Kathmandu. Here is a summary of the news from Nepal and around the world on Friday. In Nepal, the monetary policy released by the Central Bank has become the main news, while in the US, former President Barack Obama and his wife have endorsed their party’s candidate Kamala Harris in the context of the presidential election. Preparations for the opening of the Paris Olympic Games are also underway today.

Nepal Rastra Bank released the monetary policy for the fiscal year 2081/082:

• The monetary policy is flexible to improve the sluggish economy and low credit flow.
• Ambitious policy to expand credit with a target of 6% economic growth.
• The existing 1:20 percent loan loss provision for good loans is now set at 1:10 percent.
• The provision of blacklisting based on bounced checks has been changed.
• In joint investment companies, even if one firm is blacklisted, it will not affect the other.
• Private equity and venture capital will not be affected if a company is unable to repay a loan.
• Construction entrepreneurs are given the facility to reschedule loan repayments till Mangsir 2081.
• The monetary policy has removed the 200 million limit on share collateral loans.
• The upper limit of the interest rate of banks is set at 6.5 percent from 7 percent.
• The policy rate of the bank’s interest rate is set at 5 percent from 5.5 percent.
• All companies engaged in payment-related work must be public limited companies.
• The foreign exchange facility for importing goods is set at 50,000 dollars from 35,000 dollars.
• The limit for documents against payment and documents against acceptance has been increased from 60,000 to 100,000 dollars.
• The private sector is positive about the monetary policy, Chairman Chandra Dhakal said: Now the market will be dynamic.
• Nepal Electricity Authority has taken a stance to collect outstanding amounts from dedicated and trunk lines in industries.
• NEA MD Kulman Ghising is committed to collecting the amounts used cheaply by industries during load shedding.
• At the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, Kulman said: The claim that it was attempted to collect outstanding amounts without a bill is incorrect.
• Bills were sent with a premium added to the redacted electricity, so the claim that there was no bill is not true, said Ghising.

US Election: Former President Barack Obama and his wife endorsed Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris:

• Kamala Harris was already endorsed by President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others.
• The endorsement by the Obama couple came just a week after Biden withdrew his candidacy and put Harris forward.

After the Federal Structure: 550 km of roads have been blacktopped in Koshi Province:

• 550 kilometers of roads have been blacktopped across Koshi Province.
• Six parks, one bus park, and two view towers have been completed in Koshi Province.

2024 Summer Olympics is set to open in Paris, France, on Friday

So who are the people to have lit the Olympic cauldron?

1936 Berlin — Fritz Schilgen (track and field)

1948 London — John Mark (track and field)

1952 Oslo — Eigil Nansen (non-athlete)

1952 Helsinki — Paavo Nurmi and Hannes Kolehmainen (track and field)

1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo — Guido Caroli (speed skating)

1956 Melbourne — Ron Clarke (track and field) and Hans Wikne (equestrian)

1960 Squaw Valley — Ken Henry (speed skating)

1960 Rome — Giancarlo Peris (track and field)

1964 Innsbruck — Josef Rieder (alpine skiing)

1964 Tokyo — Yoshinori Sakai (track and field)

1968 Grenoble — Alain Calmat (figure skating)

1968 Mexico City — Enriqueta Basilio (track and field)

1972 Sapporo — Hideki Takada (non-athlete)

1972 Munich — Gunther Zahn (track and field)

1976 Innsbruck — Christl Haas (alpine skiing) and Josef Feistmantl (luge)

1976 Montreal — Sandra Henderson (gymnastics) and Stephane Prefontaine (track and field)

1980 Lake Placid — Charles Kerr (non-athlete)

1980 Moscow — Sergei Belov (basketball)

1984 Sarajevo — Sanda Dubravcic (figure skating)

1984 Los Angeles — Rafer Johnson (track and field)

1988 Calgary — Robyn Perry (figure skating)

1988 Seoul — Kim Won-Tak (track and field), Chung Sun-Man and Sohn Mi-Chung (non-athlete)

1992 Albertville — Michel Platini (football) and Francois-Cyrille Grange (alpine skiing)

1992 Barcelona — Antonio Rebollo (archery)

1994 Lillehammer — Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (non-athlete)

1996 Atlanta — Muhammad Ali (boxing)

1998 Nagano — Midori Ito (figure skating)

2000 Sydney — Cathy Freeman (track and field)

2002 Salt Lake City — 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team

2004 Athens — Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (sailing)

2006 Turin — Stefania Belmondo (cross-country skiing)

2008 Beijing — Li Ning (artistic gymnastics)

2010 Vancouver — Steve Nash (basketball), Nancy Greene Raine (alpine skiing), Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey), Catriona Le May Doan* (speed skating)

2012 London — Desiree Henry (track and field), Katie Kirk (track and field), Aidan Reynolds (track and field), Adelle Tracey (track and field), Callum Airlie (sailing), Jordan Duckitt (non-athlete), Cameron MacRitchie (rowing)

2014 Sochi — Irina Rodnina (figure skating) and Vladislav Tretiak (ice hockey)

2016 Rio de Janeiro — Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (athletics) and Jorge Gomes (athletics)

2018 Pyeongchang — Yuna Kim (figure skating)

2020 Tokyo — Naomi Osaka (tennis) and Ayaka Takahashi (badminton)

2022 Beijing — Dinigeer Yilamujiang (cross-country skiing) and Zhao Jiawen (nordic combined)