Government establishes Earthquake Revival fund worth Rs 100 arba; Economic growth of 2 pc in current fiscal year

Ministry of Finance (MoF) had organized a press met yesterday at MoF, Singhadurbar to outline current economic indicators of the country.

In the program Finance Minister Mr. Bishnu Prasad Poudel outlined the major programs laid by the government to help the victims of the earthquake and tackle the problems created by the blockade.

Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal, Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), high ranking government officials, representative of various private sectors, CEOs commercial banks and other stakeholders were present in the program.

Finance Minister Poudel highlighted the following points at the program:

• The economic growth for the fiscal year 2072/73 is expected to be around 2%.
• As of Poush 17 the expenditure of government stands at Rs 155.49 arba which is 18.97% of the budget for the current fiscal year.
• Rs 112.81 arba tax was collected by the end of Mangsir which is down by 21% as compared to the same time period of the last fiscal year. This collection is Rs 50 arba less than the expected collection in this time period of the current fiscal year.
• The export and Import stands at Rs 26 arba and Rs 214 arba respectively as of Mangsir 2072. The export and import has decreased by 27.66 % and 33.76 % respectively as compared to the same time period of the last fiscal year.
• The government has distributed Rs 10,000/family to earthquake victims to purchase warm clothes. Rs 6.2 arba has been disbursed for the purpose.
• Government working to provide Rs 3 lakh in concessional loan through group collateral.
• Government has reached agreement of Rs 90 arba among the amount committed by the international donors through International conference for reconstruction.
• The government is extending deadline of Poush 2072 pertaining to the tax filing.
• The tax refund will be done as per the regular schedule without further delay.
• Government has established Earthquake Revival Fund worth Rs 100 arba. The money from this fund will be used to revive various sectors affected by the earthquake

Q & A Session

In a Q & A session followed by the press meet, journalist requested to clarify the statements made by Deputy and Minister for foreign affairs, Mr. Kamal Thapa. Finance minister compared the ongoing black market as the mushrooms during the rainy seasons. Mr. Poudel stated parallel economics and black market in any form will not be tolerated by the government. In a program yesterday, Minister Thapa had stated current economy of Nepal has been sustained by black market during this crisis.

Governor of the NRB defended the process to acquire concessional loan. He stressed that loan is not a grant so would require some process to through before being approved. The government had announced concessional loan to the victims of the earthquake in additional to grant of Rs 2 lakhs, yet to be disbursed, and Rs 15,000 disbursed immediately after the earthquake.

Dr. Khatiwada of NPC stated that the survey has begun from the Dolakha district in an effort to distribute a grant of Rs 2 lakh for building homes. He mentioned that robust check and balance must be put in place so that only genuine victims of earthquake can claim this grant.

The officials from MoF said that the buying and selling the stakes of Ncell would happen as per the existing laws and regulations of the country.