Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has brought a budget of Rs 1.793 trillion for the fiscal year 2079/80 on Sunday. It was Rs 1.632 trillion for the fiscal year 2078/79.
He allocated Rs 753.40 billion (42%) for recurrent expenditure at the center, Rs 380.38 billion (21.2%) for capital expenditure, and Rs 230.22 billion (12.8%) for debt financing.
Similarly, Rs 429.83 billion (24%) has been allocated for transfer to the provinces and local bodies.
The budget plans to generate Rs 1.24 trillion through revenues, Rs 55.46 billion through foreign grant and generate the remaining amount of Rs 498.26 billion through foreign loans (Rs 242.26 billion) and domestic borrowing (Rs 256 billion).
The government has slashed the eligibility for elderly allowance to 68 years from 70 years. It has increased salary of civil servants by 15 percent.
The budget has also allocated resources for the Nijgadh International Airport despite the Supreme Court (SC) recently revoking the government’s decision to construct the airport.
The government has also announced that another 715 MW of electricity will be added to the national grid in the next fiscay year.
It has allocated Rs 6.07 billion for development of the Postal Highway, Rs 6 billion for expansion of the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railways and to initiate study of the metro rail in Kathmandu, and Rs 2.19 billion for the Madan Bhandari Highway.
It has announced monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 for the kidney patients on dialysis, cancer survivors and those suffering from paraplegia.
The budget has also set a threshold of Rs 20 million for foreign investment in Nepal.
