By Our Reporter

After the endorsement of the government’s policies and programme by a majority from both Houses of Parliament on Sunday, the Ministry of Finance is now preparing the budget for the new Fiscal Year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel is busy consulting the concerned stakeholders for their suggestions in the budget for the new Fiscal Year.

Attending a conference on 'Roadmap for Economic Transformation' organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Finance Minister Paudel said that the suggestions of the High-Level Economic Reform Commission (HLERIC) that can be addressed by the budget of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025/26 will be included in the appropriation bill and appended bills.

"It’s a massive document, so all of the recommendations could not be included in the budget due to the limited availability of resources," said DPM Paudel while speaking at a conference to implement the report and suggestions of the HLERC which was led by former Finance Secretary Rameshwore Khanal.

He also urged the organiser and Chairman of the HLERIC Rameshwore Khanal to provide an abridged version of their suggestions including only those that should be addressed by the next budget.

Former finance ministers Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Barsha Man Pun and Surendra Pandey also addressed the conference. CNI president Rajesh Kumar Agrawal and Khanal also provided suggestions.

The government is preparing a budget amid an increasing revenue deficit despite rising remittance.

According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report made public by Nepal Rastra Bank on Sunday, remittances worth Rs. 1,191.31 billion were received during the first nine months from mid-July 2024 to mid-April 2025 of the current fiscal year.

The remittance inflows increased by 10 per cent during the review period of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last fiscal year. However, the growth rate of remittance inflows during the review period shrank.     

The country received remittances of around of Rs. 140 billion in a single month of Chaitra (from mid-March to mid-April). About Rs. 1,051 billion had been received by mid-March of the current fiscal year. According to the report, in the US dollar terms, remittance inflows increased by 7.3 per cent to 8.74 billion in the review period compared to an increase of 15.2 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

However, the country spent more than the received remittance to import goods. The country imported goods worth Rs. 1309 billion during the review period. When the import increased by 12.2 per cent, trade deficit increased by 6.4 per cent and reached Rs. 1121 billion during the review period.

The country is losing the largest amount of money while sending students abroad for studies. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Rs. 103 billion which is 60.94 percent of total foreign visit expenses. In the corresponding period of the previous year, the expense on overseas education was Rs. 95.8 billion. Surprisingly, the amount spent on overseas education rose to Rs. 14. 8 billion in a single month this fiscal year. This is because most parents tend to send their awards overseas with the hope of a better life there. Most of the students who reach overseas for study do not return home.