New rice variety

KATHMANDU: Hardinath-1 (BG1442) paddy has been recommended for this harvesting season for terai and inner-terai. A meeting of variety approval, release and registration sub-committee at the National Seed Board recommended the rice on the basis of experiments and feedback of the farmers and Nepal Agricultural Research Council, agriculture research station. According to a primary estimate of fiscal year 2003-04, a total of 4,455,722 metric tonnes of rice was produced in 1,559,436-hectare land. — HNS

MoICS meeting held

KATHMANDU: The second quarterly progress review meeting of development projects and programmes launched under the ministry of industry, commerce and supplies (MoICS) and the ministry level problems resolution committee is held here. Hari Bahadur Basnet, minister for industry, commerce and supplies presided over the meeting. Minister Basnet issued directives for proper supply of essential commodities in the remote districts. — RSS

Tea farming on rise

PANAUTI: Farmers in Kavre district have been attracted towards tea cultivation from the last few years. Dipak KC and his friend of Bhumidada VDC-2 of the district started commercial tea cultivation two years ago after brining 500 tea saplings from Ilam. Other farmers also followed them as they saw the possibility of good production. Tea has been cultivated in a total of about 10 ropani. — RSS

Traders hide price list

SIRAHA: Consumers are being cheated due to the trend of hiding the price list of the consumer goods. Participants of a seminar organised by Nepal Rastra Bank, Janakpur branch here complained that the people have not been able to take the benefit of economic liberalisation. They said that the role of NRB is not satisfactory in the economic development of the country, the commercial banks are not providing loans easily. — RSS

Indian economy grows

NEW DELHI: The Indian economy registered a dazzling double-digit growth in the quarter ended on December 31, 2003, over the same period of the previous year on improved agricultural production. According to data released by the government’s Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the GDP showed a growth of 10.4 per cent in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal year. India’s GDP had expanded by a meagre two per cent in the October-December quarter of fiscal 2002-03. — HNS