KATHMANDU, MAY 15
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that the upcoming fiscal year's budget, and policy and programmes would be focused on structural reforms.
At a programme on 'Current Challenges of Economy and Future Steps of Solution' organised by Nepal National Employees' Organisation of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) today, the PM said that projects and programmes that give good returns would be allocated budget with top priority.
"The new budget would cut unnecessary budget, increase capital expenditure by enhancing the government's spending capacity and encourage the private sector in generating production and creating employment.Economy will be robust by increased economic activities from such efforts," the PM added.
PM Dahal shared that massive transformation and structural changes are required in every sector and added that the entire focus should be centred on achieving sustainable economic development and prosperity by troubleshooting the challenges of different sectors of the economy.
Likewise, the PM called for coordinated efforts of the state organs, private sector and stakeholders for Nepal's graduation from the LDC (least developed country) status and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The PM said that there is now significant improvement in the balance of payments, and the foreign exchange reserves has also increased due to the government's move to protect the country's economy.
The PM also mentioned that there have been improvements in other economic indicators, including the liquidity supply and reduced interest rate.
The prime minister said that the socio-economic situation of the people has not changed remarkably though significant achievements were achieved in the political sector. "We changed the system. Now, we should focus our attention to changing the socio-economic situation," he shared.
Stating that the government under his leadership has initiated some important measures to address challenges facing the economy, PM Dahal said that the policies and programmes have been implemented for good-governance, prosperity and social justice.
Stressing that good governance could not be promoted until irregularities and corruption were curbed, the PM assured that the incumbent government was seriously working towards combating corruption.
Similarly, National Planning Commission Vice-Chairperson Min Bahadur Shrestha asserted that the solutions to the challenges prevailing in the national economy at present should be sought through monetary policy and fiscal policy.
Shrestha said, "The budget for the next fiscal year is being prepared. The fiscal policy will deliver what it ought to. The monetary policy introduced thereafter should address the prevailing economic challenges ."
Likewise, Nepal Rastra Bank's Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari spoke of the need to gain economic inter-independence from external dependence.
He underscored structural reforms to bring about positive changes in the situation of reliance on external production and imports for revenue collection.
The governor argued that the country has lagged behind economically since we got engaged in political movements for an extended period of time.
He highlighted the need to prioritise agriculture and move ahead strategically.
"Our national economy is currently dependent on remittance. As a result, this year may be favourable in external sector and fiscal sector may look stable but challenges certainly loom large for coming days."
A version of this article appears in the print on May 16, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
