The amount of remittance should be spent in the productive sector to create capital and create employment. The creation of industry within the country should be encouraged. Confidence should be developed in development work. Policy makers should think seriously to end the situation where credit cannot be provided despite low interest rates. Investment environment should be created.
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Despite the poor conditions of exports, tourism, foreign investment, credit assistance and subsidies, Nepal's foreign exchange reserves have consistently exceeded records. Due to the fact that more than one billion remittances have been received every month for the last one and a half years, the external indicators of the economy are continuously getting stronger.
According to the economic and financial report published by the National Bank on Monday, remittances equal to 9 trillion 58 crore rupees have been received in the 7 months of the financial year. This is an increase of 7.3 percent compared to the same period last financial year. By January, foreign exchange reserves have reached 23 trillion 69 billion 80 million rupees.
At this time, if the political and economic leadership shows the wisdom of using foreign currency, the speed of investment, job creation, revenue and development expenditure in the country can be increased. Current foreign exchange reserves will be sufficient to import goods for 17.2 months and import goods and services for 14.4 months.
Similarly, by January, the current account is in surplus by 1 trillion 66 billion 80 million. As of January, the balance sheet is in surplus of 2.84 billion 41 crores. Similarly, during the same period, deposits in banks and financial institutions increased by 2.45 billion 34 million or 3.8 percent. The need of the moment is to make use of these strengths and bring policies and programs to accelerate the Nepalese economy. Because, this is the place where we have not been able to show our creativity.
Having money is not an achievement in itself, the main question is whether it is being put to good use or not. With increasing access to foreign employment, remittances have now become the economic base of many Nepalese families. Remittances have given financial support not only to the family, but also to the country itself. The balance of payments has improved despite a large trade deficit. We are lagging behind in analyzing and strategizing remittance flows.
Although remittances are a lifeline, no country can depend on them forever. It will ignore the situation where employment opportunities are not created within the country, development work is not accelerated or sufficient capital is not developed for it. When foreign investment and subsidies cannot be obtained, when the political-social situation of the country is uncomfortable, foreign employment becomes a compulsory choice for the citizens of many countries. In this way, smart and visionary governments find ways to use the remittances and skills received from citizens who leave for the benefit of the country.
They accelerate in-country development projects using remittances and skills. Build capital. Complete development projects. They create jobs. They create an environment for foreign investment. Increase production. By increasing exports, they buy foreign currency and services. That is, they create a new cycle of import and export. As a result, the compulsion of foreign employment is reduced, and the dependence on remittances is also reduced.
The country also becomes strong and capable. If we look at the history of countries including South Korea, which have made significant economic progress in the last four/five decades, the same trend of governance skills can be found. But we neither learned from those countries, nor are we setting our own path. Instead, we are creating a short-term cycle of bringing in remittances and buying services and facilities through them.
Due to the changes in global relations, it is not possible to predict the relationship of each country with another country. Epidemics like covid have indicated that the economic infrastructure of every country is not assessable. Economic, political, social, religious upheavals can occur in any country at any time. In that case, the remittances coming to us may be interrupted at any time.
So we should be able to build our own strong economic position. For that, the amount of remittance should be spent in the productive sector to create capital and create employment. The creation of industry within the country should be encouraged. Confidence should be developed in development work. The policy makers should think seriously to end the situation where credit cannot be provided despite low interest rates. Investment environment should be created. Economic activity should be made sustainable. The government should increase investment. This is the sure way to strengthen the economy.
