Government policies and programs emphasize economic upliftment
The government has made public the policies and programs for the coming fiscal year with the aim of developing the agricultural sector, reviving the troubled economy, and expanding the physical infrastructure sector. Addressing a joint sitting of the federal parliament today, President Bidya Devi Bhandari made public the policies and programs of the government.
The 145-point program highlights the fact that remittance income has improved over the past few months and the growth in tourism revenue has been creating a positive environment, despite the external pressures on the economy due to the unfavorable conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Achieving economic growth and sustainability through the combination of fiscal and monetary policy, the government has outlined agricultural transport, energy, tourism, and information technology as the drivers of economic growth. The government has adopted a clear policy of building a resilient economy through special economic recovery programs and keeping inflation within the required limits.
The policy and program of the government are to implement projects from the provincial and local levels except for mega projects of national pride, transformation, and strategic importance. For that, the fiscal transfer will be made on a practical basis at the province and local levels.
The government plans to conserve, use and distribute natural resources equitably in coordination between the federal, provincial, and local levels. The basis of economic prosperity will be laid by linking local economies with the national economy.
The government aims to make policy, legal and systemic reforms to increase domestic production and industrialization by building quality infrastructure, promoting investment, and creating and facilitating the business environment. It will implement other suitable investment and construction structures of public-private partnership for the construction of large and strategically important infrastructure and industrial development.
The policy and program have given clear guidelines to include development programs and projects with the budget on the basis of national priorities. The budget will not be allocated for projects that have not been prepared beforehand and have not been included in the project bank.
The government has given priority to reviewing the existing tax system, creating a clean, transparent, and investment-friendly environment, and facilitating local revenue mobilization. It plans to facilitate credit flow in manufacturing and employment-oriented sectors.
For the first time, the government has addressed the issue of developing the agricultural sector as a major driver of economic growth and employment and formulating a new national agricultural policy. The special program will be implemented for a mid-term review of the Prime Minister's Agriculture Modernization Project, utilization of barren land, promotion of value chain-based collective and cooperative farming, and increase in production of crops like paddy, maize, potato, onion, and apple.
