Partial implementation of 51 points related to private sector and economy in the budget

Of the 73 points related to the private sector and the economy mentioned in the budget statement, 24.65 percent (18 points) have been fully implemented, 69.86 (51 points) have been partially implemented and 5.47 percent (4 points) have seen zero progress. It is mentioned in Budget Watch. CNI has also pointed out that the progress is weak as most of the points are related to policy and law making.

Many plans and programs are not progressing smoothly due to the lack of laws, rules, regulations, procedure guidelines, the federation said. "Even in matters that have already been made into law, due to structural and procedural difficulties, it seems that they have not been able to be implemented as expected," CNI's report states, "There seems to be a delay in the approval of draft laws." It has been seen that the Bills are stuck in Parliament as Acts and Regulations, Procedures and Guidelines in the Council of Ministers for a long time.

Chief Secretary Leeladevi Gadtaula said that while the private sector considers it fully implemented only after it is passed by the Parliament and published in the gazette, the ministries consider it fully implemented after it is registered in the Parliament. "Making a law in the budget is only until the relevant ministry makes a draft and registers it in the parliament, we will accept it completely," she said, "After going to the parliament, the property belongs to the parliament and not to the government of Nepal." Therefore, if it is not taken to the parliament, it will not be implemented. But if it has been registered in the parliament, we consider it to be fully implemented.'' Even though the issues have been included in the budget, the ministry has failed to create a clear action plan for it. According to the Confederation, the annual goals and milestones set by the relevant ministries are not aligned with the goals set in the annual budget. The Confederation said that the delay in the public procurement process can also be considered as a reason for the poor implementation of budget plans and programs.

The Confederation started the 'Budget Watch' program as a Public-Private Sector Dialogue from the financial year 079/80. According to the budget watch of the financial year 079/80, out of 62 points of the economic sector mentioned in the budget, only 18 percent i.e. 11 points were fully implemented. The Confederation said that 29 points i.e. 47 percent were partially implemented and 22 points i.e. 35 percent were not implemented. Since then, every year the Confederation has been organizing a 'Budget Watch' program as a public-private dialogue. The Confederation says that there are 63 items under 14 sectors related to the private sector and economy in the budget of the current financial year.

This year, 4 public-private dialogues will be held and all 4 budget implementation reports will be published by the vice-president of the confederation, Birendraraj Pandey. In the budget of the current financial year, 14 industrial development, 9 points in agriculture and medicinal herb promotion, 63 points in 14 sectors including information technology, tax system, energy, tourism promotion, infrastructure development etc. are included. In the

program, Janardan Baral, outgoing president of Economic Journalists Society, Nepal (Sejan), said that in the financial year 080/81, 24.5 percent implementation, 69.9 percent partial implementation and 5.5 percent zero progress. He said that in the first quarter of the financial year, 6.8 percent complete implementation, 49.3 percent partial implementation and 43.8 percent zero progress. In the second quarter, there was 9.6 percent full implementation, 16.4 percent partial implementation, and 74 percent zero progress. 73 points from 17 sectors related to the private sector and economy were extracted from the last financial year's budget.

The president of the Confederation, Rajesh Agarwal, said that the implementation of the annual budget brought by the government is indispensable to support economic growth by making economic activities sustainable. He also stated that the budget watch program has been started with the aim of playing a constructive role in the economic development of the country by making the budget implementation effective. He said that the successful implementation of the budget will increase the capital expenditure, achieve the goals specified by the budget, expand the overall economy through policy reforms, and build a self-sufficient economy. In the

program, Chief Secretary Gadtaula said that the government will soon announce what it will do within 100 days and also said that there will be many points mentioned in the budget. She said that the Ministry of Finance and related ministries have the authority in the budget and they should speak.

He also said that the budget of the current financial year has been made easier for the government because it has been kept in 63 points within 10 subjects. She suggested that since there are many programs in the budget, it should be kept in detail. Gadtaula said that the Confederation has supported the government and agencies through the Budget Watch initiative and the budget implementation of the current financial year will be effective compared to other financial years.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Radhika Aryal said that the concept paper of AI has been approved and the policy has been started, the Digital Nepal framework is under revision and the data security standards have been prepared. He said that the work has progressed by creating procedures related to IT Park and Knowledge Park.