May 21: The government, in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, has spent a total of Rs 644 billion, which is half of the targeted expenditure for the period, states a report published by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

The expenditure stood at Rs 420 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, the data of the Office of the Auditor General shows that the government spending stood at Rs 764 billion by May 17 of the current fiscal year. The amount is 60 percent of the total budget.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the capital expenditure of the government was Rs 109 billion, which is 32.5 percent of the allocated budget.

In the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, the capital expenditure stood at Rs 75 billion. According to Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri, former deputy governor of NRB, very minimal capital expenditure and massive spending at the end of the fiscal year is a risk for the whole economy.   “Foreign investors won’t invest in Nepal unless return is assured,” he said.