The government is going to announce the budget for the next fiscal year, allocating funds only to big projects due to strict criteria in selecting the plan. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel is scheduled to submit the budget at the joint meeting of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives on Thursday at 3 pm.

Finance Minister Poudel is going to bring a big budget, forgetting about income and spending capacity. Paudel, who is facing severe pressure of resources due to not being able to collect revenue as per the target, has brought the budget around the ceiling of 19 trillion 65 crore given by the National Planning Commission. 

The budget for the current fiscal year was originally set at 18 trillion 60 billion, but it was reduced to 16 trillion 92 billion through a half-yearly review after the income and expenditure targets were not met. According to the officials involved in budgeting, the budget is prepared to be allocated to strategic plans of national importance, which are in the final stages of construction, not to scatter the budget on piecemeal projects, to make the most of the available resources.

"The budget will be around 19 billion, previously the old-age allowance was given to those who reached the age of 68, but now there is a positive discussion about extending it to 70 years. Although there is a theoretical discussion on increasing the salary of the employees, the percentage has not been decided," said the officials. Policy facilitation programs will be included in the budget. This year, the government has set a target of 31 percent revenue expansion, but in 10 months, it has been getting only 10 percent on average. It is estimated that the government will bring a revenue increase program of 12 to 15 percent in the next year's budget. “The revenue collection target of 10 per cent, economic growth of 6.6 per cent and inflation of 6 per cent is likely to be set next year,” says an official.

It is estimated that foreign aid will be increased by 28 percent and about 3 billion will be received. The budget estimates that foreign grants will increase by 22 percent, foreign loans by 30 percent and domestic loans by 8 percent. For the next year, the government is preparing to raise 5 and a half percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) domestic debt. The National Natural Resources and Finance Commission has already recommended raising domestic debt to a maximum of 5.5 percent of GDP for 2082/83. According to the recommendation of the commission, the government will be able to collect internal debt of around 3.5 trillion.

Most of the suggestions suggested by the high-level economic reform suggestion commission formed under the leadership of former secretary Rameshwar Khanal will be included in the upcoming budget. According to which, the age of getting old age allowance will be increased to 70 years, national identity card will be made mandatory to receive old age allowance. Similarly, the government has a policy of not allowing new large road projects to be carried out in hilly areas, pointing out that road planning should be prioritized and projects should be carried out only on the basis of strategic feasibility.

"All ministries will have to allocate the budget only for the projects that have been adequately prepared, and all the ministries will have to carry out their implementation, meaning and project management," the source said, "The provision that employees cannot be transferred during the project period will also be included in the budget." There will also be a matter in the budget to make policy arrangements so that different electricity tariff rates are maintained during peak hours, off-peak hours, winter and rainy season.

According to officials, there will be programs such as reducing interest rate fluctuations, developing the bond market, studying and researching the exchange rate options with Bharu, preparing an integrated project bank information system for all three levels, not conducting new major road projects in the hilly areas, and allocating budget to projects that have completed sufficient preparations.

'Trying to reduce the increasing burden on social security allowances, removing small projects and those of a national pride that cannot be completed by removing from the list projects of continuous nature that can be completed, the budget for the next financial year should be allocated by allocating sufficient budget,' says Rameshwar Khanal, chairman and former secretary of the High Level Economic Reforms Suggestion Commission. He suggested that through the

budget, the government should expand economic activity by removing taxes (excise duties) that increase the cost of doing business. "The finance minister himself has said that the past trend of bringing in a budget full of money, not being able to raise and spend resources, and making heavy cuts in the half-yearly review will not be repeated," says Khanal, "The Supreme Court has also stopped the government from allocating the budget so that the MP spends it on the basis of discretion."

The recommendation and implementation action plan submitted by the Commission was approved by the Council of Ministers last week. Sources say that since the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers have issued a circular to the relevant agencies to implement the action plan, many of its programs have been included in the next year's budget.

In the upcoming budget, the government will give priority to information technology to increase prosperity with public service delivery, economic mobility and social justice. The government plans to use information technology systems in education, health, agriculture, crime investigation and even border security in policies and programs. For this, the government's policy is to prepare an institutional and legal basis for the development and use of AI.

