Kathmandu: The government has consistently presented annual budgets highlighting the private sector as a key partner of the economy. However, a study report by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) concludes that 27 percent of the budget related to the private sector recorded zero progress.
CNI conducted a review of 63 budget points related to the private sector in the budget of the last fiscal year 2024/25 under its “Budget Watch” initiative. Out of the Rs 352 billion capital budget announced by the government, only 63 percent was spent, while among the 63 provisions concerning the private sector, 17 points, or 27 percent, showed no progress at all.
For this initiative, CNI partnered with the Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal (SEJON) as an intellectual collaborator. The study divided the budget into ten thematic areas: industrial development, export promotion and trade, agricultural transformation, information technology, energy, tourism promotion, taxation, infrastructure, skills and entrepreneurship, and others.
In industrial development, there were 14 provisions. Among these, four were not implemented at all, seven were partially implemented, and only three were fully executed in the last fiscal year.
In public procurement and project management, there were three provisions — all three showed zero implementation. Meanwhile, the “Make in Nepal” campaign had just one provision, which was fully implemented.
Among two public-private partnership programmes, one saw partial implementation and one had no implementation. In startups, out of two provisions, one was partially implemented and one was fully carried out.
In export promotion, the only programme was implemented partially. In agricultural transformation, of nine provisions, two saw zero progress, five were partially implemented, and only two were fully executed, according to the data made public by CNI.
Out of seven IT programmes, two recorded zero implementation, three were partially implemented, and two were fully implemented. Of two energy programmes, one was fully executed while the other was partially implemented.
In tourism promotion, of five provisions, two saw zero implementation, two partial, and one full implementation.
In taxation, of seven provisions, one recorded zero implementation, three were partial, and three were fully implemented. In infrastructure, all four provisions showed zero progress.
In skills and entrepreneurship, of four provisions, one was not implemented, and three were partially carried out, the CNI study report shows.
Presenting the Budget Watch report, SEJON General Secretary Bishwas Regmi said that although many legal reforms were undertaken in the last fiscal year, important programmes concerning the private sector could not even begin. He noted that due to the lack of practical implementation of policies, progress was absent on several points included in the budget watch. He further stated that due to government indifference in budget implementation, of the 63 points related to the private sector, 25 percent were fully implemented, 48 percent partially, and 27 percent not implemented at all.
According to the study, the reason for zero progress in 17 points of the last fiscal year’s budget was that implementation work had not even started. Additionally, the current government did not take ownership of the budget announced by the previous government, resulting in provisions being limited to mere announcements.
Partial progress in 48 programmes was mainly due to meetings being held, discussions initiated, and legal procedures drafted, but no concrete actions taken.
The study further shows that in the previous fiscal year 2023/24, only 5 percent of private-sector-related budget provisions were in a zero-progress state, while in 2024/25, that figure rose to 27 percent.
For the current fiscal year 2025/26, CNI announced it will monitor 74 points concerning the private sector. Of these, 27 are related to industry, 14 to energy and infrastructure/urban development, 9 to tourism, 6 to IT and innovation, 7 to agriculture and herbs, 8 to investment and financial sectors, and 3 to education and employment.
Addressing a public-private dialogue programme on the Budget Watch, CNI President Birendra Raj Pandey said that the progress and success of budget programmes directly drive economic development together with the private sector. He stressed that while the private sector has always provided constructive support to the government in budget implementation, weak enforcement persists due to negligence from government agencies.
Pandey also observed that the Ministry of Finance failed to be strict in implementation. He remarked that while programmes were included in the budget, the government itself failed to take ownership during implementation, resulting in weak execution last year.
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