Government Prepares Law to Fix Monetary Policy Announcement Date to Shrawan 1

The government has initiated legal preparations to fix the release date of the monetary policy to Shrawan 1 (mid-July) starting from the next fiscal year. Consensus on this timeline was reached during a section by section discussion on the 'Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2058' amendment bill by the Finance Committee under the House of Representatives.

The proposal aims to set a fixed date for the monetary policy announcement, mirroring the fixed schedule currently used for publicizing the national budget. During the meeting, lawmakers also passed several other modified proposals related to the financial sector.

In the discussions, representatives from the Nepal Bankers' Association and chief executive officers of various banks voiced dissatisfaction over the provisions in Section 100 of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act. They called for amendments, arguing that the existing rules allow officials to be disqualified over minor disciplinary actions.

However, the parliamentary committee stated that it could not immediately accept the proposed changes to Section 100 because the current amendment bill does not open that section for revision. Under Rule 113 of the House of Representatives Regulations, any proposed amendments must strictly align with the specific subjects and principles of the original bill, creating a technical barrier to addressing the bankers' demands right now.

The Finance Committee added that it plans to resolve these legal complexities in the future to better address the concerns of the financial sector.