Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Mahaprasad Adhikari has said that legitimate projects and genuine borrowers are still getting loans at cheap interest rates. This opinion of the governor officer came at a time when the private sector was accusing the borrowers of not getting loans due to the strict policy of the National Bank.

In the third session of 'Questions with the Governor' under the 'Kantipur Economic Summit-2024' organized by Kantipur Media Group on Sunday, the governor officer stated that there is no problem in getting loans for good and genuine projects (debtors) from all sides. According to the governor's official, only when banks and financial institutions came to take loans to pay the nominal projects, principal and interest, they are not disbursing loans. "There is no shortage of loans for real projects," he said, "but loans are no longer available just to pay the principal and interest."

While the private sector was alleging that the economy was lax due to the policies of the National Bank, Governor Adhikari said that the National Bank and the monetary policy had no role in the economic laxity. He also said that although the economy is slack, it is not in crisis. "Government statements have also said that the economy is lax, the economy is lax in the current situation," he said.

Although the overall economy is not in crisis, the construction sector and related industries such as cement and Dundee are operating at low capacity, said the governor officer. He said that there should be policy stability to make the economy sustainable and the policy taken by the National Bank would be predictable rather than stable. We have a habit of not preparing ourselves, but when faced with difficulties, we blame others and run away. Therefore, it is rumored that the Rashtra Bank's policy is to slow down the economy," he said. The official stated that Nepal Rastra Bank's policy will focus on how to stabilize the overall economy, how to reduce inflation, how to stabilize banks and financial institutions, and how to protect the external sector. 

He claims that Rashtra Bank's strict policy is the reason why the amount of 93 trillion was sent to the market in one year for liquidity management and the real estate business is not viable. He claims that there is no disagreement between the government's financial policy (Ministry of Finance) and monetary policy (Rashtra Bank). "There is no disagreement between the government's financial policy (Ministry of Finance) and monetary policy (Rashtra Bank), and there is no agreement on the policy rules," he said, "If there is an agreement on the policy rules, it will have a big impact in the long run." That's why the National Bank takes policy carefully.'

In a different context, Governor Adhikari claimed that today's policy rate has decreased by 2 percentage points compared to two years ago. "Banks' loan interest rates have decreased by 2 and a half percent," he said, "however, the construction sector has had a direct impact on related industries, due to which production is negative."

He said that there is no other option but to increase the public expenditure mainly to bring the sluggish economy into rhythm. If this happens, employment will be created, the activities of the construction sector will increase. There is capital expenditure and the economy is running,” he said. Governor Adhikari said that 300 points have been suggested to the Ministry of Finance targeting the budget of the next financial year. He says that even with the rise of the concept of online shopping supermarkets, businesses running in small stores have migrated. He says that even if there is a problem in the cooperatives that are directly connected with the small industry business, it is a direct problem.