Kathmandu. If we look at the history of budgets in Nepal, then Prime Minister Matrika Prasad Koirala’s then Finance Minister Shubarna Shamsher Rana brought the first budget of 52.5 million 29 thousand rupees. The first Finance Minister of Nepal, Subarna Shamsher, who started the budget, arranged for permanent sources of the state like income tax, property tax. He established his own currency in Nepal, determined the exchange rate, established more than 1,600 schools across the country in a single year for the educational revolution and managed the funds for those schools through his budget.
The budget brought by Subarna was truly golden in history. In recent years, there has been a race to make a big budget in Nepal, but an implementation-oriented golden budget has not been able to come. Programs are included in the budget, but they are not implemented properly. If we look at the race to make a big budget, we only need to look at the last 14 years. For 2068/069, the then Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari brought the budget on 31 Asad 2068.
The size of the budget he brought was 384 billion. By the time the size of such an annual budget reached 1315 billion in 2075/76, it seems that the size of the budget had reached 1793 billion in 2079/080. By the current fiscal year, the size of the budget has reached 1860 billion. Even though the size of the budget has increased, the expenditure ratio has not increased. If we look at the period of 14 years, it seems that 1084 billion was spent out of the total budget of 1278 billion in 2074/075. Budget expenditure in other years has not been effective. The budget that has been spent has also been spent sporadically on current expenditure, while the budget document of the Ministry of Finance shows that very little budget has been spent on capital expenditure.
In the current fiscal year, the government had brought a budget of 1860 billion. As the 8 months of budget implementation are about to begin, not even half of the total budget has been spent, that is, 8 trillion has been spent by Falgun 15. If we look at the percentage of expenditure, it is 43.02 percent. In fact, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel has already admitted through the mid-term review that this budget cannot be spent.
He has reduced this budget by about 2 trillion saying that it cannot be spent. In the event that the current budget cannot even be implemented, the National Planning Commission has asked for a budget of around 19 trillion. This year too, the Planning Commission has approved the process of bringing a large budget, opening the door for the Ministry of Finance.
Joint Secretary of the Planning Commission, Harisharan Pudasaini, says that the ceiling for budget preparation was given by analyzing sources based on uncertainty rather than competition. He said, “When setting the budget ceiling, not only the expenditure is considered. What is the economic situation of the country? How high will our indicators reach in the coming days? How much revenue can be raised? How much foreign aid will come? The ceiling is given after analyzing all these things. The budget should be made within that ceiling.” However, he said that the current budget formulation and expenditure system formula are not correct. According to Pudasaini, there is a problem of including unprepared plans in the budget and not spending on such plans. He said that the projects that have been prepared should be included in the budget in the upcoming budget and the problems in the expenditure system should also be resolved.
How is the budget homework being done?
## With the Planning Commission giving the ceiling, the Ministry of Finance has formed a budget writing committee under the coordination of Budget Division Chief Shree Krishna Nepal to write the budget for the fiscal year 2082/083. The committee has already started work. The Ministry of Finance has prepared an action plan for budget preparation.
##
## According to the details received from the Ministry of Finance, all agencies will have to submit the policies, programs and indicators including expected achievements to be included in the budget for the coming year from 1 to 20 Chaitra. After that, the ministry has a work schedule of calling for public information from 15 Chaitra to 10 Baisakh and collecting suggestions. Formal discussions on the budget will begin from 16 Chaitra. Initially, a work schedule has been made to discuss the budget policies and programs with the Planning Commission. The commission has a work schedule for discussions on 22 Chaitra. A report will be prepared after discussing the suggestions received from the Revenue Advisory Committee in the same meeting.
The deadline for thematic ministries to submit budgets in the Ministry-Based Budget Information System (LMBIS) is 15 Chaitra. There is a schedule for theoretical discussions with the Finance Minister and ministers and secretaries of the concerned ministries from 20 to 22 Chaitra. The Ministry of Finance is going to organize provincial-level discussions with parliamentarians on the objectives, priorities and programs of the budget from 28 to 26 Chaitra. A meeting of the Intergovernmental Finance Council has also been scheduled during this period.
There is a schedule for discussions with the provincial ministries of economic affairs and planning from 24 Chaitra to 15 Baisakh, focusing on conditional grants. During this period, clause-wise discussions on budget, programs and expenses will be held with all ministries in the conference hall of the Ministry of Finance. From 2 to 20 Baisakh, the size of loans and grants received under foreign sources is scheduled to be determined and included in the budget. The Ministry of Finance plans to collect suggestions from political party representatives, former finance ministers, former governors, former finance secretaries and experts from 26 Chaitra to 25 Baisakh.
The draft of the principles and priorities of the appropriation bill for the coming year is scheduled to be prepared by 10 Baisakh and submitted to both houses of the federal parliament by 15 Baisakh.
Similarly, the target is to finalize the technical assistance and assistance to be mobilized through other non-governmental organizations by 25 Baisakh. The Ministry of Finance has a work plan to finalize the economic survey on 30 Baisakh, while the first draft of the budget statement to be presented in the upcoming fiscal year 082/083 is scheduled to be prepared on 1 Jestha. The Revenue Advisory Committee will submit its final report to the Finance Minister on the same day.
The budget briefing is scheduled to be held before the President on 10 Baisakh. The initial draft of the expenditure estimate (including the three-year expenditure estimate) will be prepared on the same day. The red book related to the expenditure estimate will be sent to the press for printing on 12 Jestha. It is mentioned that the financial bill, appropriation bill and budget statement will be finalized on 13 Jestha. Discussions will be held in the Planning Commission and the Council of Ministers on 14 Jestha.
The financial bill, appropriation bill, national debt recovery bill and loan and guarantee bill are scheduled to be sent for printing on the same day. Similarly, it is mentioned that the budget statement and source booklet will also be printed on the same day. The Ministry of Finance is scheduled to present the economic survey, progress reports of the institutions, and progress reports of the ministries to both houses of the federal parliament on 14th Jestha itself, and to present the budget to both houses of the federal parliament on 15th Jestha.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्