According to the National Statistics Office, the country's economic growth rate will be more than 5 percent in the second quarter of the financial year 2081/82. In the previous three quarters, the economic growth rate was only 2.6, 3.1 and 4 percent respectively, the office has predicted that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate will be 5.1 percent in the second quarter (October-Pus) of this year. In the same period of the last financial year, the economic growth rate was 5.3 percent.

Economic growth of more than 5 percent in the second quarter is due to improvements in transportation and construction sectors, increase in agricultural production, electricity production and distribution, and improvements in banking and insurance sectors, said Dhundiraj Lamichhane, deputy statistics officer and spokesperson of the National Statistics Office. Out of the 18 sectors of the economy, all of them showed positive growth in this quarter, the office said.

'Overall, the economy is improving. Compared to other sectors, the growth rate in education, housing and food and other service sectors is normal, this is why the growth rate of the economy is estimated to be 5.1 percent,' said Lamichhane, 'the growth rate of the sector related to transportation and storage sector is the highest at 14.2 percent. The mining and quarrying sector has become the second fastest growing industrial sector with a growth rate of 9.5 percent during that period. Following the industrial sector, the electricity and gas sector has a growth rate of 9.2 percent.

According to him, the total value added growth rate of the construction sector will be 9.1 percent with the increase in the import of construction materials and domestic production. It is estimated that the growth rate of the manufacturing industry will be 7.4 percent and the growth rate of the financial and insurance sector will be 6.6 percent during the said period. The initial estimate is that the growth rate of the business sector will be 6.1 percent and the growth rate of the information and technology sector will be 4.9 percent," Lamichhane said.  

Similarly, the growth rate of the agricultural sector, which contributes the most to the economy, is 3.2 percent. According to the office, the increase in the production of paddy, vegetables, sour fruits and winter fruits and livestock has contributed positively to the growth rate of the agricultural sector. "Due to the increase in the domestic production of agricultural and commercial goods and the increase in the import of the main commercial goods, there is a significant improvement in the second largest sector of the economy, wholesale and retail, and the trade sector when the trade sector expands further," the report said, "due to the gradual improvement in the production of industrial goods, there has been a significant improvement in the growth of the manufacturing sector." 

During that period, the report pointed out that there was a 2.2 percent growth rate in public administration and defense, 3.1 percent in health, 3.1 percent in real estate transactions and general improvement in other activities. In the second quarter of last year, the growth rate of the mining sector was negative by 3.5 percent and that of the manufacturing industry by 4 percent. The growth rate of the remaining 16 sectors of the economy was positive. According to which, agriculture and forestry accounted for 3%, electricity and gas supply 26.1%, water supply 3.1% and construction 9.6%. Similarly, the growth rate of wholesale and retail trade is 1.2, transportation and storage 16.7, food and housing 36.4, information and technology 7.9, banking and insurance 17.9, real estate 3, science and technology 3.9, administrative services 2.3, public administration and defense 2.8, education 2.5, health 5.4 and 6.4 percent, according to the office data.

In the past, the growth rate of the economy was slow because the government stopped payments to construction workers. Rameshwar Khanal, Chairman of the High Level Reform Suggestion Commission formed by the government to give opinions on economic reforms, said that after the payment of the money, there was a positive effect on the economic growth rate.

In the interim report submitted by the commission, it was suggested to the government to give payment to the builders, interest subsidy, agricultural insurance fee subsidy etc. Accordingly, the government has already paid some amount. Its positive effect is on the economic growth rate of the second quarter," he said.

The industrial sector, which previously had a low growth rate, also saw some improvement in the second quarter. The problem in the industry is debt collection. Chairman Khanal said that the government has not brought a law in this regard, but the fact that the government is bringing this law has a positive effect on the growth rate of this sector because the industrialists have paid for raw materials such as cement and sticks.

According to him, despite the growth of more than 5 percent in the second quarter, there is difficulty in achieving the 6 percent economic growth targeted by the government this fiscal year. "Usually the activity is slower in the third quarter than the second quarter, so the economic growth rate is also low," he said, "Therefore, it is difficult to achieve a 5 percent economic growth rate in this financial year, but there is a possibility of a little more than 4.5 percent." 

Similarly, compared to the first quarter of the financial year 2081/82, the office has made a preliminary estimate of economic growth of 2.2 percent in the second quarter of the current financial year. Compared to the previous quarter, the economic growth rate in the second quarter of last year was 0.6 percent. In the three quarters since then, the economic growth rate was only 0.7, 2 and 0.7 percent respectively. 

In comparison to the first quarter (July, August and October) of the current financial year, the growth rate (production) of 16 of the 18 industrial sectors of the economy has increased in the second quarter (November, November and December), while the growth rate of 2 is negative. "During this period, it is seen that the highest growth rate will be 6.4 percent in the transport and storage sector, followed by the growth rate of the banking and insurance sector, which will be 3.9 percent," said the report. According to which, the office has estimated that the growth rate of electricity and gas sector will be 4.8 percent and housing and dining sector will be negative by 2.7 percent.