Rs 10.91 billion

Kathmandu: The government has allocated Rs 10. 89 billion for the Nepali Army, while also setting aside Rs 17 million for the general administration of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The allocation, however, does not cover budget for development works

to be implemented by the army and amounts required for the army to be involved in the protection of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

The budget for such activities of the army has been provisioned in the allocation for the ministries concerned.

Of the total Rs 10.91 billion defence budget, the finance minister has set aside Rs 10.19 billion as recurrent expenditure and Rs 726 million as capital and principal repayment.

The defence budget is up only slightly from last year when Rs 10.36 billion was allocated.

Rs 6.1 million was allocated for general administration of the MoD last year, while Rs 10.36 billion was allocated for the operation of the army.

Though the government’s policies and programmes promised democratisation of the army, no separate budget has been allocated to strengthen the MoD for ensuring civilian control over it.

• Total budget: Rs 10.91 billion

• MoD General Administration budget: Rs 17 million

• Nepali Army operation budget: Rs 10.89 billion