Lumbini Province Government to Present Annual Budget Today

Butwal. The Lumbini Province Government is presenting the annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/084 in the Provincial Assembly today. The budget will be presented by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning, Dhanendra Karki, at 5 PM during the ninth meeting of the eighth session of the Provincial Assembly. The provincial government has outlined the budget keeping in mind limited resources, increasing liabilities, and incomplete development construction works. The government has stated that the budget has been prepared by giving high priority to liability payments, provincial pride projects, and multi-year and ongoing schemes. The government has prepared the upcoming budget to be focused particularly on production growth, employment generation, infrastructure development, good governance, and social justice. This year's budget will give main priority to the modernization of the agriculture sector, expansion of irrigation, organic farming, conservation of local and indigenous crops, branding of agricultural products, and value chain development. The budget will also include policies to increase agricultural production, substitute imports, and promote exports. In the health sector, there is a plan to continue programs for the upgrade of hospitals, expansion of specialist services, and concessions for cancer, kidney transplant, and heart disease treatment. Similarly, programs for technical education, IT-friendly education system, and sports infrastructure development are expected to be included in the education sector. In terms of infrastructure development, the budget will have policies to complete past incomplete and multi-year projects, increase the effectiveness of capital expenditure, and continue provincial pride projects. The budget aims to make the provincial economy dynamic through the maximum utilization of tourism, industry, energy, and local resources. In particular, there is a plan to continue programs to develop Lumbini as an international religious and health tourism center. For the current fiscal year 2082/083, the provincial government had presented a budget of 38.91 billion rupees. Of that budget, 23.47 billion rupees were allocated for capital expenditure and 15.43 billion rupees for current expenditure. According to sources, the government has made internal preparations to present a budget of around 38 billion rupees for the upcoming fiscal year, similar to the previous year.