Budget to prioritize energy, infrastructure, tourism and agriculture

KATHMANDU, JUNE 12:

The government is to accord priority to the development of energy, infrastructure, tourism and agriculture sectors in the budget for the next fiscal year.

Finance Minister Shankar Prasad Koirala outlined the priorities of the budget for the Fiscal Year 2013/14 while speaking at a discussion programme on the expectation of the private sector from the next fiscal year's budget organized by Independent Business News (IBN) here today.

The discussion programme was organized with the cooperation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Himalaya Trans-border Trade Association and Nepal Readymade Garment Industries Association.

Finance Minister Koirala said that top priority would be given in next fiscal year's budget to appropriately promoting the energy sector as it is the prerequisite to economic growth.

"Energy is the starting point for industrialization. Since the industrial sector is badly affected by the consistent power cuts, the first priority would be given to the development of hydropower in the coming budget," Finance Minister Koirala explained.

Similarly, Finance Minister Koirala said that infrastructure such as roads, transport and the Special Economic Zones have been put under second priority. Modernization and commercialization of agriculture, and tourism development have also been accorded high importance in the next fiscal year's budget, he added.

Poverty reduction, creating employment opportunities, import displacement and export promotion would be taken into account while formulating the budget, the Finance Minister said, adding that the full budget would be announced within mid-July.

The Finance Minister also stressed that efforts would be made through the budget to address the problems faced by the private sector.

Executive Director of the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economy and Environment (SAWTEE), Ratnakar Adhikari, suggested that the budget for the new fiscal year should address the issues such as human resource development, increasing competitive capacity of Nepali products, expansion of technical capacity, attracting domestic and foreign investment, industry-friendly policy arrangements, trade facilitation and infrastructure development.

President of the FNCCI Revenue Advisory Committee, Jagadish Rathi, said that the country's economy could not be sustained only by remittances and the revenues raised from import of goods, so the budget should focus on increasing domestic production and import substitution.

IBN Managing Director Hridaya Raj Gautam said that the government and the private sector should work hand in hand for nation's development and the discussion was held with presenting the private sector's views and concerns before the government.

Other participants underlined the need for arresting the inflation that is in double digit and making special arrangements for boosting production of exportable cash crops and strongly curbing activities like bandas and general strikes that vitiate the industry-friendly environment.

Source: THT