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Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel is presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2025/26 at the joint meeting of the Federal Parliament on Thursday.

The National Planning Commission has set a budget ceiling of approximately Rs 1, 965 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel presented the Economic Survey for the current fiscal year in the Parliament meeting today.

The Survey projects that the economic growth rate for the current fiscal year will be 4.61 percent.

According to the Finance Minister, all provinces except Madhesh, Koshi, and Sudurpaschim are expected to secure economic growth rates higher than the national average.

The size of the national economy is expected to reach Rs 6,107 billion in the current fiscal year.  

The Minister apprised the session, it has been estimated that the service sector will have the highest 62.01 percent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) followed by 25.16 percent from agriculture and 12.83 percent from the industrial sector. 

As per the data until the end of Falgun in the current fiscal year (mid-March, 2025), the per capita gross national income soared to USD 1,517, and the average consumer inflation rate was 4.72 percent, according to the Economic Survey. 

Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel briefed President Ram Chandra Paudel about the budget for the fiscal year 2025/26. 

As per the constitutional provision, the government is presenting the budget in the Federal Parliament on May 29.

Finance Minister Paudel reached Shital Niwas this morning and briefed the President about the budget for the next fiscal year,  according to the President's Personal Secretariat.

Before presenting the budget, Finance Minister Paudel will present the economic survey in Parliament today.

Newly appointed Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Biswo Poudel called on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel on Wednesday.

On the occasion, DPM Paudel congratulated the newly appointed Governor and extended best wishes for his successful tenure.

Furthermore, DPM Paudel expressed his confidence that Governor Poudel would take important and result-oriented initiatives to address the economic and monetary sector's challenges by ensuring smooth coordination between the fiscal and monetary policy.

In reciprocation, the new NRB Governor reaffirmed the NRB's commitment to facilitate implementation of the Ministry of Finance's fiscal policy through the Central Bank's monetary policy.

Moreover, he pledged to emphasise enhancing supervisory capabilities of the central bank to strengthen efficiency of the financial sector.

Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister Damodar Bhandari, Finance Secretary Ghanashyam Upadhyay and Revenue Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire among others were present on the occasion.

A Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday evening decided to appoint Poudel as the 18^th Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal held a meeting on Tuesday.

During the meeting held at Khumaltar this morning, Finance Minister Paudel discussed matters related to budget for the upcoming fiscal year with Dahal, the leader of the main opposition party.

Paudel, who is also the Vice Chairman of the CPN-UML, also discussed contemporary political issues with the Maoist Center Chairman, Dahal's Secretariat informed.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel has consulted with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba about the budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2082/83 BS (2025/26). 

He reached Deuba's residence in Budhanilkantha this morning and held consultations with the NC President and former Prime Minister on the next fiscal year's budget.

On the occasion, Deuba suggested adopting austerity keeping in view the economic situation of the country and preparing the budget so that the resources can be utilized to the maximum, the Finance Minister's Secretariat said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Foreign Affairs Department head Vijay Chauthaiwale called on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel in Singha Durbar on Friday.

On the occasion, they discussed bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest, according to Finance Minister Paudel's secretariat.

The Ministry of Finance has initiated the formulation of the budget for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS (2025-26).

Today, the Ministry consulted with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, related departments and bodies, on the budget topic.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, stressed the need for fiscal discipline and pledged to ensure the budget is realistic. He stated that a realistic budget would help avoid unnecessary transfers of funds and amendments.

He was of the view of learning from the past for the budget formulations. He said that the budget will be made by ensuring coordination among the federal, province and local levels by considering the implementation of a federal setup in the country.

Underlining the need for cooperation and support from all ministers and other bodies in the budget formulation procedures to increase its ownership from all quarters, the Minister vowed to incorporate projects in the budget with a pragmatic approach. He proposed to downsize small projects in the budget.

Minister Paudel also called for careful consideration of budget ceilings when making proposals, urging ministries to plan their budgets in a strategic and organized manner.

The Natural Resources Estimation Committee has recommended a budget ceiling of Rs 196.5 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said that the Bill Related to Banks and Financial Institutions (First Amendment), 2080 and the Bill Related to Securities (First Amendment), 2081 should be endorsed from the Parliament at the earliest.

