During the discussion, Finance Minister Wagle requested that all ministries be aware of the constraints and limitations of the Ministry of Finance and to set priorities accordingly and begin budget preparation.
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Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has discussed the budget preparation for the upcoming fiscal year with thematic ministers and secretaries.
In the discussion held on Monday, Finance Minister Wagle said that since Nepal is in a state of public finance crisis, a collective examination will be conducted in the upcoming budget. ‘It is challenging to formulate a budget in a way that addresses the aspirations of the citizens when the mandatory obligations of the state are 1330 billion and the revenue is 1180 billion,’ said Finance Minister Wagle.
The Finance Minister emphasized that the budget and programs should be selected by considering the principles for the budget such as good governance and institutional strengthening, adoption of a policy of integrity, economic development with broad economic growth, private investment, expansion of information technology, development of infrastructure for capital formation, development of the middle class, upliftment of the poor class and expansion of soft power.
He requested that all ministries be aware of the constraints and limitations of the Ministry of Finance and set priorities accordingly and start preparing the budget. Ministers of thematic ministries raised issues related to the budget and programs of their respective ministries.
Finance Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyay informed that the Ministry of Finance has decided to facilitate the transfer of funds through thematic ministries, and changed the time limit for source agreement for multi-year contracts. Suman Dahal, Joint Secretary of the Budget and Programs Division, gave a brief presentation on the status of budget preparation for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Ministry of Finance claims that this is the first exercise in which ministers and secretaries of all thematic ministries have been invited to the Ministry of Finance to discuss/interact on the status of budget preparation and priorities and discipline of budget formulation.
Vice Chairman and Member of the National Planning Commission, Administration and Good Governance Advisor to the Prime Minister, Sudip Dhakal, and others also participated in the discussion.
