This news article describes the economic progress, policy reforms, and key achievements of the government during its first 100 days in office with a target of expanding the economy to Rs 100 kharba.
The various steps taken by the government to revive and improve the economy has started showing positive results. In the first 100 days of the government led by the National Independent Party, there is a visible improvement in tax collection and the overall structure of the economy. The confidence of the private sector is growing, investment is expanding, and donor agencies are also trusting the country more.
The government, which has a two-thirds majority support, has created an investment friendly environment. Based on the demands of the private sector, the process of scrapping more than a dozen old and impractical laws has been started. Deleting unnecessary offices and improving tax laws has helped to build more trust among businesses.
Dr. Swarnim Wagle took charge as the Finance Minister on Chaitra 13 and promised to take concrete steps for economic recovery and good governance. He decided to begin the process to cancel 15 old laws that were causing problems for citizens and private businesses. This decision was made based on high-level economic reform reports and recommendations from business groups.
The Dream of a Rs 100 Kharba Economy
The current government led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah has put its main focus on creating a Rs 100 kharba economy. Finance Minister Dr. Wagle has also made this a top priority. The government believes that the size of the economy must be increased for real development. This plan was also mentioned in the election commitment paper of the National Independent Party during the parliament election of Falgun 21.
The Finance Minister has repeated that the government has started working in a mission mode to grow the economy through energy, tourism, ICT, agriculture, infrastructure, and institutional reforms. The budget for next fiscal year is also focused on this. The party’s paper had set a target to grow the economy to over 100 billion dollars in 5 to 7 years.
The goal is to achieve an economic growth rate of at least 7 percent and increase the per capita income of Nepalis to three thousand dollars in 5 to 7 years. Currently, Nepal is in the low-income category according to World Bank standards. The government aims to bring it to a middle-income country level within 5 years.
The government has given high priority to good governance and public services. Instead of waiting in lines, they are implementing the concept of “line hoina online”. A meritocracy system is being used and government bodies are being kept free from political party interference.
In the budget for the next fiscal year, the government has set five priorities. The first priority is good governance, second is economic recovery, third is internal and external connectivity, fourth is social investment, and fifth is soft power expansion through tourism, culture, and history. The government believes that political stability will help to lead the country towards economic growth.
The budget has also addressed the short-term and long-term impacts of the Middle East war on remittance, fuel prices, and chemical fertilizers. The public holidays on Saturday and Sunday are designed for this purpose. The problems of slow economic growth, unemployment, and low loan taking by the private sector despite high bank deposits are being slowly solved.
Citizen Participation in Making the Budget
To make sure citizens can directly participate in making the budget, the government launched a special portal. The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers started this digital platform to collect feedback for the next year’s policies and budget.
This portal helped citizens, experts, and policy makers from inside and outside the country to share their suggestions. This system has reduced the gap between citizens and the state. The suggestions were reviewed seriously and some of them were even implemented in the policies.
The Finance Minister’s Mission Mode
Finance Minister Dr. Wagle is working in a mission mode, focusing on results rather than just speeches. To achieve economic goals in time, the working style of government has been changed. Traditional ways are broken, and digital tracking, direct monitoring, and strong legal reforms have been introduced.
The government is using performance indicators and digital monitoring to track the progress of projects. To boost the confidence of the private sector, policy obstacles have been removed. Unnecessary administrative costs are being cut down and small retail projects are being stopped to implement plans only through open competition. The target is to shift the import-based economy to a production and entrepreneurship-based one.
Relief in Pension and Salaries
Another major work done by the Finance Ministry is the launch of the e-pension verification system for over three and a half lakh pensioners. The system created by the Office of the Controller General has ended the hassle of physical verification and bank selection. This will also reduce the bank commission cost for the government by around Rs 15 crore annually.
Also, from Baisakh 16, the government has started paying salaries to federal civil servants every 15 days as a pilot project. The Finance Minister started this by sending payment orders through the Computerized Government Accounting System to distributing salaries. This decision was made to increase consumption and demand in the market, helping small businesses with cash flow.
To make the tax system transparent, the Inland Revenue Department has linked taxpayers with an annual turnover of over Rs 20 crore to the Central Billing Monitoring System.
Budget for Expanding the Middle Class
The Finance Minister presented a budget of Rs 21 kharba 14 arba for the next fiscal year with the goal to expand the middle class and help poor people. Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces have been given special priority.
Out of the total budget, Rs 12 kharba 70 arba 58 crore is for current expenditure, Rs 4 kharba 31 arba 10 crore for capital expenditure, and Rs 4 kharba 22 arba 64 crore for financial management. The government expects to collect Rs 14 kharba 5 arba 31 crore from revenue and Rs 61 arba 74 crore from foreign grants. The deficit of Rs 6 kharba 57 arba 29 crore will be met through Rs 2 kharba 47 arba 28 crore foreign loan and Rs 4 kharba 10 arba internal loan.
The government believes that economic growth will reach 7 percent and inflation will remain within 6 percent. Income tax exemption limits have been doubled, and individuals only have to pay 1 percent tax for income up to 10 lakh. The maximum tax rate for personal income is also reduced by 10 percentage points.
Strong Economic Indicators
In the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, Nepalis working abroad have sent Rs 19 kharba 16 arba 90 crore in remittances. In Baisakh alone, Rs 2 kharba 57 arba 49 crore remittance came in. Remittances in US dollar terms increased by 33 percent to reach 13.26 billion.
Total foreign exchange reserves reached Rs 37 kharba 4 arba 55 crore (24.19 billion US dollars) by the end of Baisakh. The current account is in surplus by Rs 729 arba 28 crore, and the balance of payments is also in surplus by Rs 863 arba 56 crore.
Fuel Cuts and Governance Reforms
To save public money, the Finance Ministry decided to cut down fuel allowances for government officials. Secretaries and high-level officials who used to get 125 liters of fuel now get only 70 liters. Joint secretaries who received 100 liters now get 50 liters. Ministers and constitutional officials will continue to get fuel as per existing laws.
Under the government’s 100-point governance reform list, the budget has been released to strengthen the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police. A digital system with QR codes has also been implemented to handle public complaints.
To reduce the burden on citizens due to Middle East fuel price hikes, the government gave a 50 percent discount on import customs duty and infrastructure development fee on diesel, petrol, and kerosene.
Furthermore, 651 seized motorcycles and 41 four-wheelers at customs points were given to security agencies. In international diplomacy, the government initiated a grant process of 2 billion 85 crore Japanese Yen for the Tribhuvan International Airport upgrade. The committee formed to give recommendations for the restructuring of Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) has also submitted its report, which is being implemented now.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
