June 23: Thee National Planning Commission (NPC) has advanced the preparation of the 16th plan to be implemented from the fiscal year 2081/82. Emphasizing structural transformation, NPC held discussion on the concept paper of the 16th Plan.

Vice Chairman of NPC, Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha said that preparations for the 16th plan started with the national aspiration of achieving good governance, prosperity and social justice through structural transformation. He informed that the commission is ready to finalize and publish the 16th Plan to be implemented from mid-July 2024.

Shrestha said that the work of the 16th Plan should be completed amid the challenges in the economy and the work would be carried forward with the suggestions of experts. The experts participating in the discussion held on Wednesday and Thursday on the other hand suggested not to set ambitious goals in the plan. According to them, it is necessary to consider the responsibility and presence of the province and municipality in the plan. Experts opined that the five-year plan should reach all three levels of government.

Some experts said that there is no coordination in the formulation of policy and its implementation. Along with this, they suggested that a plan should be made while considering the data of the 2018 census. They said that the commission should take the lead in the policy to increase private sector investment, and the policy should be adopted to increase the production of rice and other crops. Thursday's discussion was attended by stakeholders including Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Ek Narayan Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Kewal Prasad Bhandari, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Suresh Adhikari, former Attorney General Ramesh Badal, former members of the Commission Dr. Chandramani Adhikari, Dr. Ganesh Gurung.