The major parties have come out with manifestos that include plans to increase the size of the economy to one hundred trillion, more than double the current per capita income and achieve double-digit economic growth. The parties that released their manifestos for the upcoming elections on Thursday have made public very ambitious goals that will lead to a leap in the economy within five years. However, in an economy that has been growing at an average of just over four percent in the last four decades, double-digit economic growth is not that easy.

The parties have plans to at least double the current per capita income of around $1,400 and take the $6.1 trillion economy to around $1.0 trillion. However, the necessary policies, resource mobilization and concrete plans to achieve these goals are not seen in any manifesto. In a country where an average of 60 percent of annual capital expenditure has been spent for decades, the parties have not been able to resolve the confusion over how to increase it, how to mobilize resources, how to collect revenue and increase foreign investment. 

The Congress has resolved to increase the economy to $1.15 trillion and the per capita income to $2,500 in five years. This party considers youth as partners in entrepreneurship and the private sector as the engine of prosperity. It is said that it will build a 'liberal and production-oriented' economy that will bring the poor into the mainstream of development and make them owners of property. 

It is said that an investment of Rs 1.375 trillion will be mobilized for an economy worth around Rs 1.25 trillion. The Congress has a policy that 80 percent of the investment will be made by the private sector and the role of the state will be limited to that of a facilitator and impartial regulator. ‘We will control inflation within five percent and maintain the marginal capital production ratio at 4.5:1. We will focus on three pillars to make Nepal’s economy ‘pro-private’, ‘pro-growth’ and ‘pro-social justice’,’ the Congress manifesto states. 

The Congress has ensured that the tax rates and terms will remain stable for at least 10-15 years with a ‘stability clause’. It is said that a predictable labor environment will be established for both employers and workers through the creation of a simplified digital system from industry registration to renewal, the ‘fast track’ tribunal for speedy resolution of commercial cases, and the practical use of ‘no work no pay’. 

The policy is to gradually reduce the corporate income tax to 20 percent, maintain 10 percent on exports of goods and services, 5 percent on information technology export businesses, and 15 percent on manufacturing-oriented industries. The Congress has a policy of expanding the scope of small taxes imposed under various names by including them in the value-added tax and gradually reducing its single rate to 10 percent. 

Through its manifesto, the UML has set an ambitious goal of creating an economy of '100 trillion in half a decade, 200 trillion in a decade'. In this, economic growth of 7 percent to 9 percent is envisaged by making leaps in agricultural productivity, electricity generation capacity, mineral and industrial production, information technology and physical infrastructure construction. UML also aims to increase per capita income to about US $ 3,000 in five years. 

It is said that macroeconomic and sectoral policies will be made investment-friendly and production-supportive. 'We will expand investment for high economic growth by utilizing the capital of the financial sector in productive sectors, developing and strengthening the capital market and mobilizing additional internal and external capital,' the UML manifesto states. It is the UML's policy to take public loans only to implement national priority projects. ‘We will not allow public debt to exceed a safe ratio of national capacity,’ the manifesto states.

UML has stated that it will mobilize the private sector not only as an engine of economic growth, but also as a key engineer of prosperity. UML has stated that it will determine ten sectors including agriculture, energy, industry, tourism, physical infrastructure, urban infrastructure, housing management, information technology and artificial intelligence, irrigation, forests and environment as the main driving forces of the Nepali economy. 

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has set a target of achieving an average economic growth of 7 percent (at constant prices) in five years. The RSSS aims to increase the per capita income to more than 3,000 US dollars in five years and the size of the economy to close to 100 trillion. The manifesto states that all tax burdens will be reduced, no ghost tax will be imposed and income tax limits will be set based on family burden, while ensuring that state revenue will not decrease. 

The NCP plans to review the exchange rate of the Nepali currency against the Indian rupee, which has been stable for three decades, implement a 'one-step' service to encourage investment, and complete national pride projects that have been dormant for 12 years within 2 years. It also plans to bring the entire non-financial sector under the control of the National Bank by replacing the uncontrolled and weak regulation of cooperatives and microfinance, and to form a second-tier regulatory body with high authority to regulate cooperatives and microfinance with a turnover of more than Rs 500 million. It also mentions that the regulatory body, the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal, will be restructured to provide the necessary autonomy to make the capital market systematic, and that the NEPSE and CDSC will be restructured. 

The NCP has promised to release from prison, with conditions, the directors and managers who were jailed for defrauding cooperatives and are being held for trial. The pledge promises to replace the uncontrolled and weak regulation of the cooperative and microfinance sectors and bring the entire non-banking financial sector under the direct and powerful supervision system of the Nepal Rastra Bank. 

‘Our aim is not only to jail the operators, but also to return the money of the savers. Therefore, in accordance with the policy of resolving the matter through listening rather than imprisonment, if the operators or management of any cooperative financial institution are ready to return the money of the savers and they have reliable resources and plans, we will pave the way for a settlement,’ the pledge states. The NCP has promised to return the money of small savers within 100 days of the formation of the government under its leadership. The pledge does not mention who will return the money and how much is considered a small saver.

Similarly, the NCP has envisioned a new phase of economic reform through the pledge. The NCP aims to achieve double-digit (above 10 percent) economic growth within five years through prudent, sustainable and productive use of natural resources, and increased domestic and foreign investment. The manifesto states that the multidimensional poverty rate will be reduced from the current 20.15 percent to 5 percent in five years.

The NCP has identified six priority areas as agricultural and rural economic transformation, energy and infrastructure development, industrial and entrepreneurship promotion, information technology and digital economy, quality development of tourism and service sectors, and social sector. The manifesto also includes domestic industry, innovation startups, promotion of small and medium enterprises, regional specific economic campaign digital infrastructure, e-commerce and IT industry development, and policy reforms. In this way, the NCP has a policy of ensuring 500,000 jobs annually by adding 150,000 additional jobs.

Similarly, the Progressive Democratic Party (Pralopa) has set a target of double-digit economic growth within the next two decades through a commitment letter. The manifesto also mentions that natural and human resources, domestic and other foreign capital and technology will be utilized and mobilized to the maximum extent in line with the economic and physical development of India and China. The manifesto states, ‘The strategic importance projects to be developed at the federal level will mainly include energy security (large hydropower and transmission lines), 4 and 6 lane roads, railways, airports, cable cars, Himalayan trekking routes, large irrigation, special industrial zones, mining industries, environmental protection, science, technology and research, sports, satellites, etc.’