‘Govt making efforts to fulfill responsibility of economic development’

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has asserted that the incumbent government was effortful to fulfill the responsibility of economic development and prosperity in the country.

Inaugurating the 73rd annual general assembly of Nepal Chamber of Commerce here today, DPM Shrestha assured the government was very serious about promoting and protecting the private sector for economic progress.

According to him, the major tasks of the incumbent government include capital formation, expediting capital expenditure and reducing trade deficit.

The DPM viewed that the need of the hour is to reduce trade deficit by increasing capital and enhancing the implementation capacity of capital expenditure for which, he saw the need for open discussion and debate between the government and private sector.

Stating that the government should roll out policies, programme and budget to give impetus to economic activities, DPM Shrestha called for ending the idea of running the State at the behest of remittance, revenue and foreign aid.

Similarly, Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Rajendra Malla emphasized achieving economic prosperity through effective coordination between the country’s budget and monetary policy.
He opined that the upcoming budget be objective and achievable besides aiming for an increase in revenue collection by expanding economic activities. He suggested that instead of increasing the tax rate, the scope of the tax should be expanded and the PAN card should be provided.

“Although there are some signs of improvement in the external factor of the economy, the internal indicators continue to slow down,” he shared. The trade deficit was higher this fiscal year since the exports remained very low compared to imports, he assessed.

He observed that it would be challenging for the government to achieve 6 per cent economic growth due to failure to spend capital expenditure and infuse investment in the productive sector.

Malla spoke of the need to increase production and productivity in all sectors to make the country self-reliant. The President also recommended attracting domestic and foreign investors in agriculture, tourism and information technology sectors which have comparative advantages.