Although the government has allocated only Rs 10 billion in the current budget for the election, additional Rs 40 billion has been sought by different organizations. Information to this was shared by Finance Minister during a programme organized to unveil the bi-annual report of the current budget.
“It is the government’s duty to ensure resources for the election as it is the national campaign. So, we are in a pressure,” said Minister Sharma, adding that election would be held on time by managing the necessary budget.
On the occasion, he admitted that development budget was not spent due to legal and structural hurdles. Projects failing to acquire land and without resources left in limbo is another reason behind low capital expenditure, he argued.
According to the Finance Minister, those responsible to carry out project works did not make honest efforts and shortage of competent human resource are equally significant hindrances.
He further said the budget would not be spent fully. Last September, Minister Sharma had unveiled the replacement budget of Rs 1.63 trillion. Minister Sharma further regretted that the budget was brought without making adequate preparation. “I’m for changing the budget making process. It is imperative to fix standard on what sort of project the province, local and federal government can carry out,” he mentioned. He presented the revised estimate of budget spending- Rs 1.54 trillion- out of the total budget, which is 94.7 percent of the total budget.
According to him, all sides’ cooperation is necessary to curb crypto currency, hyper fund, online gaming and others which are posing threat to economy. “With illegal use of science and technology, there is huge capital flight, to which government is working with necessary strategies.
Policy level initiatives are being taken to minimize the stress on foreign currency reserve.
Finance Minister upbeat on target of economic growth rate
Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has shared his hope that the target of economic growth rate made for the current fiscal year would be achieved, thanks to reduced impact of COVID-19. It may be noted that the government has targeted to obtain the economic growth rate of 7 per cent in the fiscal year 2078/079.
In a bi-annual review meeting at the Finance Ministry on Thursday, the Finance Minister argued that the target of economic growth is achievable since the economic activities have gradually increased while impact of Omicron variant of corona virus infection is reduced. Minister Sharma expressed the confidence that target of revenue collection would also be achieved.
On the occasion, he pledged to end duplication in the programmes of the local, province and federal levels while stating that reforms were needed in the government spending system.
Saying that the emerging issues like hyper fund, betting, gaming and cryptocurrency have posed challenges, Minister Sharma argued gaps in our laws and online trading is leading to capital outflow.
Also present on the occasion were Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and other officials.
