KATHMANDU: Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has said that the government was working to bring the poverty rate to zero in the next five years. Currently, some 18 percent of the population is under the poverty line.

He stressed on the need for industrial development to achieve it.

“As part of achieving this goal, an industrial area will be created in each state,” he said.

Referring to unskilled manpower finding it hard to run households due to low wages they get from the competitive market, the minister said the government was always ready to provide security to industries and industrialists.