Looking at the external indicators, it seems that there is no problem in the economy, there are opportunities. Looking at internal indicators, the economy still has problems. A weak and challenging economy is a legacy for Nepali people. Yet, it is ironic that the economy remains challenged even when external indicators are strong.

The two largest parties in the House of Representatives, the Congress and the UML, when they agreed on power sharing last June, had expressed their commitment to 'end the existing laxity in the economy and create a reliable, professional environment and make economic activities viable'. This government is running for 10 months now. However, the improvement in speed was expected, but that did not happen. National confidence has not been strengthened. Therefore, the political and economic leadership of the country should show sensitivity to identify the specific challenges of the economy and find solutions.

At this time foreign exchange reserves, remittances, current accounts and other external indicators are continuously becoming stronger. It is mentioned in the report of Rashtra Bank that the remittance inflow has reached 10 trillion 51 billion 77 crore rupees in the 8 months of the current financial year. During the same period, the foreign exchange reserves reached 24 trillion 8 billion 250 million rupees. The current account has a surplus of Rs. 1.80 billion. The current situation is 3 trillion 10 billion 27 billion rupees in savings. Inflation is also only 3.75 percent. Both import and export have increased. Although there are positive indicators in the data, the ability to take advantage of it has not been developed. Unless the cycle of consumption, demand, production, employment and investment is strong, the external indicators of the economy are like bookworms. This situation must end.

Although there has been general improvement in deposit collection and credit disbursement of banks and financial institutions, government finance (including current expenditure, capital expenditure, revenue collection, foreign aid and subsidy) has not been able to improve as expected. Although 3 trillion 52 billion 35 crores have been allocated for capital expenditure for this financial year, according to the Comptroller General's Office, only 82 billion 34 crores have been spent till February 2081. By the end of February 2081, the total revenue collection is 7 trillion 20 billion 35 million. This has led to a mere 12.7 percent increase in annual revenue collection, while this year the government has targeted revenue growth of more than 31 percent. The condition of foreign grant and aid mobilization is also critical. Since the beginning of the financial year, a strong government has been able to work continuously, so there was a possibility of a lot of improvement in the internal indicators. However, because the government itself is involved in unnecessary matters, the indicators of government finances have not improved.

An average of more than 5 billion investable funds have been accumulated in banks and financial institutions throughout the year. The interest rate of the loan has also decreased continuously and is at the lowest level since 45 months. However, loan demand in banks has not increased. Market demand has not increased. The purchasing power of consumers has decreased. Industries are running at only 40 to 50 percent capacity utilization on an average. Due to the low demand in the market, the supply has not increased. Especially the situation of small and medium businessmen is very weak. Problems have been seen in the co-operative and microfinance sector, which have been helping to activate the economic cycle (cash flow) of the citizens by easily providing loans to the bottom (lower level) of the economy. As a result, the cash cycle of the citizens is broken, not only the income but also the purchasing power has decreased. The government has not been sensitive in solving the problems in this area.

Strong external indicators of the economy have given the government ample room to spend. Even in case of increased imports, there is no risk of pressure on foreign exchange reserves. In such a situation, the government should be able to spend capital on a large scale. The private sector contributes about 85 percent to the total national capital formation of the economy and about 81 percent to employment generation. However, private sector investment is profit oriented. Therefore, in the absence of opportunity or profit, the private sector cannot dare to expand investment. The government should take the lead in expanding domestic and foreign investment by increasing the confidence of the private sector. Only if the government increases investment, the private sector will also be stimulated. The government should invest a lot in the physical infrastructure sector.