May 25 : A special committee formed by the Nepali Congress has submitted a report to party president Sher Bahadur Deuba, pointing out the need to introduce a Rs 13 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
“The government came up with the budget with the size of Rs 15 trillion for the current fiscal year 2019/20. But, unfortunately, only less than Rs 12 trillion of the total amount has been spent,” the reported stated, adding, ”In this light of such poor spending, it will not be prudent to prepare a budget worth more than Rs 13 trillion for the upcoming fiscal 2020/21.
According to the report, for the budget of such size, the government shall collect Rs 8 trillion in revenue, raise Rs 3 trillion through external debts and assistance and arrange Rs 2 billion via the domestic borrowing.
The country’s business sector has been hit hard by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Considering the fact, the report asked for a stimulus package worth Rs 250 billion to help the sector revive and cope with challenges caused by the pandemic.
Moreover, it suggested that the loan repayment period for the affected businesses shall be deferred by six months to three years, depending on the nature of business and type of loan.
The special committee of the NC preparing the report was formed under the coordination of party leader-cum-businessman Binod Chaudhary.
