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In what has been a record year for tourism, in the period between January to October, 882,531 tourists have come to Nepal, up from 757,448 tourists in the corresponding period a year ago. This represents a more-than-healthy 16.5 percent jump. According to the Department of Immigration, 109,733 tourists came to Nepal in October alone, the highest ever for the month.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had expected one million tourists to visit Nepal last year; 940,218 had come.

 Most tourists this year are from China and India

Most tourists this year are from China and India. A total of 161,963 Indians toured Nepal in the first 10 months of 2018, many of them on their way to Kailash Manasaro­var. As hotel services in India have become expensive after the Indian government slapped them with luxury taxes, Nepal has become a good option for middle class Indians wanting to hold seminars, wed­dings and meetings.

Similarly, 121,418 Chinese tour­ists entered Nepal in this period. Nepal is taking additional initia­tives to attract even more Chi­nese tourists, according to Nepal Tourism Board’s Chief Executive Officer Deepak Raj Joshi.

In the same period, 73,677 came from the US while 50,161 came from Europe. Tourist arriv­als from other South Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also been increasing.

ABB, the 130-year-old global technology leader in power grids, electrification prod­ucts, industrial automation, and robotics and motion, on Nov 21 hosted the ABB Technology Day for 250 Nepali companies. At the event companies from different sectors such as utilities, transport and infrastructure engaged in a series of workshops with ABB experts, accompanied by an exhibit of latest technology in various sec­tors. In addition, discussions were held with key companies from the utilities and the industry segments.

Nepal is looking to increase its installed power capacity to 15,000 MW by 2027, with more than 10 per­cent expected to come from renew­able energy. It also hopes to bring down power transmission and dis­tribution losses to 15 percent. ABB technologies, deployed for commu­nication in 80 percent of the electric­ity authority’s power substations, are expected to help with these goals.

Nepal is also planning to add 10,000 MW of hydro-electricity over the next decade. ABB has already provided a host of technology solu­tions and systems for various hydro projects in the country, from uni­fied automation systems, digital gov­ernors, synchronizers and various other power management solutions in projects like Lower Modi, Panauti, Sunkoshi and Puwa Khola.

“We are hosting our first Technol­ogy Day for Nepal at a time when this great mountain country is taking a big leap for the next level of growth to improve the lives of its citizens,” said Karthik Krishnamurthi, Coun­try Head of Sales and Marketing & Account Management, ABB India. “Be it in clean solar energy, mak­ing power transmission more effi­cient, improving energy access and quality, or reducing carbon emis­sions and facilitating energy sav­ings in industries, transportation or homes, ABB technologies can be instrumental to partner sustainable growth in this country blessed with multiple natural splendors.”

Mahesh Mahato, Managing Direc­tor, Cosmic Electrical Engineering Associates Private Limited added, “Nepal is planning a massive expan­sion in its hydro power generation in this decade and providing licenses for new solar plants to be set-up for clean power in the country. At such a time, such interactive workshops and discussions provide a great exposure to the next level technologies of digi­talization and analytics, which can be deployed to make a strong, reliable and sustainable grid in Nepal.”

With a robust internet and smart phone penetration—1 in 2 Nepalis has internet access—Nepal is poised to make a leapfrog in digital technol­ogy. ABB has provided technology solutions to optimize space, safety, cost and energy savings for the power requirements of datacenters, which will be the mainstay of data, telecom and start-up companies in the valley.

The newest addition to the Airbus family of com­mercial aircraft, the A220, has made its first visit to Nepal as part of a world demonstration tour.

Offering unsurpassed performance and superior passenger comfort in the small single-aisle market, the A220-300 in an airBaltic livery went on display at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, on November 11 and 12.

The aircraft, which can accommodate 145 pas­sengers, is on a demo tour of four countries includ­ing China, Nepal, Turkey and Thailand. It offers exceptional performance, comfort and profitability and is well-suited for high altitude airports such as Kathmandu.

As the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market, the A220 delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and true wide-body comfort in a single aisle aircraft. The aircraft brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least a 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. With a range of up to 3,200 nautical miles (5,020 km), the A220 gives the performance of larger single aisle aircraft.

With an order book of over 400 aircraft to date, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100- to 150-seat aircraft market.

The government on Nov 11 appointed Raman Nepal as the executive director of Citizen Investment Trust (CIT).

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) had published a notice calling for appli­cations for the top post of CIT on September 24. Altogether five can­didates had filed applications for the post of the executive director.

The post of the exec­utive director had been lying vacant after for­mer executive director Ramkrishna Pokharel tendered his resigna­tion in August. After Pokharel’s resignation, the MoF had appointed Chandra Kala Poudel, joint secretary at MoF, as executive director of CIT on a temporary basis.

At present, CIT operates retire­ment fund, CIT unit scheme, pen­sion/gratuity fund, investors A/C scheme, civil employee’s insurance fund, teachers insurance, army employee’s insurance fund, police employee’s insurance fund, APF employee’s insurance fund, reserve fund and other institutional employ­ee’s insurance fund. CIT currently has 609,374 members with funds worth Rs 109.84 billion.