Kathmandu, July 24 : The monetary policy recently brought by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for this new fiscal year 2020/21 has addressed the concerns of the handicraft industry, according to the Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN).
“In order to help boost the small and cottage industries hit by COVID-19-induced lockdown, the policy has come up with specific provisions like floating concessional loans, extension of loan repayment period, etc. This is something which deserves appreciation,” says FHAN’s Officiating Director General, Rishi Raj Subedi.
The entrepreneurs belonging to the handicraft sector are bedeviled by the problem of liquidity, raw materials, labour, repayment period of bank loans and rental fee. In this context, Subedi said that the monetary policy could go a long way in ameliorating the situation.
The handicraft industry has been annually contributing around Rs 20 billion to the national economy apart from providing direct/indirect employment to over a million people.
Similarly, Officiating Director General Subedi said the extension of the timeline of issuing the certificate of advance payment in the name of the Nepali exporter after receiving foreign currency from one month to four months as a positive provision. A delegation of FHAN led by its president Surendra Bhai Shakya had met with NRB Governor on July 1 and presented suggestions to be included in the Monetary Policy for Fiscal Year 2020/21. The handicraft industry and business directly or indirectly employs more than a million people.
