Kathmandu, Apr. 30

Preparations were underway to bring in new programmes and policies in the next fiscal budget programmes so as to help propel the economic prosperity of the country.

Talking to The Rising Nepal, Deependra Bahadur Kshetri, Vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC), said that the government was serious on including new programmes and policies in the next fiscal budget with the view to attain two-digit economic growth in the country.

"Now with almost completion of peace and constitution drafting processes, the time has come to push for economic development and the government has also focused on it," Kshetri said.

He also said that the government would bring in new budget to promote the investment year.

Referring to the declaration of the Nepal Investment Year 2012/13, he said that the government has identified some major sectors of investment and working on some 50 large projects to attract foreign investment.

"Though the earlier budgets focused on the employment generation and creating investment environment, there was no remarkable achievement. As the internal sources could not meet the economic growth significantly so we have needed to focus for bringing foreign and domestic investment," he added.

He informed that the new budget will focus on some large projects such as Mid-Hill Highway, Fast Track and second international airport, among others.

Krishna Hari Baskota, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, reiterating that the new year’s fiscal policies and programmes would focus on the employment generation and various progarmmes for achieving the economic growth as well as creating investment friendly environment in the country, said that the government programmes and policies would focus on propelling faster economic growth in the country.

The policies and programmes also target to provide relief and address peoples’ growing expectation.

He said that the major thrust of the next fiscal budget would be peace and constitution, good governance and economic prosperity.

Based on these core bases, we have set some basis for next budget that each and every programmes and policies of the budget should help propel economic prosperity, employment generation and inclusive development.

He said that the budget would focus on harnessing the available potential sectors such as hydropower, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure development. He, however, said that they had not reached at any conclusion on the exact shape of the programmes and policies of the next budget.