Kathmandu. Former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has said that the private sector is a big body in the economic sector and it is positive to be encouraged by the budget.
Speaking at a post-budget discussion programme organised by the Association of Economic Journalists of Nepal (NAFIJ) here on Saturday, he said although some policy aspects of the budget were good, criticism was needed in essence.
He said that some suggestions and criticism are natural. He said that although the structure, expansion of the economy, etc. are a continuation of the past, the positive things cannot be denied. He said the government should also pay attention to the economic growth rate and the impact on the lives of the people.
He said the government needs to focus on achieving its goals. He said that the government needs to pay attention to change the country and balance when imports are 10 times more than exports.
Stating that the iron industry in Nepal has increased to 37, there is a need to pay attention to how much raw material has come for these projects and how much processing has been opened by opening companies, he said.
He said that new things have happened, but they have not been able to do as much as they should have.
“What this budget has done is important for the private sector to engage in manufacturing. Resources and linking with farmers were not seen anywhere in this budget. Nepal’s current economic system needs to be restructured. It’s a very important thing. I may wonder why I didn’t, but now the powerful finance minister, made up of two big parties, should have done it. I was that kind of finance minister,” he said.
He said that the budget is realistic. So far, Rs 12.17 billion has been spent in the current fiscal year and rs 2.45 trillion will be spent in the coming days, he said. “In the current fiscal year, rs 1.5 trillion will be spent. On this basis, there is no qualitative basis for spending the budget for the next fiscal year. It will increase from Rs 1.5 trillion to Rs 1.6 trillion in the next fiscal year, but it will not yield results unless there is quality expenditure,” he said.
Businessmen and bankers have not been spared, he said. He said that when he speaks on this issue, he says that he has come against the private sector. He suggested that the government should pay attention to this as there is no condition to take loan from the bank.
According to him, only Rs 91 billion has been spent on development while normal expenses are difficult to meet. He said that the economic growth rate was slightly higher at the time of ending load shedding, but it could not be done after that.
“Investing 3 per cent will lead to a growth rate of 1 per cent. In this way, if you invest 18 percent, you will get 6 percent growth. Can the target of economic growth be achieved by increasing this? He also said that he believes that the monetary policy will also address something.
There is an additional budget of Rs 400 billion when Rs 1.6 trillion has not been spent. He said that the economic growth rate is 4.4 percent.
There is a need to pay attention to the areas of labour mobilization and youth mobilization, he said.
He said that there should be a program to represent the farmers in this budget, but it could not be done. “Unless there is talk of modernization and tool factories in agriculture, how can development take place and industrial policy related to farmers is necessary. We also need to focus on marketing,” he said.
Agriculture is the main sector for Nepal’s development, followed by tourism and hydropower, he said. He said that the country cannot move forward by selling electricity and people, so it should be reduced.
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