Half-Yearly Budget Evaluation Report of FY 2082/83 Released

Kathmandu. The Ministry of Finance has released the half-yearly evaluation report of the budget for the current fiscal year 2082/83. The report was made public during a press conference organized at the Ministry on Tuesday. The government has reduced its expenditure target, stating that the budget allocated for the current fiscal year cannot be fully spent.

Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal informed that the estimated budget expenditure for the current fiscal year is expected to be around Rs 15 Kharbaa 15 arba 37 crore. For the current fiscal year, the government had introduced an estimated budget of Rs 19 Kharba 64 arba 11 crore.

He said, "Regarding budget implementation, although the expenditure target was the allocated Rs 19 Kharba 64 arba, we are looking to reduce spending because resources will be insufficient due to the need to manage election expenses and other technical reasons. Currently, the Government of Nepal's consolidated fund has a cash reserve of only Rs 1 Kharba 30 arba. 

Due to this, there is a need to exercise some control over the budget." He also mentioned that capital expenditure is estimated to be about 21 percent lower than predicted for the current year. Meanwhile, high growth has pushed the figure to Rs 10 Kharba 62 arba 93 crore.

The country currently holds foreign exchange reserves worth 22 arba 47 crore US dollars. Similarly, the Balance of Payments remains at a surplus of Rs 5 Kharba 1 arba 24 crore, as the money entering the country exceeds the amount leaving. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, average consumer price inflation (dearness) has decreased and is limited to 1.7 percent.

The average interest rate on deposits has also dropped to 3.56 percent, while the inter-bank interest rate is limited to 2.75 percent. Likewise, the world economy is projected to grow by 3.3 percent, neighboring India by 7.3 percent, and China by 5 percent. The Ministry's preliminary estimate for Nepal's economic growth rate in the first quarter of the fiscal year is 3.0 percent.

The NEPSE index stands at 2641.44 points, while the total market capitalization has reached Rs 44 Kharba 35 arba. Similarly, in the banking sector, credit to the private sector has increased by 6.7 percent to reach nearly Rs 57 Kharba, while deposit collection has increased by 5.7 percent, exceeding Rs 76 Kharba 81 arba.