May 29: The government has announced a budget of Rs 1532.96 billion for the fiscal year 2019/20. Presenting the budget at the Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that the recurrent expenditure of the government for the upcoming year will be Rs 957.10 billion while the capital expenditure will be Rs 408 billion.

The finance minister informed that the government intends to raise Rs 981.13 billion to fund its expenditure through revenue collection. Meanwhile, the government will receive Rs 57.99 billion as foreign grants and Rs 298.33 billion as loan. The government has said it will collect internal loan of Rs 195 billion to meet the budget requirement.

With the budget announcement, government employees below the rank of section officer will see 20 percent hike in salary while the salary of all the higher ranking officials will increase by 18 percent.

VAT has remained as it is for the new fiscal year.

Among some notable announcements made by the finance minister, the government has decided to increase the senior citizens’ allowance from Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 and has also decided to increase the allowance for single women by Rs 1000.  Single women will also get insurance coverage of Rs 100,000.

Likewise, the government has allocated Rs 78 million for women, children and senior citizens.

The government has allocated Rs 7.14 billion for the labour and employment sector. The cost of going abroad for foreign employment will be recovered from the employers.

The government has stressed on providing employment opportunities for physically-challenged people, and establishment of disabled-friendly health institutions.

The government has announced to control import of low-quality goods. For this, the customs duty has been increased to discourage import of low-standard goods. Customs duty for industries has been lowered.

The government has allocated Rs 34.35 billion for the agriculture and livestock sector and Rs 23.63 billion for the irrigation sector.

The government has said it will keep agriculture in its topmost priority and will establish food quality testing laboratories in all provinces.

Government has allocated Rs 95 million for sugarcane framers. The government will also allocate subsidy for agriculture development . The subsidy to purchase chemical fertilizer has been increased to Rs 9 billion. 

Meanwhile, Rs 500 million has been set aside to attract youths to community farming and there are plans to arrange mobile apps for farmers. The country will be self-reliant on milk, meat, fish and fresh vegetables, according to the finance minister.

The government plans to excavate iron from the mines in Dhauwadi of Nawalparasi and will be establishing economic zones in Nuwakot and Panchkhal, Kavre.

Nepali garment industry will get 50 percent exemption in electricity bills and five percent subsidy in interest. The government has also allocated budget for supplying electricity to new industrial corridors.

The finance minister said that the government will adopt PPP model for the development of large hydropower projects. Rs 4.5 billion has been allocated in the budget for community and rural electrification while Rs 3.47 billion has been set aside for the promotion of alternative energy.

In total, the government has allocated Rs 83.49 billion for the development of the energy sector.

Waste management grant will be provided to the local governments in the upcoming fiscal year. Government plans to produce compost manure from household wastes collected from urban areas.

Finance Minister Khatiwada said that the government will encourage the use of large public vehicles.  Altogether Rs 1.53 billion has been allocated for transportation management. The government will operate electric buses inside Kathmandu valley.

Footpaths will be constructed compulsorily on the roads of Kathmandu in the upcoming fiscal year, said the finance minister.

Road construction will get priority with each province having access to at least two national highways. Rs 19.18 billion has been allocated for the East-West Highway. The government plans to connect the district headquarters of Dolpa with road network next year.

In total, the government has allocated Rs 163.52 billion for railways, roadways, bridges and other infrastructure development. Likewise, Rs 900 million has been allocated to construct motorable bridge over Mahakali river.

The government has also separated Rs 1.73 billion of trains and ships.

Likewise, Rs 960 million has been allocated for the maintenance of BP Highway, Rs 610 million for Kantipath and Rs 1.81 billion for outer Ring Road.

The government has announced to bring a new land act to classify and use land accordingly. All the encroached government land will be retrieved.

The government has allocated Rs 7.69 billion for the land management and finance sector.

The tourism sector will get Rs 2.68 billion. The government also plans to develop the historic forts and fortresses used during the unification of Nepal as tourism sites.

The government has decided to promote cable car in the Himalayan region.

Rs 2.87 billion has been allocated for promoting industries.

The capacity of Udayapur and Hetauda cement industries will be upgraded

The government will also implement special programmes in areas affected by extreme poverty. There are plans to establish Scouts in all the provinces to mobilize youths in special service programs. Finance Minister Khatiwada said that the government has allocated a budget of Rs 64.5 billion under the social security to organize science conference for youths next year. 

In order to encourage foreign investment, the government has announced to create favourable environment for the Non-Residential Nepalis to invest in the secondary market.

Online payment system will be made secured and transparent, according to the finance minister. Framework for Digital Nepal will be ready within the next 5 years.

 The government will introduce electronic payment system in all governmental and private organizations across the country. Access to broadband internet will be expanded across the country.