Ministry of Finance begins discussions for FY 2082/83 budget

Kathmandu, March 5 — The Ministry of Finance has started discussions for the preparation of the budget for the fiscal year 2082/83 (2025/26). As part of this process, the ministry held consultations with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, as well as its affiliated departments and agencies.

On this occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel emphasized that the upcoming budget will be disciplined and realistic. He noted that a realistic budget will reduce the need for revisions and ensure smooth implementation.

Minister Poudel also expressed his commitment to formulating the budget based on sound principles and values, while learning from past experiences. He highlighted the importance of federalism and the roles of federal, provincial, and local governments in the budget-making process.

The Finance Minister stressed the need for coordination between ministries and agencies to ensure collective ownership of the budget. He also pointed out the priority of post-disaster reconstruction and the need for an effective and dynamic budget that aligns policies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.

Minister Poudel urged ministries to focus on viable and high-priority projects, while postponing projects that cannot be implemented or have lower priority. He also recommended reducing the number of incremental projects and including only those that are ready and urgently needed.

The Finance Minister further instructed that only implementable programs should be proposed within the available budget ceiling, advising ministries to avoid excessive reallocations or modifications during implementation. 

The meeting was attended by Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal, Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Prof. Shivaraj Adhikari, Finance Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, Revenue Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, and Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Keshav Kumar Sharma, among others.

Key Recommendations by Finance Minister Poudel:

•  Propose realistic budgets to avoid reallocations or program modifications during implementation.
• Discourage the tendency of diverting resources to smaller projects.
•  Reduce the number of incremental projects.
• Focus on high-priority, implementable projects.
• Only propose new projects that are fully prepared and have clear investment plans.
• Ensure that projects proposed in the budget are already included in the National Planning Commission's project bank.
• Reorganize and integrate ongoing programs based on past implementation experiences.
• Avoid duplications in projects across different levels of government and agencies.
•  Prioritize post-disaster reconstruction in the budget. 
• Provide continued support only to high-quality projects under conditional grants.
• Do not propose new projects that are not fully prepared or lack funding methods.
• Ensure sufficient budget allocations for national pride projects and other critical programs, maintaining earmarks for liabilities.
• Propose necessary budget allocations based on the prioritization and guidance provided by the National Planning Commission for FY 2082/83.