Industry Minister pledges to promote herb industries

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, has said the government has proceeded towards the formulation of ten new laws based on the submissions of the business community.

Inaugurating the 18th AGM of Nepal Herbs and Herbal Products Association here today, the Minister pledged to introduce those laws before the Nepal Investment Summit scheduled to take place on April 28-29.

The Minister assured of further efforts from the government to promote industries based on natural resources.

According to Association Chair Prem Raj Tiwari, above 1,000 people are currently engaged in herbs industries and one million Nepali are employed in such enterprises. Such industries with Rs 15 billion investment witness annual transactions of approximately Rs five billion.

He urged the government to implement an investment-friendly policy targeting herb production, expansion of herb farming, herb trade fairs, technology handover, marketing, and so on. He also wanted the government to establish an international standard lab for herbs and herb products.

Similarly, the Minister has pledged to maintain a balance in the provincial budget allocations in the upcoming fiscal year.

In his address to a programme organised by the Sudurpaschimanchal Sarokar Manch ( Forum) here today, the Minister vowed to address concerns that less budget is allocated to Sudurpachim (Far-west) Province.

“Though there are ample potentialities for achieving prosperity for the Sudurpaschim Province, it is relatively lagging in terms of development,” he said, urging all the stakeholders concerned to explore its causes and solutions as well.