देशको अर्थतन्त्रका विषयमा निजी क्षेत्रको माग Demands of the private sector regarding the country's economy
नेपाल उद्योग वाणिज्य महासंको ५८ औँ वार्षिक साधारण सभालाई सम्बोधन गर्दै नेपाल उद्योग वाणिज्य महासंघका अध्यक्ष चन्द्रप्रसाद ढकालले अर्थतन्त्रका समस्याका विषयमा आफ्ना धारणा राखेका छन् । त्यसको सम्पादकीय अंश यहाँ प्रस्तुत गरेका छौ ।।
अहिले विदेशी मुद्राको सञ्चिति हालसम्मकै उच्च छ । अर्थात करिव साढे १२ महिनाको वस्तु तथा सेवा आयात गर्न पर्याप्त छ । बैंकहरुमा पनि तत्काल कर्जाका रुपमा दिन सकिने करिब ६ खर्ब रुपैयाँ छ । उद्यमी व्यवसायीले व्यवसाय विस्तार गर्न नसक्दा कर्जाको माग न्युन छ । भुक्तानी सन्तुलन र चालु खाता समेत वचतमा हुँदा सकारात्मक सन्देश जान्छ । तर यस अवधिमा एक खर्ब रुपैयाँको निर्यात हुँदा ८० अर्ब रुपैयाँ त विद्यार्थीहरु विदेश जाँदा बाहिरिएको छ । नेपाल विश्व व्यापार संगठनको सदस्य बने यता निर्यात तीन गुणासम्म बढेको छ भने आयात १० गुणा बढेको छ । वैदेशिक लगानी कुल गार्हस्थ्य उत्पादनको शुन्य दशमलव २ प्रतिशत हाराहारीमात्रै छ । वैदेशिक अनुदान निरन्तर घट्दो छ । वित्तीय व्यवस्थापन खर्च पूँजीगत खर्च भन्दा झन्डै दोब्बर भएको छ । आन्तरिक स्रोत बढाउन सकिएन भने नेपाल अतिकम विकसित मुलुकबाट स्तरोन्नति हुँदै जाने क्रममा ऋणको भार थप बढ्ने सम्भावना देखिएको छ । निर्यात लगानी, सहायता सबै कम हुँदा पनि वाह्य क्षेत्र सबल हुनुको कारण रेमिट्यान्स हो । रेमिट्यान्स मात्रै मुलुक धान्न आधार बनेको दशकौँ भइसकेको त हामीलाई विदितै छ । रेमिट्यान्सले मात्रै निरन्तर अर्थतन्त्र धान्न सक्ने सम्भावना न्युन हुन्छ । विगतमा बढदो रेमिट्यान्सले माग बढाउँदा सरकारको राजश्व पनि बढेको थियो । राजश्व अपेक्षित रुपमा बढ्न सकेको छैन् । न्युन पूँजीगत खर्च हुँदा पनि सरकार घाटामा रहनुले आगामी दिन थप जटिल हुने देखिन्छ । नेपालको अर्थतन्त्र कमजोर हुनुमा वाह्य भन्दा आन्तरिक कारण नै प्रमुख हुन् । किनभने यस अवधिमा भारत बंगलादेश लगायतका मुलुकको वृद्धिदर उच्च छ । विश्व बैंकले नेपालको आर्थिक वृद्धि चालु वर्षमा ३.३ प्रतिशत मात्र हुने अनुमान सार्वजनिक गरेको छ । जब कि बंगालादेशको ५.६ प्रतिशत र भारतको ७.५ प्रतिशत वृद्धि हुने प्रक्षेपण छ । गत वर्ष पनि नेपालको वृद्धि दुई प्रतिशत भन्दा कम हुँदा भारत र बंगलादेशको अर्थतन्त्र ६ प्रतिशत भन्दा बढिले बिस्तार भएको थियो ।
म व्यक्तिगत रुपमा हरेक क्षेत्र र प्रयासलाई सकारात्मक रुपमा हेर्ने व्यक्ति हुँ । मैले सकेसम्म होइन, छैन र हुँदैन भन्ने शब्द प्रयोग पनि गर्दिन । हामी आफैँमा सम्पन्न र सक्षम छौँ । हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्र सानो भएकाले रिकभर हुन सजिलो पनि छ । त्यसैले हाम्रा रणनीतिहरु कुनै बाहिरी प्रभाव भन्दा पनि हाम्रो माटो र हाम्रो स्थिति परिस्थिति सुहाउँदो हुनुपर्छ भन्ने मेरो धारणा हो । त्यसैले आज पनि म भन्छु, हामीले लिने साना तर सकारात्मक प्रयासहरुले पनि हामीलाई ठूलो प्रतिफल दिनेछन् । यसका लागि सबैको सकारात्मक सोच र शतप्रयास आवश्यक छ । हाम्रा युवाहरुका सपना खाडीमा खेर जान नदिऔँ । उद्यमीको मोहरलाई रुपैयाँ बनाउने अवसर दियौँ । रित्तिएका पहाड र बस्तीको माटो हराभरा बन्नसक्छ । यसका लागि पनि नेपालको निजी क्षेत्रलाई थप हौसला प्रदान गर्नुपर्छ । हामी भूकम्पपछि कसरी उठ्यौं ? अनि कोभिड पछि कसरी तंग्रियौं ? यी दुःखबाट पनि हामीले प्रेरणा लिनसक्छौँ । मुलुकको निजी क्षेत्र विकास र समृद्धिको नेतृत्व लिन तयार छ, मात्र वातावरणको खाँचो छ । सबै मिलेर यही वातावरण निर्माण गरौँ र आजैदेखि अर्थतन्त्रलाई सबल बनाऔँ भनेर हामीले आजको यस गरिमामय सभामा यहाँहरु सामु पाँच बुँदे प्रतिवद्धतापत्र पेश गरेका छौ । यसमा हामी यहाँहरुको प्रतिवद्धताको अपेक्षा गरेका छौँ ।।
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Addressing the 58th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed his views on the economic problems. We have presented the editorial part of it here.
