Huge pressure on resource management for new budget: Finance Minister Mahat

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has said there is huge pressure on resource management for the new budget for the fiscal year 2023/24. Responding to the lawmakers' concerns raised in the deliberations on the principles and priorities of the Appropriation Bill in the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting on Wednesday, Finance Minister Mahat said that unlimited needs could not be fulfilled with limited resources. "We have several expectations and needs but our means and resources are limited. We have a challenge to meet our needs and aspirations with limited resources and means. This is obvious as well. However, new priority has to be determined within the sectoral priority in the budget," according to the finance minister. In his response, Minister Mahat said he wanted to move ahead by admitting the real challenges of economy.  He added that the economic growth rate is not expected as targeted, revenue collection is lower than the target, trade deficit has gone up and the liability of the sovereign debt has increased. Likewise, he said the economy is not in a shambles but growth has slowed. He also hinted at taking austerity measures from the beginning of the new fiscal year. He said he will make efforts to incorporate the feedback offered by the lawmakers in parliament. READ ALSO:

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