Weekly Economic Update (9 September 2022 to 15 September 2022)
1. Tourism Decade 2023–2032 announced: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has announced ‘Tourism Decade 2023–2032’ for the development of sustainable tourism. The aim is to attract 3.5 million foreign tourists to Nepal by 2032.
2. Nepal’s FDI exceeds NPR 227 billion: 55 countries provided over NPR 227 million of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Nepal as of mid-July. At the end of FY 2020/21, the stock of FDI in Nepal increased by 14.8% and reached NPR 227.9 billion.
(Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nepal-s-fdi-exceeds-rs-227-billion/)
3. Nepal ranked 143rd in HDI: Nepal has moved one spot up in the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2021 and ranks 143rd among 191 countries.
4. India increases tax on rice export: India has increased the tax rate on the export of white and brown rice by 20% and banned the export of broken rice. India’s paddy plantation has decreased by 5.62% in the current season.
5. Construction of Nepal-India transmission lines: The Government of Nepal plans to build transmission lines from Nepal to India to export at least 13000 MW of electricity in the next five years. Transmission lines with 132 kV and 400 kV capacities are being built at a number of locations.
6. New banknotes issued for Dashain: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has started issuing fresh banknotes for the upcoming Dashain festival. People can exchange notes worth NPR 18,500 per person. Banks and Financial institutions will receive notes worth NPR 20 to 50 million.
7. Three cooperatives to sign merger: Three big cooperatives in the Kathmandu Valley will soon sign a merger to form the ‘Laxmi Kalyan Gurans Savings and Credit Cooperative’. The share capital will be NPR 31.07 million.
(Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/three-more-big-cooperatives-ink-agreement-for-merger/)
8. Nepal to export electricity to Bangladesh: The government plans to export 50 MW of electricity to Bangladesh within this year. The two countries have agreed on a productions partnership.
9. Nepal approves loan from World Bank: The government has approved a concessional loan of NPR 35 billion to be provided by the World Bank. This loan is to be used for the transportation and trade connectivity promotion programme.
10. Nepal to be a developing nation by 2026: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has announced that there is a plan to upgrade Nepal into a developing nation by 2026. The current government has prioritized infrastructure development as per the 15th five-year plan.
