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Nepal has achieved remarkable success in poverty reduction, nearly eradicating extreme poverty, largely driven by remittances. To strengthen future growth, Nepal should prioritize policy actions that unlock domestic opportunities, according to the World Bank’s Nepal Country Economic Memorandum: Unlocking Nepal’s Growth Potential, released on 24 March 2024. 

Despite progress, Nepal’s economic growth lags behind regional peers. Nepal’s economy grew at an average annual real rate of just 4.2 percent between 1996 and 2023, ranking sixth out of eight South Asian nations, the report states. Structural challenges such as low productivity, declining exports, and a stagnant industrial sector have held back the economy and led to slow job creation in non-agriculture sectors. Young workers are migrating abroad in search of better job opportunities as domestic prospects remain limited.

“Nepal’s success in poverty reduction is impressive, but its economic potential remains largely untapped,” said David Sislen, World Bank Division Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. “Nepal has significant potential to drive stronger growth and create jobs by implementing key reforms to increase the returns from migration, boost exports, use hydropower efficiently, and boost digitalization.”

“The 16th Plan for Nepal outlines a vision of good governance, social justice and prosperity and prioritizes productivity and competitiveness, decent and productive jobs, social security, and ensuring a smooth transition from LDC status. The government is committed to ensuring an enabling policy environment for Nepal’s sustainable growth,” said Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission, Prof Shiva Raj Adhikari.

Produced every five years, the Nepal Country Economic Memorandum offers a roadmap for faster growth in key sectors. It recommends policy actions in four critical areas to unlock Nepal’s economic potential.

A systematic and institutionalized migration system can enhance the returns from migration, the report states: Integrating migration into national development, job creation, and poverty reduction strategies will provide a platform to work toward such a system. Policies should focus on reducing the cost and increasing the benefits and safety for current low-skilled migrants, while also eyeing longer-term skill and destination diversification.

Expanding and better implementing bilateral labor agreements will be critical. Initiatives promoting entrepreneurship and retraining and reskilling programs would allow returning migrants to reintegrate into the domestic labor market, according to the report. 

Improving market competition in key sectors and addressing infrastructure deficits can boost exports. Better managing inflationary pressures would address the erosion of exporters’ price competitiveness, it states: Encouraging people to use remittances for investments and business growth could help ease inflation. Simplifying the process for businesses to get tax refunds on imported materials and lowering import taxes would make it easier for them to export more products. With Nepal’s transition from Least Developed Countries status and the loss of trade preferences, authorities should seek additional preferential trade agreements. 

Developing a clear financing strategy to develop the hydropower sector will help mobilize much-needed investments, goes the report. This strategy could include developing the domestic bond market and an effective framework for large-scale public-private partnerships. Strengthening the regulatory and legal frameworks, by reducing bureaucratic red tape and streamlining the current licensing process, would improve the structure of the electricity market and attract additional investment, the report adds.

People living in coastal areas have been told to stay out of the ocean and away from beaches after a powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurred off New Zealand's South Island, authorities said.

Residents in Southland and Fiordland should avoid sea areas because strong and irregular currents may pose a risk, according to the National Emergency Management Agency following Tuesday's earthquake, Alzajeera reported.
More than 4,700 individuals felt the quake, according to national seismic monitor Geonet, with New Zealand media reporting objects dropping and buildings swaying.

Farmers have complained that they were deprived of domestically produced hybrid seeds of maize.

The farmers shared this problem during the concluding session of a residential training on production of hybrid seeds and farming technology. The training was organized by the National Maize Research Program, Chitwan.

Khageshwori Budha Nepali attending the training from Dailekh district expressed worry over availability of imported seeds while lack of the locally produced seeds in market.

Locally produced maize seeds are better and resilient, but it is difficult to find in the market, she added. With the knowledge gained from this training, we would encourage the farmers to produce and utilize the domestic seeds of maize, she added. 

Similarly, Kusmakhar Kafle from Nawalparasi said it is essential to stress organic production of maize and other cereals by making the farmers commercial. Once the nationally produced seeds are ensured smooth marketing, it would be both productive and climate resilient. "Nepali seeds must be made sufficiently available," he added. 

Coordination Director at Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Bhanubhakta Pokharel, said production of hybrid seeds is essential within Nepal. Further publicity on it is equally important, he said, adding that this initiative could be forwarded with cooperation between the farmers' groups and local levels.

"Production of Nepali hybrid seeds requires adequate knowledge, which not only aims at boosting production but also utilizing land and making farming commercial," he observed. 

A total of 20 farmers from various districts attended the training where they were taught on producing hybrid maize seeds within the country.

The Inland Revenue Office in Chitwan has informed that the revenue collection was upped by 27 percent in the eight months of this fiscal year as compared to the same period last year. However, the office posted only 21.40 percent revenue collection, while only four months are left for the completion of the fiscal year.

Information officer at the office, Bimal Paudel, informed that in the eight months of this fiscal year, the office collected Rs 14.46 billion, while the same period last year recorded the revenue at Rs 11.91 billion.