Speaking at the meeting of the Finance Committee under the House of Representatives, he urged the Finance Committee to conclude deliberations on the two bills at the earliest and forward them to the House of Representatives for the discussion.

"I hope that the discussion on the bill related to banks and financial institutions and securities along with the customs bill will be completed soon and the Committee's report on these bills will reach the House of Representatives by mid-April," he said.

The finance minister said that the effectiveness of the committee and the House has been criticized even from the people's level for the sluggishness in law-making.

"There have been criticisms that the law-making process has slowed down. The government's attention has been drawn to this. Considering the national needs, the law making process should be expedited in the case of priority ones," said Finance Minister Paudel.

Today's meeting of the Finance Committee discussed the amendments made to the 'Bill to Amend and Integrate Customs Related Laws, 2080 BS'.

Lawmakers have proposed amendments seeking to streamline the customs administration for trade facilitation, to remove procedural hassles during customs clearance, to cut the discretionary powers of the employees, and to prepare adequate infrastructure for quarantine and quality testing of goods.

The government has brought this bill citing it is necessary to amend the Customs Act to make the customs clearance process more technology-friendly and easy, and to render it compatible with the Kyoto Convention, to which Nepal is a state party.

Similarly, the government has brought this bill stating that the provisions related to customs should be addressed through the Customs Act and rules for trade facilitation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has been discharged from the Kirtipur Hospital after receiving treatment for burn injuries.

DPM Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya were injured after a hydrogen balloon exploded at an event organized for the promotion of tourism in Pokhara on Saturday.

They were being treated in intensive care units at the hospital for two days.

Though Mayor Dhanraj Acharya's health condition is normal, he will be kept in the hospital for a few more days.  According to the hospital, "Both burn injuries are healing and there does not appear to be any adverse effect on the lungs."

Therefore, it has been decided to 'discharge' DPM Paudel from the hospital today, "said a press release issued by Kirtipur Hospital.

President Ram Chandra Paudel has inquired about the health condition of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya who are undergoing treatment at the Burn Hospital in Kirtipur.

DPM Paudel and Mayor Acharya were injured when a hydrogen balloon exploded while inaugurating a program organized for the promotion of tourism in Pokhara on Saturday.

Both are being treated at the intensive care unit in the Burn Hospital.

Health Minister Pradeep Paudel, Health Secretary Dr Roshan Pokharel and Director of the Hospital Dr Kiran Kishor Nakarmi, along with the doctors involved in his treatment, briefed the President about the health condition of DPM and Mayor.

Dr Nakarmi shared that though the health condition of Paudel and Acharya is becoming normal, they should be kept under the supervision of doctors for some time.

He further emphasized that the hospital should be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technology for the treatment of burns.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu have held a meeting on Monday.

In the meeting held at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar, they discussed bilateral economic cooperation, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), effective implementation of projects being implemented under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), mobilization of development finance and private sector investment, among other topics.

"Discussions were also held on exchanging cooperation between Nepal and the USA. Talks were held on the implementation of projects operated under MCC and the USAID with US assistance," said Joint Secretary at the Ministry, Dhaniram Sharma.

According to Sharma, during the discussions, the US official also showed his interest as to how the investment of the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) could be made effective and expanded, and how additional capital was brought to Nepal, in the context of DFC's investment in Nepali's private sector as well.

"In this topic we have expressed the government's commitment to extend support for encouraging the investment from the private sector," Joint Secretary Sharma added.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Paudel said that the main priority is on economic development as there is political stability in Nepal now and urged the US Assistant Secretary of State Lu to further expand US assistance to Nepal for that purpose.

The US Assistant Minister of State said that although some countries of South Asia were facing economic difficulties, Nepal has become successful in maintaining economic growth and stability and expressed his happiness over this.

He informed that the United States of America is providing additional economic assistance to Nepal in the coming days.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said that an investment-friendly environment has been created in the country. 

