KATHMANDU: Economic Digest, a daily morning email digest, is basically a relatable summation of important business news from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries.
Nepalis labor shortage amid Covid curbs, strained ties upsets Himachal’s apple cart
The Covid-19 pandemic has left apple growers of Himachal Pradesh struggling with challenges of high labor cost due to shortage and strict curbs.
With apple picking underway in the lower hill areas of the state, orchard owners are scouting for skilled Nepalis workers, who form the backbone of the Rs 4,500-crore apple economy.
Apart from travel restrictions due to the pandemic, India’s strained relations with Nepal after the recent border dispute has hit the movement of laborers from the neighboring country.
The apple economy is the main source of income for most in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Mandi and parts of Chamba and Sirmaur districts.
The apple season in the lower hills is about to wind up but it will continue in the higher altitude areas till mid-October.
Many Nepalis laborers working in orchards returned home amid the tension between India and Nepal and those wanting to come back to earn a livelihood could not make it due to travel restrictions.
Nepali’s public borrowing hits Rs 44,892 per head
The per capita debt of Nepal has reached Rs 44,892 as direct consequences of a massive increase in government borrowing followed by the slow growth in revenue collection, increase in development works and unproductive government spending.
As of last mid-July, the total outstanding debt of the federal government stood at Rs 134.67 billion, according to the record maintained by the Ministry of Finance.
The amount includes Rs 733 billion foreign loan. According to the ministry, the share of external loans in the country’s public borrowing has been escalating, with a reduction in grant by the foreign donors.
Nepal received a total foreign assistance of Rs 304.70 billion in 2019/20, which was 40.5% more than the amount in the previous fiscal year.
Of the amount, 94% was received in loan while the grant amount stood at meagre 6%.
NAC aircraft off to Dubai to bring stranded travelers
The Nepalis left stranded in Dubai airport after a chartered flight was canceled brought home Nepalis yesterday.
A wide-body aircraft A-330 of Nepal Airlines left for Dubai yesterday morning. The NAC aircraft with more than 260 passengers will arrive from Dubai to Kathmandu this afternoon, said NAC spokesperson Archana Khadka.
The NAC’s scheduled flight on August 18 had been canceled by the government citing a lack of quarantine facility for the incoming passengers.
As a result, the NAC aircraft returned to Kathmandu empty, leaving the passengers stranded in the airport. Following widespread criticism including by the affected passengers, the cabinet decided to allow a rescue flight to bring them home.
The government has also decided to resume regular international flights starting September 1.
(Compiled and prepared by Nitish Lal Shrestha)
Nepal Economic Digest is a daily morning email digest, basically relatable summations of the most important business news, happenings from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries.
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