July 21: Lawmakers have suggested the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to bring a monetary policy for the fiscal year 2023/24 that encourages increasing investment in the productive sector. They also stressed on creating more jobs.    
The Members of Parliament made such remarks at a meeting of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives (HoR) on Thursday. The MPs argued that the monetary policy should focus on creating domestic production to make a robust national economy. Most of the committee members said that the new monetary policy should prioritize the agriculture sector.    
On the occasion, Former Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel asked the NRB to ponder on applying best policies that create more jobs and ensure increased productivity.    
Poudel was of the view that a moderate monetary policy was needed instead of a tough or a flexible policy.

"The current situation is the result of the past. So it is necessary to review the policies of the past," he added.    
Likewise, lawmaker Dr Swornim Wagle said that there wasn’t any balance between the economic growth rate and loan investment. He added that the banks and financial institutions made their loan investment more on unproductive sector.    
Dr Wagle stated that loan in the productive sector should be increased by tightening loans on real estate sector.    
Lawmaker Gyan Bahadur Shahi claimed that the BFIs were making unfair benefits by investing loans on high interest rate.    
Similarly, lawmaker Bhagwati Chaudhary said that the small and medium-sized enterprises should get loan in an accessible manner and the micro-finance institutions should be regulated.    
Likewise, Governor of NRB Maha Prasad Adhikari said that the new monetary policy would focus on achieving economic growth rate set by the government, inflation control and management of external sector in the economy. -- RSS