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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 20. 41 points to close at 2,645.39 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 45 points to close at 477. 26 points.

A total of 15,742,514-unit shares of 324 companies were traded for Rs 6. 27 billion.

Meanwhile, ICFC Finance Limited (ICFC) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent.

Likewise, Mahuli Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (MSLB) was the top loser with its price dropped by 4. 28 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 20 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday to set a new record.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association, the gold is being traded at Rs 166,700 per tola (11.66 grams) against Rs 165,900 on Tuesday.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 35 and is being traded at Rs 2, 135 per tola.

Tea cultivation has been initiated in the tourism area of Aamchok Rural Municipality to boost local income and promote tourism in Bhojpur. The project involves greening 14 plantations with significant tourism potential, contributing to the rural municipality's overall economic growth. The initiative, started in 2017/18, aims to utilize vacant land to expand tea cultivation and attract tourism. 

According to Ashok Rai, Chairperson of the rural municipality, “The municipality has invested Rs 45m so far.” Tea farming has been expanded in Wards No. 1, 2, 3, and 6, where the climate is suitable for cultivation. Rai emphasized the long-term plan to develop tea plantations, utilizing vacant land with strong tourism potential. 

“The municipality has systematically expanded tea cultivation over the past six years,” said Rai. “We aim to boost income and tourism by making good use of the vacant land. So far, about 1,400 ropani have been cultivated.” He believes the higher areas of the municipality have great potential due to favorable climate and geography. Programs are being conducted to encourage locals to plant tea on their private land.

Rajinkumar Rai, a local farmer from Balankha, noted that the higher areas are ideal for tea cultivation. “The municipality has encouraged us to expand tea farming, both for income and tourism.” The Aamchok Tea and Coffee Cooperative has been formed to manage the project systematically, with shares distributed to local residents, especially those with weak financial means. Of 10,000 shares, 9,000 were distributed by the village council, and 1,000 were allocated to poor and underprivileged families in the ‘D’ category.

According to municipal data, shares have been distributed to 1,163 extremely poor families in the affected areas. The rural municipality plans to establish a tea development organization once the necessary laws are in place.

Chief Administrative Officer Dhankumar Rai stated that a tea factory is being established in Ward No 2 to process the tea. The factory, funded by Rs 4.5m from the municipality and Rs 10m from the Koshi state government, is nearing completion.

“The work of expanding tea cultivation is ongoing, and the tea processing factory is in its final stages,” Officer Rai said. The municipality is also developing its own tea nursery, producing around 500,000 plants for the upcoming season. Along with tea, efforts are being made to expand coffee cultivation, with a coffee nursery also under development.

With the shrinking of the country's construction works, import of petroleum products via Birgunj Customs has also been heavily dropped.

According to the Birgunj Customs Office, the import of diesel and petrol through the customs checkpoint has fallen by over 25 percent.

Birgunj is known as the trade transit point importing the highest volume of diesel and petrol to the country. A total of 135,518 kilolitres of high-speed diesel worth Rs 12.66 billion has been imported to the country via Birgunj during the three months of the current fiscal year.

According to Chief Administrator of the Customs Office Deepak Lamichhane, the import of high-speed diesel has decreased by 25.33 percent in the same period of the current fiscal year compared to that of the last fiscal year.

Revenue collection has also decreased by 27.43 percent with the decrease in diesel imports.

Under the Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline project, high-speed diesel is being imported through the pipeline while petrol import is being done through tankers. According to Nepal Oil Corporation's Provincial Office Chief at Amlekhgunj, Pralayankar Acharya the consumption of petroleum products has decreased due to lack of infrastructure and development activities. According to him, imports will increase as infrastructure and development activities increase.

Consumption of petroleum products has also decreased due to the increase in public attraction towards electric vehicles. 

Federation of Contractors' Association of Nepal (FCAN)'s General Secretary Roshan Dahal complained that the construction sector has not been able to pace up during the rainy season and non-payment of completed projects by the government agencies.