News

Finance ministry halts change in staff benefits

The government has barred autonomous, semi-autonomous and other public sector corporations and statutory entities from issuing any order relating to the terms and conditions of service of their staff that could have financial implications. In an order, the finance ministry asked the ministries and divisions to ensure that their attac­hed and subordinate organisations don’t issue any such orders

Costly construction dampens cement demand

Construction slowdown on account of political uncertainty, floods and costly building materials caused a 15.5 per cent and 21pc drop in cement sales during October and 4MFY23, respectively. Export shipments also remained affected due to the economic slowdown in world markets. Hassan Bakshi, former chairman Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD), said lingering political and economic u

New market players get access to NTDC, distribution companies’ networks

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday issued new rules allowing new market players to have non-discriminatory access to existing transmission and distribution networks currently maintained mostly by the public sector entities and K-Electric and provide electricity to bulk consumers. The Open Access (Interconnection and Wheeling of Electric Power Regulations, 2022

Bank of England announces biggest rate hike in 33 years

The Bank of England on Thursday announced its biggest interest rate hike since 1989 to combat sky-high inflation that it warned was pushing Britain into a recession set to last until mid-2024. Following a regular meeting, the BoE said it was lifting borrowing costs by 0.75 percentage points to three per cent — the highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis — to cool UK inflation that

Health ministry notifies new paracetamol prices

The health ministry has notified new prices of paracetamol, a generic drug for reducing pain and fever that disappeared from the market after manufacturers said they couldn’t make paracetamol-based tablets and syrups amid rising production costs. The notification, issued on Thursday, came almost a week after the finance ministry gave the go-ahead to pharmaceutical companies to increase paraceta