Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun has said the budget unveiled by the government for the upcoming fiscal year 2024/25 has received good comments.

At a programme organised by Nepal Association of Financial Journalists (NAFIJ) here today to hold discussions on budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2024/25, Minister Pun shared that stakeholders have made their comments on the budget terming it a balanced document. “Slight criticism on budget is natural but most of the sectors have commented stating that the government has brought a balanced budget,” he explained, adding most of the sectors and bodies concerned have accepted the budget as it was brought in a realistic manner. The Finance Minister stated that problems have been reported in the public financial management in the recent period. “Amount of internal loan is increasing and it is challenging to gather sources in this situation.

It is the time for all to think towards reducing current expenditure and increasing capital expenditure”, he mentioned. The Finance Minister laid emphasis on the need that prioritized agriculture, tourism, information technology and energy should play major role in economic growth. He added that tax rate on raw materials used by steel industries was changed on the basis of different government studies. Similarly, Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Bam Bahadur Mishra, said brining programmes related to finance sector reform in budget was admirable, stressing that Nepal Rastra Bank was ready to take leadership for the implementation of such programmes. Different issues including promotion of digital payment, central bank currency, green finance were incorporated in the budget which would held the NRB’s programmes, he underlined.