Govt presents Rs 73b advance expenditure bill as interim budget

Finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat presented an advance expenditure bill to act as an interim budget of Rs 73.5 billion for the new fiscal year 2065-66, which will be replaced by a full-fledged budget to be presented by new government later.

The interim arrangement about the budget allowing the government to collect revenue and spend its resources was presented at the constituent assembly Monday. The full-fledged budget could not be presented due to delay in formation of new government.

The tax plans, and economic policies of the budget presented last year will get continuity until a complete budget is presented by the new government. According to Minister Mahat, current fiscal year recorded 5.6 percent GDP growth – highest in the last seven years. Agriculture sector registered 5.65 percent growth while non-agriculture sector registered 5.57 percent growth.

The gross domestic saving increased to 11.5 percent, up from 9.7 percent last year. The government hopes that revenue generation by the end of this fiscal year would increase by 22 percent more than initial estimation.

Likewise, the foreign assistance has substantially increased from Rs 37.2 billion in the last fiscal year to Rs 57.6 billion in the current fiscal year. The government debt, during this period, has decreased from Rs 329 billion to 324 billion. During the current financial year, the general expenditure of the government increased by 24 percent and the capital expenditure by 31.6 percent.

Dr Mahat also expressed hope that the new government will take into consideration the demand raised by the government employees for salary increment.

The new government, possibly led by CPN (Maoist), will adjust the expenditure made during this period while tabling the full-fledged financial bill.
Source: Nepalnews.com