National Assembly Approves National Debt Raising Bill, 2083

Kathmandu. The 'National Debt Raising Bill, 2083' has been approved by today's National Assembly meeting. The bill, received with a message from the House of Representatives, was approved by a majority when put to a vote after clause-by-clause discussion.

Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle had presented a proposal in the meeting that 'the bill be passed without suggestions and sent back to the House of Representatives'. Prior to this, he had presented a proposal for clause-by-clause discussion on the bill.

Responding to questions raised during the discussion, Minister Dr. Wagle expressed confidence that the government is clear about investing debt in productive subjects and will implement the suggestions received.

Stating that the country's debt burden has increased in the last eight years (especially after COVID-19), Finance Minister Dr. Wagle said that debt must be taken for necessary work and the debt taken will be used to achieve the goals set by the government and to repay past debts.

Stating that the state's debt is currently around Rs 30 kharba, he said that the Public Debt Management Office is managing it overall.

Members Meenasingh Rakhala, Samjhana Devkota, Rukmini Koirala, and Somnath Poudel participated in the discussion. They stated that raising debt alone is not an achievement and it should be transparently distributed and show direct returns in sectors like agriculture and energy.