Speaking in a news conference held today, he mentioned that after Nepal got a BB score in the sovereign credit rating, Nepal has become a suitable environment for investment. He said that the rating indicates that Nepal's economic structure, public finance mobilization and macroeconomic and financial conditions are investment-friendly and advanced.

He said, "The result of the credit rating has created a situation where Nepal's credit capacity is high, its financial and economic capacity is good, which means that it can get loans at low interest rates from the international market."

 Minister Paudel expressed his belief that this condition will help to increase the confidence of the private sector and attract foreign investment. In the sovereign credit rating, there is the rating of basically four sectors of the economy: structural aspects of the economy, macroeconomic performance, and public and external sector economic indicators, it is learnt.

While rating the country's sovereign credit, these aspects are evaluated independently from various sovereign rating models and qualitative measurement methods, and the score obtained is given a rating from minimum to maximum.

In the rating, the economic structure of Nepal, the state of public finance, the status of internal and external debt, the state of the indicators of the monetary and financial sector, the economic index of the external sector, the medium-term and long-term blueprint of the economic growth reflected in the Sixteenth Plan and other details and statistics were analyzed.

In addition to that, as part of the qualitative evaluation phase, the researchers carried out on-site visit to Nepal, and consulted and discussed with high officials of government agencies such as the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, the National Planning Commission, the Nepal Rastra Bank, etc. Also, the officials of the private sector and bilateral and multilateral development partner agencies in Nepal were consulted during the study. The Nagadhunga tunnel was observed as a model to evaluate the implementation of the mid-term and long-term plans of infrastructure development presented by Nepal.

Joint Secretary at the Ministry Narayan Prasad Risal, informed that the sovereign credit rating is used by the world's investors and financial service providers as a basis for evaluating the investment environment of any country.

According to him, it will evaluate the structure and condition of the country's economy from the eyes of independent experts and bring the real situation to investors around the world.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has requested the Nepali diaspora in Washington to help the current government's effort to develop the country.

The government formed in collaboration between CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress is for political stability and advancing development endeavors of the country.

Minister Paudel, who is here to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, asked the Nepali diaspora to help the development of their motherland through investment in the country. The interaction was hosted by the Nepali Embassy in DC.

Stating that the current government is working to carry out development as per the people's wishes and move forward on the path of prosperity, Minister Paudel suggested that the skills, capital and knowledge acquired here should be used in Nepal as there are ample investment opportunities in the fields of energy, tourism, and information technology.

In addition, he expressed the commitment that the government will facilitate the investors with high priority.

Responding to queries from the participants, the Minister of Finance called upon them to invest with confidence as there is a favorable investment environment in Nepal with assurance of returns.

Also speaking at the event, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Chandra Prasad Dhakal, said that more capital is needed for the economic and social development of Nepal for which the support of non-resident Nepalis is necessary.

During the interaction, the participants inquired about Nepal's current tax system, investment-friendly environment, performance of staff and technology, among others.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel held a meeting with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Alice P. Albright in Washington DC, USA on Thursday.

The Embassy of Nepal in Washington DC stated that discussions were held regarding the MCC projects in Nepal being implemented under the MCC Compact Agreement since last year and the cross-border transmission line.

Likewise, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bo Li, held a meeting with Minister Paudel on Thursday.

During the meeting, discussions were held on the issues of financing, consultation and technical assistance.

On the occasion, Deputy Managing Director Bo said Nepal's economic progress was satisfactory.

Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari, Finance Secretary Ram Prasad Ghimire and Charge' d'Affaires of Nepal Embassy Kumarraj Kharel were present at the meeting. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has urged international investors to invest in Nepal's information technology (IT) sector with confidence adding that there is immense potential for investment and high returns in this sector.

At an interaction program organized by the American Chamber of Commerce and Industries today, Minister Paudel urged the investors to invest in Nepal's physical infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, energy and other sectors, and take benefits from the investment.

Likewise, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Chandra Dhakal shared that there are good investment opportunities in Nepal's hydropower and tourism sectors while asking American investors to invest in those areas.

Representatives from multinational companies including Google, Meta, Coca-Cola and others were present on the occasion.