Govt to restructure budget system

Kathmandu, 8 Apr.

The government in its Common Minimum Programme (CMP) has announced that it would restructure the budget system at policy, structure and functional front in order to make the fiscal management and development work more effective.

The economy would be made dynamic by forging harmonisating among the economic, fiscal and monetary policies and addressing the economic slowdown, reduction in industrial and business production, risks in investment, liquidity crisis, high interest rate, growing trade deficit, low capital expenditure and revenue collection, read the CMP.

 The priorities of the government also include ratifying the anti-money laundering act, national pride infrastructure project implementation act and public procurement act by the parliament, promoting domestic investment and attracting foreign direct investment, formalizing the social media advertising, dissolving the unnecessary departments and other agencies of the federal government and addressing the overstaffing in public offices.

Likewise, provision subsidy to agriculture, issuing 'Kisan Card' to provide agricultural inputs, irrigation facility and technical education to farmers, establishing chemical fertilisers factory, expanding agricultural insurance programme and implementation of 'farmer pension' scheme have also got their way into the CMP.

The government also said that the priority would be given to reservoir-based hydroelectricity projects, providing quality electricity to industrial centres, developing tourism infrastructure, and promotion of export-based industries.

The CMP mentions that an integrated plan would be formulated for the development of transportation sector by combining land, air, water transport, railways and cable cars. "River diversion, underground water harvesting, lift irrigation would be used to provide irrigation facility to fertile land," read the document.

The government has also promised to establish a coordination unit at the Prime Minister's Office to forge collaboration among the agencies concerned to the construction, operation and development of road, electricity, water, sewerage and communication. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 9 April 2023.