earns around Rs 200,000 annually from tomatoes grown in three tunnels. Amid rapid urbanization in Pokhara, tomato farming expanded in surrounding rural areas due to a business-friendly environment, according to the Agriculture Section of the Pokhara Metropolitan Office. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people returned to their villages and turned to farming, with a particular interest in tomato farming, according to Manoj Poudel, Chief of the Agriculture Section of Rupa Rural Municipality in Kaski. He noted that the registration of farming groups and agriculture farms in the rural municipality office has been increasing in recent years. The local government bodies are now facing the challenge of sustaining the motivation of local farmers. To address this, some local bodies have made arrangements to compensate the farmers when exported products push local product prices downward. However, according to Manohar Kadariya, Chief of the Agriculture Section of the Pokhara Metropolitan Office, no individual or farm has claimed this facility yet.

While banks and financial institutions (BFIs) saw their profits decline in the first half of the current fiscal year, life insurance companies recorded significant growth in their profits. As per the unaudited financial reports published by the life insurance companies for the second quarter of the current fiscal year, the profits of the insurers increased by 72.51 percent in the first six months of FY 2022/23. The 18 life insurance companies posted profits of Rs 3.37 billion during this period, an increment of Rs 1.41 billion compared to the last fiscal year. The companies earned a net profit of Rs 1.95 billion in the first half of FY 2021/22. While the profits have grown, the overall business of life insurance companies saw a marginal growth in this fiscal year. According to Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), life insurance companies collected premiums amounting to Rs 71.65 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The premium collection of life insurance companies during the same period of the last fiscal stood at Rs 70.91 billion. According to insurance companies, their profits may increase further after the actuarial valuation. However, such an assessment will be done after the completion of the fiscal year, during which up to 10 percent of the insurance fund can be transferred to the profit and loss account. Nepal Life Insurance Company has topped the chart in terms of net profit earnings. The company posted a net profit of Rs 440 million in the first half of the current fiscal. Sun Nepal Life Insurance came second with a net profit of Rs 353 million followed by Surya Jyoti Life Insurance with Rs 284.1 billion. According to insurers, their profits improved in this fiscal mainly due to the high-interest rates of banks and financial institutions. Insurance companies keep most of their investable capital in fixed deposits of commercial banks. Banks have increased the interest rate of deposits due to a prolonged liquidity crunch, as a result, the income of insurance companies has increased which contributed to a growth in their profits.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 103, 600 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 103, 800 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 103, 100 per tola. It was traded at Rs 103, 300. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,290 per tola today.