Kathmandu, May 1
Behind closed doors, officials at the Ministry of Finance are busy preparing the budget for the fiscal 2073-74 BS.
Ministry employees shut the doors every year in the last phase of budget preparations. This year, they shut the doors of the ministry early on because the government is preparing to bring the annual budget in about a month.
Ministry officials say they shut the doors to ward off a huge crowd, who visits the ministry every year seeking budget. Of the four doors, only one is open these days — the one through which Finance Minister enters and exits.
For the coming fiscal, National Planning Commission has asked the finance ministry to prepare a budget not exceeding nine trillion rupees (approximately). The government had brought a budget of around eight billion rupees in the last fiscal. The government is yet to publicise ministry-wise budget ceiling for the coming fiscal.
Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel has outlined job creation, post-quake reconstruction, high economic growth and inflation control as priorities of the coming budge. Fifteen days before the budget speech, Minister Poudel will inform the Parliament about the budget’s priorities.
