KATHMANDU, Feb. 18 -- The government approved foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 22.68 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

According to the Department of Industry, it gave the go ahead to 241 foreign firms that pledged to inject around Rs 23 billion during mid-July and mid-February. They are supposed to provide jobs to 12,692 individuals.

Compared to the same period last year, there was a notable rise in the pledged amount in the FDI this year. The records with the Nepal Rastra Bank show that the FDI plunged to mere Rs 1.04 billion in the review period last year.

Out of the approved FDI-based firms this year, only three were related to the large scale category, while 12 were medium-scale industries and 2...