Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, February 24:

Economists at a book launching ceremony entitled ‘Economic Dualism and Development in Nepal: A perspective” written by Dr Badri P Shrestha, ex-finance minister, today have stressed on the need for increasing savings and investments in the country to achieve sustained economic growth.

Dr Sultan Hafeez Rahman, country director of Asian Development Bank (ADB)-Nepal Resident Mission launched the book and said that given enough resources, Nepal can achieve high economic growth. Rahman said that the agriculture sector contributes 40 per cent to Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and two-third of the employment is provided by this sector alone.

Dr Badri Prasad Shrestha, former finance minister talking over some points of his book said that Nepal’s growth strategy has so far failed to accelerate growth on a broad-based and sustainable manner due to its failure to rationalise the agriculture.

Dr Shrestha has underlinedthe need to revisit Agriculture Perspective Plan to achieve a minimum growth rate. Dr Shrestha opined that there is a need to reduce 4,000 Village Development Committees and 75 districts, giving country’s socio-economic scenario some cohesion. “The reduced number of local agencies will help witness visible development at local levels,” he said..

Prof Bishwambher Pyakuryal, president of Nepal Economic Association (NEA) stressed on increased savings and investments. Commenting on the book, Prof Pyakuryal said that Nepal faces comparative disadvantages in domestic trade and industry as liberal and open policy has not contributed much to ‘supply constraint’.

Quoting Dr Shrestha’s book, Prof Pyakuryal said that concentration on the improvement of small modern sector through external assistance, without adequate efforts to rationalise and restructure the vast rural sector, was the reason for ‘dualism and poverty’ in Nepal.

Prof Madan K Dahal, head, central department of economics, Tribhuvan University said the book has clearly mentioned about the constraints to economic development. He said that the government has failed in restraining regular expenditure and increasing revenue mobilisation that has led to more dependence on external resources and domestic borrowings, including overdrafts. “The need has been felt for strengthening modern sector to maximise the benefits from globalisation and liberalisation.” Restructuring of the rural economic sector through a massive frontal attack on poverty also needs to be given emphasis, he said.