KATHMANDU: The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has revealed that the government failed to implement more than a quarter of the private sector–related programs announced in last fiscal year’s budget.
According to CNI’s Budget Watch report, the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government did not move forward with 27 percent of the total private sector programs it had introduced. Of the rest, 25 percent were fully implemented, while 48 percent were only partially carried out.
The government had announced 126 private sector–related programs in the previous fiscal year. These included 14 programs on industrial development, three on public procurement and project management, one under the “Make in Nepal” initiative, two on public-private partnerships, two on startups and innovation, and one on export promotion, import substitution, trade facilitation, and supply management.
Other commitments included nine programs on agricultural transformation, seven on information technology development, two on energy, five on tourism promotion, seven on tax system reform, four on infrastructure, four on skills and entrepreneurship, and two covering other areas.
However, CNI’s review shows that the current government did not take ownership of 17 programs, leaving them completely unimplemented. These included four in infrastructure, four in industrial development, two in agriculture, two in information technology, two in tourism promotion, one in public-private partnership, one in taxation, and one in other sectors.
By comparison, in fiscal year 2023/24, the government had fully implemented 25 percent of private sector programs, partially implemented 70 percent, and left only 5 percent unimplemented.
For the ongoing fiscal year, the government has announced 74 private sector–related programs under seven thematic categories.
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