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After widespread criticism, the government has rolled back its decision to reduce subsidies on chemical fertilizers within a week. A meeting of the cabinet of ministers on Monday decided to continue the subsidies on chemical fertilizers. According to the government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma, the government has decided to keep the subsidies unchanged for the time being. Speaking to reporters, she said the necessary decision will be taken to make the subsidies more systematic and scientific in the future after a detailed study about the subsidies on chemical fertilizer is conducted. On March 13, the Fertilizer Supply and Distribution Management Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) decided to reduce the subsidies on chemical fertilizers by 11.78 percentage points. By slashing the subsidy, the government increased the market prices of chemical fertilizers. The ministry had increased the price of Urea by about 78 percent while that of DAP and Potash by 16 and 29 percent, respectively. Among the chemical fertilizers imported into Nepal, the share of Urea is 56 percent while that of DAP and Potash is 42 percent and 2 percent, respectively. With Monday's decision, the government subsidy on Urea fertilizer will remain at 80 percent, on DAP at 59 percent earlier, and on Potash at 58 percent. The government has been subsidizing 70.82 percent of the import of chemical fertilizers. The March 13 decision had brought it down to 59.04 percent. While slashing the subsidy, the MoALD had said that it plans to limit the subsidies to 50 percent. As the country has to spend a lot of budget on subsidies due to the ever-increasing price of chemical fertilizers in the international market, the ministry claimed that the fertilizer price has to be adjusted. The government had allocated Rs 15bn for the import of chemical fertilizers in the current fiscal federal budget. Since the amount was insufficient, the MoALD said that an additional Rs 23.5bn has been managed to ensure the fertilizer imports. According to the ministry, the annual demand for chemical fertilizer in the country is 520,000 tons. However, the government has been failing to supply fertilizers as per the demand. According to the ministry, there is an agreement to import 333,500 tons of chemical fertilizers for the current financial year. So far 237,500 tons have been imported and the remaining 94,000 tons are to be imported. Despite the import, it has been estimated that there will be a shortage of 90,000 tons of fertilizers for the upcoming paddy plantation season.

Continental Trading Enterprises, the authorized distributor of Kia vehicles for Nepal, has launched the new Kia Carens MPV in the Nepali market. One of the best-selling cars in the Kia stable, the Kia Carens comes up with a premium cabin and styling look. "The Carens is not just another car, it is the car with a perfect combination of safety, space, and style that makes it an ideal car for modern families," the company said in a press statement. Kia Carens has received the prestigious Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) award for 2023. The MPV was announced as the winner at the 18th edition of ICOTY awards that concluded recently. “The Carens has registered its best-ever monthly sales of 7,900 units in January 2023, bettering the previous best of 7,895 units in June 2022, and has cumulatively sold 70,656 units in India since its launch a year ago,” reads the statement. According to Kia, the most remarkable features of the Carens are its 10 robust hi-safety packages, which come standard across all variants. It includes six airbags, ESC (electronic stability control), VSM (vehicle stability management), BAS (brake assist), HAC (hill-start assist control), DBC (downhill brake control), ABC (anti-lock brake system), all-wheel disc brakes, highline tire pressure monitoring system, and rear parking sensors. The new Kia Carens MPV comes in two petrol engine variants, a 1.5-liter unit with 115bhp and 144 Nm of torque and a 1.4-liter turbo petrol with 140bhp and 242 Nm of torque. The company said that only a six-speed manual is offered with the 1.5-liter petrol, while the 1.4-liter turbo petrol also benefits from a 7-Speed DCT option. Carens also comes in manual and automatic transmission variants. The Luxury Plus trim also gets steering-mounted paddle shifters with 7-speed DCT or the 6-speed automatic. The three-row MPV boasts a long list of comfort and convenience features in addition to generous dimensions. The MUV comes up with a 10.25-inch infotainment display, digital instrumentation, sunroof, roof-mounted aircon vents with adjustable airspeed for the 2nd and the 3rd row, seat back mounted tray table with a cup holder with tablet and smartphone notch. It also boosts ventilated front seats, 64-color ambient lighting, an air-purifier, Bose Audio system, among others. The MPV comes in seven-seater configurations, with a large boot space with 216 liters of luggage space, expandable to a massive 645 liters with the third row folded. Price    Model Variant Price Carens Premium Rs 4.89 million Carens Prestige Rs 5.29 million

The price of gold has increased by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 109, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 109, 300 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 300 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,340 per tola today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 22.65 points to close at 1,949.06 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2.95 points to close at 366. 21 points. A total of 5,255,086 unit shares of 258 companies were traded for Rs 1. 29 billion. Meanwhile, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 81 trillion.