Populist budget has more subsidies, grants
KATHMANDU, JUL 15 -
With top priority given to education, infrastructure and the agriculture sector, the budget for the next fiscal year 2011-12 is 25.67 percent bigger in size than the previous one.
The budget that comes in a new format this time, introduces the new classification code—financing. The government introduced the financing heading to keep its financing to various projects and programmes from the current fiscal year.
Continuing the past trend, education is being given the biggest chunk of the budget—Rs 63.9 billion—followed by local development—Rs 44.9 billion. The ministries of physical planning and works, health and home are other ministries that are getting a good share, according to Finance Ministry sources.
Sources said a reflection of the current political equation can be seen in the budget as major pet projects of the two coalition partners—CPN (UML) and UCPN (Maoist)—have been included.
The Maoists have been demanding programmes like youth self employment, promotion of low priced shops, a Muslim Commission and cooperatives in villages, employment in each household, Prachanda Marga (road) connecting Mangalpur-Shukranagar of Chitwan and budget allocation for families of martyrs and conflict victims.
Under the youth self employment programme, each youth will get loans up to Rs 200,000 without collateral.
“Afno Gaun Afai Banaun (Let’s make our villages ourselves), a popular programme of the CPN (UML) will be given continuity,” sources said.
With more money being pumped into the social sector, subsidies and grant, the budget looks populist. There has been a heavy rise in the social security budget—Rs 26.64 billion from the Rs 22.67 billion in the current fiscal year. “The grant to local bodies and social services has also increased to Rs 113.68 billion as compared to Rs 91.80 billion this year,” the sources said. The social service grant has gone up to Rs 82.28 billion from Rs 68.35 billion earlier. Subsidy has also gone up to Rs 7.1 billion from the Rs 5.44 billion earlier.
The budget will also be announcing a number of social programmes, the sources said. It has increased the amount of scholarship for higher education for Kamalaris, extended the one-family-one-employment programme from the Karnali region to Jajarkot, Achham, Bajhang and Bajura.
The agriculture sector is getting a whopping Rs 29.73 billion as compared to 22.76 billion this year. The government will start a commercialisation programme for agriculture under the slogan of ‘Let’s increase production, be self-reliant,’ to make the country self-reliant on food and other agriculture products within the next three years. Agriculture related programmes will get 15 percent of the grant that will go to village development committees. The budget also seeks to make the country self-reliant on meat within the next three years.
In a move that would provide relief to farmers, subsidies on fertilisers has been increased to Rs 3 billion. The government has also promised subsidy for purchasing improved seeds. The government will exempt cooperatives that import agriculture processing equipment from customs duty.
Workers in urban centres will also get concession in customs duty if they import public vehicles under the transportation cooperatives.
The budget seeks to prepare a national rural electrification master plan to provide electricity to all households within the next five years. A big hydropower project will be developed with involvement of all interested Nepali nationals.
For the private sector, the government will declare the industrial sector as peace zone while proper security will be provided. The budget seeks to make Nepal an excellent tourism destination in the world within the next 15 years, according to tourism ministry sources.
Source: Kantipur
With top priority given to education, infrastructure and the agriculture sector, the budget for the next fiscal year 2011-12 is 25.67 percent bigger in size than the previous one.
The budget that comes in a new format this time, introduces the new classification code—financing. The government introduced the financing heading to keep its financing to various projects and programmes from the current fiscal year.
Continuing the past trend, education is being given the biggest chunk of the budget—Rs 63.9 billion—followed by local development—Rs 44.9 billion. The ministries of physical planning and works, health and home are other ministries that are getting a good share, according to Finance Ministry sources.
Sources said a reflection of the current political equation can be seen in the budget as major pet projects of the two coalition partners—CPN (UML) and UCPN (Maoist)—have been included.
The Maoists have been demanding programmes like youth self employment, promotion of low priced shops, a Muslim Commission and cooperatives in villages, employment in each household, Prachanda Marga (road) connecting Mangalpur-Shukranagar of Chitwan and budget allocation for families of martyrs and conflict victims.
Under the youth self employment programme, each youth will get loans up to Rs 200,000 without collateral.
“Afno Gaun Afai Banaun (Let’s make our villages ourselves), a popular programme of the CPN (UML) will be given continuity,” sources said.
With more money being pumped into the social sector, subsidies and grant, the budget looks populist. There has been a heavy rise in the social security budget—Rs 26.64 billion from the Rs 22.67 billion in the current fiscal year. “The grant to local bodies and social services has also increased to Rs 113.68 billion as compared to Rs 91.80 billion this year,” the sources said. The social service grant has gone up to Rs 82.28 billion from Rs 68.35 billion earlier. Subsidy has also gone up to Rs 7.1 billion from the Rs 5.44 billion earlier.
The budget will also be announcing a number of social programmes, the sources said. It has increased the amount of scholarship for higher education for Kamalaris, extended the one-family-one-employment programme from the Karnali region to Jajarkot, Achham, Bajhang and Bajura.
The agriculture sector is getting a whopping Rs 29.73 billion as compared to 22.76 billion this year. The government will start a commercialisation programme for agriculture under the slogan of ‘Let’s increase production, be self-reliant,’ to make the country self-reliant on food and other agriculture products within the next three years. Agriculture related programmes will get 15 percent of the grant that will go to village development committees. The budget also seeks to make the country self-reliant on meat within the next three years.
In a move that would provide relief to farmers, subsidies on fertilisers has been increased to Rs 3 billion. The government has also promised subsidy for purchasing improved seeds. The government will exempt cooperatives that import agriculture processing equipment from customs duty.
Workers in urban centres will also get concession in customs duty if they import public vehicles under the transportation cooperatives.
The budget seeks to prepare a national rural electrification master plan to provide electricity to all households within the next five years. A big hydropower project will be developed with involvement of all interested Nepali nationals.
For the private sector, the government will declare the industrial sector as peace zone while proper security will be provided. The budget seeks to make Nepal an excellent tourism destination in the world within the next 15 years, according to tourism ministry sources.
Source: Kantipur
