'Nepal needs productivity master plan'

Kathmandu, June 26: The Asian Productivity (APO) has stressed the need for a robust national productivity master plan for Nepal in order to increase productivity and attract more investment.

“In order to make the country ready for the future, make it able to meet the challenges of rapidly changing world and enhance competitiveness, Nepal should have a productivity master plan,” said APO Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn in an interaction with the journalists on Tuesday.

He is in the capital on a three-day visit to meet senior policymakers and government officials to understand how the APO Specific National Programme (SPO) projects could better address national socio-economic development need of Nepal.

He said that the master plan would involve a public-private partnership (PPP) approach.

“The APO believes that a methodical, systematic master plan must be in place before related activities are undertaken by the National Productivity and Economic Development Center (NPEDC) and relevant private sector organisations,” he said.

According to Dr. Kanoktanaporn, the APO will engage government leaders under Specific National Programme (SNP) that includes a macroeconomic policy advisory dimension in areas such as productivity master plans, productivity, quality and innovation frameworks, and strategic action plans to meet the overarching objectives of the government of Nepal.

He said that the APO is committed to contributing to the socio-economic development of Nepal, specially under the current progressive-minded stable government.

Dr. Kanoktanaporn held discussion with Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Matrika Prasad Yadav and Secretary of the Prime Ministsr’s Office Lal Shankar Ghimire on the need to ramp up NPEDC capabilities and devise a national productivity master plan.

“The three conluded that there was scope for more targeted policy advisory services and need to develop a master plan through cooperation between NPEDC, Industrial Development Management Ltd (IDM) and the APO, particularly on production and productivity-related matters. The government has welcomed APO expertise in the new phase of development under the stable government,” said the APO in a statement.

The Secretary-General has encouraged Nepal to move toward becoming a globally digital competitive economy. “Digital competitiveness is not only an economic tool but also a policy objective for all countries in this new era,” he said.

According to him, inadequate knowledge, poor technology and lack of future readiness are the reasons behind Nepal’s low productivity.

Nepal is the country with the lowest productivity in the South Asia region.

According to a recent report of the World Bank, Nepal needs a comprehensive approach that will both boost investment and accelerate productivity through breaking down policy barriers, building new sources of growth, revitalizing existing sources of growth and investing in people.

Established in 1961, the APO is an intergovernmental organisation committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region and contributes to the sustainable socio-economic development of the region through policy advisory services, acting as a think tank, and undertaking smart initiatives in the industry, agriculture, service and public sector, reads a statement of the APO.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 June 2018.