Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has brought a budget of Rs 1.751 trillion for the fiscal year 2080/81 on Monday.
It was Rs 1.793 trillion for the fiscal year 2079/80. Presenting the mid-term review report in the House of Representatives (HoR) on February 12 the then Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel had downsized the budget by Rs 244 billion (14 percent) to Rs 1.549 trillion.
Minister Mahat has allocated Rs 1.141 trillion (65.20%) for recurrent expenditure, Rs 302.07 billion (17.25%) for capital expenditure, and Rs 307.45 billion (17.55%) for debt financing.
Similarly, Rs 408 billion has been allocated for transfer to the provinces and local bodies.
The budget plans to generate Rs 1.248 trillion through revenues, Rs 49.94 billion through foreign grant and generate the remaining amount of Rs 452.75 billion through foreign loans (Rs 212.65 billion) and domestic borrowing (Rs 240 billion).
Minister Mahat has said that there will be economic growth rate of just 2.16 percent in the current fiscal year ending in mid-July.
The government has embraced financial austerity citing fall in revenues and announced that it will not procure new vehicles, and furniture and furnishing materials in the upcoming fiscal year. But it still has allocated Rs 50 million to each HoR constituency to be spent by the lawmaker elected through the First-Past-The-Post Electoral System.
The government has also dissolved 20 boards and public enterprises. Assets of those institutions will be kept under the ministry until mid-December.
It has allocated Rs 1.25 million to promote startups in the country.
