With just a month left in the fiscal year 2024/25, the government of Nepal has utilized only 40.7 percent of its development budget. According to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), just Rs 143.39 billion has been spent out of the targeted Rs 352.35 billion in capital expenditure during the first 11 months of the fiscal year. This leaves over Rs 200 billion to be spent in a single month if the government hopes to meet its annual target.
This pattern of delayed capital spending is not new. Successive governments have struggled to utilize development budgets efficiently, often making a rush of expenditures in the final month. Experts warn that this end-of-year spending spree frequently results in low-quality infrastructure, inefficient resource use, and financial mismanagement.
Despite a slight year-on-year increase of Rs 8.42 billion in capital spending—up from Rs 134.97 billion during the same period last fiscal year—the progress remains underwhelming. Economist Keshab Acharya stressed that the government should prioritize selective, high-impact national pride projects instead of distributing resources thinly across many projects. He added that timely allocation and utilization are crucial to achieving tangible development outcomes.
On the revenue front, the government collected Rs 1.044 trillion—an 11 percent increase from Rs 919.19 billion in the same period last year—but still only 70.99 percent of its annual target of Rs 1.471 trillion. This means that over Rs 300 billion must be collected within a month to meet the revenue goal.
Foreign grants also fell short of expectations. The government received only Rs 17.09 billion against a target of Rs 52.32 billion, although this marks an improvement from the Rs 2.75 billion collected in the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, under financial management—which includes repayments on public debt and interest—the government spent Rs 287.97 billion in the first 11 months, up from Rs 223.50 billion during the same period last year.
The continued trend of delayed and underwhelming capital expenditure poses risks to Nepal’s economic growth, infrastructure development, and fiscal stability, highlighting an urgent need for improved budget planning and execution.