Currently, foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high. That is, it is enough to import goods and services for about 12 and a half months. Banks also have around 6 trillion rupees that can be given as immediate loans. The demand for credit is low because entrepreneurs cannot expand their business. A positive message is sent when the balance of payments and current account are also in the forecast. But during this period, 80 billion rupees were exported while students went abroad.
Since PAL became a member of the World Trade Organization, exports have tripled and imports have increased tenfold. Foreign investment is only around 0.2 percent of the gross domestic product. Foreign subsidies are constantly decreasing. Financial management expenditure is almost twice as much as capital expenditure. If the internal resources cannot be increased, there is a possibility that the burden of debt will increase as Nepal is being upgraded from a least developed country.
Remittances are the reason why the external sector is strong even though export investment and aid are all low. It is known to us that remittances alone have been the basis for supporting the country for decades. Remittances alone are unlikely to sustain the economy. In the past, increasing remittances increased the demand and the revenue of the government also increased. The revenue has not increased as expected. Even with low capital expenditure, it seems that the government will continue to incur losses in the coming days.
Nepal's economy is weak due to internal rather than external reasons. Because during this period the growth rate of countries including India and Bangladesh is high. The World Bank has released an estimate that Nepal's economic growth will be only 3.3 percent in the current year. While Bangladesh is projected to grow by 5.6 percent and India by 7.5 percent. Even last year, the growth of Nepal was less than 2 percent, while the economy of India and Bangladesh expanded by more than 6 percent.
I personally am a person who looks at every field and endeavor positively. As much as I can, I don't even use the words no, no and not. We are self-sufficient and capable. Since our economy is small, it is easy to recover. Therefore, I believe that our strategies should suit our soil and our situation rather than any external influence. So even today I say, the small but positive efforts we take will give us great rewards.
For this, everyone's positive thinking and hard work is necessary. Don't let the dreams of our youth go to waste. We gave an opportunity to make the seal of an entrepreneur into rupees. The soil of vacant hills and settlements can become green. For this too, Nepal's private sector should be given more encouragement. How did we wake up after the earthquake? And how are we tight after covid? We can also take inspiration from these sorrows.
The private sector of the country is ready to take the lead in development and prosperity, but the environment is in need. We have submitted a five-point pledge in this dignified meeting today so that we can build this environment together and make the economy strong from today. We are expecting your commitment in this.
