सामाजिक सुरक्षा कोषमा १ खर्ब ११ अर्ब : बैंकमा थन्क्याउन छाडेर ऊर्जामा लगानी गर्ने तयारीSocial Security Fund Tops Rs 111 Billion, Plans to Shift Money from Bank Deposits into Energy

KATHMANDU — Contributions collected by the Social Security Fund (SSF) have crossed the Rs 111 billion mark. According to the fund, over Rs 111.07 billion had been deposited by contributors as of Jestha 20. With the pile growing daily, the fund is now preparing to expand its investments into hydropower, electricity transmission lines, solar and other renewable energy projects, aiming to channel the reserves into productive sectors.

The rationale, says fund director Rohit Regmi, is that simply parking the money in banks and financial institutions does not deliver the expected contribution to economic development — hence the search for productive avenues. Under its diversification strategy, he says, the fund plans to spread its investments across energy as well as industry and infrastructure.

The investment model will be collaborative. The fund plans to invest in hydropower and renewable energy projects through loans or co-financing in partnership with state-owned companies. Of the four proposals received so far, two are under detailed discussion, the fund says. Projects producing clinker domestically for cement manufacturing also rank among its priorities, and provisions have been made to invest through institutional lending or co-financing in tourism, construction, information technology, services and agriculture as well.

To ensure contributors' money is not deployed recklessly, however, the fund has set strict conditions. It has adopted a policy of not investing in hydropower projects below 20 megawatts. Likewise, projects with uncertainty over their power purchase agreements (PPAs), those lacking the required substations, those without a minimum 30 percent equity, and projects operated by private companies will all be off-limits, director Regmi said.

Both the fund's size and its obligations are growing. A total of 23,476 employers and 2,958,429 contributors have enrolled so far, and the fund has paid out more than Rs 20.45 billion in claims under various headings. The largest share — over Rs 16.58 billion — has gone to the retirement scheme, followed by Rs 3.23 billion under medical, health and maternity protection, Rs 349.5 million under dependent family protection and Rs 284.4 million under accident and disability protection.

The move comes as the budget for the coming fiscal year adopts a policy of mobilizing money sitting in various government funds toward productive sectors — a context in which the Social Security Fund, too, has begun restructuring its investment strategy.