Budget a guiding document for every sector: Finance Minister Sharma

Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has claimed that the budget is a guiding document for every sector.

Responding to the queries raised by the lawmakers in the National Assembly meeting on Wednesday, Minister Sharma informed that the budget was increased by 9.68 percent this year. Generally, the budget is increased by 10 percent every year.

Resources must be mobilized well for boosting production and productivity, he said, adding that the budget has focused well on the commercialization and mechanization of agriculture

However, cooperation from all three layers of government is imperative to fully explore agricultural potential, the Minister argued.

The priority to agriculture is given both in policy and programs and the budget, he said, adding that the time has come for us to increase industries to prop up the national economy.

Moreover, the Minister said the government would provide incentives for export but not grant them.

He argued that the budget was focused on the creation of employment and the solution to present problems relating to it. The scheme of pension for farmers was raised for respecting farmers and agriculture.

As the COVID-19 subsided, there is a huge potential for tourism. If the infrastructures were set up in the Sagarmatha area, it would help boost tourism, he asserted.

Similarly, he informed that the budget had incorporated the issues of distributing land ownership certificates to the landless ones and prioritizing cooperatives to link with production.

It is not an inadequate budget allocated to the education sector, he said.

An adequate and utilizable budget was allocated to the national pride projects. The budget to be sent to the lower tiers of government was increased by 11 percent, Minister Sharma made clear.