"Citizen app, e-governance board, digital bank, online tax system, Hello government, national identity card, electronic procurement system 'EGP', health and demographic registration system, e-health services, etc. are included in the program to be upgraded and effective," he said, "as a digital foundation, along with expanding nationwide reach of telecommunications services, online learning, youth-focused startups and enterprise-related programs, cyber security" And there will be programs like 'Digital Nepal Framework'. The government will allocate the budget by prioritizing the old plans instead of new plans for physical infrastructure. An official says that among the final stages of construction, projects that can directly contribute to the economy have been selected and allocated budget. 

Among Gaurav's projects, Hulaki, Madhyapahari and Kathmandu-Tarai Madhesh expressway (fast track) are the most interesting projects. Eight years after the construction of the fast track, the progress has not reached 40 percent. It is said that the project needs a budget according to the construction of big bridges and tunnels. Out of 70.997 km, 6.5 km of Khokna section is yet to be managed. 

Former Secretary Arjunjang Thapa says, "There should be no plans of small lakhs in the budget of the Union Government, there has been talk of continuing the old ones without new projects, this is good." The government should focus on strategic and profitable projects, it is not good if the budget is reduced on Gaurav's projects.' 

The progress of the postal highway, which was started from 066/67 to connect the district headquarters of Terai East-West, is 71 percent. Its construction has been started according to the concept of connecting the land from Kechnakaval in Jhapa to Dodhara Chandni in Kanchanpur in the west. But due to lack of budget, the project has not been able to accelerate. It has been 18 years since Gaurav's Road Project Madhyapahari Highway started, the progress is barely 80 percent.

This project was started in 064/65 to connect 215 settlements of 26 districts of Madhyapahar. It is estimated that 1 crore people will benefit after the completion of the project. But due to the budget, the work has not been able to accelerate. The government has said that these projects will be prioritized in the upcoming budget. 

The recommendation implementation plan of the commission formed under the leadership of Khanal has also pointed out that the road plan should be prioritized and operated on the basis of strategic feasibility. It is being kept in the budget so that new big road projects cannot be implemented in hilly areas. Sources in the Ministry of Finance say that the budget will be allocated only to projects for which sufficient preparations have been completed. Since employees cannot be transferred throughout the

project period, its implementation has to be done by all the ministries running the project, so it is included in the budget. The budget is coming in such a way as to allocate sufficient budget to complete the ongoing national pride and multi-year projects, to complete incomplete projects and to adopt a policy of selecting new projects only if financial resources are available. 

Lumbini Region Development Fund and Pashupati Region Development Fund are going to be removed from the national pride project list. An integrated long-term infrastructure master plan will be formulated for the development of the overall infrastructure sector.

By discouraging the existing practice of giving peski (mobilization) to construction businessmen as soon as the contract is signed, to establish a system where businessmen have to work by taking loans through the financial market, the implementation of the Safe Transactions Act, 2063 will be made effective and a systematic financial market will be developed. It is prepared to strengthen the project bank and mention it in the budget to be used in the selection, contracting and operation of national pride and large multi-year projects.

The related ministry is preparing to develop a project evaluation system to address the specific problems seen in projects that have progressed less than 50 percent of the target for two consecutive financial years. Working in two 'shifts' will be arranged in national priority projects. Preparations are being made to formulate a law on the implementation of development projects. 

It is being mentioned in the budget that the basis and criteria of the classification of projects which are conducted at the union, state and local level will be determined completely. As in the current year, in the coming year as well, when constructing new roads, the budget is being allocated to make concrete roads as much as possible. New construction will not be allowed until the roads under construction are completed. According to the geographical area, road width, load carrying capacity and construction method standards are being included in the budget. The government is preparing to review the standards of projects of national pride. 

Economist Dilliraj Khanal says that the proposed budget should be realistic and fully implementable. He said that although the policies and programs indicate that the upcoming budget will be realistic, the government should make it a reality through the appropriation bill. "In the beginning, bringing a big budget, not being able to collect and spend resources, the distortion of cutting heavily through half-yearly reviews is growing," he says, "The government should be able to be strict in order to cut unproductive waste spending widely." The budget should be allocated so that the reduced money is used for capital expenditure.'