Ghanshyam Pandey
Kathmandu / Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel has said the startup work procedures and provision on project loans would be implemented soon.
Addressing the Small and Medium
Enterprises Conference organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in Lalitpur today, the Finance Minister asserted
that he would take the initiative for preparing the Startup Work Procedures
pending for long.
"It is the government's
weakness that the startup work procedures could not be drafted until now. The
work procedures would be passed immediately. The project loans the private
sector has been demanding will also be implemented soon," he said.
The Finance Minister urged the
private sector to give clear suggestions to the government regarding the
problems of the small and medium enterprises. Stating that the government would
take initiation for identifying the problems of the small, cottage, micro and
medium-scale enterprises and for resolving them, Finance Minister Poudel said a
right conclusion would be derived on the matter only after taking suggestions
from the related sectors.
"The government moves ahead
only after taking the suggestions from the related sector while drafting the
plan and policy of any sector. It is necessary that the private sector points
out and clarifies the policy-level ambiguities in particular sector," the
Finance Minister said, adding that the government has expected concrete and
clear suggestions on how the procedural hassles could be minimized and the
service delivery made prompt and convenient.
As he said, he will work towards
hearing the problems of the private sector and addressing the justified
demands. The Finance Minister said the private sector should also give
suggestions as to how the access of the SMEs could be increased in the
financial sector.
In addition to this, he pledged the
government assurances that the interest rate for loan would not be increased.
“Interest rate is linked with inflation this or that way. Efforts are on to
prevent the interest rate for going high.”
He made it clear that the
government had no policy to intervene in the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) affairs as
it is the autonomous body, but the government would cooperate with it to
address the existing issues.
He said the private sector was
expected to inform the government if it sensed problems in the government
service delivery.
FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha
described small and middle-scale enterprises as the basis for national economy,
but these sectors were marred by various issues. “The prices of raw materials
have skyrocketed. Bank interest rate is high. Small entrepreneurs face
challenges to get loan,” he said.
He was of the opinion that the
State should play a role to establish a stable interest rate and the systematic
tax system.