Finance Minister Directs Secretaries to Implement Budget

Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has directed secretaries to implement the budget with a plan to achieve 100% capital expenditure and revenue targets.

During a meeting with all secretaries of the ministries on Sunday to discuss the budget implementation plan for the fiscal year 2083/84, Minister Wagle instructed the secretaries to work towards achieving the targets.

He expressed disappointment over the poor performance in capital expenditure and revenue collection in the previous fiscal year and directed the secretaries to improve the situation.

The Ministry of Finance stated that the minister instructed the secretaries to ensure that the situation of not being able to spend the allocated capital expenditure and not being able to collect revenue does not recur.

“The capital expenditure in the previous fiscal year was disappointing, with only 49% of the allocated amount being spent. The revenue collection was also lower than expected, with a shortfall of over Rs 12 billion,” Minister Wagle said.

He emphasized that this situation is not acceptable in the new budget and directed the secretaries to ensure that at least 80% of the capital expenditure is spent and the revenue collection target of Rs 16 billion is achieved.

The minister also urged the secretaries to identify and resolve any legal and practical difficulties that may arise during the budget implementation process and to work in a planned manner to achieve the targets.

The Ministry of Finance has been working to simplify the budget implementation process since the beginning of the fiscal year and has delegated the authority to implement the budget to the concerned ministries.

Minister Wagle urged the secretaries to make use of this authority and to work towards achieving the budget targets.