Provinces unveil annual budget for the FY 2023/24

On Friday, six provinces presented their annual income and expenditure statements in their respective Provincial Assemblies. Koshi Province government had reveal its budget for the fiscal year 2023/24 by means of an ordinance on Thursday.

In total, the seven provinces unveiled a combined budget of Rs. 279.57 billion. Among them, Bagmati Province stood out with the largest budget amounting to Rs. 62.70 billion. Bagmati Province announced this substantial budget, along with an expenditure estimate of Rs. 62.70 billion. On the other hand, Sudurpaschim Province had the smallest budget, which amounted to Rs. 29.26 billion.

Karnali Province presented a budget larger than Sudurpaschim Province and nearly on par with Gandaki Province. Provinces have reduced the size of their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year compared to the current year.

The government of Koshi Province has disclosed its budget for the fiscal year 2023/24, revealing total expenses amounting to Rs 36.24 billion. During the budget announcement, Himmat Kumar Karki, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Koshi Province, stated that Rs 18.23 billion has been designated for capital expenditure, while Rs 14.39 billion has been allocated for recurrent expenditure.

In a similar vein, the Madhesh Province government has also unveiled its projected income and expenditure estimates for the upcoming fiscal year, amounting to Rs 44.11 billion. Sanjay Kumar Yadav, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Madhesh Province, presented the financial plan on Friday.

Of the total amount, Madhesh Province has assigned Rs 18.21 billion for recurrent expenditure and Rs 25.79 billion for development expenditure.

Similarly, Bagmati Province has unveiled the largest budget among seven provinces amounting to Rs. 62.70 billion for the next fiscal year 2023/24.

Announcing the budget for fiscal year 2023/24, Minister for the Economic Affairs and Planning, Bahadur Singh Lama unveiled the budget, which is lower than that of the current year by around Rs 8 billion.

The Bagmati Province government has earmarked Rs 26.64 billion for recurrent expenditure, while Rs 35.50 billion has been allocated for development projects.

Likewise, Gandaki Province has declared a budget of Rs 33.42 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. This amount is Rs 1.50 billion lower than the expenses assigned for the current fiscal year.

During the budget announcement, Jit Prakash Ale, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Gandaki Province, revealed that Rs 12.13 billion has been allocated for recurring expenses, while Rs 20.19 billion will be utilized for capital expenses.

In the same way, the Lumbini Province government has shared also their plans for the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. They have set aside Rs 40.47 billion, which is slightly lower than the Rs 42.43 billion they allocated for the current fiscal year. Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Dhan Bahadur Maski, revealed that out of the total budget, Rs 13.63 billion will be used for day-to-day expenses, known as recurrent expenditure, while Rs 23.25 billion will be dedicated to important investments and development projects, known as capital expenditure.

Moreover, in the fiscal year 2023/24, Karnali Province will receive expenses of Rs 33.37 billion. The budget was revealed by Bed Raj Singh, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Karnali Province, on Friday. Out of this amount, Rs 19.97 billion has been set aside for development projects, while over Rs 9 billion will be used for recurrent expenditure.

Similarly, the government of Sudurpaschim Province has planned to spend Rs 29.26 billion in the upcoming fiscal year. Naresh Kumar Shahi, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Sudurpaschim Province, announced the provincial budget on Friday. The provincial government has allocated Rs 9.59 billion for recurrent expenses and Rs 17.02 billion for development projects.