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The government has made public the list of products that public institutions must purchase from domestic producers even if they are more expensive than the imported ones.

The Directive on the Use of Domestic Products in Public Institutions, 2025, which was published recently in the gazette following its approval by the cabinet, aims to maximize the use of locally available resources, promote domestic manufacturing, create employment, reduce imports and develop the market for locally manufactured goods. 

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies prepared the list after collecting feedback from all stakeholders. More than four dozen products have been listed on the appendix of the directives. 

According to the directives, constitutional bodies, courts, ministries of the federal or provincial governments, secretariats, commissions, departments or any other government agencies or offices, institutions, companies, banks, or committees fully or majority owned or controlled by the federal or provincial governments are the public offices that must use Nepali products listed in the directives. Other public offices that must buy domestic products include commissions, institutions, authorities, corporations, foundations, boards, centers, councils and similar organized institutions established at the public level or formed by provincial governments under prevailing laws. Likewise, universities, colleges, research centers and similar academic or educational institutions operated by or receiving full or majority grants from the federal or provincial governments, local levels, development committees formed under the Development Committee Act 2013, and institutions operating under federal or provincial government loans or grants have also been defined as public institutions.

As per the directives, public institutions must only use handmade paper and paper products, brown paper, pencils, ball pens, envelopes, notebooks, registers, tissue paper, diaries, copies, chalk, board markers, files, file binding cloth and drawstrings produced locally. Similarly, they can only use furniture and furnishing products, floriculture and decoration items produced locally. Likewise, public institutions must now purchase furniture made from wood, plywood, cane and bamboo products from domestic producers only. 

The list also includes bags and shawls used in workshops and seminars as well as products made from allo, bamboo and banana fiber. Woolen products, dhaka and dhaka-related items, pashmina products, jute products, uniforms and caps prescribed for public institution employees and officials, shoes, belts, and bags, badges, and other materials used in assemblies or conferences, as well as traditional handicrafts, woodcrafts, sculptures, paintings, and stone products must also be procured from domestic producers.

The list also includes carpets (woven or non-woven), towels, bedsheets, curtains, mattresses, EPE rolls, mats, foam, pillows, and other furnishing items, table mats, planters, tea mats, candles, incense sticks, leaf plates, and other decorative and utility items.

Agricultural and animal products, food and beverages including milk and dairy products, eggs, fish, meat and meat products, processed oils, vegetable ghee, tea, coffee, cardamom, ginger, spices, all types of fruits and fruit juices, mineral water, processed drinking water (bottle or jar), and soft drinks must also be purchased from domestic producers. The list of products to be be procured from domestic producers also includes cleaning liquids and chemicals (toilet, bathroom, and window/door cleaners), phenyl, soap (including liquid), detergent, shampoo, room spray, brooms, brushes and other cleaning materials, dustbins, bowls, buckets, mugs, toilet paper, flower garlands, flower plants and other plants must be purchased domestically.

Likewise, the directive mandates public offices to procure transformers up to 63 MVA, equipment for hydropower projects up to 2 MW, copper or aluminum binding wire, computer software, dry batteries, agricultural machinery and equipment, ACSR, AAC aluminum conductors and cables up to 1.1 KV, PSC and STP poles and helmets from domestic producers. The list also includes construction materials such as cement, steel, bricks, paint products, AAC blocks, aluminum aluminum windows and doors, prefab wall panels and wooden products.

Similarly, products like flour, biscuits, honey, herbal products and plastic packaging films and sheets used in public institutions, public schools, community hospitals, elderly homes, children's homes, rehabilitation centers and prisons must also be purchased from domestic producers.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 1. 83 points to close at 2, 595. 96 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2. 41 points to close at 439. 01 points.

A total of 10,745,427-unit shares of 299 companies were traded for Rs 5. 82 billion.

Meanwhile, Dolti Power Company Limited (DOLTI) was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Nyadi Hydropower Limited (NYADI) was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 30 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 400 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the gold is being traded at Rs 155,400 per tola. 

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,830 per tola today.

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has proposed stringent standards and guidelines to tighten savings and credit cooperatives. The proposed standards aim to enforce stricter rules on savings, loans, board formation, and institutional governance of cooperative institutions. The central bank prepared the guidelines after recent amendments to the NRB Act, Cooperative Act and related laws granted it the authority to oversee the financial activities of savings and credit cooperatives.

As per the draft standards and guidelines, which have been made public to collect feedback of stakeholders, cooperatives will be permitted to collect savings up to 15 times their primary capital sourced from members. Likewise, loans that cooperatives can avail from banks and financial institutions have been capped at five percent of total assets or 100 percent of primary capital, whichever is lower.

The savings limits prescribed in the Cooperative Act have been incorporated in the guidelines and standards prepared by the NRB. Cooperatives operating within a single district can accept individual savings of up to Rs 1m, while those operating across multiple districts in a province are limited to Rs 2.5m. For cooperatives with working areas in more than two provinces, the maximum savings per individual has been proposed at Rs 5m. Likewise, cooperative institutions will not be allowed to collect fixed deposits.

Board members in cooperatives will be prohibited from taking loans other than those secured by their personal savings. The draft also caps the size of cooperative boards at seven members, with a provision requiring 33 percent female representation wherever possible. Cooperatives must also maintain a capital fund of a minimum of four percent.

Likewise, the guidelines require cooperatives to classify their loans into four categories—good, substandard, doubtful and bad. Loss provisioning for loans has been set at one percent for good loans, 25 percent for substandard loans, 50 percent for doubtful loans and 100 percent for bad loans.

The draft standards and guidelines bar members of a same family from holding positions on a cooperative’s board or supervisory committee at the same time. Likewise, one cannot serve in multiple cooperatives at the same time. Unsecured loans have been capped at Rs 300,000 or five times the savings maintained by the member, whichever is lower.

The NRB has also proposed stricter rules on procurement of fixed assets by cooperatives. Only the cooperatives profitable for three consecutive years, free of accumulated losses and compliant with capital fund requirements will be allowed to purchase land or buildings for office purposes. Such purchases must be made transparently through a competitive process. Cooperatives can spend 25 percent of their primary capital or 50 percent of their reserve fund for such procurements. Such procurement decisions must be approved by at least 51 percent of the general assembly, and the decision must be reported to the regulatory body within 30 days.