Fiscal budget ambitions clash with reality

KATHMANDU: In the wake of the agreement to establish a parliamentary committee to investigate the cooperatives scam, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun encountered a relatively smooth process in presenting the nation’s annual financial plan in Parliament, encountering minimal resistance from the opposition Nepali Congress.

Despite the budget’s increase by 6.2 percent compared to the unrevised budget of the current fiscal year, concerns arise regarding the apparent contradiction in aiming to inject Rs1.86 trillion into the economy to achieve a 6 percent growth rate while capping inflation at 5.5 percent, as pointed out by some economists.