KATHMANDU: Nepali students studying abroad have been taking more foreign currency than the revenue generated from tourist visits in Nepal.

In the first six months of the current fiscal year (FY), income from foreign tourists has reached Rs 39.56 billion. This marks a substantial increase of 44.4% from the Rs 27.40 billion recorded in the same period last fiscal year, as reported by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

During the first half of the fiscal year, total spending on visit expenses of Nepali, including expenses made in education, reached Rs 92.87 billion, with the NRB noting an allocation of Rs 58.95 billion towards education alone.

Compared to the first six months of the previous fiscal year, where travel expenses amounted to Rs 57.82 billion, including the expenses in education Rs 35.36 billion. This shows that while the expenses on visit has increased by 44.4 percent, expenditure on education has increased by 60.6 percent.

Despite the significant growth in education expenses, the NRB has not observed a corresponding increase in foreign currency outflows for other services.

In the first six months of the current fiscal year (FY 2080/81), the NRB reported a deficit of Rs 36.6 billion in the service income category, compared to a deficit of Rs 36.22 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

For the current fiscal year 2080/81, the NRB has disclosed that the service income stands at Rs 36.60 billion, indicating a slight improvement from Rs 36.22 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year.