CPN-UML MP Guru Baral Calls for Business-Friendly Policies to Boost Economic Growth

Kathmandu. CPN-UML MP Guru Baral has emphasized that the government must adopt business-friendly policies to ensure the country's economic prosperity. Speaking at an interaction program with industrialists and business leaders, MP Baral warned that unnecessary interference and pressure risk triggering capital flight. He urged the state to encourage entrepreneurs through clear laws and regulations.

Addressing sector-specific issues raised by the private sector, MP Baral expressed support for the proposal to declare the next five years as the 'Export Decade' and pledged to advocate for it. He further stated that the government should focus on expanding the tax base rather than increasing tax rates.

Highlighting that the internet has become an essential service, he called for the reduction of the additional 30 percent fee to make internet access more affordable. He also proposed promoting the plywood industry to end the paradoxical situation where domestic timber rots while furniture is imported from abroad.

MP Baral expressed his commitment to resolving policy hurdles regarding parking, cargo, and operations at international airports. Discussing the education sector, he proposed establishing technical schools in every municipality and a central technical university to produce high-level skilled manpower. He demanded the immediate enactment of laws for e-commerce and e-payment gateways to support the digital economy. He urged business leaders to present their demands in an organized manner, assuring that the CPN-UML would play a leading role in addressing them through parliamentary processes.

He also proposed providing necessary support to national priority industries to compete with foreign films, developing 10,000 community forests as 'Coffee Zones' to boost production, and declaring 10 districts in the eastern hills as 'FMD-free' zones to increase Chhurpi exports.

Furthermore, he pledged to initiate efforts to resolve VAT and wastage issues in the poultry sector, achieve self-sufficiency in the paper industry, and formulate policies to legalize hemp cultivation for the international market. He also committed to raising his voice in Parliament to address the import-export imbalance in the footwear industry and to establish a separate 'Textile Council' to promote the carpet, yarn, and pashmina sectors.