Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat today urged farmers to take benefit from government’s subsidised loan facility at six per cent.
He had – in the budget – announced subsidised interest rate on loans for youths to encourage them in commercial farming.
The programme was aimed at import substitution. Nepal has been importing Rs 100 billion worth farm products despite its massive agricultural potential.
Inaugurating the solar facility at a local area hospital at Budhabare, Morang installed by Nepal-Japan Clean Energy, the minister also urged political parties not to politicise water resources.
The government has announced some pro-poor programmes in its current fiscal year’s budget he said, adding that the programmes are aimed at bringing them out of absolute poverty line.
Nepal has a huge power deficit largely due to politics in water resources, he said, adding that Nepal still lags behind because of unnecessary politics in water resources. “The country has been unable to attract investment to harness huge potential in hydropower.”
He also reminded that the government has announced tax exemption for large scale investments in hydropower sector through the budget. Seeking political consensus on development, he said that Nepal can economically transform itself by developing hydro electricity. “But politics in development has to be stopped.”
Mahat also urged the opposition not to politicise the programmes which are aimed at alleviating poverty.
The opposition leaders have been coming down heavily on government’s poverty alleviation programmes alleging of distributing resources to cadres of ruling party.
“If politics does not influence the development of water resources in the country, it will help the country to take a leap forward,” he said. “Governments change and nobody should do politics to prevent the development of this important resource.”
He also stated that the government was committed to eradicating load-shedding within the next three years which will spur industrial growth.
He also assured that the country can graduate from Least Developed Country (LDCs) status by 2022, if the current economic movement could be maintained.

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