KATHMANDU, Sept 16: The newly appointed Finance Minister Rameshore Khanal has pledged to implement austerity measures, which the previous governments had failed despite their repeated commitments.
Assuming his office on Monday, Khanal said he will focus on managing funds for proposed elections to be held in March while reducing unproductive expenses of the government. Curbing corruption, reconstruction and collaborative works with the private sector will be among the priorities of the government, Khanal added.
Refusing to implement the supplementary budget, Khanal said the government will not be allocating funds to the projects that are not listed in the government’s project bank. He also announced not to provide funds for small projects which the previous government included in the annual budget.
No perks, no frills: Finance Minister Khanal takes tough road o...
The National Planning Commission has enforced a guideline maintaining the provision of not including projects with investments below Rs 30 million in the project bank. However, the government almost every year has been including small projects citing pressures from political leaders and interest groups at the local level.
On the first day of his office, Khanal formed a three-member taskforce for prioritization of projects in order to effectively implement the budget. The taskforce is formed under the coordination of the chief of Budget Division at the Ministry of Finance.
"Now, we are burdened to hold elections and address youths' demands. So, unnecessary budgets would be slashed," Minister Khanal said.
Khanal was of the view that slashing budgets for unnecessary projects will help the government save Rs 100 billion. Likewise, Khanal also announced not to purchase any new vehicles by the government for now.
Due to the government failing to curtail its unnecessary expenses, Nepal has been facing an increasing burden of public debt in recent years. The country’s total public debt rose to Rs 2.66 trillion as of the end of FY 2024/25, with an increase of Rs 231.54 billion in a year.
According to Minister Khanal, suggestions of the high level economic reform commission, which he himself headed, would also be given due attention. The commission was formed by the previous government in October 2024, and it submitted its report in April 2025 suggesting the government with a number of measures for taking Nepal’s economy forward.
