Submit your Article

The Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has launched Redmi Note 12 and Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G in the Nepali market. According to Xiaomi Nepal, equipped with a Snapdragon685 mobile platform, the Redmi Note 12 provides a seamless and efficient multitasking experience in photography, gaming, audio, and streaming. Whereas Redmi 12 Pro 5G is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 processor which delivers impressive reliable performance for content creation, gaming, and 5G connectivity. The Redmi Note12 Pro 5G comes with a powerful 5,000mAh battery allowing the users extended use without worrying about running out of charge. The Redmi Note12 Pro 5G also features flagship 67 Turbocharging that charges the phone in 15 minutes. Similarly, the RedmiNote 12 has a 5,000mAh battery. The Redmi Note 12 has a flat frame and back design. The phone is available in three color variants: onyx gray, ice blue, and mint green. It features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. The display has a punch-hole design notch for the front camera. It has a triple camera setup at the rear comprising a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The phone has a 13MP selfie camera. The Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G offers an exclusive high-end phone featuring an IMX766 sensor. With this incredibly versatile and trusted camera sensor, coupled with its1.0μm native large pixel size, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G easily captures more light and produces high quality, brighter and clearer pictures in all scenarios. The Redmi Note 12 Pro comes in three color options: midnight black, polar white, and ice blue. The phone has a 10-bit 6.67-inch OLED display that supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It is a full HD+ display with up to 120Hz refresh rate support. The phone has a triple rear camera setup at the back which includes a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera with OIS accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro camera. “At Redmi, our consumers are at the heart of everything we do which drives us to constantly work towards democratizing technology hence making it more accessible," said Amit Panda, Country General Manager of Xiaomi Nepal. "Our newly launched Redmi Note 12 series will make flagship-level specs more accessible, raising industry standards and bringing our core philosophy of offering innovation at incredibly honest pricing to life. The Redmi Note 12 series is packed with incredible battery life, amazing camera setup, and powerful performance.” Box Redmi Note 12 Model                            Price 4GB+128GB           Rs 22,999 6GB+128GB           Rs 24,999 8GB+128GB           Rs 26,999 Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G 6GB+128GB           Rs 38,999 8GB+256GB           Rs 41,999

With the government mulling handing over the development of the Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a task force has been formed to finalize the share structure of Budhi Gandaki Jalbidhyut Public Limited. The task force led by NEA Deputy Executive Director Pradeep Kumar Thike will revise the share structure of Budhi Gandaki Jalbidhyut Public Limited to give a majority stake in the company to the government-owned power utility. Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire while welcoming the newly appointed Ministry for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Basnet at NEA on Monday, the share of the company is being restructured as per the instruction of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to advance the much-hyped hydropower project. The government in the last fiscal year decided to build the reservoir-type project on its own and established Budhi Gandaki Jalbidhyut Public Limited for the development of the 12,00MW project. However, the company is yet to come into operation as the government has not provided the budget to get approval for commencement from the Office of the Company Registrar (OCR).   As of now, the authorized capital of Budhi Gandaki company is Rs 20 billion. The Energy Ministry has a 50 percent stake in the company while the Finance Ministry and NEA have 30 percent and 20 percent stakes, respectively. According to NEA, it has the technical expertise on developing big projects but it wants a majority stake in the newly established company. The share structure of the company will be restructured based on the report of the Thike-led task force. As developing storage-type projects is quite expensive compared to the run of the river-type projects, a viability gap funding is likely to be required from the government to develop this project, according to NEA. Budhi Gandaki is a ready-to-go project as its detailed project report (DPR) has already been prepared. Compensation distribution for the land acquisition and houses has also been in the final stage, according to Energy Ministry officials. The project which has been touted as important to ensuring Nepal's energy security as it is expected to help the country to be self-reliant even during the dry season has been in limbo for a long due to uncertainty over the modality of its development. Earlier, Budhigandaki fell victim to policy inconsistency despite facing hardly any problem in land acquisition and completion of DPR. In 2017, the then government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal awarded a contract to build the project without competitive bidding to China Gezhouba Group Corporation under the engineering, procurement, construction, and financing (EPCF) modality. The Sher Bahadur Deuba-led administration in November 2017 overturned the earlier government’s decision. A high-level team led by Swarnim Wagle, former Vice-chair of the National Planning Commission, was then established. The committee suggested that the project could also be developed using domestic resources. Again, in September 2018, the government led by KP Sharma Oli decided in favor of the Chinese company, reversing the decision of the Deuba-led government. In April of last year, the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government once more decided to terminate the license granted to the Chinese company since it was not making any progress on the project. Budhi Gandaki, which will be Nepal's second and the largest reservoir-type hydel project with an estimated cost of USD 2.6 billion, is situated at the boundary between the districts of Gorkha and Dhading. The report prepared by the committee headed by Wagle in 2017 suggested that the government should develop the project on its own by providing viability gap funding, covering around one-third of the project development cost. As per its report, the government could cover the cost of land acquisition and resettlement of displaced families which could total as high as Rs 94 billion. A significant chunk of resources can be generated from government institutions. An infrastructure tax being imposed on imported fuel could be an important source of revenue that can be used to develop the project. According to the Wagle report, public enterprises such as Nepal Electricity Authority, Employees Provident Fund, Nepal Telecom, Rastriya Beema Sansthan, Hydroelectric Investment and Development Company, Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Company, Chilime Hydropower Company, along with Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and the general public could be tapped for the project.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 2, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 000 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 109, 000 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 450 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 40 and is being traded at Rs 1,440 per tola today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 5. 20 points to close at 1,866.68 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 73 points to close at 351. 97 points. A total of 2,971,947-unit shares of 264 companies were traded for Rs 917 billion. Meanwhile, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Likewise, Prabhu Bank Debenture was the top loser with its price dropped by 9.29 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 70 trillion.