Pre-budget care

As the government prepares for preliminary work to structure the budget of fiscal 2024-25 a few points should be specially considered for directing next year’s financial journey towards fulfilling public interest. The challenge commoners and fixed income group in the country face today demands immediate response. They are suffering most from the rising price and non-standard consumer goods in the market. Those who work in farms are not getting minimum return. Those who buy from farmers cheap and sell to traders at high price are creating problems for market. Some vegetables, fruits and flowers produced in Nepal do not find market because of competitive price of those imported. A way to tackle the problems would be monitoring the market behavior and making business persons follow fair business rules. Similarly the transportation sector should also be financially motivated well in the interest of commuters and those who use it for supplying goods and services. An appropriate transportation policy should be formulated for engaging all vehicles in Nepal into active productive service. Nepali transport entrepreneurs should be encouraged to invest more and offered opportunities to expand and grow. School education is being more expensive these days. So is medical service. Efforts should be made to facilitate commoners’ access to both and ensure quality appropriately. Employment opportunities should be created in all seven provinces to check the exodus of youths. Nepal cannot afford to send nation building age-group to foreign countries. Whatever loss in remittance will be because of this could be compensated by the youths’ contribution to productivity in Nepal. Tourism sector could also contribute to offering some alternative productive way to make up the loss of remittance. Feasible development works should be undertaken in time and completed. All those engaged in development works should be encouraged to follow schedule consistently and honestly. Entrepreneurs should be trusted and encouraged through appropriate policies to invest productively and substantially in diverse areas in all seven provinces. Similarly bankers should be mobilized to create new comfortable loan-portfolio for facilitating investors. This will initiate a climate for productive trend which might result in the multiple motivators for energizing the economy. Special care should be taken for the above points while preparing framework for the budget. They will raise the economic importance of the budget in real time. They will also be instrumental in making the government more responsive to the economic needs of the people.