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The Ministry of Finance has initiated the formulation of the budget for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS (2025-26).

Today, the Ministry consulted with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, related departments and bodies, on the budget topic.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, stressed the need for fiscal discipline and pledged to ensure the budget is realistic. He stated that a realistic budget would help avoid unnecessary transfers of funds and amendments.

He was of the view of learning from the past for the budget formulations. He said that the budget will be made by ensuring coordination among the federal, province and local levels by considering the implementation of a federal setup in the country.

Underlining the need for cooperation and support from all ministers and other bodies in the budget formulation procedures to increase its ownership from all quarters, the Minister vowed to incorporate projects in the budget with a pragmatic approach. He proposed to downsize small projects in the budget.

Minister Paudel also called for careful consideration of budget ceilings when making proposals, urging ministries to plan their budgets in a strategic and organized manner.

The Natural Resources Estimation Committee has recommended a budget ceiling of Rs 196.5 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

A triumphant President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday that "America is back" after he reshaped U.S. foreign policy, ignited a trade war and ousted tens of thousands of government workers in six tumultuous weeks since returning to power, drawing jeers from some Democrats who walked out in protest.

The primetime speech, his first to Congress since taking office on January 20, followed a second day of market turmoil after he imposed sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China.

At 100 minutes, the speech was the longest presidential address to Congress in modern U.S. history, according to The American Presidency Project.

World leaders were watching Trump's speech closely, a day after he paused all military aid to Ukraine in a stark reversal of U.S. policy. The suspension followed an Oval Office blowup in which Trump angrily upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in front of TV cameras.

The pause in aid to Ukraine has threatened Kyiv's efforts to defend against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion three years ago, and further rattled European leaders worried that Trump is moving the U.S. too far toward Moscow.

rump devoted only a few minutes of his speech to foreign policy. He signaled a willingness to press ahead with a minerals deal with Ukrainethat was set aside after last week's disastrous White House meeting.

"Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," Trump said. "Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

And he repeated his promises - though without adding detail - to bring peace to the Middle East and expand the Abraham Accords, deals signed during his first term that established relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.

While Trump has appeared to fault Ukraine for starting the war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 70% of Americans - including two-thirds of Republicans - say Russia was more to blame.

Trump vowed to balance the federal budget, even as he urged lawmakers to enact a sweeping tax cut agenda that analysts say could add more than $5 trillion to the federal government's $36 trillion debt load. Congress needs to raise the nation's debt ceiling later this year or risk a devastating default.

The speech shared some of the hallmarks of Trump's campaign rallies. Trump repeatedly assailed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, attacked immigrant criminals as "savages" and promised to ban what he called "transgender ideology," all while peppering his remarks with exaggerated or false claims.

DEMOCRATIC PROTESTS

"To my fellow citizens, America is back," Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. "Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again."

Democrats held up signs with messages like "No King!" and "This Is NOT Normal," and about half the Democrats had walked out by the end of the speech.

One Texas congressman, Al Green, was ordered removed after he refused to sit down.

Trump, a political brawler by nature, reveled in the disagreements.

"I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud," he said after Green's ejection.

The speech took place in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Biden's 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.

The lawmaker Democrats chose to give their rebuttal speech, moderate U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, invoked an iconic Republican president in criticizing Trump.

"As a Cold War kid, I'm thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War," Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who won election in Michigan in November even as Trump carried her state, said, referring to President Ronald Reagan. "Donald Trump's actions suggest that, in his heart, he doesn’t believe we are an exceptional nation."

MORE TARIFFS COMING

Trump praised billionaire businessman Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, which has downsized more than 100,000 federal workers, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and shuttered entire agencies.

The president credited Musk with identifying "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud," a claim that far exceeds even what the administration has claimed so far. Musk, seated in the gallery, received ovations from Republicans.

Trump reiterated his intention to impose additional reciprocal tariffs on April 2, a move that would likely roil financial markets even more.

"Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries," he said.

On this point, many Republicans remained seated, a signal of how Trump's tariffs have divided his party.

Trump's 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the country's closest allies, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports deepened investor concerns about the economy. The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 9% from its record closing high on December 16.

Trump, who has often taken credit for market increases, did not mention this week's downturn. He also barely addressed stubbornly high costs, blaming Biden for the price of eggs and saying he would bring down inflation via increased energy production.

Just one in three Americans approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, a potential danger sign amid worries his tariffs could increase inflation.

Trump called on Congress to pass a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan that would extend his 2017 tax cuts, tighten border security and fund massive deportations.

Trump noted that his administration had already launched a border crackdown, citing February's record-low total of 8,300 migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border. Those arrests are often used as a proxy to estimate illegal crossings.

The Republican tax proposal calls for $2 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, with possible cuts to education, healthcare and other social services.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Trump's full tax agenda, including elimination of taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits, could cost between $5 trillion and $11.2 trillion over a decade. Reuters

Five ordinances are being tabled in the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting for discussion and approval today.

The HoR meeting has been summoned for 1 pm this afternoon.

As per agenda of the day, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is to table a proposal seeking endorsement of the lower house to the Ordinance designed to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Good Governance Promotion and Public Service Delivery, 2081.

Likewise, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel is likely to table the proposal seeking endorsement of the Economic Procedures and Financial Responsibility (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2081 and the Privatisation (First Amendment) Ordinance, 208 and the Ordinance designed to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Economic and Business Environment Improvement and Investment Promotion, 2081 Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Balaram Adhikari will present a proposal seeking approval of the house to the Ordinance designed to Amend Some Nepal Acts Related to Cooperatives.

Prior to this, the 'Nepal Legal Practitioners' Council (second amendment) Bill, 2081' originated from the Upper House will be tabled, along with the message from the House.

Though the government introduced six ordinances a month ago, the government is tabling five ordinances only after the Janata Samajwadi Party and Loktantrik Samajwadi Party stood against the Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Acts relating to Land, 2081.

Meanwhile, the major ruling parties Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have asked their HoR members to compulsorily attend the HoR meeting on Wednesday directing them to second the ordinances.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit, which is taking place in Thailand on April 3-4.

This will be the second meeting between Oli and Modi; the first meeting was held in September last year on the sidelines of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations. Despite multiple requests, India is refusing to extend formal invitation to Oli for the official visit to New Delhi. According to government officials, the Oli-Modi meeting is expected to create a conducive environment for Oli’s India visit and Modi’s visit to Nepal. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba has said more than once that Oil would soon receive the invitation from New Delhi for the bilateral visit. Presumably, the relationship between the two countries is not as it used to be after Nepal signed a framework agreement on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI and growing Chinese influence in Kathmandu is a cause of concern for us, says an Indian official requesting anonymity.

The summit was due to take place last year but was postponed in August, when Thailand was under a caretaker administration. The group’s meetings and summit will take place from April 2-4.  The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, includes Thailand, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan and its leaders meet every two years for a summit. According to media reports, India has informed Thailand that Modi will travel to the country for the summit. As SAARC is completely dysfunctional, India is boosting BIMSTEC for regional cooperation, connectivity and security.