Nepali Economics

By Prajwal Shrestha The Nepali economy is on a wrong track. The government authorities including the political leaders have focused on an import-based economy by discouraging local imports substituting and export-oriented industries. As result, one after another local industries are being shut down and the country is solely dependent on imports, which has converted Nepal into a consumer country. The present path will not help the country to become a prosperous nation. To transform the country into a prosperous nation, industrialization is the only path. Industrialization has not been limited the investment and profit for the investors. It is also related to providing employment to hundreds of thousands of people and uplifting the economy. There are many reasons behind the closure of the industries and Nepal becoming a consumer nation. One main reason is flexible government policy. Investors want security and assurance of the profit from the investment. But the government is found changing the economic policy every year and also along with the change of the guard in the government, a new economic policy is being introduced. If the government or the political leaders don’t give priority to industrial investment, only attractive speeches and talks will not be enough to attract investments. Minimum a ten-year-long policy with an all-party commitment that the policy will not be changed in between, investment in the industrial sector can be attracted. As the country’s imports have inclined to an alarming level, the government should focus on the establishment of the industries substituting the imports. To make the local products competitive in the market, the government should provide different facilities, including the supply of electricity at a subsidized price. In the meantime, the government should make aware all the people of the consumption of the local products and launch a campaign for “make in Nepal”. Nepal is an agro-based country but the country is even importing rice and vegetables from the foreign market. The government’s prime duty is to inform our farmers about scientific farming and provide modern equipment and fertilizer to the farmers. The problem faced by local farmers and industrialists is the market. There is strong domination of the middlemen in the market from which consumers, as well as manufacturers/producers, have been exploited. To end such a problem, the government is needed to do good homework.