FNCCI, other private sectors happy with new budget

KATHMANDU: The industrialists and business communities have given mixed reactions to the budget for Fiscal Year 2013/14.

They have taken positively the fact that the country has got a full budget after many years but commented that the budget has not introduced notable programs for economic development.

Vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Pradip Jung Pandey, said that the budget is positive but it was still to be seen how it is going to be implemented.

“The fact that we have a full budget is positive. The country got the full budget after a long gap. It´s not enough only talking of good things, it would have the real impact only if it is implemented in effective manner,” he said.

In his reaction to the budget for the new fiscal year, Vice-president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Haribhakta Sharma, said that the budget is positive in its overall outlook.

“We, the industrialists and business community, had been urging the government since long to bring full budget in the context of the country always running on complementary budget. This time, the trend of partial budget has been broken and this should be taken positively,” he said, stressing on the effective implementation of the budget.

Energy entrepreneur and Chief of the FNCCI´s Energy Department, Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, said that although it is said the new budget has given special emphasis to the energy sector, it was not justifiable.

“Sure, some programs have been brought in the energy sector, but not to the expected level. A country going through an acute energy crisis obviously needed some more concrete programs,” he said.

President of the Grill and Steel Entrepreneurs Association, Mohan Katuwal, said that the budget was well balanced and reiterated on the effective implementation of the budget.