The House of Representatives on Saturday, June 28, passed the National Debt Recovery Bill, 2082 .

The motion, tabled by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, to pass the bill was endorsed by the majority of the Lower House.

During deliberations, several lawmakers expressed concern over the government's debt strategy, cautioning against using borrowed funds for recurrent expenditures. They stressed that public debt should be directed toward capital investment.

In response, Finance Minister Paudel defended the bill, noting that the share of government expenditure financed through internal revenue will rise in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 17. He said this reflects an effort to reduce dependence on borrowing and strengthen domestic fiscal capacity.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat urged the government to adopt more sustainable approaches to internal loan mobilisation. Similarly, Chief Whip of CPN (Maoist Centre) Hitraj Pandey recommended prioritising such funds for strategic sectors such as mineral exploration and resource extraction to ensure long-term returns on borrowed capital.

Another Maoist Lawmaker Madhav Sapkota called for a sharper focus on domestic production and capital investment. He emphasised that borrowing decisions should be grounded in a clear understanding of current economic realities, with defined objectives and full transparency.

Despite these concerns, all proposed amendments to the bill were rejected by the majority of lawmakers.

(With inputs from RSS)