Kathmandu: Nepal’s Ministry of Finance at Singha Durbar has effectively turned into a high-pressure “war room” as preparations intensify for the federal budget of fiscal year 2083/84. Under the leadership of Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle, the government is putting the final touches on what is being framed as a transformative national budget.
The administration led by 36-year-old Prime Minister Balen Shah is approaching the constitutional deadline for unveiling its first full budget after securing an unprecedented near two-thirds public mandate under the banner of the Rastriya Swatantra Party. Formed in the wake of a strong Gen Z-driven political movement, the government faces enormous public expectations, placing Finance Minister Wagle under significant psychological and political pressure.
The budget ceiling for the upcoming fiscal year has been fixed at approximately Rs. 1.89 trillion. Within this limit, Wagle must not only design the government’s spending roadmap but also ensure that sufficient resources are mobilized to finance it.
With the constitutional requirement to present the budget before Parliament on Jestha 15 fast approaching, the finance minister has reportedly dedicated nearly all his time and energy to budget drafting. He has repeatedly described the upcoming budget as one that will depart from traditional practices, focus on measurable outcomes, and help restore declining public trust in governance.
Officials say this will not be a conventional budget built merely around balancing figures and expenditures. Given the extraordinary public expectations surrounding a young leadership team headed by Balen Shah and an economist widely regarded as one of Nepal’s more intellectual policymakers, the budget is being closely watched across political and business circles.
The government also faces the challenge of converting the election promises made by the Rastriya Swatantra Party into actionable governance policies while implementing the 100-point governance reform agenda approved during its first Cabinet meeting.
According to Finance Ministry sources, Wagle wants the budget to move Nepal’s economy away from the policy stagnation that has constrained it for decades and toward a fundamentally new economic roadmap.
Although the state operates continuously regardless of political leadership, ministry officials say the new government believes it has received a different public mandate. As a result, it intends to refine and reshape strategies inherited from previous governments while maintaining continuity where necessary.
The finance minister has reportedly identified five core pillars for the budget: governance dividends, economic restructuring, integrated infrastructure, expansion of the middle class, and development of Nepal’s soft power. Together, these priorities aim to shift Nepal from a remittance-dependent economy toward a production- and technology-driven model.
One of the government’s biggest challenges, however, remains managing unlimited public expectations amid extremely limited financial resources.
At a time when the government still needs to borrow even for day-to-day operations, Wagle is said to be abandoning the long-standing political culture of “borrowing to consume” and instead promoting the principle that loans must finance activities capable of repaying themselves.
Rather than scattering funds across new and ambitious projects, the upcoming budget is expected to prioritize older projects that are already 70 to 80 percent complete but remain stalled due to funding shortages.
The government is also preparing legal reform measures aimed at removing bottlenecks related to forests, land acquisition, and procurement processes that frequently delay large infrastructure projects. Officials believe these reforms could significantly reduce both project costs and completion times.
Technology and digital transformation are expected to become defining features of the Balen administration’s first budget.
Finance Ministry sources say the government wants to position Nepal as a regional “tech hub” capable of exporting software, artificial intelligence services, and cloud-based solutions. The budget is expected to lay the foundation for what officials describe as a high-value, low-weight digital economy.
A major governance priority will also be reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies. The budget is expected to promote a “submit information once, use across all services” concept aimed at eliminating long queues, repetitive paperwork, and dependence on middlemen for government services.
Similarly, the government is reportedly planning substantial allocations for modern surveillance technologies along the Tarai-Madhesh border region, including AI-powered night vision cameras and facial recognition systems. Officials believe these tools could improve both security and revenue collection by helping control smuggling and illegal cross-border activities.
In the social sector, the finance minister is also signalling significant reforms. The current health insurance system, widely viewed as ineffective, is expected to be restructured with differentiated premiums and services based on citizens’ income levels.
The budget is also likely to include measures aimed at making the growing social security allowance burden more scientifically sustainable.
In education, the government plans to reduce political interference and better align academic institutions with labour market demands and research priorities. As part of this effort, the budget is expected to advance a proposed National Research and Innovation Fund.
The government is also preparing a strict but pragmatic approach to addressing the multi-billion-rupee crisis in Nepal’s cooperative sector. Rather than using taxpayer money for bailouts, the budget is expected to focus on recovering assets and using revolving funds within the cooperative system itself to address the crisis affecting thousands of victims.
Viewing the private sector as the primary engine of economic growth, the government is also preparing to repeal several outdated and restrictive laws through the budget process in an effort to create a more business-friendly environment.
At this final stage of budget preparation, Finance Minister Wagle’s schedule has become exceptionally demanding. Ministry officials say he has been working 15 to 16 hours daily on budget drafting and has even avoided participating in international engagements during this period.
He has also reportedly consulted with eight former finance ministers and attempted to incorporate their recommendations into the final budget framework.
Meanwhile, political observers have speculated that Prime Minister Balen Shah is bypassing the finance minister and directly shaping the budget from the Prime Minister’s Office. However, Finance Ministry sources reject that characterization, insisting that the budget is being prepared through continuous coordination between the prime minister and the finance minister.
In a parliamentary system, officials argue, the prime minister sets the government’s broad priorities while the finance minister translates those priorities into financial and technical policy frameworks. From that perspective, the prime minister’s influence over the budget reflects political ownership rather than interference.
Sources describe Prime Minister Shah’s working style as highly results-oriented and unconventional, with a preference for pursuing large and rapid reforms. In contrast, Finance Minister Wagle is portrayed as more systemic and data-driven. According to officials, whenever the prime minister proposes a major initiative, Wagle evaluates its economic feasibility before incorporating it into the budget framework.
For that reason, ministry officials say it is natural for the prime minister’s agenda to dominate a budget prepared by a strong majority government. In Nepal’s parliamentary system, they argue, the budget is not merely the finance minister’s document but the government’s overall policy blueprint led by the prime minister.
Whether this historic budget ultimately delivers genuine hope and structural change for Nepalis or remains confined to ambitious rhetoric will become clearer when it is formally presented in Parliament on 29 May (Jestha 15).
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