Next 5-year plan will be pragmatic, says NPC

 Kathmandu, Dec. 21

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has said that the next five-year plan will be made more pragmatic to realise the concept of 'building a prosperous country with proper planning and decision'.

Speaking at a press conference organised at the NPC on Thursday to inform about the progress regarding the formulation of the upcoming 16^th National Plan (Fiscal Year 2081/82 to FY 2085/86), Vice-Chairman of the NPC, Dr. Min Bahadur Shrestha claimed to make the next five-year plan result-oriented and reality-based, and advance the all-round development of the country in a planned manner.

Stating that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have affected the achievement of the goals of the 15^th five-year plan, he said the weaknesses in planning and executions would be addressed by the upcoming 16^th plan.

According to him, the NPC is continuing various consultations and studies to prepare a five-year plan which will be continued till mid-February 2024.

"As the country will be upgraded to a developing nation from the Least developed country within the period of the 16^th plan, the NPC is making preparations to address the challenges of the upgrading. We need to make the transition to the developing country a smooth one, and for it we have been putting in our efforts," said Dr. Shrestha.

He also claimed that the new plan will include a strategy to prevent youth migration by connecting and promoting employment and production in the country. "We will get a great opportunity to bring in foreign investment when we are upgraded to the status of a developing country. We are developing a strategy to embrace such opportunities and face the challenges," he said.

The NPC informed that it has created a procedure to change the traditional thinking and methods seen in the budgeting process. A member of the NPC, Dr. Ram Kumar Phuyal, said that an action plan has been prepared to accept the amendments and modifications of the sovereign parliament in the government's policies programmes and budget.

According to him, preparations are being made to submit the action plan to the Cabinet.

The committee formed under the coordination of Dr. Phuyal has already prepared a report. It has recommended that the government's policies and programmes, principles and priorities of the budget and economic surveys should be submitted to the parliament earlier than the current time arrangement. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 December 2023.