The Nepal Weekly 
July 26, 2022
The Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) has welcomed the monetary policy 2022/23 announced by the government citing that it has focused on extending credit to the productive sector for the promotion of domestic products. The Federation has been advocating for the promotion and development of domestic products for a long time.
The Federation has said that the monetary policy has been taken positively with the characteristic of extending credit to the productive sector for the promotion of domestic goods so that the demands of the Federation will be addressed.
FNCSI President Umesh Prasad Singh said that continuing the refinancing and subsidised loan programme, which is being provided at subsidised rates by giving priority to micro, cottage and small enterprises and productive sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, is a positive gesture shown in the monetary policy. Focus of the monetary policy on increasing access to credit for micro, cottage and small and medium enterprises by gradually reducing the over-centralisation of credit and enterprises and businesses that have used loans up to a maximum of Rs. 50 million from banks and financial institutions will not be charged penal interest if they pay the loan principal and interest by October 17, 2022 are positive points of the policy, he pointed out.
The Federation believed that when banks and financial institutions provide loans of up to Rs. 20 million for food production, livestock, fisheries, export and manufacturing industries based on 100 per cent domestic raw materials, the interest rate will be determined by adding a premium of up to 2 percentage points to the base rate, which will help in the promotion and development of domestic industries.
The monetary policy of the financial year 2022/23 with the direction of promoting macroeconomic stability while maintaining price and external sector stability and supporting economic growth by increasing productivity and substituting imports through increasing productivity by channeling financial instruments into the productive sector is a positive step of the NRB, according to a press statement of the FNCSI.
